It’s easy to get frustrated with the charade reporters are supposed to keep up, where they pretend they don’t have opinions or feelings or any kind of human thoughts about a story they’re telling. Plenty of journalists have been trying to break out of that charade. But the decision to do that: it can be a fraught one, with real implications. Dana Ballout struggled with this on a story she was investigating about Hassan Diab – a sociology professor who’s living as a free man in Canada, yet is convicted of a terrible crime in France. Dana and her co-host Alex Atack open up about their reporting on the series The Copernic Affair, and why Dana ultimately cut her own opinions out of the show, even though her co-host and editors wanted to include them.  And this prompts Brian to revisit his own experience dropping the charade in a previous podcast he made with Hamza Syed, for The New York Times and Serial: The Trojan Horse Affair.  You can check out The Copernic Affair wherever you get your podcasts or at <a href="https://www.canadaland.com/shows/the-copernic-affair/">https://www.canadaland.com/shows/the-copernic-affair/</a>. Same with The Trojan Horse Affair: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/podcasts/trojan-horse-affair.html">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/podcasts/trojan-horse-affair.html</a> To get the phrase from Hamza’s interview that we’re asking people to remix into something danceable, sign up for Brian’s newsletter here:<a href="http://www.kcrw.com/questioneverything"> www.kcrw.com/questioneverything</a> “Question Everything” is a production of<a href="http://www.kcrw.org/"> KCRW</a> and<a href="http://www.placementtheory.com/"> Placement Theory</a>. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

<description>It’s easy to get frustrated with the charade reporters are supposed to keep up, where they pretend they don’t have opinions or feelings or any kind of human thoughts about a story they’re telling. Plenty of journalists have been trying to break out of that charade. But the decision to do that: it can be a fraught one, with real implications.

Dana Ballout struggled with this on a story she was investigating about Hassan Diab – a sociology professor who’s living as a free man in Canada, yet is convicted of a terrible crime in France. Dana and her co-host Alex Atack open up about their reporting on the series The Copernic Affair, and why Dana ultimately cut her own opinions out of the show, even though her co-host and editors wanted to include them. 

And this prompts Brian to revisit his own experience dropping the charade in a previous podcast he made with Hamza Syed, for The New York Times and Serial: The Trojan Horse Affair. 

You can check out The Copernic Affair wherever you get your podcasts or at https://www.canadaland.com/shows/the-copernic-affair/.

Same with The Trojan Horse Affair: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/podcasts/trojan-horse-affair.html

To get the phrase from Hamza’s interview that we’re asking people to remix into something danceable, sign up for Brian’s newsletter here: www.kcrw.com/questioneverything

“Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</description>

A reporter questions whether to drop the veneer of neutrality.

It’s easy to get frustrated with the charade reporters are supposed to keep up, where they pretend they don’t have opinions or feelings or any kind of human thoughts about a story they’re telling. Plenty of journalists have been trying to break out of that charade. But the decision to do that: it can be a fraught one, with real implications.

Dana Ballout struggled with this on a story she was investigating about Hassan Diab – a sociology professor who’s living as a free man in Canada, yet is convicted of a terrible crime in France. Dana and her co-host Alex Atack open up about their reporting on the series The Copernic Affair, and why Dana ultimately cut her own opinions out of the show, even though her co-host and editors wanted to include them. 

And this prompts Brian to revisit his own experience dropping the charade in a previous podcast he made with Hamza Syed, for The New York Times and Serial: The Trojan Horse Affair. 

You can check out The Copernic Affair wherever you get your podcasts or at https://www.canadaland.com/shows/the-copernic-affair/.

Same with The Trojan Horse Affair: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/podcasts/trojan-horse-affair.html

To get the phrase from Hamza’s interview that we’re asking people to remix into something danceable, sign up for Brian’s newsletter here: www.kcrw.com/questioneverything

“Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Rant or a Slant: When Should Reporters Speak From the Heart?

Do you have questions for us? If so, we want to talk to you! If you have thoughts about Question Everything, critiques of our episodes, or anything you're curious about, that we're covering, or not covering…please tell us. We want to set up some conversations between listeners and Brian and our staff for an upcoming episode. Write to us at <a href="mailto:hey@placementtheory.com">hey@placementtheory.com</a> and someone from our staff may reach out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

<description>Do you have questions for us? If so, we want to talk to you! 

If you have thoughts about Question Everything, critiques of our episodes, or anything you're curious about, that we're covering, or not covering…please tell us. We want to set up some conversations between listeners and Brian and our staff for an upcoming episode. Write to us at hey@placementtheory.com and someone from our staff may reach out.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</description>

Send us your questions.

Do you have questions for us? If so, we want to talk to you! 

If you have thoughts about Question Everything, critiques of our episodes, or anything you're curious about, that we're covering, or not covering…please tell us. We want to set up some conversations between listeners and Brian and our staff for an upcoming episode. Write to us at hey@placementtheory.com and someone from our staff may reach out.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you want to be on Question Everything? 

Journalists jailed for an article they published. In America. How did this happen? Brian tells the story of a reporting trip he took to Alabama, where two small-town journalists had been locked up, which led to one of the most honest - and surprising - conversations about journalism he’s had in a long time.  Sign up for our newsletter to see some stories and pictures from a recent event Brian held in Alabama about his podcast S-Town. Including a photo of an S-Town inspired tattoo somebody was eager to show him. <a href="http://www.kcrw.com/questioneverything">www.kcrw.com/questioneverything</a> “Question Everything” is a production of <a href="http://www.kcrw.org/">KCRW</a> and <a href="http://www.placementtheory.com/">Placement Theory</a>. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

<description>Journalists jailed for an article they published. In America. How did this happen? 

Brian tells the story of a reporting trip he took to Alabama, where two small-town journalists had been locked up, which led to one of the most honest - and surprising - conversations about journalism he’s had in a long time. 

Sign up for our newsletter to see some stories and pictures from a recent event Brian held in Alabama about his podcast S-Town. Including a photo of an S-Town inspired tattoo somebody was eager to show him. www.kcrw.com/questioneverything

“Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</description>

A heart-to-heart at a bbq restaurant in Alabama.

Journalists jailed for an article they published. In America. How did this happen? 

Brian tells the story of a reporting trip he took to Alabama, where two small-town journalists had been locked up, which led to one of the most honest - and surprising - conversations about journalism he’s had in a long time. 

Sign up for our newsletter to see some stories and pictures from a recent event Brian held in Alabama about his podcast S-Town. Including a photo of an S-Town inspired tattoo somebody was eager to show him. www.kcrw.com/questioneverything

“Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Teen, a Reporter, and a Grand Jury Leak (Over BBQ)

As trust in traditional journalism plummets, social media content creator V Spehar of Under the Desk News is ascendant, with over 3.4 million TikTok followers. But recently, V found themself in a public dustup with NPR over, in part, how the outlet had classified V in an interview. In this special episode of Question Everything–largely recorded live at On Air Fest–Brian and V take the stage to explore the tensions between traditional and non-traditional journalism, and what the two can learn from each other. Since talking off the cuff live on stage doesn’t always result in the most precise utterances, here are a few additional corrections and clarifications we didn’t address directly in the episode:While live on stage, V said that TikTok is owned “mostly by the richest man in Philadelphia, Mr. Jeffrey Yass.” In fact, Yass’ personal share in TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, is 7%, worth roughly $21 billion. Regarding the stat in the Under the Desk News video stating “every school in America gets about 20 percent of their total school budget from the federal government,” in reality, public schools may get as little as 0% or as much as 75% of their funding from federal sources, depending on the district. The Pew Research referenced in the conversation shows that 1 in 5 Americans get their news from online news influencers, and 54% of Americans get their news at least sometimes from social media.In on of the Under the Desk News TikTok videos we played, when V's talking about possible effects on taxes as a result of cutting the Department of Education, they said "I don't know a whole lot of people who can afford for their mortgage to go up 20%." However, we'd like to clarify that a 20% rise in property tax does not necessarily mean a 20% rise in mortgage.And lastly: Senator Tammy Duckworth has fought for about a dozen federal employees fired from the Veteran’s Crisis Line to get their jobs back, and not employees solely from her state, Illinois. We reached out to V’s father to confirm their conversation about the possible effects of cuts to the Department of Education, but he didn’t want to comment. Sign up for our newsletter:<a href="http://www.kcrw.com/questioneverything"> www.kcrw.com/questioneverything</a>“Question Everything” is a production of<a href="http://www.kcrw.org/"> KCRW</a> and <a href="http://www.placementtheory.com/">Placement Theory</a>. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

<description>As trust in traditional journalism plummets, social media content creator V Spehar of Under the Desk News is ascendant, with over 3.4 million TikTok followers. But recently, V found themself in a public dustup with NPR over, in part, how the outlet had classified V in an interview. In this special episode of Question Everything–largely recorded live at On Air Fest–Brian and V take the stage to explore the tensions between traditional and non-traditional journalism, and what the two can learn from each other.

Since talking off the cuff live on stage doesn’t always result in the most precise utterances, here are a few additional corrections and clarifications we didn’t address directly in the episode:
While live on stage, V said that TikTok is owned “mostly by the richest man in Philadelphia, Mr. Jeffrey Yass.” In fact, Yass’ personal share in TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, is 7%, worth roughly $21 billion. 
Regarding the stat in the Under the Desk News video stating “every school in America gets about 20 percent of their total school budget from the federal government,” in reality, public schools may get as little as 0% or as much as 75% of their funding from federal sources, depending on the district. 
The Pew Research referenced in the conversation shows that 1 in 5 Americans get their news from online news influencers, and 54% of Americans get their news at least sometimes from social media.
In on of the Under the Desk News TikTok videos we played, when V's talking about possible effects on taxes as a result of cutting the Department of Education, they said "I don't know a whole lot of people who can afford for their mortgage to go up 20%." However, we'd like to clarify that a 20% rise in property tax does not necessarily mean a 20% rise in mortgage.
And lastly: Senator Tammy Duckworth has fought for about a dozen federal employees fired from the Veteran’s Crisis Line to get their jobs back, and not employees solely from her state, Illinois. 
We reached out to V’s father to confirm their conversation about the possible effects of cuts to the Department of Education, but he didn’t want to comment.

Sign up for our newsletter: www.kcrw.com/questioneverything
“Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</description>

A live conversation with a top TikTok creator about how they deliver the news.

As trust in traditional journalism plummets, social media content creator V Spehar of Under the Desk News is ascendant, with over 3.4 million TikTok followers. But recently, V found themself in a public dustup with NPR over, in part, how the outlet had classified V in an interview. In this special episode of Question Everything–largely recorded live at On Air Fest–Brian and V take the stage to explore the tensions between traditional and non-traditional journalism, and what the two can learn from each other.

Since talking off the cuff live on stage doesn’t always result in the most precise utterances, here are a few additional corrections and clarifications we didn’t address directly in the episode:
While live on stage, V said that TikTok is owned “mostly by the richest man in Philadelphia, Mr. Jeffrey Yass.” In fact, Yass’ personal share in TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, is 7%, worth roughly $21 billion. 
Regarding the stat in the Under the Desk News video stating “every school in America gets about 20 percent of their total school budget from the federal government,” in reality, public schools may get as little as 0% or as much as 75% of their funding from federal sources, depending on the district. 
The Pew Research referenced in the conversation shows that 1 in 5 Americans get their news from online news influencers, and 54% of Americans get their news at least sometimes from social media.
In on of the Under the Desk News TikTok videos we played, when V's talking about possible effects on taxes as a result of cutting the Department of Education, they said "I don't know a whole lot of people who can afford for their mortgage to go up 20%." However, we'd like to clarify that a 20% rise in property tax does not necessarily mean a 20% rise in mortgage.
And lastly: Senator Tammy Duckworth has fought for about a dozen federal employees fired from the Veteran’s Crisis Line to get their jobs back, and not employees solely from her state, Illinois. 
We reached out to V’s father to confirm their conversation about the possible effects of cuts to the Department of Education, but he didn’t want to comment.

Sign up for our newsletter: www.kcrw.com/questioneverything
“Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The News is Coming from Under the Desk… on TikTok (live from On Air Fest)

As billionaires hoard more control over our politics, it seems more important than ever to ask: What makes them tick? Four reporters gather after hours at a wine shop to discuss – over drinks – what they’ve learned from covering billionaires for years, and how it can help us hoi polloi make sense of what the ultra-rich are doing right now.Featuring Vicky Ward, who has covered the Kushner family and Trump, and who, in 2002, was the first journalist to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s finances in a profile for Vanity Fair; John Hyatt, who covers billionaires, with a focus on Elon Musk, for Forbes; Douglas Rushkoff, who's written about tech billionaires preparing for the end of the world; and Edward Ongweso, Jr., who covers the impact of the exponential growth of large tech companies for outlets like Vice and The Nation. (Douglas Rushkoff said in our conversation that his trip to a hedge fund conference in the desert happened in 2018, but the trip was actually in 2017.)Sign up for our newsletter: <a href="http://www.kcrw.com/questioneverything">www.kcrw.com/questioneverything</a>“Question Everything” is a production of <a href="http://www.kcrw.org/">KCRW</a> and<a href="http://www.placementtheory.com/"> Placement Theory</a>. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

<description>As billionaires hoard more control over our politics, it seems more important than ever to ask: What makes them tick? Four reporters gather after hours at a wine shop to discuss – over drinks – what they’ve learned from covering billionaires for years, and how it can help us hoi polloi make sense of what the ultra-rich are doing right now.
Featuring Vicky Ward, who has covered the Kushner family and Trump, and who, in 2002, was the first journalist to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s finances in a profile for Vanity Fair; John Hyatt, who covers billionaires, with a focus on Elon Musk, for Forbes; Douglas Rushkoff, who's written about tech billionaires preparing for the end of the world; and Edward Ongweso, Jr., who covers the impact of the exponential growth of large tech companies for outlets like Vice and The Nation. 
(Douglas Rushkoff said in our conversation that his trip to a hedge fund conference in the desert happened in 2018, but the trip was actually in 2017.)
Sign up for our newsletter: www.kcrw.com/questioneverything
“Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</description>

Unpacking the worldviews of the ultra-wealthy.

As billionaires hoard more control over our politics, it seems more important than ever to ask: What makes them tick? Four reporters gather after hours at a wine shop to discuss – over drinks – what they’ve learned from covering billionaires for years, and how it can help us hoi polloi make sense of what the ultra-rich are doing right now.
Featuring Vicky Ward, who has covered the Kushner family and Trump, and who, in 2002, was the first journalist to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s finances in a profile for Vanity Fair; John Hyatt, who covers billionaires, with a focus on Elon Musk, for Forbes; Douglas Rushkoff, who's written about tech billionaires preparing for the end of the world; and Edward Ongweso, Jr., who covers the impact of the exponential growth of large tech companies for outlets like Vice and The Nation. 
(Douglas Rushkoff said in our conversation that his trip to a hedge fund conference in the desert happened in 2018, but the trip was actually in 2017.)
Sign up for our newsletter: www.kcrw.com/questioneverything
“Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not Like Us: How Billionaires Think

Propagandist? Truth teller? Influencer? Question Everything unravels the contested work of journalists and the moral complexities surrounding the stories that impact us all. 

Hosted by Brian Reed (S-Town, This American Life, The Trojan Horse Affair). 

For outtakes and an inside peek inside the editorial conundrums that confront journalists every day, sign up for our newsletter at www.kcrw.com/questioneverything.

Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. 

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