Topic: Rebecca Brooks

Bob Garfield of NPR’s On The Media describes feeling "suicidal despondency" over the political climate. The show features author Rebecca Solnit reading from her book Hope in the Dark to provide encouragement to liberal listeners. The hosts contrast this "depressing" outlook with their own excitement for the upcoming news cycle.

Piers Morgan's alleged involvement in the British phone hacking scandal is discussed following testimony in the Leveson Inquiry. Former editors describe a culture of paying for tips and "nicking" private photographs, including images of Carla Bruni. The hosts contrast the public outrage over celebrity privacy with the general acceptance of government surveillance in the UK.

Questions remain regarding the death of Conservative Party chairman Christopher Shale, who was found dead at the Glastonbury festival in June 2011. While Amy Winehouse's toxicology report was released quickly after her death, Shale's results have not been made public. The delay is linked to the "Chipping Norton set" involving David Cameron and the Murdoch media empire.

The resignation of News Corp CEO Rebecca Brooks and the ongoing phone hacking scandal involving the News of the World newspaper dominate the media landscape. A BBC interview with Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, the second-largest shareholder of News Corp, reveals his insistence on full cooperation with the British government's commission. The discussion explores the potential for the scandal to be an orchestrated effort to force Rupert Murdoch out of the UK media market and the withdrawal of the News Corp bid for B-Sky-B.