Catch and Kill

I would have given the book 5 stars if I was fascinated by the subject matter, but near the end, I realized I wasn't that invested, mainly because I had started reading the book years after the height of the #MeToo movement and already knew what happened to Weinstein. Overall, it thoroughly documents frustrating injustices with good prose.

• Ronan Farrow is the kid of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow
• He is an investigative journalist
• The book is about the sexual abuse of powerful Hollywood producers like Harvey Weinstein
• It is interesting because I also read the book of Ronan Farrows father (Woody Allen) who is accused of having sexually abused his own daughter
• In Woody Allen's book he says he did never abuse her and that this is ridiculous, in this book Ronan seems to believe the side of his mother and sister more even though he was at the time too little so he didn't notice anything
• He shows how powerful people like Harvey Weinstein, Trump and leading people at NBC and CBS used their power to sexually abuse young women
• He also shows how these companies protected their leaders even though they destroyed lives

Inside the reporting of the Weinstein story, long unchecked male power and wealth. The additional turns in the story of many layers of media complicity and the extent of resources turned against women and journalists... investigative journalism's importance beyond career or advertising revenue shines here. The audiobook includes one key disturbing original audio clip, and also has Farrow doing the whole range of character accents.

Having read "She Said," which told of breaking the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story by the reporting team at The NY Times, I expected "Catch & Kill" to be more of the same, but from the perspective of The New Yorker. Alas – this book was even more gripping.

I hadn't realized Farrow's story hit roadblocks and ultimately was punted by NBC. Nor that he was in semi-regular conversation with Matt Lauer before realizing that Lauer was also a predator. I also hadn't realized the lengths Weinstein went to threaten and intimidate his accusers (and Farrow). Nor did I know about the tabloid practice of "catch and kill."

In short: it was an education. A well-written and amusingly narrated (by Farrow on audiobook) story.

I thought I already knew a lot about this story — but there’s so much more! A dramatic and eye-opening read.

Read the book before you listen to the podcast!

While Farrow claims there is nothing "revealed" in the podcast, it does reveal the entire framing of the story. As such, I spent the entire read knowing the resolution of all the investigative/journalistic conflict. This made it a four-star experience for me despite it being an incredible book.

The book itself is really, really good. It's just so frustrating. Somehow absolutely astonishing and yet devastatingly unsurprising at the same time.

A harrowing account of the misdeeds of powerful men at the upper echelons of entertainment, news, and government, and of the courageous women who wouldn't be silenced. Farrow's memoir style approach keeps the reader engaged, especially during the recounting of the horrible accounts of sexual abuse and harassment rampant in this book.

This is absolutely a must read.

There aren't enough showers I can take to wash the gross off after reading this excellent book about truly despicable abusers. From Harvey Weinstein to Donald Trump and Matt Lauer, Farrow takes on an entire infrastructure of assholes who have spent careers wielding and protecting their physical power over other people. Thankfully there are books like this: receipts for the cultural shift which seems to be coming after a generation of greed.

If you can stomach it this is essential reading.

Riveting and upsetting