Reading the Pictures produces two video programs. Chatting the Pictures is a biweekly, highly-edited 10-minute webcast featuring publisher Michael Shaw and visual academic Cara Finnegan analyzing 3 key news photographs. The Reading the Pictures Salon is a panel discussion concerned with how the media and social media visually frame key social and cultural issues.
Latest Video
Chatting the Pictures: A Portrait that Dares to Expose Musk’s Madness
We do a deep dive into a daring photo that reflects Elon Musk as a supervillain and potentially mentally disturbed. Continue Reading
Chatting the Pictures: Coexisting with a Steadily Rising Sea
In the video, we contrast the vibrant elements of this Javanese portrait with the irony and cultural loss from the advance of climate change.
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Chatting the Pictures: The Climate’s Dark Harvest
As striking as it is ominous, this disorienting photo is a powerful indictment of the social and environmental impact of extreme heat.
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Chatting the Pictures: The Fate of Twitter in a Single Shot
In the video, we into the symbolism of the dismembered logo, the visual dynamics of the replacement “X,” and the live bird and the “BlueSky.“
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Chatting the Pictures: Israel’s “Democracy SOS”
We note the scale and urgency of the "judicial coup" protests in Israel and their failure to garner international attention.
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Chatting the Pictures: NYC’s Children of the Smoke
The sight of smoke descending on NYC was otherworldly. The emotional fallout from the Canadian wildfires, especially on children, was also.
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Chatting the Pictures is a lively, highly edited look at key news photographs. Co-hosts Michael Shaw, publisher of Reading the Pictures, and writer and historian, Cara Finnegan, meet to discuss three prominent photos in the recent news. You can find all the Chatting the Pictures replays here.
The Reading the Pictures Salon analyzes 8-9 carefully researched photos chosen for theme and depth of content. Each 90-minute panel is made up of leading photographers, photo editors, visual academics and other experts experienced in the subject.
Since 2008, we have produced 29 Salons working with sponsors such as Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the Open Society Foundation. We have covered topics from social justice to political campaigns to foreign policy. For examples, take a look at: The Visual Representation of the US/Mexico Border Wall in the Media; How Science is Pictured in the Media and Public Culture; The Visual Framing of the Migrant Crisis; The Visual Framing of Surveillance; The Debate Over White House Photo Access; The Picture from Syria; or The War on Women. Each post contains a full replay of the broadcast, along with 2-3 minute highlight videos from each photo discussed. You can find all the full salons here.