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** THE WEEKLY REVEAL
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Saturday, October 25, 2025


** A Midnight Phone Call. A Missing Movie. Decades of Questions.
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** A video still from Garrison Hayes’ experimental first film. (Courtesy of Garrison Hayes)
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Listen to the episode ([link removed])

I miss the days when I could open my phone and not be immediately bombarded with dystopian reminders of the very screwed-up world we’re living in. Don’t get me wrong. It’s important to know what’s happening around you. But a girl needs a break every once in a while. And if you’re feeling like me, boy, this weekend’s episode is going to be a treat.

Introducing a special episode of Reveal delving into “inconsequential investigations.”

As my colleagues Jenny Casas and Ashley Cleek explain, we at the Center for Investigative Reporting excel at finding things: government documents, contact information, the misdeeds people have tried to hide. It’s serious work that we use for serious tasks, but what if we used these skills for things that are less about accountability and more about joy? If we turned our energy toward meaningful personal questions?

In that spirit, we take up Mother Jones video reporter Garrison Hayes’ quest to find the first short film he ever made, even though it was lost to the early 2000s internet. Yowei Shaw of the podcast Proxy brings us along as she meets her doppelganger and discovers the truth behind how people see her. Cleek untangles her own biggest unsolved mystery: Did reclusive rock star Jeff Mangum really call into her college radio show, asking her for a favor?

P.S. We plan to do more “inconsequential investigations” like this. So, if you have a personal mystery that needs looking into, email us at [email protected].

Check it out ([link removed]) .

—Arianna Coghill
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🎧 Other places to listen: Spotify ([link removed]) , Overcast ([link removed]) , iHeartRadio ([link removed]) , or wherever you get your podcasts.


** Al Letson at No Kings: Hope, Fury, and Inflatables
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On October 18, roughly 2,700 No Kings demonstrations took place around the US. Organizers estimated that 7 million protesters came out to denounce what they described as America’s slide toward authoritarianism under President Donald Trump. One of the largest protests occurred right in the nation’s capital, where National Guard troops are patrolling the streets and many furloughed and fired federal workers are angry about the ongoing government shutdown.

That’s right where More To The Story’s Al Letson found himself last weekend. Al spoke with a handful of the thousands of protesters who attended to get a better sense of why they came out. Some had creative posters. Others wore inflatable costumes. But all of them told Al that they were concerned about the direction of the country in a second Trump term.

“I'm here for my neighbors who are furloughed and aren't getting paid even though they’re still working for the federal government,” said a protester named Sarah. “I'm here for the LGBTQ+ community whose rights are being stripped away. I'm here for my children and the future I want for them in this world. I want a country where we are back to kindness and love and treating our neighbor with respect and dignity.”

On a special episode of More To The Story, Al speaks with No Kings protesters about Trump’s immigration raids, threats to free speech, federal workers being fired, and fears about the future of democracy in America.

Check out the latest ([link removed]) episode ([link removed]) .

Find this episode wherever you listen to Reveal, and don’t forget to subscribe:
Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) | Spotify ([link removed]) | iHeartRadio ([link removed]) | Overcast ([link removed])


** Photo Credit: Clare Conger
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** In Case You Missed It
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** 🎧 Exposing a Global Surveillance Empire ([link removed])
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In a major investigation, a young reporter uncovers a powerful technology used to spy on thousands of people across the world.

Photo Credit: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire/Zuma

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** 🎧 How a Climate Doomsayer Became an Unexpected Optimist ([link removed])
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Environmentalist Bill McKibben on how solar power could slow global warming and help fix the planet’s coming energy crisis.

Photo Credit: CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty

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** 🎧 Immigrants on the Line ([link removed])
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Haitian immigrants moved to Colorado on the promise of a good job and a place to stay—only to be mistreated. Now, they could be deported.

Photo Credit: Mary Anne Andrei
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** 🎧 The Race to Stop AI’s Threats to Democracy ([link removed])
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Tech journalist Karen Hao sounds the alarm about the rising risks to the country—and planet—from the growth of artificial intelligence.

Photo Credit: Blondet Eliot/Abaca/Zuma
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This issue of The Weekly Reveal was written by Arianna Coghill and edited by Daniel King. If you enjoyed this issue, forward it to a friend ([link removed]) . Have some thoughts? Drop us a line (mailto:[email protected]) with feedback or ideas!

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