Podcast appearances and mentions of Michael M Grynbaum

Episode 196: This week on the “Dan's Talks” podcast, Dan speaks with journalist Michael M. Grynbaum, who has been a media correspondent for The … Read More

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (06/24/2024): 3:05pm- While appearing on CNN, National Press Secretary for the 2024 Trump Campaign Karoline Leavitt had her interview cut short by anchor Kasie Hunt. Hunt accused Leavitt of attacking her CNN colleagues Jake Tapper and Dana Bash by suggesting the two moderators of Thursday's debate have regularly expressed disdain for Donald Trump and support for Joe Biden. A montage pieced together by Newsbusters proves Leavitt's point—Tapper and Bash are not objective. One clip even shows Tapper referring to Trump's presidency as a “national nightmare.” 3:15pm- While visiting Philadelphia on Saturday, former President Donald Trump visited Tony & Nick's Steaks where he left a $500 tip for workers at the sandwich shop! Trump is actively campaigning on ending government taxation on earned tips. 3:30pm- In his latest article, New York Times journalist Michael M. Grynbaum writes that for the first time in decades a television network (CNN) will have unilateral control over every aspect of a presidential debate. You can read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/24/business/media/cnn-presidential-debate.html 3:40pm- David Urban—Political Commentator for CNN & former Senior Advisor to Donald Trump—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to preview Thursday's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Urban, a West Point graduate, argues that the world was a “more stable place” when Trump was president. Will Biden's numerous foreign policy failures doom him to a one term presidency? Urban served as Chairman of American Battle Monuments Commission. 4:05pm- Will Donald Trump be able to attend the Republican National Convention? On July 11th, Trump has his sentencing hearing for his conviction in the “hush money” trial involving payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Rich notes that Trump could—unjustly—be sentenced to house arrest or even prison time. The RNC convention begins on July 15th and ends on July 18th. 4:10pm- Earlier today, Rich appeared on Fox News' American Newsroom with host Mike Emanuel. Are Democrats lowering expectations for President Joe Biden ahead of Thursday's debate? Watch the full segment here: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6355617656112 4:30pm- Tommy Pigott—Strategic Communications Director for the Republican National Committee—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss Donald Trump's recent fundraising surge. According to Politico, the Republican National Committee now has $116.5 million in cash-on-hand while the Democratic National Committee has $91.6 million. 4:45pm- Emma Colton of Fox News writes: “The Trump campaign says a recent fact-check report debunking the claim that then-President Trump spoke favorably of neo-Nazis in 2017 shows President Biden and his campaign had promoted a ‘lie' and called on them to not promote the ‘hoax' again. Left-leaning fact-checking website Snopes published a piece Saturday debunking claims promoted by President Biden and some members of the media that following the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, Trump called neo-Nazis ‘very fine people.' Biden has repeatedly cited the false claim, even saying it was the impetus for his 2020 White House run against Trump.” You can read the full article here: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/snopes-debunking-charlottesville-hoax-shows-biden-lied-says-trump-campaign 5:05pm- Philadelphia Police Officer Shot: Hayden Mitman of NBC 10 News reports: “In a dizzying series of events, police claim, a gunman fled a traffic stop, shot an officer, changed clothes and held a man hostage in his home all within the span of about 15 minutes on Saturday night. Law enforcement officials provided this timeline to events that led to the hospitalization on a Philadelphia Police officer during an event on Monday. During the day, Philadelphia Police Department Commissioner Kevin Bethel said that the incident was a senseless shooting. ‘You talk about senseless,' Bethel said. ‘This is the most senseless [shooting] you can ever imagine.'” You can read the full story here: https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/we-are-outraged-officials-provide-new-details-in-officers-shooting/3893165/ 5:15pm- Earlier today, Rich appeared on Fox News' American Newsroom with host Mike Emanuel. Are Democrats lowering expectations for President Joe Biden ahead of Thursday's debate? Watch the full segment here: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6355617656112 5:20pm- Over the weekend, Congressman Jamaal Bowman—perhaps best known for pulling a fire alarm in a Congressional office building—held a profanity laced rally in the Bronx. During the event, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio made sure she embarrassed herself as well by screaming and dancing on stage like a lunatic. Rep. Bowman may very well lose his primary battle to George Latimer. 5:25pm- While appearing on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's “hush money” trial against Donald Trump was politically motivated. 5:40pm- While appearing on CNN, National Press Secretary for the 2024 Trump Campaign Karoline Leavitt had her interview cut short by anchor Kasie Hunt. Hunt accused Leavitt of attacking her CNN colleagues Jake Tapper and Dana Bash by suggesting the two moderators of Thursday's debate have regularly expressed disdain for Donald Trump and support for Joe Biden. A montage pieced together by Newsbusters proves Leavitt's point—Tapper and Bash are not objective. One clip even shows Tapper referring to Trump's presidency as a “national nightmare.” 6:05pm- “I think this debate is rigged!” On Friday, from The Grand Hotel of Cape May, Congressman Jeff Van Drew told The Rich Zeoli Show that he believes CNN will stack the deck in favor of President Joe Biden during Thursday's presidential debate. He explains: “President Trump is going before moderators that don't like him—before networks that hate him.” 6:15pm- During a recent segment on MSNBC, hosts Symone Sanders and Michael Steele seemingly defended the Biden Administration's relaxed border policies and admonished Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts for using the term “illegal alien” and were dismissive of crimes committed by those who have entered the country unlawfully. 6:20pm- While speaking from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, Donald Trump hilariously said of Thursday's CNN presidential debate: “[Joe Biden is] sleeping now because they want to get him good and strong. So, a little before debate time he gets a shot in the ass. They want to strengthen him up…he'll come out all jacked up, right? All jacked up!” 6:40pm- Earlier today, Rich appeared on Fox News' American Newsroom with host Mike Emanuel. Are Democrats lowering expectations for President Joe Biden ahead of Thursday's debate? Watch the full segment here: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6355617656112 6:50pm- Emma Colton of Fox News writes: “The Trump campaign says a recent fact-check report debunking the claim that then-President Trump spoke favorably of neo-Nazis in 2017 shows President Biden and his campaign had promoted a ‘lie' and called on them to not promote the ‘hoax' again. Left-leaning fact-checking website Snopes published a piece Saturday debunking claims promoted by President Biden and some members of the media that following the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, Trump called neo-Nazis ‘very fine people.' Biden has repeatedly cited the false claim, even saying it was the impetus for his 2020 White House run against Trump.” You can read the full article here: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/snopes-debunking-charlottesville-hoax-shows-biden-lied-says-trump-campaign

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1: 3:05pm- While appearing on CNN, National Press Secretary for the 2024 Trump Campaign Karoline Leavitt had her interview cut short by anchor Kasie Hunt. Hunt accused Leavitt of attacking her CNN colleagues Jake Tapper and Dana Bash by suggesting the two moderators of Thursday's debate have regularly expressed disdain for Donald Trump and support for Joe Biden. A montage pieced together by Newsbusters proves Leavitt's point—Tapper and Bash are not objective. One clip even shows Tapper referring to Trump's presidency as a “national nightmare.” 3:15pm- While visiting Philadelphia on Saturday, former President Donald Trump visited Tony & Nick's Steaks where he left a $500 tip for workers at the sandwich shop! Trump is actively campaigning on ending government taxation on earned tips. 3:30pm- In his latest article, New York Times journalist Michael M. Grynbaum writes that for the first time in decades a television network (CNN) will have unilateral control over every aspect of a presidential debate. You can read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/24/business/media/cnn-presidential-debate.html 3:40pm- David Urban—Political Commentator for CNN & former Senior Advisor to Donald Trump—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to preview Thursday's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Urban, a West Point graduate, argues that the world was a “more stable place” when Trump was president. Will Biden's numerous foreign policy failures doom him to a one term presidency? Urban served as Chairman of American Battle Monuments Commission.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are live in Washington, D.C. to discuss the Supreme Court (again) and abortion (again); Donald Trump's ups and downs in New York courtrooms and Ronna McDaniel's rise and fall on NBC; and Gallup's World Happiness Report 2024.   Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Ann E. Marimow and Caroline Kitchener for The Washington Post: Supreme Court skeptical of efforts to restrict access to abortion pill Sierra Club v. Morton, 405 U.S. 727 (1972) 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, et al., 600 US _ (2023) Juhi Doshi for ABC News: What is the Comstock Act? The 151-year-old law mentioned in SCOTUS abortion pill case SCOTUSblog: Idaho v. United States Pam Belluck for The New York Times: What to Know About the Federal Law at the Heart of the Latest Supreme Court Abortion Case Geoff Mulvihill and Kimberlee Kruesi for AP: Which states could have abortion on the ballot in 2024? The New York Times: Keeping Track of the Trump Criminal Cases and Michael M. Grynbaum and John Koblin: NBC News Cuts Ties With Ronna McDaniel After Network Firestorm Brian Beutler for Off Message: The Political Economy Of Normalization Gallup: World Happiness Report 2024 Clare Ansberry for The Wall Street Journal: U.S. No Longer Ranks Among World's 20 Happiest Countries The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt Here are this week's chatters: Emily: The Wall Street Journal: Evan Gershkovich: Updates on the WSJ Reporter Detained in Russia David: Tim Newcomb for Popular Mechanics: A Controversial Pyramid Isn't Actually 27,000 Years Old—and Now, the Mystery Deepens and Paul M.M. Cooper for Fall of Civilizations Podcast: Episode 18 Is Out Now! John: National Archives: From Alexander Hamilton to Jeremiah Wadsworth, [20 August 1787]; John Dickerson for Slate's Navel Gazing podcast (coming soon); John Dickerson on Court TV (not available); Emily Bazelon on C-SPAN; and David Plotz on C-SPAN: Washington Journal Newspaper Roundtable.  Listener chatter from Phil Goldstein in Washington, D.C.: The New York Times: Flesh Descending In A Shower.; An Astounding Phenomenon In Kentucky--Fresh Meat Like Mutton Or Venison Falling From A Clear Sky. For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily answer audience questions. See Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Tana French about her book, The Hunter: A Novel.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with special thanks to Patrick Fort for on-site production and Katie Rayford for logistics support  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Follow Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are live in Washington, D.C. to discuss the Supreme Court (again) and abortion (again); Donald Trump's ups and downs in New York courtrooms and Ronna McDaniel's rise and fall on NBC; and Gallup's World Happiness Report 2024.   Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Ann E. Marimow and Caroline Kitchener for The Washington Post: Supreme Court skeptical of efforts to restrict access to abortion pill Sierra Club v. Morton, 405 U.S. 727 (1972) 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, et al., 600 US _ (2023) Juhi Doshi for ABC News: What is the Comstock Act? The 151-year-old law mentioned in SCOTUS abortion pill case SCOTUSblog: Idaho v. United States Pam Belluck for The New York Times: What to Know About the Federal Law at the Heart of the Latest Supreme Court Abortion Case Geoff Mulvihill and Kimberlee Kruesi for AP: Which states could have abortion on the ballot in 2024? The New York Times: Keeping Track of the Trump Criminal Cases and Michael M. Grynbaum and John Koblin: NBC News Cuts Ties With Ronna McDaniel After Network Firestorm Brian Beutler for Off Message: The Political Economy Of Normalization Gallup: World Happiness Report 2024 Clare Ansberry for The Wall Street Journal: U.S. No Longer Ranks Among World's 20 Happiest Countries The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt Here are this week's chatters: Emily: The Wall Street Journal: Evan Gershkovich: Updates on the WSJ Reporter Detained in Russia David: Tim Newcomb for Popular Mechanics: A Controversial Pyramid Isn't Actually 27,000 Years Old—and Now, the Mystery Deepens and Paul M.M. Cooper for Fall of Civilizations Podcast: Episode 18 Is Out Now! John: National Archives: From Alexander Hamilton to Jeremiah Wadsworth, [20 August 1787]; John Dickerson for Slate's Navel Gazing podcast (coming soon); John Dickerson on Court TV (not available); Emily Bazelon on C-SPAN; and David Plotz on C-SPAN: Washington Journal Newspaper Roundtable.  Listener chatter from Phil Goldstein in Washington, D.C.: The New York Times: Flesh Descending In A Shower.; An Astounding Phenomenon In Kentucky--Fresh Meat Like Mutton Or Venison Falling From A Clear Sky. For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily answer audience questions. See Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Tana French about her book, The Hunter: A Novel.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with special thanks to Patrick Fort for on-site production and Katie Rayford for logistics support  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Follow Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are live in Washington, D.C. to discuss the Supreme Court (again) and abortion (again); Donald Trump's ups and downs in New York courtrooms and Ronna McDaniel's rise and fall on NBC; and Gallup's World Happiness Report 2024.   Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Ann E. Marimow and Caroline Kitchener for The Washington Post: Supreme Court skeptical of efforts to restrict access to abortion pill Sierra Club v. Morton, 405 U.S. 727 (1972) 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, et al., 600 US _ (2023) Juhi Doshi for ABC News: What is the Comstock Act? The 151-year-old law mentioned in SCOTUS abortion pill case SCOTUSblog: Idaho v. United States Pam Belluck for The New York Times: What to Know About the Federal Law at the Heart of the Latest Supreme Court Abortion Case Geoff Mulvihill and Kimberlee Kruesi for AP: Which states could have abortion on the ballot in 2024? The New York Times: Keeping Track of the Trump Criminal Cases and Michael M. Grynbaum and John Koblin: NBC News Cuts Ties With Ronna McDaniel After Network Firestorm Brian Beutler for Off Message: The Political Economy Of Normalization Gallup: World Happiness Report 2024 Clare Ansberry for The Wall Street Journal: U.S. No Longer Ranks Among World's 20 Happiest Countries The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt Here are this week's chatters: Emily: The Wall Street Journal: Evan Gershkovich: Updates on the WSJ Reporter Detained in Russia David: Tim Newcomb for Popular Mechanics: A Controversial Pyramid Isn't Actually 27,000 Years Old—and Now, the Mystery Deepens and Paul M.M. Cooper for Fall of Civilizations Podcast: Episode 18 Is Out Now! John: National Archives: From Alexander Hamilton to Jeremiah Wadsworth, [20 August 1787]; John Dickerson for Slate's Navel Gazing podcast (coming soon); John Dickerson on Court TV (not available); Emily Bazelon on C-SPAN; and David Plotz on C-SPAN: Washington Journal Newspaper Roundtable.  Listener chatter from Phil Goldstein in Washington, D.C.: The New York Times: Flesh Descending In A Shower.; An Astounding Phenomenon In Kentucky--Fresh Meat Like Mutton Or Venison Falling From A Clear Sky. For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily answer audience questions. See Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Tana French about her book, The Hunter: A Novel.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with special thanks to Patrick Fort for on-site production and Katie Rayford for logistics support  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Follow Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the history of prisoner exchanges. Support Past Present on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pastpresentpodcast Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:   WNBA player Brittney Griner has returned home from Russian detainment. Neil referenced this New Yorker article about Trump's aberrant approach to hostage policy. Niki referred to this NPR piece about the case of Bowe Bergdahl.     In our regular closing feature, What's Making History: Natalia talked about the labor dispute at The New School. Neil discussed the death of former Rep. Jim Kolbe, and his most recent piece for the Washington Post, “Activism Convinced Just Enough Republicans to Support Same-Sex Marriage.” Niki shared about Michael M. Grynbaum's New York Times article, “Elon Musk, Matt Taibbi, and a Very Modern Media Maelstrom.”

DOCUMENTATION AND ADDITIONAL READING PART 1 (0:0 - 8:24): ────────────────── The Covid-19 Omicron Variant: What Do We Know? And Why the Ensuing New York City Draconian Measures in Response? — When Will the Politics of Covid End? PART 2 (8:25 - 12:35): ────────────────── The Disappearance of Real News: What the Saga of CNN's Chris Cuomo Tells Us About News Media Today NEW YORK TIMES (MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM AND JOHN KOBLIN) CNN Suspends Chris Cuomo After New Details on Help He Gave His Brother PART 3 (12:36 - 17:51): ────────────────── Should Our Country Have A Mono-Religion? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters From Listeners Of The Briefing PART 4 (17:52 - 20:46): ────────────────── Do the Other Apostles (And the Gospels) Agree with Paul's Gospel Message About the Death and Resurrection of Jesus? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters From Listeners Of The Briefing PART 5 (20:47 - 24:2): ────────────────── Where Do We Find A Theology of Homemaking in the Bible? What About Missional Motherhood? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters From Listeners Of The Briefing

Hour 1 * Guest: Becky Akers – a free-lance writer and historian whose work has appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, the Washington Post, Barron's, the New York Post, American History Magazine, the Independent Review, Military History Magazine, the Ottawa Citizen, lewrockwell.com, forbes.com and many other publications and websites. * Becky Akers is also an Author: Halestorm, Abducting Arnold. the revolutionary new novels. Buy them before They're banned! * New York Times Says the American Flag is ‘Divisive'! * What is the True Meaning of Patriotism? Hour 2 * Cuomo Declares Emergency Over Gun Violence in New York, a First for a State – NYT. * Biden Outlines a Door-to-Door COVID Vaccine Campaign Push. * Officer who shot Ashli Babbitt identified – House sergeant at arms Timothy Blodgett inadvertently disclosed name in congressional testimony – Acting Sergeant At Arms Accidentally CONFIRMS that Lieutenant Mike Byrd KILLED Ashli Babbitt. * De-escalation tool wraps arms, legs without pain – Olivia Munson, Arizona Republic. * The de-escalation tool was created about four years ago, according to Tom Smith, CEO and president of WRAP Technologies, which is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. The BolaWrap is hand-held like a Taser, but is shaped more like a cellphone and, once it is activated, it discharges an 8-foot Kevlar cord to “restrain uncooperative suspects or nonresponsive persons in crisis from a distance,” according to its website. * BolaWrap: People Are Divided Over High-Tech Cop Lasso. * Rachel Nichols Issues an Apology ESPN reporter is sorry for what she said about Maria Taylor. ESPN employees have also reportedly been choosing sides. Former ESPN journalist Jason Whitlock thinks the Times story is a “plant” and the whole scandal is a “contract leverage play by Taylor's reps” as her contract is set to expire this month. * Transracial? Florida man, born white, says he feels Filipino! * Fox Wants to Do for TV Weather What It Did for Cable News – Michael M. Grynbaum. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/loving-liberty/support

* Cuomo Declares Emergency Over Gun Violence in New York, a First for a State - NYT. * Biden Outlines a Door-to-Door COVID Vaccine Campaign Push. * Officer who shot Ashli Babbitt identified - House sergeant at arms Timothy Blodgett inadvertently disclosed name in congressional testimony - Acting Sergeant At Arms Accidentally CONFIRMS that Lieutenant Mike Byrd KILLED Ashli Babbitt. * De-escalation tool wraps arms, legs without pain - Olivia Munson, Arizona Republic. * The de-escalation tool was created about four years ago, according to Tom Smith, CEO and president of WRAP Technologies, which is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. The BolaWrap is hand-held like a Taser, but is shaped more like a cellphone and, once it is activated, it discharges an 8-foot Kevlar cord to "restrain uncooperative suspects or nonresponsive persons in crisis from a distance," according to its website. * BolaWrap: People Are Divided Over High-Tech Cop Lasso. * Rachel Nichols Issues an Apology ESPN reporter is sorry for what she said about Maria Taylor. ESPN employees have also reportedly been choosing sides. Former ESPN journalist Jason Whitlock thinks the Times story is a "plant" and the whole scandal is a "contract leverage play by Taylor's reps" as her contract is set to expire this month. * Transracial? Florida man, born white, says he feels Filipino! * Fox Wants to Do for TV Weather What It Did for Cable News - Michael M. Grynbaum.

DOCUMENTATION AND ADDITIONAL READING PART 1 (0:0 - 10:45): ────────────────── A Threat to the International Order: Belarusian President Lukashenko, Known as “Europe’s Last Dictator,” Forces Down a Civilian Flight PART 2 (10:46 - 15:23): ────────────────── Are There Any Conservatives Left in the Newsroom? The Mainstream Media Is Dominated by the Far Left WASHINGTON POST (HUGH HEWITT) The media has a big credibility problem PART 3 (15:24 - 23:54): ────────────────── Major Matters of Morality Raised by Headlines about the Media in Recent Days: Big Controversies in Chicago, New York, and London WALL STREET JOURNAL (THE EDITORIAL BOARD) Racism at Chicago’s City Hall NEW YORK TIMES (MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM) Chris Cuomo of CNN Advised Gov. Cuomo, Raising Ethics Questions

Millions of Americans watched on Tuesday night as President Trump made his case for a wall on the southern border, and as Democratic leaders dismissed his talk of crisis. Guests: Michael M. Grynbaum, who covers the media for The New York Times, and Mark Landler, a White House correspondent. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

The conservative outlet, under the guidance of the former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, is enjoying a new, more influential place in Washington’s media ecosystem in the Trump era. Charlie Spiering, Breitbart’s senior White House correspondent, spoke with Michael M. Grynbaum, a Times media reporter, about what it's like to work at a controversial organization and what he considers a great Breitbart story.