She Said

The upcoming movie finally pushed this to the top of the TBR pile. Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's 2017 New York Times article helped ignite the #MeToo movement and this is the tense account of the months leading up to the Weinstein expose. And while it's a damning portrayal of a sexual predator with decades of abuses to his name, it is as much the story of the apparatus surrounding him that facilitated his actions, looked the other way, and even sought to capitalize on the situation for their own benefit.

Gloria Allred and her daughter Lisa Bloom, known for taking on high-profile sexual harassment cases, are shown as mercenary opportunists seeking to obtain fat settlements accompanied by NDAs, muzzled victims, 40% cuts and lucrative book deals. David Boies, also known for representing Elizabeth Holmes (as revealed in the equally riveting book Bad Blood) is shown as a dogged defendant of Weinstein, utilizing the private Israeli agency Black Cube to surveil Twohey and Kantor and employ agents in the field to pose as feminist advocates and conference organizers to lull the journalists into false confidences. Not to mention the entourage of Miramax executive and board members that looked the other way, convincing themselves that this was just some marital infidelity.

Nearly five years later it can be a dispiriting read at times. The final chapters recounting how Christine Blasey Ford spoke out against Brett Kavanaugh before he was to be appointed for life to the Supreme Court we see him claiming his staunch support of women, down to the hours he spent coaching his daughters in basketball - only to overturn Roe v Wade. But more than that this is a testament to dogged journalism. We see how hard the work is to carefully construct, diligently verify and work against deep pocketed interests highly motivated to dissuade anyone from learning the truth. How this relies on the support of institutions and it's just as much a testament to the power of reporting in an environment when it's increasingly being doubted, touted as fake, and completely sidelined.