Media Update 4/9/20

This week is a special book review edition because I have been engrossed in these books lately. All three books were available in audio form from my local library.

She Said
by Meghan Twohey and Jodi Kantor

When the Me Too movement began to flourish like a genie’s bottle suddenly and finally uncorked, I was really happy. Sexual violence and sexual harassment are things that took me a long time to understand. I always believed they happened but, for some reason, I never understood why. It finally clicked with me over a decade ago when it was described as less of a sexual thrill and more of a dominance thing. Anyway, this book is written by the two New York Times reporters who broke the story on Harvey Weinstein’s mistreatment and abuse of so many women who passed through his life. However, it is not only about that. It is also about their story on his misappropriation of AIDS charity money. It is about Non-Disclosure Agreements in general and how many attorneys make a living on silencing victims for profit. It touches on the many cases of abuse perpetrated by Donald Trump. It is about the mistreatment of Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford during the confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh. It is about how Trump’s own history colored his handling of the situation. It is about the Me Too movement’s evolution. I definitely recommend it.

Catch and Kill
by Ronan Farrow

This is Ronan Farrow’s book on his own efforts to report on Harvey Weinstein, efforts that were a lot rockier than the journey at the New York Times. At the time, Farrow worked as an investigative reporter for NBC, mostly working on the Today Show. After getting a lead on the Weinstein scandal, he was assigned the story. As soon as he started to gain some traction, his bosses tried to kill it. Eventually, the story was published through New Yorker Magazine. Farrow reads his own book in this version and he does a lot of voices and imitations but I think it comes off as endearing, not silly. Farrow is a consummate performer and it shows that he gets great joy out of it just like his mother. He is also a former attorney and the combination of journalistic and legal insight is very useful in telling his story. His story is less about the Weinstein story and more about the extraordinary lengths that Harvey, NBC, the National Enquirer, and so many others went to ‘catch and kill’ the story and many like it. It goes into detail about the actual spy agencies hired to intimidate, investigate, and surveil those trying to get the story out. It also goes into great detail about the inner workings of NBC. It chronicles the fall of Matt Lauer and Tom Brokaw and how NBC tried to hide their culpability and complicity in the whole thing. I definitely recommend it as well.

Permanent Record
by Edward Snowden

During the Obama Administration, there were a great number of whistleblowers who sought to reveal the sins being committed by the US government. Many, if not all, of these people were severely punished and their lives continue to be absolutely ruined by the government. Edward Snowden is one of those people. Through journalists, Snowden revealed a secret spy program that was constantly monitoring all US citizens. No longer were they just surveilling suspected criminals, they were watching everybody and saving it all as a permanent record for each citizen. This is Snowden’s account of how he came to the decision to release this information and why he ultimately did. It is also a reflection on his life, a memoir that helps frame why he did what he did. It is a really charming tale of a young, curious kid from North Carolina who eventually got swept up into a terrifying bio-mechanical organism that never had the People’s best interest at heart. I also recommend this book.

Music of the Week:
ORESAMA – 流星ダンスフロア

The Ratler Brothers – Flowers On The Wall

IGORRR – VERY NOISE

Badflower – The Jester

Megan Thee Stallion – Savage

Weekly Update:
– This week’s theme is “Surveillance”
– I watched more Stumptown Season 1
– I watched more Prodigal Son Season 1
– I watched more Elementary Season 1
– I watched more Slasher Season2
– I watched more Bojack Horseman Season 6
– I watched more Black Lightning Season 3
– I watched more Penn and Teller’s Bullshit!
– I watched more Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath Season 2
– I watched more Rizzoli and Isles Season 2
– I watched more Dirty Money Season 2

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Tags: Book Reviews, Catch and Kill, Media Update, Not A to Z, Permanent Record, She Said, Surveillance