Craziest Story Ever
56 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 55 ratingsThis podcast is about pulling the curtain back on TV news and getting a look at how the journalism sausage is made. It’s also a chance to more intimately get to know the journalists doing that work through conversations about guests’ career paths, memorable moments and stories, and day-to-day lives.
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Episodes
Allie Berube | ABC Harrisburg Sports Anchor and Reporter
March 20, 2020 07:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MBAllie Berube is a sports anchor and reporter at the ABC affiliate in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The viewing area covers 95 high schools and more than a dozen colleges in Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York. What do sports journalists do in the age of coronavirus when everything's been canceled? Allie explains how she's finding a way. We also talk about the clock that constantly runs in her head, the monster task of producing a weekly 45-minute high school football show, and her series of stori...
Baruch Shemtov | Former Fox New York Entertainment Reporter
February 17, 2020 10:00 - 35 minutes - 24.4 MBFor five years, Baruch Shemtov brought his unique brand of energy and charisma to Good Day New York, the morning show on Fox. He's currently working toward an MBA at Harvard Business School. Baruch walks me through the hectic life of a morning show reporter, which includes brightening people's moods through some outrageous experiences. He also discusses the art of the celebrity interview, and how a side hustle while working as a CNN researcher launched his TV career.
Luis Miguel Echegaray | Sports Illustrated Host and Writer
January 21, 2020 08:00 - 26 minutes - 18.1 MBLuis Miguel Echegaray is a host and writer at Sports Illustrated who focuses on soccer content and growing the Latinx/Spanish audience. We talk about why men's soccer can't seem to catch up to women's soccer in the U.S., SI's long-term strategy to reach young people craving content, and what the reduction of the magazine means for the company.
Adam Kuperstein | NBC New York Weekend Anchor and Reporter
January 02, 2020 08:00 - 44 minutes - 30.5 MBAdam Kuperstein is the weekend anchor and a reporter for NBC's flagship station in New York City. Covering the recent Jersey City shooting, rapid-fire gunshots sounded behind Adam while he was reporting live on air. We talk about the traumatizing experience and how he's dropped everything to cover other anti-Semitic attacks like the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre. He also shares how being out in a hurricane was the first step in his transition from sports to news, and dishes on his hard-hit...
Howard Bernstein (Pt. 2) | CBS Washington Meteorologist
December 26, 2019 07:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MBHoward Bernstein is the weekday morning meteorologist for the CBS affiliate in Washington DC. In the second half of our conversation, we talk about the common criticism that meteorologists rarely get the forecast right, the weather apps that come with smartphones and the role climate change plays in his daily work.
Howard Bernstein (Pt. 1) | CBS Washington Meteorologist
December 19, 2019 07:00 - 24 minutes - 16.9 MBHoward Bernstein is the weekday morning meteorologist for the CBS affiliate in Washington DC. Howard shares the mysteries of how meteorologists come up with their forecasts! We also talk about tornado chasing in Maryland and Oklahoma, plus how he bounced back from bombing a job interview at The Weather Channel.
Joe Vazquez | CBS San Francisco Reporter
December 12, 2019 08:00 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MBJoe Vazquez is a National Emmy award-winning reporter for the CBS affiliate in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area. He shares his frightening story of being the victim of an armed robbery at work - a serious issue in the market - plus covering protests and riots in Oakland after a police shooting, and how a backpacking European vacation with his wife turned into a sudden job as an NBC News correspondent.
Danielle Robay | Entertainment Host and Media Personality
December 05, 2019 11:00 - 31 minutes - 21.8 MBDanielle Robay is immersed in the world of entertainment, hosting and media. She's an IMDB host as well as a featured reporter on 'California Live', a lifestyle show on NBC Los Angeles. We talk about how she ended up having breakfast with Larry King, an interview at the Emmys that had both her and the celebrity tearing up, and how a little-known character actor inspired her to keep believing in herself.
Ari Odzer (Pt. 2) | NBC Miami Reporter
November 28, 2019 11:00 - 23 minutes - 16.2 MBIn the second half of our conversation, Ari Odzer talks about getting tear-gassed on live TV during a riot, being followed around for weeks by a documentary film crew, and running into a fan of his all the way across the country...although it was more like "crashing" into.
Ari Odzer (Pt. 1) | NBC Miami Reporter
November 21, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutes - 17.5 MBAri Odzer is a veteran award-winning reporter for the NBC station in Miami. We talk about his exhausting marathon coverage of the devastating Hurricane Andrew in 1992, including when he convinced a helicopter pilot to break some rules for a fast food lunch. He also shares what still gets his juices going about the job and how he's found a satisfying niche reporting on the Florida education system.
Brandon Pope | The Jam Chicago Reporter
November 07, 2019 11:00 - 32 minutes - 22.3 MBBrandon Pope is a reporter for The Jam, a morning show on Chicago's CW station that's about having fun while also taking a deeper look and contextualizing important issues facing the city. We talk about how he never left the theater when he covered a 59-hour, 22-movie Marvel marathon, what celebrities like JB Smoove and Kel Mitchell are really like, and where the best stories came from during the 2012 Olympics.
Jon Sciambi | ESPN Baseball Announcer
October 31, 2019 10:00 - 31 minutes - 21.7 MBJon "Boog" Sciambi is a baseball play-by-play announcer for ESPN. We talk about how being a "sneaky a**hole" helps one of the game's best hitters, if the sport of baseball has a problem, and dispel some of the common misconceptions about calling a game.
Natasha Verma | NBC Denver Anchor
October 24, 2019 10:00 - 30 minutes - 21.2 MBNatasha Verma is the morning anchor at the legacy station in Denver, NBC 9News. She graduated high school at 15, completed her Master's degree at 18, and has been a working journalist ever since. Natasha is a cancer survivor too, so we talk about her decision to share her diagnosis with viewers and how she turned that experience into a charitable one. We also discuss her feature-length documentary about a female boxer and how she mastered the highly-chaotic job of covering morning traffic i...
Josh Hinkle | NBC Austin Director of Investigations & Innovation
October 17, 2019 10:00 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MBJosh Hinkle is the award-winning director of investigations at NBC Austin, as well as the host of the weekly political show State of Texas. We talk about his documentary looking at deadly police shootings and the mental health training officers receive, exposing corruption inside Texas's powerful oil and gas regulatory body, and how showing viewers the behind-the-scenes process of investigative journalism has taken on crucial importance.
Jane Wells | CNBC Special Correspondent
October 10, 2019 10:00 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MBJane Wells has worked for CNBC covering business news and specialty features since 1996. She's also reported in major markets like Los Angeles and Miami. The podcast lives up to its name this week - Jane risked her job to be in the Seinfeld finale, she got an exclusive interview with the pilot who flew OJ Simpson to Chicago the night of the murders, she's posed as a prostitute on the streets of Miami, and she's visited a leper colony in India. Jane also has two podcasts of her own, very di...
Ray Zate | Fox Las Vegas Promotions Manager and Former Chief Photographer
October 03, 2019 10:00 - 34 minutes - 23.5 MBRay Zate was the chief photographer at Fox Las Vegas before becoming a manager in the promotions department. He's worked in El Paso, Nashville and Atlanta, where he also had the opportunity to report as a one-man band. Ray and I talk about how Fox 5 in Vegas approaches promos as real storytelling opportunities, why the 1-October tragedy changed his outlook on his career and how camping along the Mexican border with vigilantes became the work he's most proud of.
Phil Lipof (Pt. 2) | NBC Boston Anchor
September 26, 2019 10:00 - 24 minutes - 16.5 MBIn Part 2 of my conversation with Phil Lipof, he talks about the series of stories he did after 9/11 about terrorism in Israel, including how he landed an interview with the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs thanks to some persistence and luck. Phil also shares his two experiences interviewing Donald Trump before he became president, and how he snuck in some time with the Dalai Lama when he probably wasn't supposed to.
Phil Lipof (Pt. 1) | NBC Boston Anchor
September 19, 2019 10:00 - 26 minutes - 18.6 MBPhil Lipof is a veteran journalist who currently anchors for NBC Boston. His previous reporting and anchoring stops include New York City and Miami. He shares the story of when he was nervous about sending his wife to be alone with OJ Simpson, when he had a gun pointed at his head during Hurricane Katrina and how personal it was to cover the Boston Marathon bombing.
Baxter Holmes | ESPN Senior NBA Writer
September 12, 2019 10:00 - 39 minutes - 27.3 MBBaxter Holmes is a senior NBA writer for ESPN who's focused on in-depth feature reporting. He's also worked as a beat reporter for the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. We talk about his stories that dig into the human and personal side of NBA life, including the league's obsession with PB&J sandwiches, a coaching legend's use of wine to forge a winning culture and how youth basketball may be dooming our players. Baxter also reveals a side of Kobe Bryant you may not know and how an LA...
Lauren Magiera | WGN Chicago Host of Destination: Outdoors
September 05, 2019 10:00 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MBLauren Magiera is the host of the new Destination: Outdoors adventure show on WGN Chicago, in addition to her responsibilities as a sports anchor and reporter. We talk about the rock climbing, fishing and archery she does on the show, and how putting those activities on television is a much different beast than simply doing them on your own. Lauren also shares how crazy it gets hosting outdoors segments when you're "one-man banding" without a photographer, and she tells about the time she t...
Nikki Battiste | CBS News Correspondent
August 29, 2019 10:00 - 40 minutes - 28 MBNikki Battiste is a correspondent for CBS News who moved to an on-camera reporting position after more than a decade of working behind the scenes at ABC News. We talk about how Nikki used hidden cameras to help two survivors confront the priest who abused them, what it means to be a network "booker", and how she landed the first interview in the world with Amanda Knox, who was the center of the one of the biggest news stories of the century.
Josh Scheinblum | ABC Cedar Rapids Chief Investigator
August 22, 2019 10:00 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MBJosh Scheinblum is the chief investigative reporter at the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He shares how there actually is a lot to investigate in a smaller city like Cedar Rapids, including a school district that employed a teacher with multiple complaints of sexual misconduct. Josh also gives insight on what working in Iowa is like during election season, and how his career never would've happened without a Youtube video.
Intermission
August 15, 2019 10:00 - 1 minute - 820 KBNo new episode this week because I'm on vacation but I still have content to give you guys! Take a quick listen to find out what it is. Back next Thursday!
Vicki Gonzalez | NBC Sacramento Reporter
August 08, 2019 10:00 - 25 minutes - 17.3 MBVicki Gonzalez is a reporter for NBC Sacramento. She recently covered her fourth mass shooting, the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting. We discuss what she's learned from each of those experiences, plus the things she did on live TV while working in Las Vegas that could never be done anywhere else, how she managed to anchor and produce her own shows in a newsroom that mostly spoke a different language, and her exclusive interview with a death row inmate the day before his execution.
Emily Lippiello | NBC Philadelphia Producer
August 01, 2019 05:00 - 31 minutes - 21.6 MBEmily Lippiello is the 11 p.m. newscast producer at NBC Philadelphia. We go into great detail about what a producer does and what her responsibilities are - from coming up with the stories in the show and artfully putting them in an order that works, to getting creative with studio camera shots and handling the "live television" elements once the show begins. We also talk about a Women's History Month special Emily produced, one of the rare times she got to leave the building!
Kevin Holden | CBS Milwaukee Sports Director
July 25, 2019 10:00 - 39 minutes - 27.1 MBKevin Holden is the sports director at CBS Milwaukee. Some topics we hit on are the challenges of calling play-by-play (in Spanish!) vs. reporting and anchoring, Aaron Rodgers' relationship with the media, and the time Kevin was the first journalist in the world to break a historic baseball story.
Arden Farhi | CBS News White House Producer
July 18, 2019 10:00 - 37 minutes - 26 MBArden Farhi is the coordinating White House producer for CBS News. He works closely with several CBS News correspondents, including previous Craziest Story Ever guest Major Garrett. Arden explains what a producer actually does! We also talk about how President Trump's unconventionality can sometimes help the journalists covering him, and we go behind the scenes into the television production of Trump's recent visit to North Korea. Arden is a producer on Major Garrett's politics and pop cul...
Tricia Kean | ABC Las Vegas Anchor
July 11, 2019 10:00 - 42 minutes - 28.9 MBTricia Kean has been an anchor at ABC Las Vegas since 2001 as well as the head of the successful 'Contact 13' consumer brand that's recovered millions of dollars for people in need. We talk about how her first news job turned out to be a sports position she was totally unequipped for, the work she did helping Las Vegans during the 2008 recession, the decision to share her weight loss journey with viewers, and how Jerry Lewis went out of his way to put a smile on her father's face.
George Smith | ABC Madison Anchor and Former ESPN Correspondent
July 04, 2019 10:00 - 30 minutes - 21.3 MBGeorge Smith is the main evening anchor at ABC in Madison, WI and was a national correspondent for ESPN for 10 years. We talk about his role in ESPN's team coverage of the Kobe Bryant rape case and his subsequent interviews with Bryant, his experience at the 2008 Olympics with Team USA Basketball, and how ESPN had already started to lean into an "embrace debate" culture by the time he left.
Natalie Brunell | ABC News Freelance Correspondent
June 27, 2019 10:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MBNatalie Brunell is a freelance correspondent for ABC News based in Los Angeles, an adjunct professor of journalism at USC, and the host of the Career Stories podcast. We talk about what life is really like working as a freelancer for a major news network, an investigation she spearheaded that resulted in an FBI raid on city hall, and why covering a red carpet is more glamorous for the celebrities than the reporters. Click here to check out Natalie's excellent podcast, Career Stories!
Alanna Autler | CBS Dallas Investigative Reporter
June 20, 2019 10:00 - 36 minutes - 25.2 MBAlanna Autler is an investigative reporter for CBS Dallas-Fort Worth with a focus on consumer pieces. We talk about how to nail a confrontational ambush interview, her story about Tennessee teachers using corporal punishment on students with disabilities, and how she cut her investigative chops early in her career covering a public health crisis in West Virginia.
Brendan Keefe (Pt. 2) | NBC Atlanta Chief Investigator
June 13, 2019 10:00 - 24 minutes - 11.4 MBBrendan Keefe is the chief investigative reporter at NBC Atlanta. He's won more than 85 Emmys and 3 National Edward R. Murrows, among other prestigious journalism awards. In the second half of our conversation, we talk about the time he went on the "Craigslist of guns" to buy a former police weapon for a story, the ethical questions that came up when he embedded with the U.S. Army in Iraq, and why working in New York City wasn't conducive to him doing his best work.
Brendan Keefe (Pt. 1) | NBC Atlanta Chief Investigator
June 06, 2019 10:00 - 23 minutes - 11 MBBrendan Keefe is the chief investigative reporter at NBC Atlanta. He's won more than 85 Emmys and 3 National Edward R. Murrows, among other prestigious journalism awards. Brendan and I discuss the weekly "60 Minutes-style" investigative show he leads, his stories about a corrupt police department that led to wholesale personnel changes (including officers that seemingly arrested a woman on a coin flip), and how he went about fixing a national problem in the 911 dispatch system.
Josh Einiger | ABC New York Reporter
May 30, 2019 10:00 - 33 minutes - 15.3 MBJosh Einiger is a reporter at ABC New York, the #1 station in the country's largest market. We discuss the grind of being in Paris to cover the Notre Dame fire, why he says the best TV comes out of reporters not knowing all the information, the whiplash you can feel as a traveling national correspondent, and how a bit of tenacity landed him at the Neverland Ranch covering Michael Jackson's death for Fox News.
Major Garrett | CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent
May 23, 2019 10:00 - 37 minutes - 17.3 MBMajor Garrett is the Chief Washington Correspondent for CBS News and host of the politics/pop culture podcast "The Takeout." We talk about the coveted interview he landed recently with a high-ranking White House official, his face-off with President Obama over the Iran deal that put him in the headlines, what the work expectations at CBS News are in covering the unpredictable Trump presidency, and where to find the best stories in Washington. Check out his podcast and his latest book, Mr. ...
Lauren Magiera | WGN Chicago Sports Anchor
May 16, 2019 11:00 - 34 minutes - 15.8 MBLauren Magiera is the first female sports anchor and reporter to work for the legendary WGN in Chicago. We talk about the unpleasant social media reaction to her historic hiring, how she manages to find fresh storylines during long seasons, what one of this year's Oscar-nominated films taught a Blackhawks player about hockey and life, and who the best soundbites in Chicago sports are, including a Bears running back who told her to call him "Big Daddy".
Elex Michaelson | Fox Los Angeles Anchor
May 09, 2019 11:00 - 42 minutes - 19.3 MBElex Michaelson is the main evening anchor at Fox11 Los Angeles and a veteran journalist in the nation's 2nd-largest TV market. We discuss how he accidentally ended up covering Lamar Odom's overdose in Las Vegas, his recent one-on-one interview with Kim Kardashian, how he approaches questioning President Donald Trump, and some of the amazing "pay it forward" stories he's helped facilitate in southern California. Elex hosts "The Issue Is" on Fox11 Friday nights at 10:30 and on Fox2 San Fran...
Jeff Butera | ABC Fort Myers Anchor
May 02, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutes - 11.6 MBJeff Butera is the evening anchor at ABC Fort Myers, FL and the author of the broadcast journalism guidebook "Write Like You Talk." We talk about why cliches and "cop-speak" pepper newscasts and what some of the worst offenses are, covering 9/11 as a college student, the people Jeff still remembers from Hurricane Katrina, and a piece he did on the shocking dangers of giving birth in America. Check out his book: http://www.writelikeyoutalk.com
Matt Pearl | NBC Atlanta Reporter
April 25, 2019 11:00 - 44 minutes - 20.6 MBMatt Pearl is a reporter at NBC Atlanta and author of "The Solo Video Journalist." We talk about what Matt recently taught students at a storytelling workshop, the best untold Atlanta stories he's discovered, the endurance it takes to cover an Olympics (he's been to three!), and the story of an ex-con who rescued a toddler that ended up on NBC Nightly News. Matt also has a great podcast of his own called Telling The Story - http://tellingthestoryblog.com/category/podcasts/
Craig Stevens | Fox Miami Anchor
April 18, 2019 11:00 - 37 minutes - 17.2 MBCraig Stevens is the longtime evening anchor at 7News Miami, the Fox affiliate. We talk about how he handles anchoring for hours on end during hurricane coverage, how his ad-libbing skills were put to the test during the 2000 presidential election, why Cuba denied his visa to cover Fidel Castro's funeral and what it's really like to start your career in a mailroom.
Joe Little | NBC San Diego Reporter
April 11, 2019 11:00 - 40 minutes - 18.4 MBJoe Little is an MMJ reporter and the Director of Storytelling at NBC San Diego. He's outspoken, honest, and sometimes aggressive in giving his opinions on TV news. We discuss his hatred of stick microphones that identify the station they belong to, his reputation for creatively and effectively using himself in stories to demonstrate a point, how he covered 9/11 from the front lines and why you're doing yourself a huge disservice if you shoot video on your cell phone vertically.
Stanley Roberts | CBS Phoenix Reporter
April 04, 2019 11:00 - 29 minutes - 13.7 MBStanley Roberts is a reporter for CBS Phoenix who spent 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Stanley's famous for catching bad behavior on video, and confronting the wrongdoers. His segments connect so well with viewers because he finds the everyday, "quality-of-life" irritants that wouldn't normally make the news. We also discuss his career beginnings in Los Angeles as a photographer covering the OJ Simpson trial and the LA Riots.
Miguel Martinez-Valle | NBC and Telemundo Philadelphia Reporter
March 28, 2019 12:00 - 28 minutes - 13.2 MBMiguel Martinez-Valle is a bilingual reporter for both NBC and Telemundo Philadelphia. We discuss his extensive coverage of immigrant issues and why language is so important to that, handling rowdy Eagles fans on live television, covering the Las Vegas mass shooting while having tickets to the concert, and why he decided to be publicly open about his sexuality.
Darcy Spears (Pt. 2) | ABC Las Vegas Investigative Reporter
March 21, 2019 12:00 - 24 minutes - 11.1 MBDarcy Spears is the award-winning Chief Investigative Reporter for ABC Las Vegas. We talk about her investigations related to the Las Vegas mass shooting and her wildly popular weekly segment 'Dirty Dining' where she confronts owners of restaurants that health inspectors have either shut down or scored with the most demerits for violations.
Darcy Spears (Pt. 1) | ABC Las Vegas Investigative Reporter
March 14, 2019 12:00 - 29 minutes - 13.5 MBDarcy Spears is the award-winning Chief Investigative Reporter for ABC Las Vegas. We talk about her recent investigations that have exposed animal abuse at local aquariums and shelters, why it can take years to get a story on the air, and how her reporting has directly led to changes in Nevada state law.
Nancy Loo | WGN Chicago Reporter
March 07, 2019 13:00 - 33 minutes - 15.3 MBNancy Loo has anchored and reported in New York City, Chicago and internationally. She's currently a morning reporter for WGN Chicago. We talk about how she met her husband covering a coup attempt in the Philippines, going into labor during a newscast, anchoring for 8+ hours during the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and the time she went viral for telling viewers not to be stupid.
Sherry Margolis | Fox Detroit Anchor
February 28, 2019 13:00 - 32 minutes - 15.1 MBSherry Margolis is a veteran anchor at Fox 2 Detroit. We talk about her secret to lasting so long in the business, her yearly "Tribute to the Troops" special, how she handles internet trolls, and the tragedy the Fox Detroit newsroom has dealt with recently.
Michael Perchick | ABC Raleigh Reporter
February 21, 2019 13:00 - 43 minutes - 19.9 MBMichael Perchick is a reporter for ABC 11 in Raleigh, North Carolina - one of just eight local TV stations owned and operated by Disney/ABC. We talk about a 14-year-old rap sensation with several celebrity fans, the emotional interview with the wife of a crime victim that significantly impacted Michael, his award-winning coverage of the Texas education system, and the decision to move from sports to news.
Farrah Fazal (Pt. 2) | Immigration and Conflict Journalist
February 18, 2019 13:00 - 23 minutes - 10.9 MBFarrah Fazal is a conflict journalist who travels to the most dangerous parts of the world to report on conditions there. In Part 2 of our conversation, we talk about how she deals with constant death threats, how she turned an outspoken enemy into a friend and trusted source, and the world exclusive interview she did with an American teenage terrorist convicted of helping ISIS.
Farrah Fazal (Pt. 1) | Immigration and Conflict Journalist
February 14, 2019 06:00 - 27 minutes - 12.7 MBFarrah Fazal is a conflict journalist who travels to the most dangerous parts of the world to report on conditions there. In Part 1 of our conversation, we talk about her experience at the Syria/Lebanon border, reporting on immigration and drug cartels at the U.S./Mexico border and when she rescued a toddler from a Somali refugee camp, reuniting her with her mother in America.