Good evening everybody. Thank you very much for your patience, im Bradley Graham the coowner of politics and prose along with my alyssa and on behalf of everyone here at lister auditorium, welcome. Thank you. So much for coming. We pmp have been partnering eith gw for a number of years now, sponsoring these author talks, and we are really grateful to have access to such a spacious and convenient facility here in the center of washington. We are also grateful for the support from all of you. We know you have choices on where to buy books these days and we would like to thank you for choosing to shop with the local independent bookstore. [applause] its especially exciting to be hosting ronan farrow here thise evening. He is here course to talk about his new book catch and kill. It has been two years since ronan wrote in the new yorker and jodi is riding in the new york times. Its been two years since they publish their separate exposes about Sexual Assault and harassment allegations against movie producer Harry Weinstein , those stories encourage many women around the world to come forward against other powerful and privileged and previously protected men, and help give rise to the me too semovement. In both the new yorker and the time subsequently we shared last years Pulitzer Prize for public service. Which honored. [applause] the award honoring the courageous breakthrough reporting of ronan, joey, and megan. And catch and kill, ronan recounts his part of breaking the feinstein story and the institutional resistance attempted to imitate, and the threats he faced in doing so. But the book which contains additional o revelations is not just the work of investigative journalism, but it is itself a compelling and constructive pot spy story ronan not only writes about the extreme tactics taken by einstein, the poet he about a full on espionage organization. But he also described actions by executives that nbc news were ronan initially pursued the story to keep it from being broadcast. Now i am not giving away any spoilers because this is been widely reported since the books release, but ronan speculates that nbcs behavior was motivated by a desire to protect matt lauer who was himself accused of misconduct and let go. In the interest of fairness, i would say nbc denies that he be that block the investigations ander tried to cover up lowers can conduct. Ronan stand by his account and the controversy is certainly been very revealing and riveting book. Ronan is of course accustomed to public attention having lived the sort of boy wonder existence. He was a set of mia farrow and woody allen, he started college at age 11 and graduated at 15. Admitted tl loss delayed entry to work as a unicef spokesman for youth. After graduating from law school 281 he joined the state department to work for Richard Holbrook focusing on ngos in pakistan, and later became the secretary of one of clintons special advisers for global 2012 he went off to oxford on a rose scholarship. In 2014 nbc signed into a contract and landing him at age 26 his own daytime msn program. The show lasted a year, but the network kept ronan on as a correspondent. On in 2017 after nbcs lack of support for his pursuit of weinstein, he took the story to the new yorker and finished it there. Last year, he came out with a wellreceived book, war on peace, romancing the decline of u. S. Diplomacy. In earlier this year he got a phd on International Relations from oxford. All of that and ronan has yet to turn 32. [applause] [cheering] ronan will be in conversations form a federal prosecutor who now serves as cohost of abcs daytime talk show the view. And she is senior Legal Correspondent analyst for abc news. So the also hosted executive producers truth about murder by which is about to start on the paid tv network heinvestigation discovery, where she will be highlighting stories of victims and their loved ones. So lady in general please join me in and welcoming ronan and sonny. [applause] [cheering] thank you guys. Thank you. Thank you for doing this honey, i mean when ronan asked me to it be here, i was thrilled. Because i am a big fan and this book is incredible. It is incredible. Thank you. Is incredible so lets get right in. Lets do it and as we launch into the conversation i would just want to say, i asked and was really excited and hoping you could do it because sonny has been such a powerful voice on this. I dont know if youve seen the way she speaks up about issues of Sexual Violence and how it gets covered up by powerful people on the view, including a contentious conversation sometimes. Its really in porton and it shows guts and the whole history as a prosecutor and its i am honored you are here. Thank you, thank you. [applause] lets talk about the allegations about the former today show anchor matt lauer. And that made a lot of news nbc claim that lauer was fired in 2017 for inappropriate Sexual Conduct and workplace workplace. And they only found out about it very shortly before he was fired. But in the book, you write that they knew about his behavior for a long time. So i think its important toor note here there are very salacious headlines on individual allegations. And that is not incorrect that those get a lot of attention, very serious claims. They should start a conversation, but what is uncovered in this book and documented in a very careful fact checked away is much biggerer than any one network star, network executive, anyone network. It is about patterns of coverups in corporate america. In the way in which people get hurt. We if problems are swept under the rug with payouts and nondisclosure agreements finstead of addressed. We talked about the several times now, it was a component of the Harvey Weinstein case, its a component of their reporting it in on cbs news and its a component i did on the reporting on nbc news. This is a company that it previously claimed there were no Sexual Harassment settlements within the company and a 67 year. Their general counsel and said that. And a document in this book, paper trail of a least seven settlements in multiple people involved i in each were Sexual Harassment settlements where women had complaints about matt lauer and others. Years before matt lauers firing. Years before . Years before. And i talked at senior level who are warned about a problem of matt lauer, and this is not just coming about me and my reporting this is something that ann curry had said with the leadership of this company. And that checks out with the reporting here. And again, the. Here is bigger than this company. It is about people getting hurt when these problems are not confronted. Now my understanding is that rather than call them settlement agreements, theyy were called enhance severance agreements. Yes they areme enhanced severance. What is that mean . Will thats a good question. El these are the kinds of euphemisms and contortions that you see when a problem is been covered up. And nbc news three bottles to all of this are woven into the book and you can judge the facts for yourself against their responses. And they continue to claim that these really were severance packages and they just paid this woman seven figures vastly more than someone would normally get departing the company. And coincidentally she also had a Sexual Harassment complaint. All coincidences, you know while we rely on the Fact Checkers to make sure to put those responses in there. Its a very fair to nbc and other parties i report on here. Its worths noting that this is what a coverup looks like. It is euphemisms. It is terms that allow you to avoid saying what the thing actually is. You know as an attorney and a former prosecutor when there is a Sexual Harassment, or Sexual Violence issue, it doesnt say in big bold letters, this woman was abused by this person on next date. It just bound someone to silence and tries to talk around the issue entirely. Its this Company Found a way to consistently sleep this problem under the rug. Lets talk briefly about brooke at neville. Because nbc said when they found out about her allegation, that was when it was too much. Thats when he had to go, matt lauer was fired. Her allegations if true or of rape. She reported to nbc. They fired him, it was not reported to the police. It was not reported to the vas office das office, what exactly did she tell you happened to her. She describes unambiguously a rate by any Legal Definition of it. Her full story and complication is laid out and i encourage people to read in context rather to just read the headlines about it. And matt lauer, his thinking is reflected in here too. He released a very fiery letter, and a slightly menacing tone about women who might come forward with allegations,ng and one of the points he emphasizes what they had subsequent contacts. Yes i would ask you about that, i do. Because he wrote a response letter and he says that brooks account is categorically false. He said his sexual encounter with her was completely consensual, that she was an enthusiastic and willing partner. And he also said that all of these women that hes had affairs with have abandoned, shared responsibility, but that she continued after this alleged rape to have a sexual relationship with him. And many people are questioning her because of that. They are questioning the rate. They are saying if you are really raped, why would you go back and have a sexual relationship . And this is a recurring theme in the reporting and its a response that Harvey Weinstein has against him. That in many cases, these are women who went back to him in various ways. And he says at one point in these contentiouss calls when we are Fact Checking this piece and seeking comment from him, its not rape if they come back. And thatf is not consistent with any Legal Definition of rate. Its not consistent with any ethical definition of rape. And it indeed you would have known better than i having worked on the criminal justice side of this, it is a very common facet of Sexual Violence these are committed by pastors,s, bosses, its a power dynamic that entrap people into telling people with professional dynamics that make it very difficult to get away from someone. There was a machine that spun up from the minute brooke came in from to nbc and described nonconsensual act with potential criminal implications. Where this company, despite the i fact that her attorney very clearly signaled this is not consensual, and while she was not using the term rape, she was describing one. It began to plantain the press, and to discuss within that News Organization the idea that this was an affair. And matt lauer in his letter says this was an affair and they continued to plan item saying it was an affair up till last weeks news cycle. In i understand theres a strong incentive for certain executives of this company who are under scrutiny for not doing enough to stop this over the period of time in which people knew about, and talked about these problems. They headed down claimant to suggest that if they knew they knew about something lesser. But the fact is that is what she described, and the follow on contact that she described are not consistent with any definition of an affair that i know. She, as a junior employee at this company, with the most powerful man at that company, wass in a dynamic that she described as entrapment when he said, come to my apartment for drinks. Writes, come to my office, come to my dressing room. Right and then at times and she struggled to get away from this in her narration of events, was simply in underions where she was orders from her bosses to go get something for purely professional reasons for matt lauer, and he would be demanding more from sexual favors in his office or in his dressing room. And thats a difficult income for katie dynamics and she talked about a mix of consensual and nonconsensual, she readily concedes that there are periods especially early on after the alleged assault were she s tried to put him at ease desperately inpe said text and made calls that sounded maximally enthusiastic because she wanted desperately to make the situation okay t into not anger this incredibly powerful guy with a lot of control over her career. But while all of those shades of gray are laid out, where not there germane to this question of was there Sexual Assault. Exactly. Exactly new understand that as a prosecutor. People see that the media cycle and the text contents of an affair and they have legal questions about what happened that night. What happened after has nothing to do with what happened that night. Thats right, and these kind of followon ambiguities are common but she very eloquently points out in this book that regardless of whether he thought she was flirting with him beforehand, regardless of how he interpreted their actions after words. That night she was too drunk to consent she said, and she said no repeatedly to a act that he then proceeded with. And he denies that. His denial as president there. But this is consistently how she has told the story from beginning. No what you describe in this book also is a culture of misogyny baked in to the very fabric of nbc. And not just nbc, but in our culture. And you descrcrcrcrcr and oftentimes,. s i said neutrally the book is very fair to nbcs executive it goes out of its way to be generous. [laughter] the facts speak for themselves, the town is very neutral. Your child may not be measured after you read it. And he was i guess the head of nbc news at that time. And you write on page 186 that during his years as a writer, at the harvard crimson, he wrote some things that were pretty provocative. In fact he had some headlines, titles, leading cliff notes transgender, he wrote for the antifeminist theres nothing wrong with singlesex institutions. Men just like women need to themselves. And then he adds women who feel threatened by the Club Environment should seek tamer pastors. However apparently women enjoy being confined, pump of alcohol and preyed upon. They failed desire not demean. Now this is the same person who would have been told about brooke neville. And would have had the conversations with the media at that time and they said she did not consent nonconsensual interaction. And when she learned this is being downplayed in this way, she threw up, the way this is handled after the fact is extremely traumatic. But there is a bigger. Here in the patterns of corporate behavior. N ooe talked very eloquently about making the painful decision to come forward in this book. El and feeling that the women who came before her, and had voice complaints within this company about matt lauer, carried a sense off guilt. Guilt that her alleged assault happens. And that she in turn carried a sense of guilt about anyone who might face violence afterat words. And that ultimately is why she wanted to speak, to break the cycle. And a sense of guilt because of the silence. The moment you have legal structures to conceal a linda ledge crime, and to allow the perpetrator to stay in positions of power, you expose subsequent people to victimization. And that is a feature of cell many of these stories are reported. The weinsteinin company where there is nothing in his hr file that technically was about Sexual Harassment at fox or bill oreilly pointed out there is nothing in the hr file about it. And where there were payouts happening over and over again. To conceal that record. At happened at cbs news, this is not an nbc problem this is a problem in our culture and in corporate america. And i think Brooke Nevels is not wrong. It should not have been on her shoulders to break the cycle. It should have been on the full shoulders of that company. It is only now coming under scrutiny because she was brave enough to speak. And because a whole variety of sources, there are seven claims about matt lahr. Theres even a still wider group about executives of the company about serious misconduct. T a lot of people were brave to expose a story that plays out in this book. Now i asked you on about this on the view, how do the folks like the oppenheims who you also outlined on page 213 that he also had a history of preying upon people who worked for him while it nbc news. She has read this book did you hear that precision . I couldnt help myself. Yes multiple people are on in this book talk about retaliation. So how t did they survive Something Like this when you havehe people like megyn kellyanne gretchen colson, greta been such trim for filing for an outside law firm to come in, investigate these claims, and are asking if this is found to be true . They need to go, they need to be fired. And its pretty striking that again and again the wonderful brave journalists it nbc, b many of whom are sources in this book and many of whom are pulling their bosses feed to the fire demanding more from accountability whichs is a tough thing to do with your own bosses. They say over and over again to the executive chain of command in this company why dont we do an outside investigation . They demand it, it has been demanded inside and out of that company for years and they have flatly refused. This is another big, broad. About corporate america. Internal investigations, self investigations are not investigations. Thats if you asked me to it grade myself i get in a every time. In your case rightly so. [laughter] in the realte serious problem and theres a set of techniques when a company is trying to conceal something. Including doing their own self investigation and then having outside firms kinda rubberstamp it without having any access to the evidence or the process. At nbc has deployed that full set of tools that they have steadfastly said we will not do an outside investigation. And i think thats pretty telling. Theres a very dramatic moments in the plot that unravels and catching kill were journalists inside this building are so angry as his coming out. And theres a meeting with the general counsel of the company, kim harris descendents from the executive suites and trying to do damage ,control. She is always pretentious questions and a woman journalist of the room says what about an outside investigation even if we dont like the outcome it will help us become transparent as a newset organization. And kim harris gets mad finally and says well if the press would just stop talking about this it will go away. And another reporter says after stunned silence, we are the a press. [laughter] exactly. Lets talk about the Harvey Weinstein story. Because you won a Pulitzer Prize for that story. [applause] it was magnificent. And thank god for the sources who spoke. You mustve feel this about your prosecutorial record when yoyou are able to do something that hopefully helps the conversation, and helps peoples hearing and helps transparency and accountability, you do it on the backs of and because of the bravery of the sources. The brave of the sources, the victims, the sources. But you had that story at nbc. They refused to air it. In fact they caught it and killed it. And they to this day say ronan didnt have enough. His sources or his story did not meet journalistic standards. And then a few weeks later, you publish the pulitzer strides winning story. [laughter] at the new yorker. Right across the street. Did you have enough . What did you have when you were in nbc and if you had enough, why did they kill it . Of course we had enough. I think thats no longer in dispute and the conversation. In the working level producer rich mccue, very brave guy he resigned in protest over this can we get some applause on a rich mccue . I am with you he is a fan. He is a profile of courage. He says what every journalist the said which is this thing should have been on air. We had a recorded admission of guilt from Harvey Weinstein that doing a police sting operation. We had him admitting not just to a Sexual Assault but serial Sexual Assault saying im used to that. We had multiple named women in every version of the story, it was an expansive body of reporting. But thats not even the. Its a distraction tactic to try to get the conversation pulled toward the discussion of was at an Office Appointment time . And as your sad brought across the street and the judgment of that body reporting was absolutely is enough. It within a few weeks it was the story that youve all seen. But the. Wasnt that it it wasnt done at any one of those points in time, or couldve expanded if they wanted to. But the. Is they ordered us to stop. And that is thees striking con is smoking gun tell that this was not a journalistic decision that was happening. We were told to cancel interviews with the rape victims. We were told to stand down and not take a single call on the subject. I was threatened that i was going to be exposed as having been terminated and letth go from the company if i ever disclose that nbc had anything to do with the story. And in this book, over the course of several months of investigating uncovered what was happening at this company and the secrets this company had were under threat of exposure is Harvey Weinstein was bearing down on them and a whole flu of secret conversations, emails, contacts going on behind our back. Thats a thing you outlined in the story, that Harvey Weinstein was really blackmailing nbc news over method lower allegations. Im very careful to only go as far as the facts go. It is true we have multiple sources that nbc news and it ami the Parent Company of the National Enquirer, and he denies it and its in there. Saying there is a threat communicated of the type you just alluded to. But theres also bigger. Which is indisputable. Which is, the secret settlement settlements, and the high level conversations about matt lauer, created the situation where nbc news was dealing with a lot of secrets that were about to come out. And when i document these, at least 15 secret calls to the top executives of nbc and harveyin weinstein, where they have admitted these calls happen. And they promise to kill the story ahead of any journalists. Itt is very clear when you look at those calls, that these were executives who felt like they were cornered, felt like they had secrets to guard, and were simultaneously brokering and getting Sexual Harassment settlements while telling me their legal judgment was that we could not report secret Sexual Harassment settlements that Harvey Walt Weinstein is made. And now they were parroting a talking. Given by a hostile Harvey Weinstein. My hope is by exposing this, thereer is a conversation about how to prevent this from happening to other people within a company who might be targeted in violent acts by individuals cloaked by the sense of legal practices. In a a conversation about how to stop this from happening to any journalists with a tough lead. Thats the thing, you also discuss in this book, that Harvey Weinstein went to Great Lengths to keep this story under wraps. He went so far as to hire spies tond follow you and other reporters. So much so that you felt your life was in danger in people advise you to get a gun. Multiple sources advise me to it m get a gun, i moved out of my apartment, i was very stressed out and not getting a lot of sleep. Looking over my shoulder a lot, and siam like you, someone with the Legal Training background and i am naturally inclined toward skepticism and their many points and this book were plays out i am the last to admit okay something bizarre is happening here. But even then, you dont expect that the answer to the bizarre thing happening is an International Espionage plot involving former agents, russian spies subcontractors outside your departments, and like an International Pen patel posing as a source. These are all things that happened in my actual life. Yes unbelievable. And people are reading the book and thinking that they need to pick their draws up off the floor. I did i was that way. A lot of reviews have said it reads like a spy thriller, which in a way is a kinda glamorizing the facts. First of all it did not feel that with the time. It felt extremely shady. [laughter] and you know i was scared, and my poor mom, i had to stop telling her what was happening, no sleeping in my desk instead of going home. I saw the same car outside every night. Going into my apartment before he went out with like my keys out. [laughter] i was in a gouge someone. I am not good at selfdefense. [laughter] despite the target practice i did. And ill just. Out, it isnt glamorizing and its actually is a sign of just how far over the line this behaviors. These are tactics that should be reserved for spy thrillers. They should not be thrown in journalists in real life for doing things with the protection of the first. Very aware of and grateful for the fact that i am not a journalist. In pakistan or russia or where you report on power you are dead the w next day. Journalists are killed in their line of work every day. Their work is so important, so precious. It is in our democracy took these stories about under handed tax ticks deployed by powerful people, the ways in which News Organization get subverted. It all goes on our access to free transparent information in our democracy. And stories we tell ourselves this matters. I never want to see the life or death stakes that i described in world transpire here in our country. I often think the First Amendment is most important. Yeah, yeah, only profession that is protected in the constitution. That is true for a the reason. The book is, in so man ways a love letter to fel fellow journalists and their sours who sources to continue to speak and refuse to stop. There is a whistleblower named sleeper who comes forward in this dramatic turn of events and help me expose the whole operation. There is a one of the kind of slightly bumbling spy from former soviet union who are outside of my apartment and chases me around. Theys theyed chased a neighbor, they thought it was be by mistake. They are pulling long hours. And in bottles, a spy becomes pivotal to the story in unexpected ways and starts to talk about having grown up in alo police state, knowing what itg hike to have the press controlled by powerful and people can suffer as a result. Feeling invested. I hope that those stories. In the pages, means you close the back cover of the book, you all have it, right, did you get your copy. It wonderful. I am honored by anyone that takes time to read it. One thing that struck me, preshare friends in common, that struck me was some of the stories that you write about lisa bloom. Who is also an attorney. And how you felt almost tricked by lisa. What do you mean by that. She apologized. She came on our show and also did. She was on a bit of an apology tour. I would see justif justify iblye should perhaps consider apologizing to some of the women vi victimized. She said in recent days, she never lied to me in hour calls. If she really believes that i dont think that she understands the spirit of honesty, lisa bloom in this story is a double agent. She is not disclosing she had saving conversations is Harvey Weinstein, she appeared on my cable news program, advocating for victims of powerful men. Who presented herself as an activist on womens rights who wrote opeds defending my sister and the credibility of my sisters claim again woody alan, i admired lisa bloom and respected her, lisa bloom cashed in on that to work for Harvey Weinstein, to gas light and undermine and attack women, to squash reporting efforts, she will have to reckon with the consequences of that, i think her behavior specifically with me, i said, i know were not under Attorney Client privilege but as two lawyers, whose profession bedrock is respecting confidences. You know i need to know i have your assurance you are not going to disclose to the person i am reporting on or Anyone Around them, the people she said i scare swear, i told her i was working on Harvey Weinstein, immediately afterward Harvey Weinstein machine targeting me began ramping up and targeting women began ramping up, i became suspicious, only later that i confronted her, i said lisa you promised, atthispoint i received a number of legal threat letter from Harvey Weinstein with her name at the bottom. On letters that included among otherit things arguments that my sister had been brain washed. And was crazy. You know, things that directly contradicted years of writing on her part, she put her name on those. Hihe threatened to wipe me out from a friend, i said, you gave my your word ada add an attoy and human being. I would not tell his people, she said he ronan, i am his people, i know shocking. That was my reaction too. She was planning opposition operations against me. And and rose mcgowan also a target. Absolutely. Rose was a target from lisa bloom, lisa bloom did disparage rose mcgowan in conversations with me, from the whole International Espionage operation, she should a undercover agent pose as a womens right activist and become her best friend, where rose mcgowan said, there is no one in the t world that i can trust, except use this woman was secretly recording rose, and sending them to her alleged rain it. These are stories of the women who are real examples of bravely and ethics, a lot of men and women in these pages who i hope areti cautionary tails how depraved and bankrupt you can become when money and power are at stake. You mentioned your sister. I think she is very brave. As you know. Thank you, i agree. I agree that has always been significant from you, you look at the facts of cases like this. I know you see from a perspective of being read in, i think you know o when people return to that case, with fresh eyes and look it is shocking. It is. No question. What was also shocking to me, is thatat weinstein called your estranged father woody allen, he tried to argue that situation with your sister, who accused wed of molesting her. Wood remain woody maintains his innocence, and Harvey Weinstein said you had an agenda because of, that he said on the phone, you could not save someone you loved, now you think you can save ern. There are a lot of instances in the book, where personal and painful things get weaponized these are occupational hazards for us as journalists. You go up against tough stories, a lot of thin are thrown at you, Harvey Weinstein, sent legal threat letters full of things like, you know extensive discussion of an uncle i have who was convinced of pedophilia, whom i never met. It is up clear to how it was relevant to the many women accusing Harvey A Weinstein of rape, i guess it was t to convey some kind of sense of hypocrisy. It was true. Similarly, you know very painful effort to weaponize my sisters allegations, suggest that i had some axe to grind, no journalist things that looking at facts, a reporter who becomes deeply invested have investigative work haveve an investment quality. And the new yorker writer, ken oletta, a great guy, from anotherrer atalks this a state leeway, and statelly way. I described him as homicide beat cop to was kept up at night, he iced word like fixated. I really questioned h is there any truth to the idea that you could be too close to a story, sure, if you have an actual conflict of interest. Are business deal gone bad. But, on a matter like this, where there are no factual links between the story but a link in terms of caring about and understanding the issue, that is not only a positive, but in some ways, necessary to some extent. Every one of us as journalists brings to table our investment in issues were reporting on, that does not mean you have a stake in the o facts shaking out one way or another on an individual story, i was adverse atadversarial. I was skeptical at alltime, willing to go with facts may lead they are very fair to Harvey Weinstein. That said, i understood how crucial this issue was. Because of my sisters experience, and how important it was to culture that the women were doing this brave thing. To speak it. Now theme of trust comes up over and over in the book. I wonder and i got asked this question often when i was prosecuting cases, how do you get witnesses to trust you . How go you get these women to trust you . I would like to hear about your process. Oh. You know, i was one of prosecutors that was willing to go in to peoples homes. And knock on the door, and say, i care. I want to hear your story. And i will do everything that i can to sprin bring justice to y. But i need to hear your story. I want to tell her my story and i dont have one to tell. I am there. That is itn takes time to build that trust. Of course, you know, role of a prosecutor and journalist are different in some ways but this say point of commonality, steady trust building and given someone an agency, not brow beating them to anything. You know, when people make a life altering decision like coming forward with a very serious claim about a powerful person. It takes tremendous bravery. , of course. And it really does take grappling with realization your life may never be the same again. A lot is the wore o story of ana bheannabella who had an incrediy upsetting allegation of violent rape about Harvey Weinstein. And i think has good days and bad days as most survivors in trauma do, to this day. It was almost impossible on a physical level for her to get that story out and articulate it. Almost impossible to listen to on some level for me as a reporter and public. These are u unfathomable horrors, she did a brave thing after a long time was not sure. She let me tell the story, picking up the phone when i first talked to her, panicking saying i dont know anything, which is a another common start to the conversations she, but she has now volunteered to testify in Harvey Weinsteins criminal case, that is upsetting and retraumatizing. And thrusts her up again a dynamic she knows her life will never be the same, she is an actress, but she loves her work, and never wants to be known for anything but her work. It not in the tabloids, she talked during our reporting conversations, and some of this is in book about knowing that she would now be walking into you know restaurants with her kids or walking on the streets, and people would know this incredibly invasive personal horrible demeaning thing about her. I hope that she has come to some feeling that they also know something about her grave bravery, she is standing up for something bigger than herself. Well, i talk about this almost of day, on our show the view, but, trump is involved in this book too. Oh, yoos. Yes. Not so shocking to me. You tell the story of American Media inc. And national en quirey keeping a space filled with topsecret and sensitive donald trump related documents, that d was abruptly shredded in 2016. Look how excited she is. Shredded. But you saw some of it. Yeah. I did. He saw it. Right, this is first time a reporter has seen this list they made a mast irlis master list de election of trump dirt that enquiry had over the years, as so many stories about en quirey anenquirer,let more than it abo. There were 5 affairs on this, about 60 items, call 60 items. Called donald trump killed, a reverend to killed stories at the top. And it included reverend to about 5 affairs, some have become public some not, as far as i could see no allegations of misconduct. Their was a discuss in files of one allegation of misconduct. Which has become public. You know i want to be clear to not over blow, not that what we discovered that that list was here is something brand new smoking gun, it was to be a list of dirt. But, it does not necessarily represent the full universe of the enquirers knowledge about trump thatno making another fact that we uncover in the book. The Fact Checking team, which is it makes another fact kind of are more relevant, file on that aclist or other files not identified were destroyed. By the e enquirer in days leadig up to the election, we have a multiple source, well documented account of a Sledding Party shredding party, it may have violated election laws to try to swing the outcome of the 2016 race. By burying the stories. And the trail of clues that lead me from enquirer burying stories for Harvey Weinstein to a series of stories i break and a brandnew one involving donald trump and Jeffrey Epstein has not been disclosed until this book came out. Is you know a saga that has a lot of significance not just for mediat world but the way that political future of the country played out. Yes. Now, thied stories are abouta cultural i think of Sexual Harassment. Hit so many companies. Do you think there is more to come . I think it is inde indisputae there is more to cam come. It was always clear to me the story was not significant just because of Harvey Weinstein. And about pat ern of power protecting power in every industry. And all around the world. We are just beginning to see a conversation about that and you know you talk about unique significant of media. And how it shapes future of the nation, so i am very vlad that conversation glad that converyizatio vague is now happ. That is not only area we need to focus on. It will take brave sources and wwhistleblower to speak and bre reporters to not back down. If we a want to see a march for accountability. Iim think we have sure. We have questions from audience. Is now a f good time there how tough are the questions in. I think how long will it take. Okay. Public narrative has been shaped by predators and their enablers inee news, media and hollywood, what can we do as public and journalists to reclaim that narrative. A good question. I. That everywe journallest speakig out about it and continuing to report on this is a part after that solution. Weve seen in response to reports i did on cbs news, a lot of people step up and be forthright about addressing the problem. We saw leadership change at the company because of the great journalists there refused to shut up about it right after i reported on multiple allegations of call against les moonves. At the time the head of the company, very much a darling of wall street, someone a board protected for years and years. You saw people like Stephen Colbert bet on air, say, i demandnd accountability from my boss. And in wake of nbc reporting, youor have seen multiple nbc reporters. Chris hayes. That hard to do to stand up and call out your boss. Yeah. And thank god there are journalists who have that backbone, that is part of the answer,bo we in the public and decisions we make. How strid stridently we demand accountability. In terms of nbc news, president heParent Company is co. Do you demand comcast be a good Corporate Citizen and investigate nbc news. I am a reporter, not an activist on this my part of job to intergate the facts. I am grateful now they are out in world they prompt like a letter sent by the reporters, saying there needs to be an effort from the Parent Company tohi ensure that well are not getting hurt. That the coverage is independent and fair. I cant be you know a part of that push, but, or say i know what the outcome should be. But, i can say i am inspired by anyone who takes facts and acts on them, tries to translate them to change. Here isan here question. I was disturbed by nbc decision to sit on the in 2016. Until someone leaked to washington post. Has your reporting unearthed any trends in unfortunate editor call decisioyamdecisionialdecisd beyond weinstein. A significant portion of this book is devoted to that, it is a trend. It does extend beyond one example. Backdrop of access Hollywood Tape sat on by the simexicives at nbc news, and the effect it had on the culture is very prominent in this story. And it was a part of the backdrop of the reporting conversations i had over the course of the events that women i was talking to, were fed up with the situation, over and over that would come up as a theme people said, enough. Becausee there had been a moment in politics for people to look the other way in response. News organizations, seem to have been sitting or suppressing or not ensuring that the public saw and reacted. People were frustrated. Okay. Ti teresthank you teresa for yor questions. As a Sexual Assault survivor, i thought like to i say thank yu for shining a light on such a pervasive problem, as a journalist, how do you separate yourself from the work, i imagine it is hard, thank you, teresa. Thank you, teresa and for everyone r brave enough to be forthright about this, this is really hard. Yeah. And the question is a good one. There is a struggle that plays out in this plot, i think worth pointing out this story has a middle, beginning and end. I made a decision that was not a survey piece or spring of different pieces of reporting it is about a specific sit of characters and series of emotion emotional upping and downs, part is a ca chronical of part in my life. The way in which i felt vu vulnerable. That was a hard decision to make, i chronicle for a long time i resisted it, just wanted to not be the story. I think particularly for someone like me, i am i grew up amid a lot of stan dal and turmoil but iil mostly focused on privileges and opportunities that i had. But because of that background, i really wanted the work to stand on its own. And beenk sensitive about being in long shadow of those personal things, so when i came to this situation, where i was on air every day, and good journalists were asking me, why are you not talking about the way you were targets, why do you talk about shut down of your reporting, i would see i want underlying story to have its moment in the sun and brave sources. In the end i struggle with that and died they were righ decide t to grill my. And to really tell it i had to full involvement. You had spies chasing you. Right. Soy you know one if you have spies chasing you, you will become the story a little bit, you know, i think it possible to the transparent about your role in the story and rigorous about reporting on it. And i think that this book has been received in spirit of people understanding that does both. How do you manage to ju jugge this book, reporting and your dissertation. Right. I am wondering, then says mad props. Thank you. Who gavet. That question. Thank you. Very much. I am a big nerd, that probably already clear. And i did finish a phd this year. Congratulations. Thank you. And i had to like, did my doctorate at oxford and had to fly to england. And i had to fly to england in middle of a book deadline. And stories that im doing, i took me, i think a full 7 years. I was not like one of my Fact Checkers sent a gift of the pokemon slow king to describe my progress. I did get it to the finish line, and i had to go out to england to kiss the ring and tell professors i am still working on it. They w would say you appear to e anchoring a Television Show every day, i would say yes that is a side project. Going from my final oral exam. And the degree. This is my main priority. I love it. They put up with me. My bull and you know, i did in the end have to work really hard. Something like you know 450 pages, and a full social science distertation, schemetizing whether there was a correlation. Not as boring as it sounds. Veryou serious. I love it. This comes from peter. How do you do you prepare for inteinterviews . Do you prepare and sequence your questions in advance. That really varies, i am a big preparer, i saw you prepare for this it warmed my heart. It is great. And that is something to be proud of in just about any profession. I do a lot of scripting and preparing when i do broadcast interviews. That is a very different discipline if you do a live interview, versus if you do a taped interview, i have done things like an hour with angelina jolie, you have a one set of priorities. Oithin a politician another arc, but you are thinking ahead, and trying to plot a series of satisfying reveals, there is more kind of brazen showman ship to live 5t tv cable news type interviews. You have. It is powerer that comes with responsibility. But those play out over a longer form. Where you have a 6 minute cable. You get the hits. Very often you do a lot of ramp up that will neff make never make it on camera, trying to get to a sound bite, you are thinking in terms of individual puzzle peoples. If you have it in a sequence and written out sometimes you are a not listening to the answ. Then you cant build off that answer, i found. Right, you have to i find both things helpful, a lot of planning. A blueprint where you could go. Topic areas. You might jump around or a new direction. Agree. I think that was it . Any more . Are you feeling satisfied with the number of questions . You good . They are good. I think they are good. There is a clock on stage. I am right on time. Actually. Like a true prosecutor. I am. I have one more question. What is next for you . You know. I get asked that question a lot, i never know how to answer it. You can hear me stalling for time, i dont know. I have been so emersed in getting reporting in this book air tight, i have so much respect for anyone that writes a book. Books are reallyo hard, how many here have written a book in a couple of book writers, i am god bless you. Hard. Like hard for the writer and everyone around the writer, i was such a nightmare to put up with. It is hard. Got bless my wonderful wepartner who put up with me. Great. Hard. Really hard, you know. This textbook. And i guess any investigative book, you are doing several Different Things at once, one of which is you do do a multiple yr investigation that gets you a lot of threats, and a high wire act, you go to powerful people with difficult revelations and Fact Checking, very precise almostin legalistic work. At same time you create a dramatic work, where the plot moves at the right pace, and there m is hopefully real nuance and interest in the character. And everyone this is in the book has a coherent arc, beginning, middle and end this book in particular can kind of a chinese puzzle book in the plot. Such a relief av years of finetuning it. And saying are they going to like my baby. It is critically acclaimed. I am so grateful for the reviews, and way that public has rallied around it. And people have really rallied around the and cut flew a lot of bs and legal threats, for instance got it banned in australia for several days. Dont clap for that. Yeah, ban it, ban that book. Burn the book. The head of the National Enquirer guy, who works for weinsteinei and you know trump did not want people reading this book, for the reasons you can probably read into it and hired lawyers in every region in the world, and Amazon Australia caved. You can boo at this one. You know a couple other big okay there it is, i love the hissing. A couple big retailers were not selling it, now kind of a movingng tribute to the importae of free speech, australian rushed outut got it from independent booksellers, now the chains,ed including amazon are selling it in australia, free speech wins. But all to say, it meant a lot people rallied around it in this way, and also understood it is a yarn that is about more than headlines and more than just some of its parts. And i am so excited for yall to read. It and grateful you took time to talk about it. My pleasure. My honor. Mutual. Mr. Ronan mayo farrell. Miss sunny austin. Thank you. Thank g you. Cspan campaign 2020 bus team is traveling across the nation, asking voters what issue should president ial candidates address. I would like more protection of the beaches, and the keys. I want to see action on it. I hope this is in the upcoming electiontion. I would like to see, upcoming president ial candidate address is current injustices in the country. Whether it is video on instagram or even in white house or by people in current offers office. Issue important to me for 2020, climate change, i want to be able to visit coral reefs in my lifetime, not have them bleached. Something i would to think about. Lack of funding, lack of actual issue in the government. How were just as important as universities as regular most important issue right now are healthcare and Campaign Finance and ethics in government. Hold care health car healthcared move forward improving. Were not fully seeing vision of universal health care. And i Campaign Finance system to make addresses, issue of too much