B (18:18)

I'm Leon Nayfak. Best known as the host and co creator of podcasts Slow Burn, Fiasco and Think Twice Michael Jackson. I'm here to tell you about my show, Final Jerry Springer, whose name is synonymous with outrageous guests, taboo confessions and vicious onstage fights. But before the Jerry Springer show became a symbol of cultural decline, its namesake was a popular Midwestern politician and a serious minded idealist with lofty ambitions. Through dozens of intimate and revealing interviews with those who knew Springer best, I examined Springer's lifelong struggle to reconcile his TV Persona with his political dreams and aspirations. Named one of the best podcasts of the year by the New Yorker and Rolling Stone. Final Thoughts Jerry Springer is a story about choices, how we make them, how we justify them to ourselves, and how we transcend them. Or don't Listen Wherever you get your podcasts or binge the whole series ad free right now on Audible. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible app. I'm Leon Nayfak, best known as the host and co creator of podcasts Slow Burn, Fiasco and Think Twice Michael Jackson. I'm here to tell you about my show Final Jerry Springer, whose name is synonymous with outrageous guests, taboo confessions and vicious onstage fights. But before the Jerry Springer show became a symbol of cultural decline, its namesake was a popular Midwestern politician and a serious minded idealist with lofty ambitions. Through dozens of intimate and revealing interviews with those who knew Springer best, I examined Springer's life lifelong struggle to reconcile his TV Persona with his political dreams and aspirations. Named one of the best podcasts of the year by the New Yorker and Rolling Stone. Final Thoughts Jerry Springer is a story about choices, how we make them, how we justify them to ourselves and how we transcend them. Or don't Listen wherever you get your podcasts or binge the whole series ad free right now on Audible. Start your Audible subscriber subscription in the Audible app.

A (20:29)

In 1951, Ted Kennedy ships off for the Army. The Korean War is in full swing, but Kennedy's family connections ensure he never gets close to combat. Instead, he's stationed in Europe and assigned mostly administrative tasks. Kennedy serves a little under two years, then, with his father's help, he's accepted back into Harvard on academic probation. Kennedy quickly returns to the university football team, excelling so much that he's even approached by the Green Bay packers about playing in the NFL. But he also improves at his studies, and with a B average, he has the grades to leave football behind and go on to law school at the University of Virginia. But many of the faculty members there oppose his application when they learn of his earlier cheating scandals. Still, it's hard to say no to the Kennedys, and he's eventually accepted. While he's at Virginia, Kennedy meets and marries Joan Bennett, a law student and former model. Now in his mid-20s, Kennedy finally appears to have his life on the right track. But despite being a lawyer and a married man, his reckless behavior persists. One night in 1958, Kennedy is driving his Oldsmobile convertible in Virginia when he blows through a red light. The he's spotted by a police officer who tries to pull him over. But Kennedy then turns off his lights and speeds away through the darkness, hoping to evade the cop. Eventually, the officer catches up though, and finds Kennedy's car parked in a driveway. When the cop approaches, he finds Kennedy lying down in the front seat, hiding. The officer cites him for reckless driving, racing to avoid pursuit, and driving on an expired license. But Kennedy leans on his family's lawyers to argue that his light suffered from a malfunction. He's ultimately let off with a $35 fine. But he doesn't learn his lesson. And within the next year, Kennedy is cited multiple times for new traffic violations, including speeding, running another red light, and driving without a license. But while Ted Kennedy is getting himself in trouble in Virginia, a few miles north in Washington, D.C. his brother John is rising fast. Just as his father expected, he's launched a bid for the White House. And at the 1960 general election, he defeats sitting Vice President Richard Nixon to become the youngest man to occupy the Oval Office in the history of the United States. John names his brother Bobby as Attorney General, but there's no formal role for Ted in the new administration. Still, his brother's rise to the top opens a door for him. In 1962, at the age of just 30, Ted stands for election in JFK's old Senate seat in Massachusetts. The Harvard cheating scandal becomes an issue in the race, but he still coasts to victory on the back of his public speaking skills and of course, his family name. So now all three living Kennedy brothers now hold prominent positions on the national political stage. And although their father is not the force he once was after suffering a stroke, the Kennedys are still by far the most influential family in the country. But privilege and power can't protect them from everything. On the afternoon of November 22, 1963, Ted Kennedy is in Washington, D.C. standing on the dais overlooking the floor of the U.S. senate. It's a big day for him. He's taking part in the tradition where first term senators preside over the chamber and direct proceedings and he likes the feeling of power. He bangs the gavel and nods to a colleague. The Senator from Missouri is recognized. You have the floor, sir. But just as Kennedy is starting to get the hang of it, he sees a pale faced Senate clerk walking quickly down the aisle. He stops beneath the dais. Excuse me, Senator Kennedy. Kennedy leans over. Yeah, what is it? It's about the President, sir. What's happened? They're saying he's been hurt. And Dallas, that he's been shot. What? Is he okay? I don't know, sir. It's just come over the wire. Kennedy glances around the chamber and a low swell of concerned whispers is sweeping across the room. The other Senators are hearing the same news. Kennedy steps down from the deus and grabs the clerk by the arm. All right, come with me. Kennedy moves quickly across the Senate floor with the clerk in tower. He flings open the large double doors and strides into the lobby. Outside, by the far wall, dozens of people have gathered around a row of teletype machines that spit out the latest news. Kennedy tries to push his way through to get a better look. Excuse me. Excuse me. Move aside, please. When the crowd doesn't part, Kennedy grows more frustrated. I said move aside, damn it. It's my brother. That gets the crowd's attention. And realizing who he is, people look to the floor and step aside. Kennedy stands over the Associated Press machine, reading the latest update. It just says he's been shot. It doesn't say whether he's alive. The clerk remains at his side, standing over an adjacent machine. Reuters says he's been taken to a hospital. God damn it. Someone must know something. I need to talk to Bobby. The DOJ has people in Dallas. I'll call him from my office. You. You stay here and come find me if there are any updates. Ted Kennedy jogs across the lobby and out into the sun. He hurries down the steps of the Capitol building, heading to his office across the street. He's already lost two siblings to tragic deaths, and he hopes to God he hasn't just lost a third. But when Kennedy makes it to his office, he finds the phone lines are jammed. Still in the dark about whether his brother is alive or dead, he races home, where he's finally able to get a hold of Bobby. And that's when Kennedy learns the devastating news that their brother John, the President, is dead. JFK was just two years into his first term and had instilled a new sense of optimism in many Americans. Now that feeling of hope for the future is replaced with horror and dread. Ted feels it too acutely, and the grief is soon channeled into more reckless behavior. A year after losing his Brother John In June 1964, Kennedy is campaigning for re election to the Senate. He plans to fly to the Massachusetts state party convention in Springfield, along with an aide and fellow senator, Birch Bayh and Bayh's wife. But the pilot of the Kennedy family's private plane refuses to take off. The weather in Springfield is bad, he says, and it's just too dangerous to fly. But Kennedy won't take no for an answer, so he charters a different plane with another pilot for the trip. But he should have listened. In thick fog, the aircraft crashes into an orchard just three miles from its destination in Springfield. The pilot and Kennedy's aide are killed. The other passengers are hurt as well. But Senator Bai manages to gather enough strength to pull Kennedy's limp body from the wreckage. The crash leaves Kennedy with broken ribs, a shattered back and a punctured lung. He spends five months in the hospital, unable to campaign in person, and he even sees in election night in bed. But still he coasts a victory with more than 70% of the vote. That same night, Ted's brother Bobby is elected to the U.S. senate in New York. And as he sets up his new office in Washington, he recruits a team of secretaries and aides. Among them is 24 year old Mary Jo Kopechne. As a younger woman, she was inspired to work in government by John Kennedy's iconic inauguration speech, the one that urged Americans to ask, why? What you can do for your country. Now she's answering that call, and her tireless enthusiasm and intelligence quickly make Kopechne one of Bobby Kennedy's most trusted aides. And late one evening in March 1968, she's summoned into her boss's office. Stepping inside, she finds RFK at his desk with Kennedy family aide and speechwriter Ted Sorensen hovering nearby. To Kopechne, this is thrilling. Sorensen is the man who wrote the very speech that inspired her to enter government service. But if she's intimidated, she doesn't show it. Bobby asks Kapeechne to take a seat at the typewriter in the corner. They need her to take some dictation. Then Bobby begins to speak with Sorensen, occasionally interrupting to offer adjustments to the language. And as the men go back and forth, Kopechne types furiously, trying to keep up. She doesn't have much chance to absorb what they're saying at first, just hoping to get their words cleanly onto the paper. But after a few paragraphs, Kopechne realizes what's happening. This isn't a letter to a colleague or another speech for the Senate floor. This is Bobby Kennedy's announcement that he's running for President. Ever since the assassination of jfk, it's been rumored that Bobby would try to take his place. And now it's really happening. Kopechny's heart beats faster. This is history, and she's right in the middle of it. The words she's typing will be remembered forever. So Kopechne tries to stay calm and focus on the task at hand. But a moment later, Bobby and Sorensen grow quiet, unsure of how to continue the speech. Then, to Kopechne's surprise, the men asks her opinion. They want to know how best to appeal to the young voters whose turnout will be crucial in the election. Kopechne speaks from the heart. She explains that she's scared and angry seeing the boys from her hometown shipped off to fight Vietnam. If Bobby can capture that feeling, he's sure to connect with young people. Bobby likes the sound of that and has her type out her words verbatim as a first draft. It's a surreal moment for Kopechne. She's just a 27 year old from a humble family in New Jersey. Now she's a junior speechwriter for the next President of the United States. With the Kennedys, it seems anything is possible. And her wildest dreams might be coming coming true. In the spring of 1968, Robert Kennedy's run for the White House kicks into high gear. He taps his cousin Joe Gargan as campaign chairman. By this time, Gargan is far more than Ted Kennedy's childhood protector. He's been at the heart of several winning campaigns for the Kennedy family, including John Senate and presidential victories along with the Senate wins for Ted and Bobby. So Gargan quickly puts together a team. And at the nerve center of the campaign's Washington headquarters are the Boiler Room Girls, named for the hot, windowless room where they work. It's a tight knit crew of six, led by RFK's young aide, Mary Jo Kopechne. Together they collate crucial information about battleground states, opponents and convention delegates. But they know they face an uphill battle because despite the famous Kennedy name, Bobby's campaign seems like a long shot. At first, the favorite for the Democratic nomination is the incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey. But in the early primary contests of 1968, momentum seems to shift in Bobby's favor. There are victories in Indiana, Washington, D.C. and Nebraska, which are quickly followed by a dramatic triumph and the winner takes all primary in California on June 4th. Forth suddenly, the prospect of another Kennedy in the White House is a real one. But the moment of celebration and hope for Bobby's supporters is all too brief. Shortly after giving his victory speech at a hotel in Los Angeles, Bobby is assassinated. His death is devastating for all the boiler room girls, but especially for Kopechne. She worked closely with Bobby for years and considered him like family. Joe Gargan is also heartbroken. Bobby was not only his boss, but his cousin and his friend. But the most shaken of all is Ted Kennedy. Now, all three of his older brothers have died tragically young. One in a wartime plane crash and two by assassin's bullets. At Bobby's funeral, he delivers a moving eulogy saying, my brother need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. But it's not just the now horribly familiar grief that Kennedy has to shoulder now. The family's dreams of retaking the White House rest entirely on him. And it's a heavy burden. So in the days following the funeral, Joe Gargan tries to lift Ted's spirits with the Kennedy family's favorite pastime, sailing around Cape Cod. The two men haven't had much time alone together since Bobby's death. And Gargan is worried about Kennedy's state of mind. So he takes this opportunity out on the water for a heart to heart talk. Well, Ted, sure is a beautiful day. Yeah. Kennedy is at the helm, one hand on the wheel and a glass of rum and Coke on the other. Gargan sits near Vash. Somehow I think this is exactly what Bobby would have wanted. You and me out here enjoying the ocean. But what Bobby wanted was to be President. Oh, we all did, for sure. How you been holding up? I'm trying not to feel this helps. Kennedy lifts up his glass. Yeah, I understand. I've seen two brothers shot dead, Joe killed in their prime. Now I've got a dozen nieces and nephews without fathers. What. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to tell them? Yeah. It's unfathomable. There's this sickness in this country. Where does it end? I wish I knew, but nobody does. You asked me how I'm holding up. Well, I. I feel scared. The party is already pushing me to run for president, for Christ's sakes. I'm only 36. Even if I was ready for the job. How do you think it would go? When is some madman gonna take a shot at me? Well, for what it's worth, Teddy, I'll do everything in my power to stop this. That I've been looking out for you since I was 10 years old and that's never going to end. Pained expression flits across Kennedy's face, downs his drink. What I really need from you right now is another one of these. Well, then I can do Gargan stands up and takes the empty glass from Kennedy's hand and as Gargan mixes a fresh rum and Coke, he thinks there's been enough morbid talk for one afternoon, so directs the conversation to something like, you know, I was thinking about throwing a little get together this summer on the Vineyard. Something for Bobby's campaign staff. You know those Boiler Room girls put their heart and soul into the campaign. Morgan hands the drink off to Kennedy, who lifts it in a brief toast. Well, that sounds like a great idea. I want them to know they're appreciated. You know, that they'll always have a place in the family. We'll just name the day and I'll be there. You know I love a party. In the end, Ted Kennedy doesn't make it to the staffers party that summer, but it's such a success that Joe Gargan decides to turn it into an annual tradition and the next time Kennedy makes sure he's there. The get together is held on Martha's Vineyard on the weekend of the annual Eggertown Yacht Club Regatta. The regatta is a good natured boat race between a few dozen well to do locals and Kennedy enters the contest with his yacht Victora and on the afternoon of Friday, July 18, Kennedy finishes ninth in the competition and afterward he boards the winning ship to join its team for a celebration. Kennedy puts back a number of his signature rum and Cokes and then around sundown he heads off to Chappaquiddick Island. Garrigan has rented a two bedroom cottage there for the boiler room party. The small, sparsely populated island is separated from Edgartown by a narrow channel just a few hundred feet wide, so Kennedy and his chauffeur Jack Crimmins use a car ferry to cross and soon after Kennedy arrives, the cottage fills with people and the party gets started. There are 12 of them in all. Kennedy, Gargan, the chauffeur, Crimmins, three other Kennedy confidants, and the six boiler room girls, including Mary Jo Kopechne. For several hours they eat, drink and share old campaign stories. Then around 11pm Gargan heads to the kitchen to make hors d' oeuvres for the partygoers. It's been a long, hot and boozy evening. Gargan himself is laying off the drinks due to an upset stomach, but he still managed to lose track of time. It's only as he removes a pan of sausages from the oven that he notices how late it is. At that moment, the driver, Crimmins, walks into the kitchen to grab another beer. Gargan reminds him that they all have hotel rooms back in Eggertown. But the last ferry runs at midnight. It's time to start winding things down and head home. They don't want to be stuck here for the night with 12 people in a clammy two bedroom cottage. But as soon as Crimmins answers, Gargan can smell the alcohol in his breath and hear him slurring his words. He's clearly drunk and shouldn't be driving Kennedy or anyone else home tonight. So Gargan decides he ought to talk it over with Kennedy. He sticks his head into the living room and calls out for him, but Kennedy's nowhere to be found. Then Crimmins speaks up, telling Gargan that Kennedy just left the cottage with Mary Jo Kopechne. Gargan sighs. It looks like Kennedy has driven himself and Kopechny to catch the last ferry home. Gargan's not exactly surprised. Over the years he's grown used to Kennedy acting on his own whims and leaving it to Gargan to smooth things over. But now there's only one car left for the rest of them. With 10 people still at the cottage, there's no way he'll get everyone to the ferry in time. He'll have to stay the night. But as Gargan walks back to the oven, another more troubling reaction realization hits him. He saw both Kennedy and Kopechne down a number of drinks in the last few hours, and Kennedy's a notoriously reckless driver. Even when he's sober. Gargan's already lost too many people he loved to senseless tragedies. He knows he won't be able to relax until he hears from Kennedy again. So all he can do in the meantime is hope that he and Kopechne make it back to the hotel in one piece. From Audible Originals and Airship, this is episode one of Chappaquiddick for American Scandal. In our next episode, Joe Gargan's fears come true when he learns what's happened to Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne. And soon he's scrambling to clean up the mess. Follow American Scandal on the Audible app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes of American Scandal ad free by joining Audible. And to find out more about me and my other projects, including my live stage show coming to a theater near you, go to notthatlinseygraham.com that's notthatlinseygraham.Com if you'd like to learn more about Chappaquiddick, we recommend the books Chappaquiddick Power Privileged in the Ted Kennedy Cover up by Leo d' Amore Moore and Ted A Life by James A. Ferrell. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details. And while in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham for Airship. This episode is written and researched by Cory Metcalf Senior Producer Andy Beckerman Managing Producer Emily Burke fact checking by Alyssa Jungkook Perry Audio editing by Mohammed Shazi music by Thrum Sound design by Gabriel Gould Executive producer for Airship is William Simpson Executive producer for Audible is Jenny Lauer Beckman, Head of Creative Development at Audible Kate Navin, head of Audible Originals North America, Marshall Louie and Chief Content Officer Rachel Gyazza. Copyright 2026 by Audible Originals, LLC Sound Recording Copy Copyright 2026 by Audible Originates LL.