Question Everything with Brian Reed

KCRW & Placement Theory
Question Everything with Brian Reed

Telling the stories behind the stories that shape our world. Through gripping real-life accounts, strange thought experiments, and cathartic boozy discussions, Question Everything unravels and attempts to make sense of the messy, fascinating world of journalism 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. 

Episodes

  1. 44 MIN. AGO

    When Hollywood Tells The Truth: with Tom McCarthy, Antonio Campos, Tina Satter, and Tobias Lindholm.

    Four Hollywood directors gather after hours at a wine shop to drink and commiserate about the perils – and power – that come when you’re straddling fact and fiction. With behind the scenes stories about documentary romance, regret, and pirates. Featuring Tom McCartney, who won an Oscar for Spotlight; Antonio Campos, creator of The Staircase for HBO; Tina Satter, who directed and co-wrote Reality starring Sydney Sweeney; and Tobias Lindholm, director and writer of HBO’s The Investigation. As we know alcohol is not always conducive to factual precision, so here are some corrections and clarifications from our fact-checker, Maggie. Though honestly the crew this time did impressively well! All we have is that the name of the New York Magazine story that inspired Tina Satter to dramatize Reality Winner is called “The World’s Biggest Terrorist Has a Pikachu Bedspread" (not “America’s Biggest Terrorist Has a Pikachu Bedspread”). And it was a National Security Agency contractor, not a former FBI agent, who alerted the FBI about Reality’s leak. Here’s the NY Mag story. And here’s a Vanity Fair interview with Sophie, the editor of The Staircase documentary. “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Featuring Tom McCartney, who won an Oscar for Spotlight; Antonio Campos, creator of The Staircase for HBO; Tina Satter, who directed and co-wrote Reality starring Sydney Sweeney; and Tobias Lindholm, director and writer of HBO’s The Investigation. As we know alcohol is not always conducive to factual precision, so here are some corrections and clarifications from our fact-checker, Maggie. Though honestly the crew this time did impressively well! All we have is that the name of the New York Magazine story that inspired Tina Satter to dramatize Reality Winner is called “The World’s Biggest Terrorist Has a Pikachu Bedspread" (not “America’s Biggest Terrorist Has a Pikachu Bedspread”). And it was a National Security Agency contractor, not a former FBI agent, who alerted the FBI about Reality’s leak. Here’s the NY Mag story. And here’s a Vanity Fair interview with Sophie, the editor of The Staircase documentary. “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    50 min

  2. DEC 5

    Can AI tell us what stories to look out for? A live experiment.

    Our team at Question Everything has been playing around with a new technology that sucks up tons of social media posts, and then uses AI to figure out what ideas are forming in the shadows of the internet before they hit the mainstream. Brian interviews a journalist who uses this tech, to see what conversations are brewing right now that we might want to keep an eye out for in the coming weeks. “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    32 min

  3. NOV 21

    Getting Ready to Interview Trump: An Exercise

    We hire a freelancer to research every comment Donald Trump has made about the press. He ends up telling his wrestling buddy about the assignment, and using it to see if he can get him to trust in journalism. You can find more work by Sam Eagan here. “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    41 min

  4. NOV 5

    Special Election-Eve Episode: The Story of a Story Untold

    A special election-eve episode from Brian: Ruminations on a story that never was, and a late night conversation with the source he was supposed to make it about.  “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    21 min

  5. OCT 24

    When To Call A Thing What It Is

    Did you hear us on This American Life? Keep listening as Brian stops doomscrolling and starts doom-living. He brings two journalists he saw duking it out on Twitter into a studio, where they debate how to report on lies and racism in the Trump era. Then he finds a journalist who’s putting their big theoretical questions into practice – at a personal cost – as she covers one of the most messed up stories of the election cycle.  Watch the unedited conversation between Jeff Jarvis and David Folkenflik. Subscribe to the Question Everything newsletter: https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/question-everything “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    40 min

  6. OCT 10

    Can Journalism Save a Marriage? (featured on This American Life)

    A married couple finds themselves fighting miserably over the news. So they set out on a quest for the seemingly impossible: to find a news source that both a self-admitted “bleeding heart liberal” and a Trump supporter can trust. Check out Tangle News here.  “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    33 min

  7. SEP 26

    The Journalist and the Firefighter: How Predicting January 6 Led a Top Reporter to Quit Journalism

    How one of the most accomplished reporters of our time, Barton Gellman, lost his confidence in journalism. Sign up for our newsletter to hear the one outtake from the interview that Brian wished he could get into the episode, but couldn’t.  “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    42 min

  8. SEP 12

    Journalists Question Everything: Ira Glass, Zoe Chace, Jonathan Eig, Astead Herndon

    Brian puts four journalists together in a room, gives them drinks, and starts rolling tape. Their only instructions: show up with questions for each other and be ready to talk candidly about the challenges in their jobs. Foremost on their minds: Why do people even share their stories with journalists in the first place? You can watch this whole episode on YouTube! And subscribe to the Question Everything newsletter.  You can hear Ira Glass and Zoe Chace on “This American Life”.  Astead Herndon hosts “The Run Up” for the New York Times.  Jonathan Eig’s book about Martin Luther King, Jr. is called “King: A Life”.  Since drinking and talking off the cuff doesn’t always result in the most precise utterances, here are a few corrections and clarifications from our fact-checker: In Astead’s story about the anti-immigrant group in St. Cloud, Minnesota, the quote was “These people aren’t coming from Norway,” not “Sweden.” The book Jonathan mentioned about adolescent cellphone addiction, by Jonathan Haidt, is called The Anxious Generation. There were a few people we were unable to track down to confirm the details of the stories told about them: the two police officers Jonathan mentioned, and the source’s family member who Astead said complained to him about his reporting.   “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min

  9. SEP 12

    S-Town Host Brian Reed Meets His Harshest Critic

    Brian talks to a fellow journalist who called his most well-known work “morally indefensible.” You can read Gay Alcorn’s column here. Subscribe to our newsletter to read Gay’s full reaction to this episode.  You can listen to S-Town here.  If you’re having thoughts of suicide, please reach out for help by dialing 988 or clicking here.  “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    49 min

  10. AUG 30

    Question Everything Trailer

    Journalist Brian Reed of S-Town is questioning everything, even his own work. Season premiere Sept 12. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    2 min
  • 10 Episodes

4.5
out of 5
257 Ratings

About

Telling the stories behind the stories that shape our world. Through gripping real-life accounts, strange thought experiments, and cathartic boozy discussions, Question Everything unravels and attempts to make sense of the messy, fascinating world of journalism 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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