Question Everything

The Dangers of Being a Journalist

A little message from host Brian Reed about a scary incident he’s dealing with. And much scarier incidents other journalists are dealing with. Question Everything is a production of KCRW [http://www.kcrw.org] and Placement Theory [http://www.placementtheory.com]. Sign up for our newsletter [http://questioneverything.substack.com] to see Brian’s interview with Senator Dick Durbin about his effort to repeal Section 230. We want to know who is listening to our show and how to make it a better experience! Please take 5 minutes to fill out this survey about Question Everything [https://forms.gle/o4oZPiDwATUtc1nX8]. Thank you!

A Minnesota Dad Takes on ICE

Our managing editor, Kevin Sullivan, had a conversation this week with an old colleague in Minnesota that we wanted to share with you as quickly as we could. He’s a former data journalist, Michael Corey, who lives with his family in St. Paul. As ICE agents have flooded Mike’s state as part of a massive federal immigration enforcement operation, he started getting involved in grassroots efforts to track and document ICE’s conduct. He’s been following and filming agents during tense encounters, including one where they chased an American citizen [https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/12/10/ice-agents-tackle-arrest-american-citizen-in-minneapolis] into a building, pinned him against a wall, and arrested him.  Mike takes us inside what it’s like to live in Minnesota right now, and tells us how he and his neighbors are getting and trying to verify information with the encrypted messaging app, Signal, which he thinks deserves a Pulitzer. Question Everything is a production of KCRW [http://www.kcrw.org] and Placement Theory [http://www.placementtheory.com]. Sign up for our Substack [http://questioneverything.substack.com]. Guests:  * Mike Corey, Minnesota dad & public historian

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on How He Fought ICE’s Messaging War

As ICE agents have continued to threaten and kill people in Minneapolis and Minnesota’s governor and other state officials plead with the agency to leave, we share an interview with the governor of another state that was recently targeted by ICE: JB Pritzker of Illinois.  In October, as ICE agents were descending on Chicago in “Operation Midway Blitz”, Ben Smith and Max Tani of the Mixed Signals podcast from Semafor spoke to Governor Pritzker about the novel communications tactics he was using to combat ICE’s incursion into his city. Eventually he was successful in stopping President Trump from sending in National Guard troops, and Border Patrol agents left the city. It was an urgent and timely conversation with lots of significance as we watch a similar situation unfold daily in Minnesota. Thanks to Semafor for letting us share this interview with you. Find all episodes of Mixed Signals here [https://www.semafor.com/hub/mixed-signals-media-podcast].   Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter here [https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media].  The hosts are on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani Question Everything is a production of KCRW [http://www.kcrw.org] and Placement Theory [http://www.placementtheory.com].Please rate and review our show – on this very app that you’re in right now! And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter [https://questioneverything.substack.com/].

Inside ICE’s Push to Go Viral

Many people were surprised that ICE officer Jonathan Ross was filming with his phone when he shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis. But Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell was leaked thousands of internal ICE messages that show the agency is obsessed with creating viral videos, and is using arrests of immigrants slapped with “hooky” captions and pop music to feed their content machine. Question Everything is a production of KCRW [http://www.kcrw.org] and Placement Theory [http://www.placementtheory.com]. Please rate and review our show – on this very app that you’re in right now! And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter [https://questioneverything.substack.com/]. Here are Drew's Washington Post stories: * ‘It’s a War’: Inside ICE’s media machine [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2025/ice-social-media-blitz/] * ICE Plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/31/ice-wartime-recruitment-push/] Guests: * Drew Harwell [https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/drew-harwell/], Washington Post technology reporter

How One Tweak to the Internet Led This Guy to a BDSM Dungeon

The story of an adult performer, Davin Strong, whose life was upended by a seemingly small change to Section 230. Question Everything is a production of KCRW [http://www.kcrw.org] and Placement Theory [http://www.placementtheory.com]. For more of our coverage of how the internet and press shape our reality, sign up for our newsletter [https://questioneverything.substack.com/]. Guests:  * Davin Addison (aka Davin Strong), adult performer whose livelihood was upended after FOSTA-SESTA. * Sam Eagan, Producer, Question Everything