My name is Joshua Topolsky and I have a new podcast called What Future.

But I want to tell you that I'm being forced by my producer to record a promo telling you about my show.

And I'm not trying to force you to listen to it.

And maybe you're not interested in internet culture and the future of life on planet Earth.

And why John Carpenter movies are so good.

You may just want to listen to a podcast about, I don't know, sports or whatever Joe Rogan talks about.

And that's fine, you know, no judgment.

But if you like what you're hearing and I know that you do, you can listen to all of what future on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi everyone, yes, I'm back again. This time to bring you a really interesting conversation I just had with journalist Ken Oletta about his new book, Hollywood ending, Barbie Weinstein and the culture of science.

Ken's connection to Weinstein's story goes all the way back to 2002 when he wrote an in-depth profile of him for the New Yorker magazine.

Now at the time he confronted Weinstein about allegations of sexual assault but wasn't ultimately able to convince any of the women involved to go on the record.

It would take another 15 years for the full story to come to light through Jody Cantor and Megan Tuey's reporting for the New York Times, as well as Ronan Farrow's for the New Yorker.

For his new book, Ken revisits the story. It's a fascinating portrayal of Weinstein's life and career.

He also tries to answer so many of the lingering questions about what exactly motivated Weinstein to commit such horrific acts.

Did you feel the ambivalent in some ways about Harvey because I know it was important for you to write about a person Ken as a multi-dimensional human being

and not just as this grotesque monster we've come to know in recent years?

No, that was a real challenge. I was not writing about a cardboard cut out figure.

Biography should not feel like a prosecution brief. You want to capture a whole man.

And this was a guy who was a monster but he was also a very talented man who brought to the screen an incredible array of movies.

And the relationship with the brother, his use and abuse of power, the role of his mother and what happened in his childhood.

All those were really pregnant for me to explore.

And it's something you've been exploring for gosh, Ken, 20 years because you wrote that New Yorker profile back in 2002.

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