TRAILER: Introducing OPPO FILE

OPPO FILE digs deep into the shadowy world of opposition research -- the art of digging into the background of a political opponent in order to identify weaknesses that can be exploited in a campaign. Hosts Kate Andersen Brower and Joseph Rodota interview oppo researchers from both parties and ask them why they chose this profession and how they package the damaging information they unearth. Is everything about a candidate – no matter how personal – fair game? 

Transcript

TRUMP:              If you talk honestly to Congressmen, they all do it, they always have. And that’s the way it is. It’s called oppo research.

JOE:                     I’m Joseph Rodota, and when I got my start as an opposition researcher in my twenties, people only whispered the phrase “opposition research.” And now it’s everywhere. 

KLOBUCHAR:     What this was, was a president of the United States looking to a foreign government for opposition research on a political opponent.

LEVIN:                 This is opposition research. Trying to tear down the president.

HOLT:                  Potentially damaging opposition research

MADDOW:         Opposition research… [fade out]

KATE:                  I’m Kate Andersen Brower, as a reporter for Bloomberg news I covered the White House and I’ve written a book about vice presidents and in that book I devoted an entire chapter to the ways that candidates choose their running mates. That really intense vetting process gripped me and it made me want to know more about this world of opposition research.

JOE:                     In our new podcast OPPO FILE, we’ll introduce you to oppo researchers who dig into the backgrounds of candidates for public office. 

KATE:                  Oppo researchers do what journalists and writers do. They scan newspapers, dig through libraries and archives.

SCHILLING:         Combing through hundreds of newspapers and decades of microfilm and microfiche

JOE:                     Oppo researchers hunt for damaging information that can turn an election: the campaign donor who got the plum appointment, the crony who landed the lucrative government contract, or the policy idea that went horribly wrong.

KATE:                  Some people call oppo research the “Dark Art of American Politics.”

JOE:                     On this podcast, we’ll explore the impact of oppo on modern American politics, from the 1960 campaign of John F Kennedy to the era of Donald Trump.

KATE:                  We’ll find out what it’s actually like for opposition researchers to do this work and how high the stakes can be.

LIZ MAIR:            When someone threatens to behead you, it’s not super fun.

JOE:                     Is oppo research responsible for the negative tone of American politics? Is everything about a candidate – no matter how personal – fair game?

CLIPS:                  [Opposition research/Opposition research…]

JOE:                     OPPO FILE, a new podcast premiering June 3. Follow and Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you’re listening.  

SCHIFF:               The plain fact is, sometimes what is uncovered in opposition research turns out to be true.