Our serious investigation into some deeply unserious questions

View in browser | Support our newsroom

Support fearless independent journalism. Donate today.

DONATE NOW

THE WEEKLY REVEAL

Saturday, October 25, 2025

A Midnight Phone Call. A Missing Movie. Decades of Questions.

A photo illustration of a video still. A young African American boy looks to the right with wide eyes and open mouth, as if making a discovery. There is a video timestamp in the upper right that reads “11:16:47 AM JUL 7 2005.”

A video still from Garrison Hayes’ experimental first film. (Courtesy of Garrison Hayes)

Listen to the episode

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.

—Arianna Coghill

Button that says, Listen on Apple Podcasts

🎧 Other places to listen: Spotify, Overcast, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Al Letson at No Kings: Hope, Fury, and Inflatables

Alt Text: A man with long dreadlock hair and a bushy beard holds a microphone in front of a woman with short brown hair. She is among a crowd of people wearing sunglasses, T-shirts, jeans, and shorts, who are holding signs. The woman’s sign reads, “Love Your Neighbor. No Exceptions.”

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 episode.

Find this episode wherever you listen to Reveal, and don’t forget to subscribe:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Overcast

Photo Credit: Clare Conger

Advertisement

In Case You Missed It

A Caucasian woman with hair down to her shoulders, wearing a coat and carrying two bags, walks to our left as she talks on a mobile phone. Behind her is a large mural of a face, seen from the bridge of the nose to the forehead. The dark gray eyes of the painting seem to be in line with the passing woman, whose shadow falls against the lower part of the wall.

🎧 Exposing a Global Surveillance Empire

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

A man dressed in black wearing a red hard hat crouches as he lowers one of dozens of panels into place.

🎧 How a Climate Doomsayer Became an Unexpected Optimist

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

A photo of a two-story motel at dusk. On top of the roof is a large neon sign shaped like a rainbow, glowing in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, with the word “motel” illuminated in bold white letters beneath it.

🎧 Immigrants on the Line

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

A man in a dark suit and tie stares directly into the camera as he stands among others, who are also formally dressed. A woman beside him extends her right hand as if making an introduction.

🎧 The Race to Stop AI’s Threats to Democracy

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

Advertisement

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. Have some thoughts? Drop us a line with feedback or ideas!

Donate

The Center for Investigative Reporting

PO Box 584

San Francisco, CA 94104

Add us to your address book

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from all Reveal emails.