Broken Open: My journey to the Epstein story.

Welcome back to The Red Letter.

First, as promised, your weekly “Another Totally Normal Week in Politics…” quiz by Abi Baker and Luke Radel. As always, leave your scores in the comments section.

When my phone pinged with the news—legendary journalist Terry Moran fired from ABC News for posting his opinion on X about Stephen Miller and the Trump administration’s callous immigration policies—I had one thought: he belongs at Substack.

In fact, Moran always belonged here.

We worked together at ABC News, where—like many networks—there were these long, winding internal email threads. In a print newsroom, we hoard scoops. At a network, there were chains of reply-alls, often baffling. But Moran blasted out the most brilliant reporting—historical context, razor-sharp analysis—during some of the most chaotic, slapdash moments in political history. And that work would just die in an inbox.

He was a beautiful writer. His words deserved more. A platform. A place like this. I’m glad he finally found the home he was always meant to have.

But it wasn’t just his political analysis I admired. Moran was a master of long-form broadcast storytelling—something I’ve always aspired to, and finally got to attempt when I worked on the podcast Broken: Jeffrey Epstein.

Network news was a beast. One I let swallow me whole—for a while. I left before my contract was up. I never really fit in. But Moran was always a warm presence, always rooting for me. That meant something. That’s not to say there weren’t incredible people at the network—many of them are still my closest friends—but I wasn’t thriving. And I knew I had to leave.

Leaving, though, wasn’t as easy as I imagined. I thought I’d just cross the street to another network. Another job. Another title. But I was restricted—benched for months. So I did what journalists do when they lose the mic. I wrote. I traveled. I stared at the stars and wondered if I’d just thrown a grenade into my life at 33. I was a White House correspondent. That was the dream, right?

I ended up in Joshua Tree. Alone. I rented a hotel room. Liked it so much I got a house. And then I hiked. And hiked. And hiked. I looked up at the moon and asked, What now?

🟥 The Epstein story didn’t find me in D.C. It found me in Joshua Tree, when I thought my career might be over. I got the call. And everything changed.