This week’s episode: The rise and fall of Madoff's Ponzi scheme

Bernie Madoff masterminded one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history, duping thousands of investors out of tens of billions of dollars. After his recent death, we dig into how he pulled it off.
 

‘The first step toward justice’

After a jury found former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three counts for the murder of George Floyd last week, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who prosecuted the case, made a powerful statement. “I would not call today’s verdict ‘justice,’ because justice implies true restoration,” he said. “But it is accountability, which is the first step toward justice.”   

Ellison was similarly insightful last June when he talked with Reveal host Al Letson right after he took over the prosecution for Floyd’s murder. He had replaced the county district attorney, signaling a more aggressive prosecution and more empathic leadership. He pushed back against commentators and politicians who were often criticizing Black Lives Matter protesters for a lack of “patience.” “I don’t ask for patience. It’s 400 years of people being denied it in so many cases where there was no accountability,” Ellison told Letson. 

Ellison knew all too well that even in cases in which police violence is caught on tape, it’s extremely rare that officers are prosecuted and found guilty. He came of age as an activist fighting police brutality. The prosecution's methodical case against Chauvin rested on both strong evidence of wrongdoing and on flipping the script on that 400 years of history. Prosectuors presented Floyd as a whole person, someone who was loved by his family and community and whose murder demands accountability. 

As Ellison noted back in June, a guilty verdict in this case is not the end of the story, but potentially the beginning of a new era in history. As he told Letson: “If we are really going to say this is the issue we must solve and we’re not going to quit, we’re not going to wait till the next horrific, tragic episode. We’re going to keep on working regardless.” 

Read the interview: Keith Ellison talks about police power, protest and George Floyd murder prosecutions

The work we do takes an enormous expenditure of time and resources. But we work hard to tell these stories because we see every day that arming people with facts helps them live better lives. 

More essential reporting on Black Lives Matter

• The uprising: In this episode from June, protesters in Minneapolis, Miami, San Francisco and other cities tell us why they’re speaking out. We also remember another time people took to the streets to protest police brutality: the long, hot summer of 1967.
• ‘Go after the troublemakers’: Reporter Anjali Kamat digs into the disproportionate federal prosecutions of Black Lives Matter protesters.  
• ‘I have to be out there. They’re killing us.’: This comic illustrated by Thi Bui shares the story of a Baltimore mother who felt she had to protest, despite the risks of the pandemic.

Reveal Recommends

Alexandra Gutierrez is the First Amendment Fellow at Reveal. She works with Reveal's general counsel to litigate Freedom of Information Act actions and vet stories for legal risks.

Listening: Who? Weekly is my default fold-the-laundry podcast. Lindsey and Bobby are hilarious, and they revel in the inanity of low-brow celebrity culture with such gusto.

Reading: I just finished Ted Chiang's collection “Stories of Your Life and Others.“  Each story leaves you asking big questions about humanity, and at least one moved me to tears. If you liked the movie "Arrival," you should absolutely check out this source material.

Watching: The very gentle comedy series "Joe Pera Talks With You" is turning into my favorite bedtime watch. The 10-minute episodes are about nothing and everything all at once, and they give me the same feeling as “The Great British Baking Show,” but in a quarter of the time.

You can keep up with Alexandra on Twitter at @alexguttierez.

This newsletter is written by Sarah Mirk. Have any feedback or ideas? Send them my way.