What will I learn about: how powerful figures use their public prestige, political fundraising, and humanitarian efforts to mask predatory behavior and gain unwarranted trust?

Discover how powerful figures use their public prestige, political fundraising, and humanitarian efforts to mask predatory behavior and gain unwarranted trust.

What will I learn about: the systemic mechanisms of silence, including how money, media complicity, and career threats are weaponized to isolate victims and protect abusers?

Understand the systemic mechanisms of silence, including how money, media complicity, and career threats are weaponized to isolate victims and protect abusers.

What will I learn about: Learn why a seemingly untouchable public reputation is often the strongest indicator that careful, persistent scrutiny and accountability are desperately needed?

Learn why a seemingly untouchable public reputation is often the strongest indicator that careful, persistent scrutiny and accountability are desperately needed.

What will I learn about: Recognize how open, honest conversations and courageous storytelling can dismantle the isolating shame of abuse and challenge entrenched patriarchal structures?

Recognize how open, honest conversations and courageous storytelling can dismantle the isolating shame of abuse and challenge entrenched patriarchal structures.

What will I learn about: how persistent investigative journalism and meticulous documentation can break through institutional walls to expose the truth, even in the face of intense personal risk?

Find out how persistent investigative journalism and meticulous documentation can break through institutional walls to expose the truth, even in the face of intense personal risk.

Catch and Kill

Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

Ronan Farrow

★ 4.3 / 5(38 ratings)

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Categories:

Society & Culture Biography & Memoir

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Did you know that some of the world’s most powerful media outlets actually pay to ensure certain stories are never told?
💡Have you ever wondered what happens when a Hollywood mogul hires elite international spies to stop an investigation in its tracks?
💡Are you curious about the secret 'conspiracy of silence' that allowed one of the most notorious predators in history to evade justice for decades?

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Key Takeaways from Catch and Kill

✓Discover how powerful figures use their public prestige, political fundraising, and humanitarian efforts to mask predatory behavior and gain unwarranted trust.
✓Understand the systemic mechanisms of silence, including how money, media complicity, and career threats are weaponized to isolate victims and protect abusers.
✓Learn why a seemingly untouchable public reputation is often the strongest indicator that careful, persistent scrutiny and accountability are desperately needed.
✓Recognize how open, honest conversations and courageous storytelling can dismantle the isolating shame of abuse and challenge entrenched patriarchal structures.
✓Find out how persistent investigative journalism and meticulous documentation can break through institutional walls to expose the truth, even in the face of intense personal risk.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Catch and Kill

Mind Map

Catch and Kill

NBC's Culture of Complicity+

Harvey Weinstein's Tactics+

Gathering the Evidence+

The Investigation's Obstacles+

Publication & Fallout+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8

Why did NBC executives replace Ronan Farrow's report on college sexual assault with a segment on Adderall abuse in October 2016?

A. They wanted to avoid the jarring contrast of airing it alongside Billy Bush's apology for the leaked Access Hollywood tape.
B. Harvey Weinstein threatened to sue the network for tortious interference if they aired Farrow's segment.
C. Noah Oppenheim believed the topic of sexual assault was too dark and inappropriate for morning television.
D. Farrow had not gathered enough credible evidence to meet NBC's strict journalistic standards.

Question 2 of 8

What specific background experience helped Ronan Farrow win Rose McGowan's trust when he initially reached out to her?

A. His previous work as a lawyer handling non-disclosure agreements for vulnerable actors in Hollywood.
B. His sympathetic reporting on his sister Dylan's sexual abuse allegations against their father, Woody Allen.
C. His long-standing friendship with McGowan's co-star Ben Affleck, who had also confronted Weinstein.
D. His reputation for exposing corrupt television executives during his time at Fox News.

Question 3 of 8

How did Farrow manage to obtain the audio recording of Harvey Weinstein admitting to groping Ambra Gutierrez without leaving a digital paper trail?

A. He hacked into the NYPD's Special Victims Division database to download the original file.
B. He received an anonymous flash drive in the mail from a whistleblower inside The Weinstein Company.
C. He used his phone to record the audio playing from Gutierrez's old laptop to avoid file transfers.
D. He purchased a copy of the original recording from editors at the National Enquirer.

Question 4 of 8

What strategy did the National Enquirer use to help Harvey Weinstein make the allegations from Ambra Gutierrez go away in 2015?

A. They paid the District Attorney's office a large sum to drop the criminal charges against Weinstein.
B. They published a series of derogatory articles insinuating that Gutierrez was a prostitute and a predator.
C. They threatened to expose Gutierrez's family secrets if she refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
D. They bought the exclusive rights to Gutierrez's story and permanently buried it in their archives.

Question 5 of 8

What crucial piece of evidence did former TWC employee Emily Nestor provide to Farrow's investigation?

A. A secret audio recording of Weinstein offering her a movie role in exchange for sexual favors.
B. A copy of the $100,000 settlement check Weinstein's lawyers had sent her to keep quiet.
C. Written correspondence from a TWC executive acknowledging his fight with Weinstein over the mistreatment of women.
D. A logbook detailing the names of all the young women who had visited Weinstein's hotel room.

Question 6 of 8

What was one of the primary excuses NBC executive Noah Oppenheim used to justify killing Farrow's story about Weinstein?

A. He claimed Farrow's relationship with Woody Allen created a conflict of interest that undermined his objectivity.
B. He argued that the New York Times had already published a more comprehensive version of the story.
C. He stated that Rose McGowan's refusal to name Weinstein on camera made the entire piece legally indefensible.
D. He insisted that the NYPD had officially cleared Weinstein of all charges, making the report defamatory.

Question 7 of 8

What condition did David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, insist upon before agreeing to publish Farrow's investigation?

A. Farrow had to secure an on-the-record interview with Harvey Weinstein himself.
B. Farrow needed to find one more credible source willing to go on the record.
C. Farrow had to resign from his position at NBC News completely before publication.
D. Farrow needed to obtain physical copies of the non-disclosure agreements signed by the victims.

Question 8 of 8

What did Farrow eventually discover was a likely underlying reason for NBC's refusal to air his exposé on Harvey Weinstein?

A. NBCUniversal's parent company was in the middle of finalizing a lucrative merger with The Weinstein Company.
B. Noah Oppenheim was a close personal friend and former business partner of Harvey Weinstein.
C. NBC had its own culture of covering up sexual harassment, including using NDAs to protect star anchor Matt Lauer.
D. Weinstein had secretly purchased a controlling stake in NBC's news division to control their reporting.

Catch and Kill — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2NBC’s handling of a host’s scandal first showed its discomfort with reporting on sexual abuse.
3Farrow began investigating a Hollywood studio chief after an actress alleged he had raped her.
4Harvey Weinstein’s behavior was widely known, but fear kept his victims silent.
5Farrow’s personal history helped him gain McGowan’s trust, though she hesitated to name Weinstein on camera.
6A tape from a 2015 police sting provided clear evidence of Weinstein’s misconduct.
7Farrow obtained the Gutierrez tape, but resistance to his investigation was growing.
8A tip from another journalist gave Farrow enough evidence to start considering publication.
9Farrow’s NBC boss, Noah Oppenheim, slowed down his investigation in the summer of 2017.
10NBC shut down Farrow’s story after calls between Weinstein and senior network staff.
11The New Yorker agreed to publish Farrow’s story if he could secure one more source.
12Weinstein’s final effort to stop publication failed, and Farrow’s story appeared in October 2017.
13NBC’s own culture of harassment and secrecy left it susceptible to Weinstein’s pressure.
14Final summary

Catch and Kill Summary & Overview

Catch and Kill (2019) is the gripping inside account of how the abuses of Hollywood’s most notorious predator, Harvey Weinstein, were brought to light. Along the way, veteran investigative reporter Ronan Farrow unpicks the conspiracy of silence that attempted to prevent his findings from ever being published and help Weinstein evade accountability for his history of sexual harassment, assault, and rape.

Who Should Listen to Catch and Kill?

Journalists and reporters
Media industry insiders
Women’s rights advocates

About the Author: Ronan Farrow

Ronan Farrow is a contributing writer to the New Yorker and the author of many meticulously documented accounts of wrongdoing in high places. His reporting has won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, the National Magazine Award, and the George Polk Award. Farrow was previously an anchor and reporter for MSNBC and NBC News. Before taking up journalism, he served as a State Department official. Farrow is also the author of War on Peace, a 2018 study of American diplomacy.

Catch and Kill

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to Catch and Kill — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from Catch and Kill

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Catch and Kill — Full Chapter Overview

Catch and Kill Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to Catch and Kill?

About the Author: Ronan Farrow

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