Welcome to the Commune podcast. My name is Jeff Krasno. Okay, so last Monday, September 18th,

in response to a deluge of emails and texts from commune members, teachers, partners, and staff,

I recorded a podcast episode addressing the allegations of sexual assault levied against Russell Brand.

Now you can consider this episode, Part 2, and hopefully no sequel will be required.

I really want to return to fulfilling Communism mission, the project of helping people be well.

That is my preferred sandbox. However, I am

giving this matter its due attention because it relates to so many salient societal issues,

including, obviously, sexual assault, but also the erosion of trust in institutions, mob mentality, the ad-driven

media model, censorship, and content moderation. And of course, I'm really trying to nurture

the community that we've created here at Commune by providing a transparent window into our effort to have a nuanced, compassionate, and

balanced response to a very complicated situation that we didn't choose. The initial episode,

number 490, which serves practically as commune's public statement, was recorded a mere 36 hours

after the initial broadcast of Channel 4's dispatches documentary. The investigative report

that presented the accusations, but prior to the availability of the documentary in the United States.

As indicated in the podcast episode, my initial thoughts were based on news reports, as well

as Russell's denial video.

I felt it was important to make a statement both swiftly and cautiously, despite not having all the facts at hand.

Now, given that I don't expect everyone to have tuned into that initial podcast, I'll provide a brief summary of it.

Apologies if this is repetitive for some of you.

Before jumping in, I'd like to make one request,

or I might qualify it as a challenge. Now, as I steal man the numerous contours of this situation,

I am almost certainly going to say something in this podcast that you don't agree with. But please try to resist the urge

...