Question Everything with Brian Reed

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.

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.

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.

Journalist Brian Reed of S-Town is questioning everything, even his own work. Season premiere Sept 12.