Recommended podcast: Cable Barons (6:18)

Brooke Gladstone of On The Media interviews communication scholar Susan Crawford, author of "Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age."

Crawford opposes the Comcast takeover of Time Warner Cable, and it is not yet a done deal. She says its impact on the markets for content and equipment will be considered along with the ISP market.

Regardless of the Comcast takeover, the Crawford feels the ISP's local monopolies must be addressed through either regulation or alternative (local government) networks.