What Really Happened?

Jenks talks to Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, not to mention his former roommate, Matt Heineman, about his documentaries "Cartel Land" and "City of Ghosts", his riveting feature film "A Private War", and much more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://po...

In Budapest, she plays chess in ancient baths. In the Sahara Desert, she serves tea. When she met the Dalai Lama, he interviewed her. She is the most interesting person in the world. Jenks talks to cognitive scientist and one of the main contributors to the Theory of Linguistic Relativity, Lera Boroditsky, about how language shapes the way we think.  To learn more about listener data and our priva...

Andrew Stanton is a storytelling guru. He's won Academy Awards for Finding Nemo and Wall-E, and his films have made over a billion dollars worldwide. But, he's also experienced the other end of the spectrum when John Carter lost $250 million and got terrible reviews. In this wide-ranging interview, Jenks talks to Stanton about his hit films, how to face failure, and how he ignores the critics... p...

Suki Kim is the only writer ever, as far as we know, to have lived undercover in North Korea. She was there for 6 months. She managed to get out alive, secretly taking notes that eventually became her book, “Without You, There is No Us”, a best-seller in 2015. Jenks recently read the book and was captivated. Suki's unparalleled experience provides unique insight into the hermit kingdom. In this wi...

Four-star General Stanley A. McChrystal led the Joint Special Operations Command in Iraq during the Persian Gulf Wars and was the top Commander of American forces in Afghanistan, eventually retiring after a controversial Rolling Stone article was released. In this interview, McChrystal opens up about a range of topics he doesn't normally speak about: everything from nightmares he’s been having, th...

Critically-acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Erin Lee Carr, joins Jenks live at SXSW Festival to discuss the premier of her new HBO film, "I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter", documentaries going mainstream, particularly in the true crime genre, and what really happens when making a documentary film. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://w...

Jenks will sit down with a wide range of notable personalities to discuss “what really happened” during a specific, significant time in their lives. Jenks will kick off the series on March 13 with a special interview with filmmaker Erin Lee Carr conducted at SXSW. Additional guests throughout the rest of the season include: retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal, Academy Award-winning filmma...

Jenks ponders the future of Netflix, and considers the possibility for interactive podcasts. He takes calls from a few listeners, and also gets corrected on what he missed during Season 2. And, he gets a surprise voicemail from a special someone who promises she has the answer to Jenks’ first ever What Really Happened?. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www...

The world is a complicated place. Stories can help us simplify things. But, how a story is told, and who tells the story to us, has a huge impact on our understanding of what really happened.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." - James Baldwin ... This episode examines the impact parents had on the lives of children who went on to become world leaders and cultural phenoms. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices....

Jenks identified that many of the leaders he chronicled in Season 2 understood the power of keeping information hidden, or remaining outright silent, in a variety of situations. This first Reaction Episode focuses on silence as a major theme of WRH? Season 2. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices...

Jenks explores Kanye West’s search for identity, his rebelliousness, and ultimately, his desire for artistic freedom, through the lens of his childhood. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There have been films and TV shows about the brave and heroic SEAL TEAM 6, and other Marines, that killed Osama Bin Laden and changed history. There is a famous photo that captured President Obama and his team watching the raid from the Situation Room. Secretaries Clinton and Gates, Vice President Biden, and President Obama have all talked in detail about the moments captured in that photo. Now, t...

Jenks saw Angela Merkel on TV at George H. W. Bush's funeral. Then, he remembered that Donald Trump wouldn't shake her hand when the two first met. What could be learned from Merkel’s relationships with Presidents Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama? As it turned out, a specific, largely unknown meeting Merkel had in the Oval Office, before she became the leader of Germany, held the answer to what really...

Kendall Jenner is one of the most famous people on Earth. And so, it made sense for the global brand Pepsi to feature her in a commercial in 2017. But, the commercial faced a major backlash for co-opting the imagery of social-political movements. Who decided this was a good idea? This is the anatomy of a commercial gone terribly wrong. What Really Happened? Guests: Brad Jakeman (former President o...

Meek Mill, one of the hottest rappers in the world, violated parole too many times. But when the judge at his hearing began giving him tips on his music and lifestyle, people started to question who was in the wrong. It all got more bizarre after she sentenced Meek to two-to-four years in prison. Until recently, he resided in solitary confinement. And then, in a bizarre twist, the FBI asked Meek f...

You wouldn’t think one of the best basketball players in the world, worth well over $100 million, spends his summers in a two-bedroom apartment in San Diego, but that’s what Kawhi Leonard does. In San Antonio he opted to live with his mom, and they played Jenga at night over enchiladas. His disinterest in the spotlight, and focus on the game, made him a perfect fit for the militant, and world-cham...

Would Apple exist without if Steve Jobs had never taken acid? Jobs said repeatedly that taking LSD was one of the "two or three most important things" he ever did in his life. But was this a tale to galvanize press, or a genuine belief. What Really Happened? Guests: Daniel Kottke (college friend of Steve Jobs), Trip Hawkins (entrepreneur, founder of Electronic Arts), Maia Szalavitz (reporter and a...

In 1876, Buffalo Calf Road Woman, also known as Brave Woman, miraculously saved her brother from death against the Americans trying to take over their land, and soon afterwards she became a war leader for her tribe. Only 15 years ago, Northern Cheyenne storytellers broke more than 100 years of silence about the battle, and they credited Buffalo Calf Road Woman with striking the blow that resulted...

A 6-year-old boy was stuck in a hot air balloon that happened to look like a flying saucer, 7,000 feet above ground, flying over Colorado. Cable news channels had a field day. And, when the balloon landed, something didn't add up. Ultimately in this episode, a professor predicts what won't happen in years to come, an Academy-Award nominated filmmaker unravels where he's going, and a storytelling g...

President Bill Clinton and President Boris Yeltsin were ready to change the world. Their epic press conferences and newly released phone transcripts reveal a sincere friendship. But, as time went on, things got complicated, and led to Vladimir Putin. Guests: Adele Lindenmeyr (Professor of History and Dean of Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences), and Evelyn Farkas (former Depu...

Famous musicians Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse all died at 27 years old. Some call this phenomenon "a media construct". Research shows that of the 3,463 musicians who died in the last two hundred years, there is a 40% spike at the age of 27, compared to the years surrounding it. But, recent studies on the brain help put this data into context...

The most famous comedian in the world had just signed a $50 million contract, and had started filming the third season of his critically acclaimed show, Chappelle's Show. Then, he had a “meltdown” and “escaped” to South Africa. Now, more than ten years later, Jenks revisits what really happened, and finds Dave at a town hall meeting in Yellow Springs, Ohio. To learn more about listener data and ou...

King John II of France is missing from the pages of history. There are no movies, no books, hardly a Wikipedia page. But, after Jenks dug in to the mystery of this seemingly forgotten king, a whole medieval world came to life. As it turns out, John II, perhaps better known as John the Good, sailed to England to turn himself in as a prisoner of war, abandoning his stunned French subjects to fend fo...

John Carter is one of history's biggest box office flops: $250 million... gone. But, it was directed by two-time Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton, had Disney’s marketing prowess, and was based on the book that inspired Star Wars and Avatar. What Really Happened? This episode is the anatomy of a blockbuster gone bust, a possibility even when the person in charge is brilliant. Guests: Andrew Stan...