Best KCRW & Placement Theory Podcasts (2025)

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Badass Local Journalists on How to Fight Corruption 56:24

Play Pause

6d ago56:24

56:24

Local reporters from around the country tell stories of using the experiences of their neighbors to confront people in power. Featuring: Anna Wolfe with Mississippi Today Lisa Halverstadt with Voice of San Diego Alissa Zhu with The Baltimore Banner Tony Plohetski with The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE Austin Lisa is a part of the Homelessness …

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Who’s Behind the Raids? A Mystery in Marion (Part Two) 42:03

20d ago42:03

42:03

A TV reporter from Kansas City hears about the brazen newspaper raids over in Marion. Her interest is piqued by the fact that the police chief who oversaw the raids had recently left Kansas City PD. So she heads to Marion to see what she can find out. And what she finds…is basically a Bravo reality series, small-town prairie style. Part One of this…

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Who's Behind the Raids? A Mystery in Marion (Part One) 30:14

27d ago30:14

30:14

On a Friday morning in rural Kansas, the publisher of a tiny local newspaper hears a knock at the door. It’s the police—with a search warrant. Within minutes, they’re inside his home, seizing his electronics. At the same time, officers are raiding his newsroom, confiscating computers and phones. No subpoena. No warning. And, according to legal expe…

1
The Fight for Your Attention with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes 1:14:22

1M ago1:14:22

1:14:22

MSNBC host Chris Hayes discusses his book The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource, and reckons with his own culpability in the corruption and commercialization of our attention. Thanks to “Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso” for sharing this interview with us. “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement T…

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The Hunt for a Journalist’s Killer 37:21

1M ago37:21

37:21

A group of reporters recently uncovered a closely held secret: the identity of the Israeli soldier who shot and killed renowned veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022. This is the story of how they figured it out. Sign up for our newsletter: www.kcrw.com/questioneverything You can watch the documentary "Who Killed Shireen?" on Zeteo. “Questio…

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From the Fringe Web to Real Life: How Seriously Should We Be Taking Conspiracy Theories? 28:36

2M ago28:36

28:36

Back in December, we did an episode about Pyrra, an AI-powered software that tracks sifts through the far corners of the internet – in some places you probably haven’t even heard of – to see what narratives are emerging from the people who post there. A lot of these are conspiracy theories, and also violent threats. This week, we check back in with…

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Rümeysa Öztürk is Locked Up for an Op-ed: An Urgent Summit with the Student Newspaper that Published It 1:19:34

2M ago1:19:34

1:19:34

Where better to huddle up and discuss what to do about Rümeysa Öztürk and the chilling effect that is happening in journalism than on campus at Tufts University with the student journalists at The Tufts Daily? This week Brian and Question Everything co-host a live event with the editor-in-chief and associate editor from The Tufts Daily – Arghya Tha…

1
Pounding Beers in a Shed, and Other Dispatches from the War on Free Speech 27:49

2M ago27:49

27:49

Last episode we discussed the campaign to overturn the Supreme Court decision that protects reporters’ ability to criticize and investigate people in power. But even with that decision still in place, reporter David Enrich has discovered a shocking wave of legal attacks that is being waged on journalists in towns and cities across the country. Thes…

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Freedom of the press is great, until you're the target 41:26

2M ago41:26

41:26

For decades, a Supreme Court decision called New York Times vs Sullivan was widely beloved by people across the political spectrum. Hailed as a decision that gives the first amendment teeth and sets our country apart, as a place that prizes free speech. But recently, right under our noses, some of the same people who once sang Times v Sullivan's pr…

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The masterpiece Prince documentary Netflix won’t let you see. 48:42

3M ago48:42

48:42

The best documentary filmmaker in America spent nearly five years of his life making a nine-hour masterpiece for Netflix. It will never see the light of day. After a nasty estate battle, the series won't be released. No one will ever see it. In his first sit-down interview about this scandal, the filmmaker Ezra Edelman seeks catharsis – if not clos…

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He quit journalism to fight authoritarianism. How’s that going? 25:39

3M ago25:39

25:39

Last year, we did an episode with Barton Gellman, who talked about the war games he was running with high-level military leaders and government officials to prepare for a second Trump term. A bunch of you have been asking us to have Barton back, to find out what he’s doing, now that the second Trump term is here. So we called him up. Barton works a…

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A Rant or a Slant: When Should Reporters Speak From the Heart? 41:15

3M ago41:15

41:15

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 B…

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Do you want to be on Question Everything? 1:35

3M ago1:35

1:35

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@plac…

1
A Teen, a Reporter, and a Grand Jury Leak (Over BBQ) 34:34

3M ago34:34

34:34

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 st…

1
The News is Coming from Under the Desk… on TikTok (live from On Air Fest) 52:18

4M ago52:18

52:18

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 liv…

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Not Like Us: How Billionaires Think 40:04

4M ago40:04

40:04

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. Featurin…

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And The Award Goes To...The Circuit Court of The Nineteenth Judicial Circuit In and For Okeechobee County, Florida 37:46

5M ago37:46

37:46

Ben Smith tells the story of the strange controversy over a journalism award that’s been going down in a Florida courthouse. Ben is Editor-in-Chief of Semafor and co-host of the Mixed Signals podcast. He used to be The New York Times media columnist and was founding editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News. Sign up for our newsletter to read the lengthy li…

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A reporter? A spy? Or something else? Israel arrests its first American journalist. 58:22

5M ago58:22

58:22

Locked up, alone, accused of being a spy, reporter Jeremy Loffredo has to defend the fact that he’s a journalist. To the Israeli courts. And then…to our reporter. Part two of our special series about Jeremy Loffredo, who in October became the first American journalist arrested by Israel. If you haven't listened to part one, check that out first in …

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Blindfolded And Arrested On Assignment In Israel 58:05

6M ago58:05

58:05

Just a few months ago, Israel did something it has never done before. It arrested an American journalist. His name is Jeremy Loffredo. This is his story. Part one of a special, two-part series. “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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When Hollywood Tells The Truth: with Tom McCarthy, Antonio Campos, Tina Satter, and Tobias Lindholm. 49:49

7M ago49:49

49:49

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 McCarthy, who won an Oscar for Spotlight; Antonio Campos, creator of The Staircase for HBO;…

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Can AI tell us what stories to look out for? A live experiment. 31:38

7M ago31:38

31:38

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 w…

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Getting Ready to Interview Trump: An Exercise 40:41

7M ago40:41

40:41

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 choice…

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Special Election-Eve Episode: The Story of a Story Untold 20:46

8M ago20:46

20:46

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/adchoicesBy KCRW & Placement Theory

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When To Call A Thing What It Is 39:48

8M ago39:48

39:48

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 persona…

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Can Journalism Save a Marriage? (featured on This American Life) 32:42

9M ago32:42

32:42

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 a…

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The Journalist and the Firefighter: How Predicting January 6 Led a Top Reporter to Quit Journalism 41:33

9M ago41:33

41:33

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 me…

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Journalists Question Everything: Ira Glass, Zoe Chace, Jonathan Eig, Astead Herndon 52:09

10M ago52:09

52:09

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 epi…

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S-Town Host Brian Reed Meets His Harshest Critic 49:23

10M ago49:23

49:23

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 Every…

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Question Everything is out now! 2:24

10M ago2:24

2:24

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/adchoicesBy KCRW & Placement Theory