Mass shootings are now such a frequent occurrence in the United States that reporters like CNN’s Josh Campbell sometimes have to travel from one tragic location directly to a second one as news of another event breaks. Josh’s experience as an FBI special agent helps to give him a rich perspective on the practical and ethical challenges involved in this line of work.
Josh Campbell spoke with David Priess about relations between the FBI and police departments, J. Edgar Hoover’s influence on Hollywood’s portrayal of the Bureau, CIA-FBI frictions, comparisons between special agent work and journalism, his experiences getting to and making his way around the scenes of mass shootings, the cost-benefit calculus of naming suspects in such incidents, the personal challenges of covering mass shootings, and more.
Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Among the works discussed in this episode:
The movie Die Hard
The book Crossfire Hurricane: Inside Donald Trump’s War on Justice and the FBI by Josh Campbell
Josh Campbell’s CNN reporting
Texas Tribune coverage of the Uvalde school shooting
Daniel Silva’s books
