Podcast Episode Summary: All Of It (WNYC) — "New Doc About School Shooting Victims, Memorialized Through Their Bedrooms"
Date: March 9, 2026
Host: Alison Stewart
Guests: Steve Hartman (journalist), Joshua Seftel (director), Lisa Cortez (executive producer)
Documentary Featured: All the Empty Rooms (Oscar-nominated, available on Netflix)

Overview: Main Theme

This episode centers on All the Empty Rooms, a documentary short film that memorializes children killed in school shootings by documenting their bedrooms as left after their deaths. The conversation explores how these preserved spaces reflect the lost lives, how the documentary was made, and its role in combating public numbness toward gun violence.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origin and Purpose of the Documentary

• Steve Hartman shares his experience reporting on school shootings since 1997 and the troubling increase in frequency: "School shootings have increased from 17 per year to 132 per year." (02:00)
• The initial impetus: Hartman aimed to "shake [himself] and the country out of this numbness." (03:32)
• Hartman’s reporting process evolved over 8 years, with a focus on bringing Americans into the bedrooms of the victims to humanize the epidemic (04:55).

2. The Emotional Power of Bedrooms

• Rooms are often left untouched by grieving parents, preserving ‘unfinished’ moments (e.g., a toothpaste tube with the cap off, dirty laundry still in the basket).
  • Josh Seftel: "I could feel the presence of the child...The child who was rushing to go to school, decided not to put the cap back on...They'd get to that later and they never came home again." (05:56)
• The documentary’s intention is to provide a portrait of each child through the rooms and their personal belongings, shifting focus from abstract tragedy to particular lost lives.

3. Filmmaking Choices and Family Inclusion

• Lisa Cortez: The process "was always one of inclusion of the families...to make certain that they are comfortable with the story being told." (08:55)
• The team prioritized respect and minimizing intrusion when filming, as families gave rare access to these "sacred spaces" (15:39).
• Not all families responded; only those who preserved the rooms and were willing to share their stories participated (17:22).

4. Sensory Memory, Grief, and Universal Resonance

• Parents mention the lingering smells in rooms as a powerful memory:
  • Josh Seftel: "[Dominic Blackwell]'s parents actually saved the dirty laundry...They just can't bring themselves to wash it because they want to preserve his smell." (18:54)
  • Steve Hartman: "For many of the families, smell still does play a role...but even more so just the sight of everything around the room..." (20:26)
• The concept of olfactory memory: preserving a sense of presence becomes central to mourning and memorializing.

5. The Filmmakers’ Perspectives & Ethical Sensitivity

• Steve Hartman initially did not want to appear in the film, preferring the focus stay on the children and their families:
  • "My instinct as a journalist is to not be part of the story...I wanted to make the footprint as small as possible..." (13:33)
• Director Seftel insisted Hartman be included: "You have to be in the film because you're the one who's going to take us on this journey...people trust you." (11:56)
• Still photographer Lou Bopp’s respectful process: removing shoes, using no extra lighting, to maintain the sanctity of the children's rooms (15:39).

6. Reception and Impact of the Film

• The documentary deliberately does not mention guns or policy, focusing solely on empathy and humanization:
  • Hartman: "The film doesn't offer solutions intentionally. Guns are never mentioned, for example. We really just want people to care again." (25:05)
  • The filmmakers hope to "channel this empathy...into some kind of change." (22:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Parent (on visiting their late daughter Gracie’s room):
  "Every day I tell her good morning and every night I tell her goodnight." (02:22)

• Steve Hartman (on his own emotional journey):
  "I'm glad I went because...I'll never be numb again. Every time there's a school shooting...I'm going to be able to place myself in that room." (13:33)

• Lisa Cortez (on the rooms’ significance):
  "[Lou Bopp] is this tremendous...invisible eyeball entering into this space." (15:39)
  "It just forever haunts you. And hopefully, it will engage people with being a part of this change that needs to happen, because it's so Universal, what it is to have. Create your special space and for it to be lost." (21:34)

• Joshua Seftel (on the power of short films):
  "It allows for a robust conversation...we have these amazing conversations afterwards where...people raise their hand and say, I've watched this film. Now tell me what can I do to help?" (22:27)

• Steve Hartman (on fatherhood after the project):
  "You can't help but do something like this and come out of it, you know, with a renewed sense of appreciation for what you have...no one comes out of watching this film and regrets watching it." (25:05)

Timestamps for Important Moments

• Introduction & Overview: 00:38–02:00
• Steve Hartman on Numbness & Origin: 03:32–04:55
• Lisa Cortez: Drawn to the Project: 05:05
• Josh Seftel: The “Toothpaste Moment”: 05:56
• How Bedside Rituals Continue (Gracie's Room): 02:10–03:01
• Parents Invited to Participate; Letters Sent: 17:22
• The Power of Smell (Dominic Blackwell): 18:54
• Lou Bopp’s Photography Process: 15:39
• Discussion of Impact and Audiences' Reactions: 22:27
• Parenthood & Empathy Revisited: 25:05

Conclusion

All the Empty Rooms stands as a poignant testament to lives lost in school shootings, approaching a fraught topic through deeply personal, sensory, and respectful portraiture. The episode underscores the documentary's commitment to empathy, memory, and care—both for those affected and for a nation at risk of numbness. Through their conversation, Hartman, Seftel, and Cortez offer listeners a window into grief, respect for sacred spaces, and a call to witness, remember, and, ideally, recommit to confronting gun violence.

End of summary.