Question Everything

Can Satire Save Democracy? w/ The Onion CEO Ben Collins

A nice treat for the holiday – an interview with the guy who runs the country’s funniest fake newspaper.  Ben Collins became CEO of The Onion [https://theonion.com/] after a long career working in traditional news, so he's got major thoughts about speaking truth to power. On this episode of fellow KCRW podcast The Sam Sanders Show, Ben lays out the role of satire in our current politics and what journalism is getting wrong about free speech.  Ben also talks about relaunching The Onion’s print newspaper (to great success), his attempts to buy Alex Jones’s extreme right-wing outlet InfoWars out of bankruptcy after the Sandy Hook lawsuits, and why AI will never write a good joke.  This episode originally aired on October 3, 2025. Check out more conversations and takes on The Culture with journalists, critics, and tastemakers on The Sam Sanders Show [https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest] from KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.  Guest:  * Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion.

Call 202-225-3501 To Fix The Internet

Next week, the House is expected to hold a hearing on kids’ online safety. They plan to release several bills to protect kids from harmful content. But one issue is not on the agenda: Section 230, the law that helps shield tech platforms from liability for content posted on their sites.  In an interview with our host, Brian Reed, Congressman Jake Auchincloss (MA-D) says one man has the power to add 230 to the hearing: Committee Chair Brett Guthrie. Auchincloss urges our listeners to call Guthrie at 202-225-3501, and request that Section 230 be added to the agenda – so that the biggest tech companies in our country can be “humbled.” Or you can email Rep. Guthrie at guthrieassistance@mail.house.gov. [guthrieassistance@mail.house.gov] There's more contact info at his website. [https://guthrie.house.gov/contact/] You can read Rep. Auchincloss’s proposed Section 230 reform bill here [https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/9187/text]. This emergency Section 230 alert is part of an ongoing journalistic experiment where Brian is shedding the traditional cloak of “objectivity” to actually try and change our information ecosystem for the better. Question Everything is a production of KCRW [http://www.kcrw.org] and Placement Theory [http://www.placementtheory.com]. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter [https://questioneverything.substack.com/], where we’ll send out Brian’s full video interview with Rep. Auchincloss about how hard it is to hold tech companies accountable. Guests:  * Congressman Jake Auchincloss (MA-D)

How Meta Is Making Billions From Scam Advertising

It seems like Meta just can’t lose. The Facebook parent company won a huge victory in court [https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/18/tech/meta-antitrust-suit-decision-not-monopoly]this week. The federal government was claiming Meta was too massive after acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp, and wanted to force the company to spin off those platforms. But a federal judge disagreed. And that means, Meta will continue to make a ton of money from scam ads on those platforms.  Reuters reporter Jeff Horwitz [https://www.reuters.com/authors/jeff-horwitz/] received leaked documents from inside Meta where employees estimated that last year its platforms served up 15 billion scam ad impressions [https://www.reuters.com/investigations/meta-is-earning-fortune-deluge-fraudulent-ads-documents-show-2025-11-06/] every day, totalling about $16 billion. That’s ten percent of the company’s total 2024 revenue. It’s a major part of their business. And if you want to sue Meta for serving you ads that lead to your credit card or identity getting stolen, it’s going to be really tough – because of Section 230, the law that prevents companies from getting sued for the content posted on their sites.  Brian talks to Jeff about what he discovered in this latest leak: how these scam ads make Meta billions, one “queasy-making” fix Meta has come up with, and how Section 230 provides not just a shield, but a lack of incentive for the company to change its ways. “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW [http://www.kcrw.org] and Placement Theory [http://www.placementtheory.com]. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter [http://questioneverything.substack.com]. And please help support our show by visiting our sponsor, the notetaking and personal assistant device Plaud.ai [http://plaud.ai], and using the offer code QUESTION. Guests: Jeff Horwitz, Reuters reporter and the author of “Broken Code: Inside Facebook and the Fight to Expose Its Harmful Secrets [https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Code-Facebook-Harmful-Secrets/dp/B0BW4WDNCT/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1330411452902112&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.gdCB6BDJww9rdPq9f0mc-bRseCEioYnO6hC02YQ9GqwzTWYsnURGaAjcPllZXadXUKfqd5rTS4MkxxiWKRuYOCkTJV2v5uvUuqZGj9_JWnkQ6XARA9UUGUnX4Q9bkY6n74LfPKDlr2kNiQLlXmNChrhQB5_iGpGsDNgM-yvv3lX2ws2RpSxZY8VdQRWQ8eAT1ILUZjWt3p2knEmluduvsAkZ84l_3zXGPlXsyYtonxU.-P0cIpVyEcPDjgu88zIhTAolSmWqiIWMVK9d_bFaiUU&dib_tag=se&hvadid=83150976378930&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=51636&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83151755318168%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=22531_13494420&keywords=jeff+horwitz&mcid=43a8d96db76831b590832974c939d042&msclkid=1a0fb08724c31ad98d78d990aa32940c&qid=1763151605&sr=8-1].”

'We Don't Hate Journalists Enough': The Story of an F-ed Up Deepfake

When journalist Julia Mengolini criticized her country’s president, Javier Milei, she didn’t expect to be targeted with one of the more disturbing uses of AI: a pornographic deepfake video designed to humiliate her. What began as trolling by online extremists spiraled into a government-amplified smear campaign, spurred on by senior officials and the president himself. Juila tells reporter/producer Zach St. Louis what happened to her and what she’s doing to fight back against President Milei – an ally of Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s.   “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW [http://www.kcrw.org] and Placement Theory [http://www.placementtheory.com]. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter [https://questioneverything.substack.com/]. Please help support our show by visiting our sponsor, the notetaking and personal assistant device Plaud.ai [http://plaud.ai], and use offer code QUESTION. Guests: Julia Mengolini — Journalist, radio host, and co-founder of Futurock

A Government Whistleblower Trusts a Newsroom, Ends Up in Prison

When NSA contractor Reality Winner leaked proof that Russia had tried to break into the U.S. election system, she thought she was helping her country. Instead, she got the longest federal prison sentence ever for giving information to the press. While prepping for her trial, she found out that the journalist she had trusted with the leaked document, accidentally exposed her. The Intercept, once known for protecting sources like Edward Snowden, bungled their vetting process in a way that led investigators straight to Reality’s front door.  As Reality releases her new memoir, “I Am Not Your Enemy [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=i+am+not+your+enemy&adgrpid=1342504259751387&hvadid=83906731219307&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=51636&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83906855681713%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=15255_13491286&mcid=1ceae4839fa834ceae87680c8056978f&msclkid=331c652f7a261d0481e90c2d02d8a3ee&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_8mw0x028ke_e],” This American Life host Ira Glass joins her in a live conversation, where she explains what happened and how the media turned her life into fodder for tabloid TV.  “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW [http://www.kcrw.org] and Placement Theory [http://www.placementtheory.com]. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter [https://questioneverything.substack.com/]. Guests:  * Reality Winner, government whistleblower  * Ira Glass, host of This American Life Show Notes: During Reality’s conversation with Ira Glass, she said she thought the world record for holding an abdominal plank position is around 18 hours. According to Guinness World Records, the record is 9 hours 38 minutes 47 seconds.