The official blurb:
“For the past two years, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ronan Farrow has been following a trail of clues from his investigation of Harvey Weinstein to other blockbuster stories about the systems that protect powerful men accused of terrible crimes in Hollywood, Washington, and beyond. But he didn’t bring that information to light on his own. A compelling cast of sources—from brave whistleblowers to shadowy undercover operatives—decided the fate of these investigations, sometimes risking everything in the process. The Catch and Kill Podcast brings you their stories, in their own words, for the first time.” From: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/pineapple-street-media/the-catch-and-kill-podcast#/
If you’re anything like me, you’d heard of Ronan Farrow via various threads. He’s son of actress Mia Farrow and his dogged investigative work uncovering allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein appeared in explosive articles in The New Yorker. He’s also engaged to one of my favourite podcasters, former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett, now part of Crooked Media. (I listen to Pod Save America regularly and might review that in a later post).
It’s Farrow’s investigative work which is the subject of this podcast. His New Yorker articles (which he alleges his former bosses at NBC tried to quash) are part of the fabric of the #metoo movement.
I always meant to read Farrow’s Catch and Kill book but didn’t get around to it, so I was excited when I saw a podcast was available. Farrow narrates over eight episodes, sharing what it was like to work on the Weinstein story, the barriers and challenges he faced – along with his team and supporters – and he airs interviews with the women who have stories to share.
I wasn’t sure how I might be impacted by the content of the show. It can be shocking, frustrating, upsetting and infuriating when you’re listening to stories of the alleged cover ups. But I’m glad I listened because Farrow shares important insights into how the mainstream media can work, and how powerful and wealthy people like Weinstein can employ a raft of methods to shut stories down.
The fascinating final two episodes of the season start to hone in on Donald Trump and the methods he and media pals have apparently been using for many years.
I’m now keen to delve into more of the shows from Pineapple Studios, including Missing Richard Simmons which I heard about years ago …
Michelle Prak Writer 