For today, links to a report, mini reviews, and an interview, all from National Public Radio, and to commentary from Kyiv Post; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (MEDIA 8-2-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  GAZA, WEST BANK, SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM AUG. 2  What’s it like to cover your own network when it is in the headlines? Reported by Scott Detrow and David Folkenflik | NPR  Folkenflik shares what it’s been like covering President Trump’s contentious relationship with the media, including public media and NPR itself. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM AUG. 2  What books to read this summer? NPR staff share their favorite recommendations. Barrie Hardymon, Sarah Handel, Andrew Limbong and Melissa Gray, all of NPR, take less than five minutes to recommend four novels — Animal Instinct, Audition, Darkenbloom and King of Ashes — from NPR’s  “Books We Love” list. Click HERE to listen and read, and HERE for a longer list of summer fiction, first aired on June 25.

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Memoir, biography or novel? Jason Mott leans into the confusion in his latest book, ‘People Like Us.’ Ayesha Rascoe of NPR talks with Jason Mott about his latest novel, “People Like Us,” which started out as a memoir. It turned into two parallel stories about two different writers in crisis. Click HERE later to listen and, still later, read.

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Press freedom in U.S. undermined by Trump administration, by Anders Aslund | Kyiv Post  In the 2025 Press Freedom Index of Reporters without Borders, the U.S. ranks 57! Below all EU countries apart from Trump’s favorite Hungary (#68). This situation has seriously deteriorated under Trump. For how long will the U.S. remain . . . READ MORE . . .

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