Topic: Knight Foundation

Several listeners are elevated to the knighthood, including Sir William Webb and Sir Kevin G. A donation from Randy Wallen highlights the J. Pastor Foundation, which supports first responders in honor of an Austin SWAT officer killed in 2023. Sir Scovey concluded a successful matching donation campaign, emphasizing the importance of kindness and generosity within the community.

Peggy Brittan is officially knighted as "Dame Ya Know" with a custom list of "hookers and blow" style requests. The hosts then discuss Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. They review her professional background at the Walmart Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, noting her influence in global development.

The Knight Foundation invests $1 million in the Radiotopia podcast network, signaling a shift toward commercial models in public radio. Ira Glass expresses hope for public radio to embrace capitalism and the free market, a move the hosts argue will compromise editorial integrity and destroy the traditional listener-supported model.

The Knight Foundation awarded a $50,000 "prototype grant" to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Drone Journalism Lab. Led by Professor Matt Waite, the project explores using unmanned aircraft for news gathering and data collection. The hosts criticize the grant as an "outrage," noting that the technology is inexpensive and that they have been performing "drone journalism" through reporting for years without funding.

The hosts briefly discuss a $5 million grant challenge from the Knight Foundation but decide against pursuing it to avoid editorial interference. They then analyze the media's attempt to demean the importance of caucus states, like Washington, because caucuses do not generate the same advertising revenue for media outlets as traditional primaries.

The Online News Association (ONA) held its 2011 awards in Boston, naming Randy Carvin the "Chuck Norris of Twitter" while granting top honors to major sponsors like the BBC and Al Jazeera. Analysis of sponsorship packages reveals that "Diamond" status costs $40,000, leading to claims that the awards are a pay-to-play marketing scheme rather than a merit-based journalism competition.

Code For America is criticized as an "Obama scam" designed to recruit tech talent for government projects. The hosts highlight the involvement of Tim O'Reilly, Mark Zuckerberg, and Biz Stone. They point to funding from the Rockefeller and Knight Foundations as evidence of an elitist agenda aimed at creating "Government 2.0" through smartphone applications.

John Matthews is dubbed a new "Knight" of the show after contributing over $1,000. The hosts read a list of donors from Alabama, Australia, and the Netherlands, including a "make good" for a donor in Auckland, New Zealand. The segment includes a brief discussion on the Polish pronunciation of the name Eisenstadt and a plug for the Creative Freedom Foundation.