Audio and context around some of the interviews and stories on WTOP News. This blog is curated by WTOP’s Dimitri Sotis.
Is Paramount Plus too late to the streaming game?

CNET’s Roger Cheng says CBS All Access is changing to Paramount Plus (Listen below and read)
A new documentary examines a viral moment at the Lincoln Memorial

Christian Toto reviews ‘Rush to Judgement’ a documentary about the Covington Catholic kids’ DC visit in January 2019. The movie features analysis by WTOP’s Neal Augenstein
Has your favorite restaurant closed down due to COVID?

Lending Tree’s Matt Schulz tells WTOP half of Americans say they’ve lost their favorite food place to the pandemic (Check out the survey and listen below)
Traditional Republicans with nowhere to go

Politico’s David Siders joins WTOP to discuss his article about anti-Trump Republicans’ struggles to find a new political home
Do you have to pay taxes on your stimulus checks?
(Getty Images)
Consumerman Herb Weisbaum, with checkbook.org, tells WTOP about the latest tax rules (Listen below and read)
Car Review: The Ford Ranger may be just right for those who don't need a bulked up truck
(Mike Parris/WTOP)
WTOP Car Guy Mike Parris reviews the new Ford Ranger (Listen to his comments below)
Review: 'Nomadland' is Oscar worthy

Critic Christian Toto highly recommends Nomadland at the theater or on Hulu – he also wants you to check out the Cruella trailer
(Listen to his Nomadland review below and read the AP’s take)
Which businesses are committed to diversity?

Consumerman Herb Weisbaum, with checkbook.org, tells WTOP about the Black Dollar Index (listen below and read)
Sizing up the second Trump impeachment trial

University of Baltimore Law Professor Kim Wehle joins WTOP on the eve of the impeachment vote (Listen to her analysis below and get the latest from AP)
Where's your emergency fund? You can set one up even if you live from hand to mouth.
(Getty Images)
Consumerman Herb Weisbaum, with Checkbook.org, tells WTOP you must get in the habit of setting money aside in case of emergency (Read and listen below)
Maryland Republicans push for voter ID and mail-in voting legislation

While Virginia is close to adding a Voting Rights Act – some Maryland Republican state senators are pushing for laws on voter ID and mail-in ballot signature verification. Maryland Matters’ Bennett Leckrone joins WTOP with the story (read and listen below)
More than half of Americans will place a Super Bowl bet

Lending Tree’s Matt Schulz tells WTOP a lot of people, who are putting money on the game, run the risk of going into debt (read and listen below)
Watch out for credit repair scams
(Getty Images)
Consumerman Herb Weisbaum – with Checkbook.org – tells WTOP to watch out for bogus credit repair offers (read and listen below)
Coronavirus risks rose a year ago as the US handled evacuees from Wuhan

The Washington Post’s Dan Diamond shares his story with WTOP (Listen below)
President Trump considered replacing his acting AG to further push voter fraud claims

Katie Benner of the New York Times joined WTOP with her DOJ exclusive (Listen below and read her story)
100 more presidential pardons may be on the way


Will Lil Wayne and Sheldon Silver get a pardon? Will President Trump pardon himself? Politico’s Anita Kumar joins WTOP with the latest (Listen below and read more from Kumar & the NYTimes)
Capitol Police report warned of the January 6th attack

Washington Post Political Investigative Reporter Carol Leonnig tells WTOP about her Friday night exclusive (Listen below and read)
'One Night in Miami' is thought-provoking and inspirational

Christian Toto reviews the new Amazon Prime offering on WTOP (Listen below and read AP’s take)
The slow COVID vaccine rollout is deadly

Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil discusses the slow pace of coronavirus vaccine distribution (Listen below, read about things possibly speeding up and read about the article Alan mentions at the end)
When is your stimulus check coming?

Consumerman Herb Weisbaum with Checkbook.org tells WTOP some of us may have to wait until we file our 2020 tax returns (Listen below and read Herb’s article)
Donald Trump is permanently banned from Twitter

No matter which handle President Trump tries to use his tweets are being deleted. CNET’s Ian Sherr joins WTOP with his take. (Listen below, read Ian’s new column & the latest from wtop.comÂ
QAnon announced its plans to storm the Capitol weeks ago

Vice TV’s Marley Clements tells WTOP law enforcement would’ve known the U.S. Capitol attack was coming if it had monitored QAnon’s online chatter. (Listen below and read here)Â QAnon: The Search for Q” premiers January 26th at 10pm ETÂ
'Wonder Woman 1984' review

Christian Toto loved the first ‘Wonder Woman’ but has few nice things to say about the sequel (Listen below and read AP’s more charitable take)
Avoiding high checking overdraft fees
(Getty Images)
Consumerman Herb Weisbaum, with checkbook.org, says overdraft fees are higher than ever and you need to stop paying them (Listen below and read more at wtop.com)
Covid stimulus suspense

The country waits to see what President Trump will do as a government shutdown looms and COVID relief hangs in the balance. Paul Blest of Vice News has analysis on WTOP (Listen below and read the latest from AP)
Hack against US agencies reaches Energy Department and those in charge of nuclear weapons

Politico’s Natasha Bertrand shares her reporting with WTOP
'We want them infected’: Emails show Trump appointee wanted young people to catch Covid-19

Politico’s Dan Diamond tells WTOP former top Trump appointee Paul Alexander repeatedly urged top health officials to let millions of Americans be infected by the virus, in the name of “herd immunity.” (Listen below and read Dan’s article)
Republican senators seem reluctant to hold hearings for Joe Biden's people

Alayna Treene of Axios tells WTOP the GOP seems reluctant to hold hearings for Biden’s nominees before the inauguration
The FDA considers the Pfizer Covid vaccine

Health Affairs’ Alan Weil tells WTOP a coronavirus vaccine can be successful without everybody in the nation getting it (Read and listen below)
What were we searching for on Google in 2020?

Google’s Molly VandenBerg tells WTOP ‘election results’ was a bigger search topic than even ‘coronavirus’ this year (Listen below and read more here)
Facebook faces a barrage of antitrust lawsuits

WTOP Tech Guy Gregg Stebben responds to a WaPo report Facebook is being hit with antitrust cases from 40 states and the feds.
Should Metro sell its land?

Emily Hamilton tells WTOP Metro should sell the land surrounding its stations to solve its money problems
Get rid of your unused online accounts

Checkbook.org‘s Herb Weisbaum tells WTOP it’s time to delete your unused online accounts – or valuable data may be stolen (Listen below and read more at wtop.com)
Protect yourself while shopping online
(Getty Images)
Cybershopping records are being broken left and right during the pandemic – CyberScout’s Adam Levin tells WTOP there are a lot of online scams to look out for (Listen below and read about a new CyberScout/Harris Poll survey)
Is Warner Brothers killing movie theaters?

In a seismic shift Warner Brothers will stream all its 2021 new releases on HBO Max. Christian Toto joins WTOP to talk about whether this is the beginning of the end for going to the movies.
'Hillbilly Elegy' is worth a look

Christian Toto differs from many of his fellow critics by giving ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ on Netflix a pretty good grade – we also discussed ‘Uncle Frank’ (listen below and read other reviews of Hillbilly Elegy and Uncle Frank)
Debit cards can get you into trouble

Checkbook.org‘s Herb Weisbaum tells WTOP you’re much better off using credit cards for your holiday shopping (listen below and read Herb’s article)
Expect a coronavirus vaccine to be injected into your arm by May or so

Dr. Arthur Caplan tells WTOP how soon he thinks we’ll be able to get our Covid shots and start to live our lives again (Listen below and read about new coronavirus restrictions)
Leaving porch pirates empty-handed

SecurityNerd‘s Julie Ryan Evans tells WTOP – with record holiday package delivery this year – there are ways to make sure crooks don’t grab your gifts before you get home. (Listen below and read more here)
The Trump Administration's last-minute policy changes include federal executions

ProPublica’s Isaac Arnsdorf tells WTOP dozens of policy-changes are underway during the administration’s final weeks (Listen below and read Isaac’s article)
The pollster's dirty little secret

David Hill of Hill Research Consultants tells WTOP people generally won’t pick up the phone to talk to pollsters anymore, and that is making presidential polls less accurate (Listen below and read Hill’s op-ed here)
Waiting for the coronavirus vaccine

Yale’s Jason Schwartz, and colleagues, are writing about the biggest expected challenges related to the new Covid-19 vaccines. (Listen to Schwartz below, read their Health Affairs research and their USA Today op-ed)
Jackie Chan is back with 'Vanguard' - 'Wonder Woman 1984' comes to HBO Max this Christmas

Critic Christian Toto tells WTOP Chan’s film is terrible (check out the neutral NY Times review) while the Wonder Woman streaming release could change movie history
Sexual harassment allegations at a Washington Football Team foundation aimed at helping Native Americans

The Washington Post’s Will Hobson discusses his latest article outlining sexual harassment allegations against the WFT (listen below and read)
Routine election certification becomes anything but routine in Michigan

Journalist Kayla Ruble was in the room Tuesday night as two Republican members on Michigan’s Wayne County Board of Canvassers voted against certifying of the county’s votes — then abruptly reversed course amid heavy criticism. (Listen to Ruble below and read about how this process usually works)
'Fatman' is too heavy for its own good

Christian Toto reviews the new, dark, holiday comedy, starring Mel Gibson. He also tells us whether we should see ‘Come Away’ and ‘Freaky’ (listen below and read other reviews of Fatman – Come Away – Freaky)
The delayed presidential transition

Ten days after the election, President Trump refuses to concede. Read more here and listen below to Vice News Deputy DC Bureau Chief Todd Zwillich tell WTOP Republican Senators are saying one thing in front of the microphones and another behind the scenes.
Joe Biden's history

The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos talks to WTOP about his new book “Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now” and the difference between Biden’s failed presidential run in the late 80’s and now.
A new horror flick for Halloween 'Come Play'

Film Critic Christian Toto tells WTOP whether ‘Come Play’ is full of scares despite its PG-13 rating (Read his review and listen below)
The US is behind other countries in children's health

Princeton’s Janet Currie tells WTOP when it comes to supporting the health of children and families, what Americans say is not what we do. She writes about it in the latest issue of Health Affairs (listen below)
Record package delivery brings out the crooks

Checkbook.org‘s Herb Weisbaum says criminals know about all the packages we’re ordering and they’re trying to fool us. (Listen below and read here)
The Nissan Sentra grows up

WTOP Car Guy Mike Parris says this compact sedan has a lot more to offer than past models (Listen below and read here)
Fact-checking 2020's final presidential debate

The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler tells WTOP both candidates got their facts wrong but President Trump did it much more often (more from AP)
Borat returns to a changed America

Christian Toto reviews the Borat sequel ‘Subsequent Moviefilm’ on WTOP (listen below and check out AP’s take here)
Russia and Iran are interfering in the 2020 election

The U.S. intelligence community says threatening emails were sent by Iran, but made to look like they came from far-right American group Proud Boys. WTOP National Security Correspondent JJ Green talks about FBI promises that your vote WILL count, despite this interference.
New questions about some generic drugs

Generic drugs don’t always work as well as the brand names. Stanford medical professor Kevin Schulman found that out when his daughter’s ADHD medication was refilled. He writes about it in Health Affairs and shares with WTOP.