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Why Don’t We Know Podcast
by whydontweknow
We expect government secrecy from the Pentagon or the CIA — not from our universities and our schools.But in many cases, institutions designed to protect our children are instead hiding critical information.It leaves us asking a lot of questions. One of which is simple … Why Don’t We Know?Over the following episodes, we are trying to figure that out.
Episodes
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We actually won a FERPA appeal
We close out Why Don't We Know with a huge victory - a win against the abuse of FERPA, the federal privacy law that often leads to harmful secrets in schools. In this episode, we beat FERPA to get a video of an encounter between a school police officer and a student in Jeannette, Pennsylvania.
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The unintended consequence of police in schools
The complicated and misunderstood history of having police officers in schools, and one group of students first-hand stories of what it means to have them in their hallways.
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Why do children end up in juvy?
In our final drop of episodes for Why Don’t We Know, we explore the secrecy of the juvenile justice system, starting with how kids are often punished with fees and fines. More than 30 states allow kids to be fined while in the juvenile system, and it’s very difficult to figure out how many…
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Whistleblower
What happens when a police officer breaks the silent code and speaks out about misconduct? This is the story of Cariol Horne, a former Buffalo cop who tried to do the right thing and is paying the price.
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Why Is Data Collection So Darn Difficult?
In May of 2015, shortly after the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer, former President Barack Obama traveled to Camden, New Jersey to announce a new program that was supposed to help repair the broken relationship between police and communities of...
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Who Are Body Cameras Really For?
After the nationwide protests following George Floyd’s death, we did a little experiment to see if we could get body worn camera footage from officers at the scene of protests where we knew there were injuries. Host: Sara Ganim. Reporters: Kristin Moorehead, Thomas Holton. Guests: Mary D. Fan…
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”Police Say”
In the moments after 21-year-old Kevin Peterson Jr. was killed, Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins took to a podium to defend his deputies. Although he started with a warning, “I am waiting along with you to learn about much of the details,” Atkins speculated about something significant that would...
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Welcome to Season 2 - The Criminal Justice System
Season 2 of Why Don’t We Know starts here, with a preview of our season about secrecy in the criminal justice system. Host Sara Ganim starts by explaining why we are here and how we found our reporting. Host: Sara Ganim. Editors: Amy Fu, James Sullivan. Original score: Pete Readman. Research:...
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Special Episode: Jason Leopold - Ultimate Transparency
In this special episode, we bring you a live taping of the first-ever Brechner Speaker Series, co-hosted by the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, featuring award-winning investigative reporter Jason Leopold, who has broken some of the top...
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Special Episode: ’Gag order’ against sexual assault
In this special episode, taped live at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas in March, we discuss how schools are bullying young sexual assault accusers into waiving their rights during school investigations into what happened to them. Title IX is supposed to protect students who allege sexual assault, but...
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EXTRA: Why don't we know where all the lead pipes are?
In April, President Joe Biden announced an infrastructure plan that includes removing and replacing all of America's lead drinking water pipes. It's an ambitious plan that would help millions of American children, and it was met with a lot of praise. But we couldn't help but wonder if this plan...
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EXTRA: The Human Toll Of Missing Data
Depending on where you look, you can find a statistic that will tell you any number you want to see about how often students are bullied in school. Why is that? Why are bullying numbers all over the place? And how does it cause students to fall through the cracks? Host: Gabriella Paul. Reporter:...
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Any Other Law
In the season one finale of, we're unpacking a season full of secrecy in public education - answering the final 'WHY' of Why Don't We Know -- which is why hasn't FERPA been fixed? Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Conner Mitchell. Guests: Frank LoMonte, Paige Kowalski.
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EXTRA: Why Don't We Know how many kids are attending virtual learning?
This was the most disruptive academic year in modern history, and we have collected very little data to help our students recover from it. This Extra episode tackles the question of Why Don't We Know how many students are actually attending virtual learning and which ones fell behind. Host: Sara...
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EXTRA: Attacked
When it comes to physical attacks on teachers in the classroom, it appears, we don't want to know. This episode explores the missing data regarding violence in the classroom and how it affects a school district. Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Angela DiMichele. Guests: Bill Gillard, anonymous teacher.
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Misplaced Fear
We assumed that, since school shootings are such a known public safety concern, there would be really detailed data on how many weapons are brought into K-12 schools. But 15 states stopped us from seeing the mere number of guns brought to schools out of fear of violating privacy.
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What the heck is FERPA?
A step back and a look at the history of FERPA, the privacy act we’ve now spent quite a bit of time dissecting. How did we get here? We start in 1974 at its infancy and then look at two cases at the same university that show the glaring hypocrisy of its current use. Host: Sara Ganim; Reporter:...
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Education Records
From sexual assault, to school yard injuries, to public safety, to political campaign contributions to racial bias, a federal privacy law called FERPA is being used as a one-word, catch-all answer for any information a school doesn't want to share. Host: Sara Ganim; Reporters: Marianna Faiello,...
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Secret Outcomes
Why Don't We Know how Title IX cases are handled at many universities? The answer is combination of two things: a real concern for privacy and the comfort of secrecy. Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Marianna Faiello. Guests: Liz Abdnour, Brett Sokolow.
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BONUS: Secrecy and the Coronavirus
Government agencies everywhere, not just schools, are using COVID19 as an excuse for not sharing information. FOIA office phone lines were disconnected. Calls went unreturned. Emails unanswered. In this episode, we also explore how government agencies are misapplying the Health Insurance and...
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Up In Flames
Off-campus housing is often the only choice for certain students attending college, but finding safe housing can be a real challenge. In addition, we discuss how private partnerships are leading to some major financial failures for public universities building new dorms. Host: Sara Ganim. Guests:...
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Public, Not Public
It's estimated that 75 percent of public universities use non-profit foundations to do certain work in secret that would otherwise be done in public. Raising money from influential donors is one of the most common. Host: Sara Ganim. Guests: Alexa Capeloto, Miranda Spivack, Evan Johns.
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The Portal
It's designed to be hidden. Public universities are turning to private portals to shield information that otherwise would be part of the public record. Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Camille Respess. Guest: Paula Lavigne, Judith Wilde, Jim Finklestein.
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EXTRA: When speech isn’t free, but it should be
Unconstitutional speech policies aren't just for college athletes. In the midst of a global pandemic, we found that resident assistants are also told they can't speak to the media without first getting permission.
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What is a FOIA Anyway?
The ability to request records from public institutions is part of the law, and in theory, should take a few weeks, at best. But after nine months, when several universities hadn’t responded to some requests at all, we started calling to see what was going on. Host: Sara Ganim. Guests: Terry...
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The Blame Game
Why Don’t We Know how to stop hazing deaths? It’s one of those sadly persistent stories, with no real progress being made toward a solution. Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Jessica Curbelo. Guests: Daphne Beletsis, Doug Fierberg, Walter Kimbrough, David Easlick.
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A Deadly Reversal
There’s a hidden and deadly danger inside many public university buildings, but no one is talking about it, no one is regulating it, and it’s nearly impossible to find on your own. Host Sara Ganim interviews attorney Mike Robb about a case of a deadly reversal. Other guests: Erik Olson, Barry...
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More Than Just a Code of Silence
Our research found that many major public universities have policies that silence athletes, robbing them of their first amendment rights. The policies are not only restrictive, they’re unconstitutional. Host Sara Ganim talks to Ramogi Huma, president of the National College Players Association,...
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Invisible Injury
Ever since Junior Seau propelled the horrors of chronic traumatic encephalopathy into the general public, we’ve repeatedly heard a singular narrative from those in charge of the sport of football: The sport is safer than ever. But how do we know that? At the college level, we’ve never seen those...
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Why Don't We Know
We expect government secrecy from the Pentagon or the CIA — not from our universities and our schools. But in many cases, institutions designed to protect our children are instead hiding critical information. It leaves us asking a lot of questions. One of which is simple…why don’t we know? Over…
more
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
We expect government secrecy from the Pentagon or the CIA — not from our universities and our schools.But in many cases, institutions designed to protect our children are instead hiding critical information.It leaves us asking a lot of questions. One of which is simple … Why Don’t We Know?Over the following episodes, we are trying to figure that out.
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whydontweknow
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Why Don’t We Know Podcast have?
Why Don’t We Know Podcast currently has 30 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Why Don’t We Know Podcast about?
We expect government secrecy from the Pentagon or the CIA — not from our universities and our schools.But in many cases, institutions designed to protect our children are instead hiding critical information.It leaves us asking a lot of questions. One of which is simple … Why Don’t We Know?Over the...
How often does Why Don’t We Know Podcast release new episodes?
Why Don’t We Know Podcast has 30 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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You can listen to Why Don’t We Know Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Why Don’t We Know Podcast?
Why Don’t We Know Podcast is created and hosted by whydontweknow.
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