Neither Confirm Nor Deny
17 July - 29 minsIn an episode we first ran back in 2014, we explore how a sunken nuclear submarine, a crazy billionaire, and a mechanical claw gave birth to a phrase that has hounded journalists and lawyers for 40 years and embodies the tension between the public’s desire for transparency and the government’s need to keep secrets.
Whether it comes from government spokespeople or celebrity publicists, the phrase “can neither confirm nor deny” is the perfect non-denial denial. It’s such a perfect deflection that it seems like it’s been around forever, but reporter Julia Barton takes us back to the 1970s and the surprising origin story of what’s now known as a “Glomar Response.” With help from David Sharp a...
Series Episodes
The Smell of Hell
What if the smell of death is actually the smell of life?
43 mins
16 October Finished
Math Vs Machine
explicitMachines are answering our hardest problems... Does it matter if we don’t understand how?
31 mins
9 October Finished
A 4-Track Mind
A neurologist issues a dare to a ragtime piano player and a famous conductor, then the impossible happens.
21 mins
2 October Finished
23 Weeks 6 Days
A tiny baby, born at 23 Weeks and 6 days—roughly halfway to full term. And a whole universe of medical and moral questions.
1 hour 3 mins
11 September Finished
