EPISODE · Nov 27, 2025 · 39 MIN
'All the Empty Rooms' Film Screening with Q&A
from Commonwealth Club of California Podcast · host Commonwealth Club of California
Veteran reporter Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp embark on a cross country journey to memorialize the bedrooms of children lost to school shootings, highlighting their urgent call for action against the rising epidemic of gun violence. Their story is told in the new documentary All the Empty Rooms, which follows Hartman and Bopp on their seven-year-long project. Hartman, known for his heartwarming human-interest stories on CBS News, takes a more serious turn in this exploration of absence, memory, and the unseen ripples of America’s gun violence. Join us for a screening of All the Empty Rooms, followed by a Q&A with director Joshua Seftel. The directory says “We traveled from Steve’s home in upstate New York to Nashville to Uvalde to Santa Clarita and back to the CBS News studios to document Steve’s final news report. And we get to know the children through the rooms they left behind. They came to life for us and the weight of their absence was crushing." All the Empty Rooms is a Netflix release by Smartypants Pictures, in association with Hyperobject Industries and Artemis Rising Foundation. Photos courtesy Netflix and Smartypants Pictures; used with permission. This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
Veteran reporter Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp embark on a cross country journey to memorialize the bedrooms of children lost to school shootings, highlighting their urgent call for action against the rising epidemic of gun violence. Their story is told in the new documentary All the Empty Rooms, which follows Hartman and Bopp on their seven-year-long project. Hartman, known for his heartwarming human-interest stories on CBS News, takes a more serious turn in this exploration of absence, memory, and the unseen ripples of America’s gun violence. Join us for a screening of All the Empty Rooms, followed by a Q&A with director Joshua Seftel. The directory says “We traveled from Steve’s home in upstate New York to Nashville to Uvalde to Santa Clarita and back to the CBS News studios to document Steve’s final news report. And we get to know the children through the rooms they left behind. They came to life for us and the weight of their absence was crushing." All the Empty Rooms is a Netflix release by Smartypants Pictures, in association with Hyperobject Industries and Artemis Rising Foundation. Photos courtesy Netflix and Smartypants Pictures; used with permission. This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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'All the Empty Rooms' Film Screening with Q&A
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