‘I Believed Sandy Hook Was a Hoax’

Kate grew up believing the Sandy Hook school shooting was an elaborate false flag operation. For years she thought the 20 elementary school children and six educators who were killed that day did not actually die, but were played by crisis actors. And then, one day – in a matter of minutes – suddenly Kate realized how wrong she was.  Brian talks to Kate about what it’s like to realize you believed something so obviously wrong, so deeply damaging, for so long. And he argues that her story is a case study for reforming Section 230 – the 1996 law that gives tech companies massive immunity from getting sued over what people post. Without that law, platforms like YouTube, which amplified the lies about Sandy Hook that Kate once believed, could be taken to court by the Sandy Hook families.  Check out our Substack, with more reporting on the war on truth, free speech, and tech companies’ role in it all.  “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Guests:Kate, a former conspiracy believer Dr. Joan Donovan, disinformation scholar and Director of the Critical Internet Studies Institute at Boston University

This episode of Death, Sex, and Money is a recommendation from our contributing editor Jen Kinney.  When blogger AJ Daulerio broke the Brett Favre sexting scandal in 2010, it became one of the biggest stories of his career. But it came at a cost: he had betrayed Jenn Sterger, the woman at the center of the story, who had confided in him as a friend and explicitly asked him not to name her. The fallout was immediate and lasting. Jenn became the target of relentless online harassment and scrutiny that has followed her for 15 years. AJ went on to face his own reckoning when his aggressive tabloid journalism eventually led to Gawker's bankruptcy, which upended his career. In this episode of the podcast Death, Sex, and Money, both AJ and Jenn reflect on the toxic incentives of viral journalism, the lasting trauma of unwanted internet fame, and how a stray dog unexpectedly brought them back into contact after nearly a decade of silence. AJ now writes a newsletter and hosts a podcast about recovery called The Small Bow and writes an addiction advice column for Slate called Ask A.J. You can hear more of Jenn on her podcast, Not Today... with Eddie Pence and Jenn Sterger. Thanks to “Death, Sex & Money” for sharing this episode with us.

Two veteran journalists set out to document Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system: hospitals attacked, medical workers killed, doctors detained without charge. The BBC commissioned the film. Then pulled it. Sometimes killing a story is routine. Sometimes it’s a scandal, even immoral. In this episode, producer Sophie Kazis pulls back the curtain, and goes inside the edits, the delays, and the mounting pressure that shaped the fate of this film.  You can watch the film the BBC wouldn’t air, “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” on Zeteo.com. “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter.   Guests:  Ramita Navai: Award-winning British-Iranian investigative journalist, documentary maker and author. Ben de Pear: Award-winning British journalist; former editor, Channel 4 News; founder and executive producer, Basement Films.  

When late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was forced off the air, it raised huge questions about who really controls what we’re allowed to say. From billionaires and politicians to social media platforms and regulators, the boundaries of free speech in America are being redrawn in real time. To get a sense of the country’s mood, host Brian Reed goes to the Iowa State Fair – a carnival of fried food, political rallies, and raw opinions. What he finds – people are depressed. And they have reason to be. At the heart of the discontentment is the way social media and misinformation online is spreading hate and dividing the country.  From the fairgrounds to the halls of Congress, Brian traces it all back to a little-known law from 1996 that gives Big Tech sweeping immunity. The law makes it so social media companies can’t be sued for what happens on their platforms.  And Brian comes away with a renewed sense of purpose. Change. This. Law.  Check out our Substack, with more reporting on the war on truth, free speech, and tech companies’ role in it all.  “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.

Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes have been picked apart in headlines, documentaries, and endless conspiracy theories. And yet there have continued to be shocking new revelations in the story this year, as President Trump’s base has pressured him to release the government’s files about Epstein.  In this episode of Question Everything, host Brian Reed brings together the reporters who know the case best – along with one of their Trump-supporting producers – for drinks and a candid, no-holds-barred conversation. They compare notes, challenge each other’s assumptions, and reveal what it really takes to separate fact from rumor in a story that has tested the limits of journalism. It’s one of the most provocative and confronting discussions Brian’s ever hosted about power, accountability and what’s at stake when the media goes up against billionaires and their networks. Check out our Substack, by the way, where we get into juicy behind the scenes details and other good stuff from our episodes.  “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Drinking and fact-checking don’t always go hand in hand, so clarifying and correcting a few statements from the conversation here – which honestly in themselves give a sense of just how many crannies of global power the tendrils of the Epstein story reach into.  We reached out to Anouska De Georgiou to see if she wanted to comment, but we didn’t hear back.  Leslie Wexner is not the founder of Victoria’s Secret – he bought the company in 1982, and he said Jeffrey Epstein had stolen $46 million from him, not $60 million. Meanwhile investor Leon Black paid Epstein $170 million for supposed tax advice – not $160 million.  Virginia Giuffre sued Prince Andrew as an individual, not the Crown itself. Tara Palmeri’s reporting that Elon Musk dm’d Virgina Giuffre saying Trump would release the files is based on Virginia telling her this – Tara didn’t see the DM.  At one point, Eric says that in 2015, Roger Stone called Epstein’s island a “democrat orgy island”. Really, Stone wrote a book excoriating the Clintons called The Clinton’s War on Women, and there’s a chapter in there called Orgy Island, which highlights Bill Clinton’s friendship with Epstein. So Roger Stone didn’t call Epstein’s island a democrat orgy island. Just “orgy island”.  And last, but not least: the pope who was in a picture with Jeffrey Epstein, which was displayed on Epstein’s credenza, was John Paul II.

We're back. September 25th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back. September 25th.

A KCRW listener weighed in with some criticism on Substack. Brian (our host) got involved. Some advice for journalists ensued. It ended up inspiring an entire segment on KCRW’s show Left, Right & Center, which we’re sharing with you here. This is the kind of action that’s happening over on our new Substack – which you should subscribe to! If you do, we’ll enter you in a lottery to join us at the next taping we do at Bibber & Bell Wine Shop in Brooklyn. We’re getting together reporters there in a couple weeks who are all covering the Jeffrey Epstein story as it has burst back into the news and is threatening Donald Trump. If you want a chance to eavesdrop on the conversation from the storage area in the back with our sound guy – sign up at questioneverything.substack.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A listener weighed in with some criticism on Substack. Brian (our host) got involved. Some advice for journalists ensued. It ended up inspiring an entire segment on KCRW’s show Left, Right & Center, which we’re sharing with you here. This is the kind of action that’s happening over on our new Substack – which you should subscribe to! If you do, we’ll enter you in a lottery to join us at the next taping we do at Bibber & Bell Wine Shop in Brooklyn. We’re getting together reporters who are all covering the Jeffrey Epstein story as it has burst back into the news and is threatening Donald Trump. A couple of you can eavesdrop on the conversation from the storage area in the back with our sound guy – sign up at questioneverything.substack.com.  

After her NPR show was canceled some years back, producer and host Yowei Shaw gave herself a new title: “Emotional Investigative Journalist.” She started a podcast called Proxy, where she helps people who are facing unique emotional or personal obstacles by connecting them with a proxy who’s uniquely positioned to help them. Our host, Brian, recently went on Proxy, and got help with a problem of his own: something he’s been struggling with involving a member of his family. Here are the caregiving resources from Claudia Drossel. Listen to Proxy with Yowei Shaw. Follow them on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices