The Case Against Harvey Weinstein, Part 1

<p><em>Note: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence. </em></p><p>The story of Harvey Weinstein is a story of patterns. Scores of women — more than 80 — have given eerily similar accounts of abuse and harassment by the powerful movie mogul.</p><p>This week, two years after those allegations were first reported in The New York Times, Mr. Weinstein’s trial opens in New York. In the first part of a two-part series, we investigate why the case went from 80 potential plaintiffs to two.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/megan-twohey?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">Megan Twohey</a>, an investigative reporter for The Times and co-author of “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/books/review/she-said-jodi-kantor-megan-twohey.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement</a>.” For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. </p><p>Background reading:</p><ul><li>Mr. Weinstein’s reputation preceded him as he stepped into a Manhattan courthouse this week to face charges of rape and criminal sexual activity, making it <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/nyregion/harvey-weinstein-trial-jury-selection.html?searchResultPosition=5?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">difficult to find jurors</a> who did not already have strong opinions about the case.</li><li>The reporters who broke the first investigation into Mr. Weinstein<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/us/harvey-weinstein-trial.html?searchResultPosition=6?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> explain why the trial rests on a narrow legal case</a> with an already fraught back story and why the result is highly unpredictable.</li><li>On the first day of Mr. Weinstein’s trial, two other criminal allegations against him<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/nyregion/harvey-weinstein-trial.html?searchResultPosition=3?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> were released in Los Angeles</a>.</li></ul>