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I’m not usually a podcast listener because when I choose to listen to something I like to turn my brain off and not keep the overthinking going, but this one had me completely captivated from start to finish, totally pivoting my reverence and regard for investigative journalism, particularly in the podcast/audio medium.
Based off of his 2019 book Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow’s same-titled podcast is exceptional and raw in its efforts to expose Hollywood tycoon Harvey Weinstein as a sexual abuser as well as expose the news media industry as a whole. Farrow started his research while working as an NBC reporter where his story got shut down, leading Farrow to take his story to the New Yorker who published his exposé in October 2017. NBC had declined to air his reporting, claiming it wasn’t newsworthy, but the suspicion has always been that they, too, became one of the many institutions unwilling or unable to withstand Weinstein’s intimidation tactics.
Ronan Farrow, son of Woody Allen, had always felt particularly inclined to report on subjects relating to sexual abuse after his sister, Dylan Farrow, accused their father of sexually molesting her. This happened to be one of the obstacles that would lead to NBC denying Farrow’s story, claiming that it was a sort of conflict of interest given the situation that happened to his sister. They claimed that he wouldn’t be able to report on the story as objectively as he should, but of course, it's safe to assume that was all nonsense.
Farrow’s perseverance and continuous effort to unearth the details of the story and then authenticate them serves as a reminder of the value of true investigative journalism and the ability of the media to help right wrongs. We listen as Farrow develops his network of connections and observe the assistance given to women who were then willing to publicly discuss their struggles. He touches on not only Weinstein’s atrocities but also the astounding lengths he had taken to thwart Farrow’s research, including having the reporter followed by agents from the Israeli security firm, Black Cube.
Farrow’s account of Black Cube is quite interesting because it sounds exactly like something out of an action movie – which goes to show just how much power the "elite" truly have. He recalls receiving strange texts, being followed by suspicious vehicles, and receiving messages from sources telling him to get a gun. All this coming from the private intelligence agency Black Cube who were hired by Weinstein once he caught on to Farrow’s reporting of the stories of the women he had abused.
Black Cube is a firm based in Tel Aviv run by former Mossad agents who’ve since claimed that they never partook in following around journalists. Shockingly, one of the agents in charge of stalking Farrow befriended him because he didn’t feel right about the investigation. The agent tells the story himself in Episode 1 and breaks down how everything went down and what inclined him to meet with Farrow in an underground restaurant with bad cell reception.
Farrow also brings up his longtime producer at NBC News, who ended the lengthy investigation and forced Farrow to take the story to the New Yorker, as well as his editors, proofreaders, and attorneys at the New Yorker who had to carefully examine every word of the story while facing legal threats. Most importantly, he also includes first-hand accounts from Rowena Chiu, Weinstein’s assistant, and countless others who recount their alleged assaults by Weinstein and how they have affected their lives since.
These accounts are especially powerful to me because there is nothing like hearing women describe what has happened to them in graphic detail that will stir up as much anger and passion for justice as anything else. The censorship, the lies, the money — none of it is as enraging as hearing the accounts from the women Weinstein has abused. One story in particular reveals how his victims weren’t even mainly actresses, but included women who simply wanted to intern at Miramax Studios, the media company founded by Weinstein. Women would hear rumors about Weinstein but figured that because they couldn’t be manipulated by having acting jobs taken away, that it wouldn’t happen to them; but that was not the case.
The story lends itself seamlessly to an audio medium as it lets the survivors of Weinstein’s abuse literally speak about their own experiences which is undeniably moving and heartbreaking. This story and its acknowledgment of the implications it has on women around the world and the media industry is something that is long-needed, timely, urgent, and compelling. In Farrow’s own words, “The story of what unfolded at NBC is a case study in the power of news organizations to safeguard the truth and in how devastating the consequences can be when they do the opposite,” and I would strongly recommend listening to see exactly why that is.
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