Why Don’t We Know Podcast

We actually won a FERPA appeal Jun 14, 2024

We close out Why Don't We Know with a huge victory - a win against the abuse of FERPA, the federal privacy law that often leads to harmful secrets in schools. In this episode, we beat FERPA to get a video of an encounter between a school police officer and a student in Jeannette, Pennsylvania.

The unintended consequence of police in schools Jun 12, 2024

The complicated and misunderstood history of having police officers in schools, and one group of students first-hand stories of what it means to have them in their hallways.

Why do children end up in juvy? Jun 11, 2024

In our final drop of episodes for Why Don’t We Know, we explore the secrecy of the juvenile justice system, starting with how kids are often punished with fees and fines.

More than 30 states allow kids to be fined while in the juvenile system, and it’s very difficult to figure out how many children are affected because there is such poor data.

Whistleblower Feb 17, 2023

What happens when a police officer breaks the silent code and speaks out about misconduct? This is the story of Cariol Horne, a former Buffalo cop who tried to do the right thing and is paying the price.

Why Is Data Collection So Darn Difficult? Jan 27, 2023

In May of 2015, shortly after the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer, former President Barack Obama traveled to Camden, New Jersey to announce a new program that was supposed to help repair the broken relationship between police and communities of color. This Police Data Initiative was to take poorly kept data and make it better, more uniform, and more accessible to the general public. The notion was that better data on policing would ultimately improve transparency and accountability between police and citizens. But today, if you visit the website for the police data initiative, what you’ll find is, “sadly, it's on life support,” it’s director says. “And I would say we're probably planning the funeral service for it.”

It’s not alone.

Across the country, government initiatives aiming to collect better data for the criminal justice system have failed or are struggling.

Host: Sara Ganim. Reporters: Trey Ecker, Hannah Himmelgreen, Dana Cassidy. Guests: Jim Burch, Scott Carver, Gipsy Escobar, Eddie Brown.

Editors: Amy Fu, James Sullivan. Original score: Pete Readman. Research: Brittany Suzsan. Produced by The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at The University of Florida.

Who Are Body Cameras Really For? Jan 20, 2023

After the nationwide protests following George Floyd’s death, we did a little experiment to see if we could get body worn camera footage from officers at the scene of protests where we knew there were injuries.

Host: Sara Ganim. Reporters: Kristin Moorehead, Thomas Holton. Guests: Mary D. Fan, Dan Adams, Sarah Jensen, Patrick Michaud, Lauren Bonds, Gideon Oliver.

Editors: Amy Fu, James Sullivan. Original score: Pete Readman. Research: Brittany Suzsan. Produced by The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at The University of Florida.

”Police Say” Jan 13, 2023

In the moments after 21-year-old Kevin Peterson Jr. was killed, Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins took to a podium to defend his deputies.

Although he started with a warning, “I am waiting along with you to learn about much of the details,” Atkins speculated about something significant that would soon become very clearly incorrect: “The man reportedly fired his weapon at the deputies.”

Police reform advocates describe this as an assassination followed by a character assassination and an analysis of 14 cases - some high profile and some not - shows that distorted narratives that make the dead or injured look worse or make the police look better are often given to the public after the use of excessive or deadly force.

Host: Sara Ganim. Guests: Olivia Selto, Mark Lindquist, Deborah Jacobs, Jeff Campiche, John Urquhart, Carolyn Carson.

Editors: Amy Fu, James Sullivan, Thomas Holton. Original score: Pete Readman. Research: Brittany Suzsan. Nonfumo Manaba, Alexandra Harris, Kaylee Whidden, Vivian Ionesco, Ariana Aspuru, Jessica Turkovich, Trey Ecker, and Brett Posner-Ferdman.

Produced by The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at The University of Florida.

Welcome to Season 2 - The Criminal Justice System Jan 13, 2023

Season 2 of Why Don’t We Know starts here, with a preview of our season about secrecy in the criminal justice system. Host Sara Ganim starts by explaining why we are here and how we found our reporting.

Host: Sara Ganim. Editors: Amy Fu, James Sullivan. Original score: Pete Readman. Research: Audrey Mostek, Brittany Suszan Produced by The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at The University of Florida.

Special Episode: Jason Leopold - Ultimate Transparency Oct 26, 2022

In this special episode, we bring you a live taping of the first-ever Brechner Speaker Series, co-hosted by the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, featuring award-winning investigative reporter Jason Leopold, who has broken some of the top stories of our time using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA.) Nicknamed "the FOIA terrorist" by government officials who are forced to answer his requests, Jason talks about ultimate transparency in government and in his own personal life.

He is the reporter who forced Hillary Clinton's emails to become public, exposed a religion test used by the U.S. Military, and illegal practices by big banks, which became an investigation known as the FinCEN Files.

Host, Sara Ganim. Guests, Matt Jacobs, Hub Brown, Jason Leopold.

Special Episode: ’Gag order’ against sexual assault Jun 02, 2022

In this special episode, taped live at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas in March, we discuss how schools are bullying young sexual assault accusers into waiving their rights during school investigations into what happened to them. Title IX is supposed to protect students who allege sexual assault, but some schools are requiring their silence, and threatening discipline if they don't comply.

It runs afoul of the law, many experts say, and led attorney Laura Dunn and the non-profit Equal Rights Advocates to pen a letter to the U.S. Department of Education, trying to get the Biden Administration to stop this practice from continuing. Host: Sara Ganim. Guests: Laura Dunn, Kel O'Hara.

EXTRA: Why don't we know where all the lead pipes are? Jun 03, 2021

In April, President Joe Biden announced an infrastructure plan that includes removing and replacing all of America's lead drinking water pipes. It's an ambitious plan that would help millions of American children, and it was met with a lot of praise. But we couldn't help but wonder if this plan sounded too easy. Because as we've seen on a much smaller scale, sometimes it's really hard to know where all the lead pipes are. Host: Sara Ganim. Guests: Erik Olsen, Alex Stubblefield.

EXTRA: The Human Toll Of Missing Data Apr 01, 2021

Depending on where you look, you can find a statistic that will tell you any number you want to see about how often students are bullied in school. Why is that? Why are bullying numbers all over the place? And how does it cause students to fall through the cracks? Host: Gabriella Paul. Reporter: McKenna Beery. Guests: Itea Aslanian, Deborah Temkin, Brooke Greier.

Any Other Law Feb 23, 2021

In the season one finale of, we're unpacking a season full of secrecy in public education - answering the final 'WHY' of Why Don't We Know -- which is why hasn't FERPA been fixed? Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Conner Mitchell. Guests: Frank LoMonte, Paige Kowalski.

EXTRA: Why Don't We Know how many kids are attending virtual learning? Jan 26, 2021

This was the most disruptive academic year in modern history, and we have collected very little data to help our students recover from it. This Extra episode tackles the question of Why Don't We Know how many students are actually attending virtual learning and which ones fell behind. Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Gabriella Paul. Guest: Paige Kowalski.

EXTRA: Attacked Jan 19, 2021

When it comes to physical attacks on teachers in the classroom, it appears, we don't want to know. This episode explores the missing data regarding violence in the classroom and how it affects a school district. Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Angela DiMichele. Guests: Bill Gillard, anonymous teacher.

Misplaced Fear Jan 13, 2021

We assumed that, since school shootings are such a known public safety concern, there would be really detailed data on how many weapons are brought into K-12 schools. But 15 states stopped us from seeing the mere number of guns brought to schools out of fear of violating privacy.

What the heck is FERPA? Nov 29, 2020

A step back and a look at the history of FERPA, the privacy act we’ve now spent quite a bit of time dissecting. How did we get here? We start in 1974 at its infancy and then look at two cases at the same university that show the glaring hypocrisy of its current use. Host: Sara Ganim; Reporter: Camille Respess; Guests: Amelia Vance, James Buckley, Lee Hermiston and Clark Kauffman

Education Records Nov 15, 2020

From sexual assault, to school yard injuries, to public safety, to political campaign contributions to racial bias, a federal privacy law called FERPA is being used as a one-word, catch-all answer for any information a school doesn't want to share. Host: Sara Ganim; Reporters: Marianna Faiello, Camille Respess; Guests: Laura Dunn, Karen Truszkowski, Brett Sokolow, Kendall Ware, Samantha Brennan, Abigail Owens, Brooke Moore.

Secret Outcomes Oct 28, 2020

Why Don't We Know how Title IX cases are handled at many universities? The answer is combination of two things: a real concern for privacy and the comfort of secrecy. Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Marianna Faiello. Guests: Liz Abdnour, Brett Sokolow.

BONUS: Secrecy and the Coronavirus Oct 18, 2020

Government agencies everywhere, not just schools, are using COVID19 as an excuse for not sharing information. FOIA office phone lines were disconnected. Calls went unreturned. Emails unanswered.

In this episode, we also explore how government agencies are misapplying the Health Insurance and Portability Act. You probably know it as HIPAA.

Guests: Dave Cuillier, Terry Mutchler, Al-Amyn Sumar, Carolyne Hartley.

Up In Flames Oct 11, 2020

Off-campus housing is often the only choice for certain students attending college, but finding safe housing can be a real challenge. In addition, we discuss how private partnerships are leading to some major financial failures for public universities building new dorms. Host: Sara Ganim. Guests: Janet Maupin, , Bob Fitzsimons, Jessica Wood. Reporters: Brittney Miller, Tori Whidden.

Public, Not Public Sep 21, 2020

It's estimated that 75 percent of public universities use non-profit foundations to do certain work in secret that would otherwise be done in public. Raising money from influential donors is one of the most common. Host: Sara Ganim. Guests: Alexa Capeloto, Miranda Spivack, Evan Johns.

The Portal Sep 13, 2020

It's designed to be hidden. Public universities are turning to private portals to shield information that otherwise would be part of the public record. Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Camille Respess. Guest: Paula Lavigne, Judith Wilde, Jim Finklestein.

EXTRA: When speech isn’t free, but it should be Sep 07, 2020

Unconstitutional speech policies aren't just for college athletes. In the midst of a global pandemic, we found that resident assistants are also told they can't speak to the media without first getting permission.

What is a FOIA Anyway? Aug 30, 2020

The ability to request records from public institutions is part of the law, and in theory, should take a few weeks, at best. But after nine months, when several universities hadn’t responded to some requests at all, we started calling to see what was going on. Host: Sara Ganim. Guests: Terry Mutchler, Dave Cuillier, Matt Reed.

The Blame Game Aug 24, 2020

Why Don’t We Know how to stop hazing deaths? It’s one of those sadly persistent stories, with no real progress being made toward a solution. Host: Sara Ganim. Reporter: Jessica Curbelo. Guests: Daphne Beletsis, Doug Fierberg, Walter Kimbrough, David Easlick.

A Deadly Reversal Aug 16, 2020

There’s a hidden and deadly danger inside many public university buildings, but no one is talking about it, no one is regulating it, and it’s nearly impossible to find on your own. Host Sara Ganim interviews attorney Mike Robb about a case of a deadly reversal. Other guests: Erik Olson, Barry Castleman, Linda Reinstein.

More Than Just a Code of Silence Aug 09, 2020

Our research found that many major public universities have policies that silence athletes, robbing them of their first amendment rights. The policies are not only restrictive, they’re unconstitutional. Host Sara Ganim talks to Ramogi Huma, president of the National College Players Association, about the impact of this bad policy, and why no one has challenged it.

Invisible Injury Aug 09, 2020

Ever since Junior Seau propelled the horrors of chronic traumatic encephalopathy into the general public, we’ve repeatedly heard a singular narrative from those in charge of the sport of football: The sport is safer than ever.

But how do we know that?

At the college level, we’ve never seen those raw numbers. And so Season 1 of Why Don’t We Know set out to find the answer. Are there really fewer concussions than there were a decade years ago?

We asked 100 public universities across the country for their aggregate numbers — broken down by sport — for the past ten years, and if they didn’t have data for ten years, we said, that’s ok, give us as many years as you have.

The answer is really unsatisfying.

We still don’t know if head injuries are truly declining, and the reason we don’t know is that more than one third of the major universities that we asked — major conference powerhouses in the Big Ten, Pac 12, SEC — they don’t know either.

They don’t know because they’re not tracking it.

Why Don't We Know Aug 04, 2020

We expect government secrecy from the Pentagon or the CIA — not from our universities and our schools. But in many cases, institutions designed to protect our children are instead hiding critical information. It leaves us asking a lot of questions. One of which is simple…why don’t we know? Over the following episodes, we are trying to figure that out.

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