This year, as one scandal after another played out in the news, it was easy to become overwhelmed. Amid all the noise, there’s been a common theme in many of the reports—the increased profile and significance of whistle-blowers. It’s hard to think of another recent period when the act of whistle-blowing has had such a consequential impact on our politics and culture. This week, as the year winds down, we’re bringing you a selection of pieces about the crucial role that whistle-blowers have played in 2019. In “How an Élite University Research Center Concealed Its Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Ronan Farrow speaks with Signe Swenson, a former M.I.T. Media Lab associate, and reports on new revelations concerning Epstein’s fund-raising relationship with the lab. In “The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing,” Sheelah Kolhatkar chronicles one physician’s attempts to expose a massive case of alleged Medicare fraud. Jill Lepore writes about Edward Snowden’s new autobiography, “Permanent Record,” and explores the rise of whistle-blower culture. Susan B. Glasser examines how the former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s dignified testimony during the House’s public impeachment hearings offered a striking rebuttal to Trump’s disinformation campaign. Finally, in “The Immigrant Witnesses of the Impeachment Hearings,” Masha Gessen considers the ways in which the testimony of three key witnesses at the impeachment hearings demonstrated how seriously immigrants take the promise of America. At a time of political uncertainty, these pieces are an exhilarating reminder of the power of a single voice.
—David Remnick
New documents show that the M.I.T. Media Lab was aware of Epstein’s status as a convicted sex offender, and that Epstein directed contributions to the lab far exceeding the amounts M.I.T. has publicly admitted.
Fiona Hill, Alexander Vindman, and Marie Yovanovitch showed that no one takes the promise of this country as seriously as immigrants do.
In his memoir, he chronicles his life game by game, from Nintendo to the N.S.A.
Why one physician took the risk of becoming an F.B.I. informant to expose alleged Medicare fraud.
In her testimony at the impeachment hearings, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine demonstrated that it is still possible to be shocked by President Trump.