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A
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. In the middle of the night, Saskia awoke in a haze. Her husband Mike was on his laptop. What was on his screen would change Saskia's life forever. I said, I need you to tell me exactly what you're doing. And immediately the mask came off.
B
You're supposed to be safe. That's your home. That's your husband.
A
Listen to Betrayal Season 5 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
B
1969, Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis, and at Morehouse College, the students make their move. These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up the members of the board of trustees, including Martin Luther King Sr. It's the true story of protests and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles, our menelik Lumumba. Listen to on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Seems like just yesterday that the Two Guys five Rings podcast was in Paris for the Olympics. And now we're heading to Milan for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games. I'm Bowen Yang. And I'm Matt Rogers. And we'll join athletes from 93 countries as Two Guys Five Rings hits the Italian Alps for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Did we mention it's free? Search Two Guys Five Rings and listen.
A
Now, what if mind control is real?
B
If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have?
A
Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?
B
When you look at your car, you're gonna become overwhelmed with such good feelings. Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.
A
Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me. Access my subconscious mind games. A new podcast, exploring nlp, AKA neuro linguistic programming. Is it a self help miracle? A shady hypnosis scam?
B
Or both?
A
Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio.
B
App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey there, folks. It is Wednesday, February 4, and it has been another day not of major developments in the case of Nancy Guthrie, but another day of bizarre twists in the case. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and tj. Bizarre twists in that robes, the sheriff is once again having to spend some time shooting down some media report that comes out about his case. It's happened again. And this time it has to do with someone identifying what it sounds like, a suspect.
A
Yeah. This is a major development that has now been disputed and refuted by police. And yet, as we know, and so many people do, once someone puts out information, it's almost impossible to take it back. It creates suspicion, it creates, it takes the case into a direction that the police are saying, hey, stop, whoa, this isn't true. And yet once it's it. This is why it is so important. Journalists, the media, when we say something that we received in terms of information from a source, from some way that we have identified and we have corroborated, and then we deceive, disseminated, we expect or hope at least that our audience, the people who trust us, believe what we're putting out there. The problem is when people are rushing to try and get a scoop or say, I've got information that no one else has and then it turns out to be false, it, it does so much damage to the investigation, to the.
B
Victim, even before we know if this turns out to be true or not. So the, the, the case kind of went into a bit of chaos to a certain degree, at least publicly. Robes. And again, many people, you understand what this story is about. Now, Nancy Guthrie, 84 year old mother of Savannah Guthrie Today show host, has been missing since last Saturday, last time she was seen. So I'm gonna read the sheriff's statement first, Rose, because it seems like I wanna, I wanna go backwards. It's almost. I don't want to name the person.
A
I don't either.
B
But this is what, at least the sheriff put this out in the sheriff's department. Quote, at this point, investigators have not identified a suspect or person of interest in this case. Detectives continue to speak with anyone who may have had contact with Mrs. Guthrie. Detectives are working closely with the Guthrie family. While we appreciate the public's concern, the sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist the investigation. It closes with this. No suspect or person of interest has been identified at this time. Robes. He had to do that and he had to do that because a journalist did go out there and put out publicly that a family member. And we have the quotes, so we don't want to paraphrase, but what she was essentially saying is that a source is telling her that a family member is a suspect.
A
Yes. And she said a high level source. She said high, high, high level. And also went so far as to say that a family member's car was seized. And I can say right here, tmz is reporting that the Sheriff's Department specifically said we are not confirming a car being seized.
B
Doesn't mean they don't have it. We're not confirming or we don't have.
A
And added we are unsure where that reporter is getting that information.
B
Again, that information. Again, you can read between lines here. That's not correct. No. Versus we're not sure where the reporter is getting the information that's saying that that information could possibly be true. That's how I read that stuff. And because there is a lack. We just talked about yesterday, there's a void of actual, real, official information. So everybody's filling in the blanks, including reporters, including websites, including news organizations. They are trying to get something out. I don't know what to do with this because this is a long. It's out there now. Ashley Banfield, this is a longtime journalist. She's been around a long time, 30 plus years. I actually heard her say 38 in something she, she knows and she's worked with networks. She knows what a source and a credible one is. I have a difficult time thinking she would be this irresponsible.
A
You've said that from the beginning. And this is someone. I don't know her personally, but I have worked adjacent to her. She's been at NBC News and msnbc. Cnn. Correct. And also recently News Nation. She's now described as an independent journalist. She has a podcast and. But to your point, she has had a long and reputable career. She has spoken out in moments about certain topics that have gotten her into trouble with her network because she's an impassioned. She has opinions and she has. But she's never necessarily. She's never been or I've never known of an instance where she's been. She's been messy with the truth or put something out there just to get attention. I haven't seen an incident of this. And so you were like, let's, let's take her at least for her word, at least because she has had a career where you wouldn't necessarily say, oh, she's just doing her thing or she's just spouting off or she's just trying to get attention.
B
She's.
A
She doesn't necessarily. She doesn't have that reputation necessarily. So it's not like you'd think she's just doing this to get attention.
B
I don't need to see her history. I didn't need to see her background. I don't think she's not. What I'm saying is she has Been around long enough to know. On a story this big, if you have a piece of information, you just don't go blurt it out unless you feel damn sure. She's worked at networks where something like this would require minimum up to. With sometimes three to four sources before you go with it. I'm saying she knows how big this story is and she knows how big that tip she has would be. She knows not to be irresponsible. I'm saying that is my best guess and my. The thing that gives me most confidence that maybe she knows what she's talking about because there's no way she knows to be this kind of irresponsible.
A
Yes. And I can't imagine that someone. Someone told her this information. And she knows who this person is and trusts in their ability to have access to this information. She felt confident. We watched her tell the story. She. You could tell. She felt confident that she was handing or disseminating information that she felt was from a reliable source.
B
I don't know. Then do we have the quotes here? Because I saw some of them and I thought she was really couching and really trying to be. Not just. It wasn't. I would say. I would say it wasn't confident. I would say she said something and then was very careful and tiptoed and used particular words and then at some point even sounded like she was walking something back. I, I don't. I don't know how confident she feels in her source and the information.
A
She gave herself a lot of legal wiggle room.
B
Okay, there it is.
A
That's what I would say. I think it sounded to me that she felt confident in what she was saying. But. But she also knows this business well enough and doesn't want to get sued and found a way to say maybe. May possibly. Let me tamp that down a bit. She definitely qualified the information she had and she tried to put it in perspective. That gave her some legal wiggle room.
B
And the way she said it the first time, quote, I can tell you that there is a family member who is heavily being looked at right now as a potential suspect. I can tell you that there is a family member who is heavily being looked at right now as a potential suspect. That's how she put it the first time in announcing that this was out there. I don't know how confident does she sound in that?
A
And then she. But you know what? When she was talking about who this family member was and saying this is a family member of a prominent news anchor. So she, she seemed. She was beefing up the fact that this person wouldn't be looked at just randomly, but within the next breath, she did say, I want to get this right. She said that. Let me tamp that down. Because this suspect could be a prime suspect, as in the first suspect. I didn't like that because family is always looked at first. First.
B
I didn't like that. Baby, baby, that was a problem.
A
I agree. And you can say that and not name the person. You could just say a family member, but she actually named the person. And now if you go online, that person's name and face is everywhere. And you can't take the toothpaste out of the tube. Once you say something like that, that person's life changes forever.
B
Yeah, I didn't like by. Okay, here's her. She says that there's a family member who is being heavily looked at right now as a potential suspect. And she goes back in saying now at some point, saying prime suspect. Couching it to the point, well, maybe it just means first because it's a close family member, and that's what they mean by prime. That's not how it goes, Rose. No, that's. No, that's not. Okay, So I forgot about that line. I don't.
A
That one is the line that bothered me. She was. She was giving herself legal protection, period. And maybe thinking that she was. She was giving a little space for people who were listening to suspend judgment. But once you name someone's name and once you say he's being heavily looked at, you can't take that back. And that's all people hear. And we know this. When people see a headline, when people hear someone like Ashley Banfield say something like this, they believe it. And then they look at everything now through that lens, through the lens that this person might be guilty, and you say might be, but all they hear is guilty or suspect, prime suspect. They're not hearing the maze or the possibly or a source says. None of that actually registers with people when they're listening to someone, a journalist telling them something or. Or reading a headline or seeing a picture. And then now you have. Look, we know what it's like to have cameras and people all up in you and they're hiding, right? So they've got pictures of a family member alongside their spouse, covering up, hiding their faces because they don't want cameras in their face. And now that makes them look guilty. It all feeds into this narrative that Ashley Banfield set into play. And it could be true.
B
It could be.
A
It could be true.
B
But even if it is true. Is it responsible? Is the thing. I don't know. This is a big story. Everybody is. Any little bit of information they're trying to jump on and say they've got something exclusive. And this may be the most exclusive. And she might be ultimately right. But right now, robes every headline. Brother in law prime suspect. Brother in law is the prime suspect. Brother in law may be a suspect. Brother in law, Brother in law. So it's out there everywhere. And I'm sorry, I'm reading the headlines, I'm mistakenly. But it's certainly out there, the suspect that they're talking about. So I apologize there. I'm gonna go back and edit this out now. That sucks.
A
Anyone who's following this case closely, who's listening to this podcast, I'm sure already knows at this point that she put it out there. She put out this was the brother in law to Savannah's sister's husband. And so, yeah, that. That is. They're already going through hell right now. And look, we don't know what police are doing and who they're looking at and who they're zeroing in on, but I'm just imagining like you're already struggling as a family to find your mom and now you've got people pointing the finger at your relatives and you're. It's just a mess.
B
We don't know what that family dynamic was before this and his. What is going on now, but this is. Nobody wants to be dealing with this. The other line, she. She was. We watched Ashley Banfield later doing an interview on another online platform, and she said about her source, how high up they don't get a lot higher than this level. So she's saying she's got somebody really high up in this investigation saying it, but that was her response. Don't get much higher up than this level. And again, how she said it, the source said this, that this person, this family member, may be the prime suspect in the case. Then she said it that way.
A
Can we just talk about that? As journalists, you and I have covered plenty of high profile criminal investigations. We would never go on the record with someone's name, with an unnamed source that hasn't had a second source or a third source and name that person and. And couch it by saying they may be a prime suspect. No news or no news organization, certainly no network news organization, any news organization that could be sued, that has a team of lawyers, that has standards and practices, would never let you ever, and rightfully so, go on the record with this, because this has consequences.
B
Maybe it's different now. It's the wild west of journalism, independent journalists.
A
It is getting, I believe that out.
B
And again, I want to give credit to what has been. Certainly it's a career of hers that I respect. And she might be absolutely right and feel she might have a confidence we don't understand and she might have a confidence that we don't get. And that's not coming through in what she's saying. But that is a tough line. Robes. My source told me that this family member may be the prime suspect. We would never attempt ever to put that on to broadcast.
A
And it will be interesting if that's the case. Yes, but it's interesting, too, because now, after having said this, to have the police so staunchly come out and say, we have not identified a suspect or person of interest in this case. Now, we know. We know police keep things close to the vest. We know things that. I mean, we know that they know things that we don't know and they won't tell us. And we understand that and we respect that because that's what they have to do to maintain the integrity of their investigation. So we know they're not going to tell us everything and they're not going to say, oh, you're right. You got it right. Oh, well, you found out. We understand that. But still, that was a pretty strong statement to come back with.
B
Oh, goodness. Well, folks, a bizarre day of developments. Yes, but there's more. We got updates about the Olympics. NBC is having to make some major changes because of this story. And also, we'll tell you about the phone call from the White House that Savannah Guthrie got. Welcome to the A building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. It's 1969. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr have both been assassinated, and black America was at a breaking point. Rioting in protest broke out on an unprecedented scale in Atlanta, Georgia. At Martin's alma mater, Morehouse college, the students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in black history, Martin Luther King senior and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. To be in what we really thought was a revolution. I mean, people were dying. 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the.
A
Murder of a black panther leader in Chicago.
B
This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should, and it will blow your mind. Listen to the A Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Seems like just yesterday that the two Guys five Rings podcast was in Paris for the Olympics. And now we're heading to Milan for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games. I'm Bowen Yang. And I'm Matt Rogers. And we'll join athletes from 93 countries as Two Guys Five Rings hits the Italian Alps for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Did we mention it's free? Search Two Guys Five Rings and listen now.
A
In the middle of the night, Saskia awoke in a haze. Her husband Mike was on his laptop. What was on his screen would change Saskia's life forever. I said, I need you to tell me exactly what you're doing. And immediately the mask came off.
B
You're supposed to be safe. That's your home. That's your husband.
A
To keep this secret for so many years, he's like a seasoned pro. This is a story about the end of a marriage, but it's also the story of one woman who was done living in the dark.
B
You're a dangerous person who preys on vulnerable and trusting people. You're a predator, Michael. Evan. Good.
A
Listen to Betrayal Season 5 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
B
This is Ryder Strong, and I have.
A
A new podcast called the Red Weather. It was many and many a year ago in a kingdom by the sea. In 1995, my neighbor Anna Trainor disappeared from a commune.
B
It was hard to wrap your head around.
A
It was nature and trees and praying and drugs.
B
So, no, I am not your guru.
A
And back then, I lied to my parents, I lied to police.
B
I lied to everybody.
A
There were years, Ryder, where I could.
B
Not say your name.
A
I've decided to go back to my.
B
Hometown in Northern California, interview my friends.
A
Family, talk to police, journalists, whomever I can to try to find out what actually happened.
B
Isn't it a little bit weird that they obsess over hippies in the woods and not the obvious boyfriend? They have had this case for 30 years.
A
Years.
B
I'll teach you sons of come around here in my white. Boom, boom. This is the red weather.
A
Listen to the red Weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
B
All right, we continue here on abntj. Just to wrap up rope. No surprises here. Abc NBC is having to scramble. No doubt when this happened. Plans have been in place for two years for Savannah Guthrie to go to the Olympics, and all of that has gone away. And now it's impacting her co anchor over there as well. There. This, it's going to look different.
A
Yeah. Craig Melvin was supposed to be in Milan as well alongside Savannah Guthrie. NBC has made the decision to keep Craig Melvin back stateside side while this all goes on. So they made some announcements about some shuffling of talent, basically who was supposed to be at or at least headlining the Olympics. It's now switched up a little bit. So Ahmed Farid is stepping in for Craig Melvin's place. And we've got Mary Carillo is joining Terry Gannon, I believe, for opening ceremony. So they, they've made the appropriate staff changes to compensate. But yeah, it's a big deal for Craig to stay back and be there in New York. And look, a lot of times the Today show, they, they take the whole show overseas. They just everybody moves over. So look, this is a, this is a, who could have ever imagined them having to address or deal with a, a situation like this? But they are adjusting and it's the right call. Yeah.
B
Oh, and I'm sure he, he didn't want to go if he, they probably, if they would ask him, he probably would want to stay. That's his family member and he doesn't want to be across the world while this is going on. I get that. So.
A
Oh, it makes so much sense.
B
Absolute sense. Good to hear that. And also he was asked about it yesterday. I think the president was about Savannah Guthrie made some brief comments, but we did get word that he in fact did touch base with her, according to the White House, was able to speak to her. The president was. And offered assistance. Don't know exactly what.
A
Yes. So. Well, Tom, Tom Yamas actually was the evening news anchor there. The nightly news anchor who we've both worked with and know very well, was actually doing an interview with President Trump that's going to air in the pregame coverage of the Super Bowl. So he was already talking to President Trump. And he did say that the president called Savannah and that Savannah thanked the president for taking the time to call her, to call her family. She told him that they were devastated, they were praying. And she said, according to Galmas, that Savannah thanked President Trump for the hard work of local and federal authorities on the case. And she reiterated, and she's been saying this from what we've heard from her on social media, that what the family needs right now, prayers more than anything. They are praying for her mother's safe return. And we also heard from the sheriff saying they believe Nancy Guthrie is still alive. And he said that today well, folks.
B
That is the hope. This is a fast moving story. Top right corner of your Apple podcast app where you see our show page button that says follow click that. You can always get our updates coming directly to you. You don't have to go looking for them. And again, there have been a lot. We will hop back on anytime there are relevant, significant updates in this case and there have been a lot. But folks, we appreciate you sticking with us. I'm TJ Holmes. On behalf of Amy Robach, we will talk to you all soon.
A
In the middle of the night, Saskia awoke in a haze. Her husband Mike was on his laptop. What was on his screen would change Saskia's life forever. I said, I need you to tell me exactly what you're doing. And immediately the mask came off.
B
You're supposed to be safe. That's your home. That's your husband.
A
Listen to Betrayal Season 5 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
B
Seems like just yesterday that the two Guys five Rings podcast was in Paris for the Olympics. And now we're heading to Milan for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games. I'm Bowen Yang. And I'm Matt Rogers. And we'll join athletes from 93 countries as Two Guys, Five Rings hits the Italian Alps for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Did we mention it's free? Search Two Guys, Five Rings and listen now. 1969. Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. And at Morehouse College, the students make their move. These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up the members of the board of trustees, including Martin Luther King Sr. It's the true story of protests and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. Listen to the a building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
A
What if mind control is real?
B
If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have?
A
Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?
B
When you look at your car, you're gonna become overwhelmed with such good feelings.
A
Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?
B
I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.
A
Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious mind games. A new podcast, exploring nlp, AKA Neuro linguistic programming. Is it a self help miracle? A shady hypnosis scam or both. Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio.
B
App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
A
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present – iHeartPodcasts
Episode Date: February 4, 2026
This episode delves into the latest developments and complications in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, 84-year-old mother of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie. A firestorm erupted after journalist Ashley Banfield publicly claimed—citing a high-level source—that a Guthrie family member was a “prime suspect” in the case. The podcast dissects the sheriff’s firm denial of this claim, the media’s responsibility in reporting such sensitive information, and the personal and professional fallout for the Guthrie family and colleagues.
[02:11-04:39] Amy and T.J. discuss the recent media frenzy after a journalist named a Guthrie family member as a suspect.
Quote:
“At this point, investigators have not identified a suspect or person of interest in this case... The sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist the investigation.”
—T.J., reading the sheriff’s statement [04:40]
[05:35-11:40] Focus shifts to veteran journalist Ashley Banfield, who reported that a family member was a suspect, citing a “high, high, high level” source.
Quote:
“She gave herself a lot of legal wiggle room.”
—Amy [09:46]
Quote:
“I can tell you that there is a family member who is heavily being looked at right now as a potential suspect.”
—Banfield via T.J. [10:14]
Quote:
“You can’t take the toothpaste out of the tube. Once you say something like that, that person’s life changes forever.”
—Amy [11:20]
[11:41-16:43] Amy and T.J. reflect on journalistic standards. They emphasize:
Quote:
“No news organization, certainly no network... would ever let you go on the record with this. This has consequences.”
—Amy [15:27]
[14:14-15:27] The hosts empathize with the Guthrie family, already under immense stress with the disappearance and now facing unwanted suspicion.
Quote:
“You’re already struggling as a family to find your mom and now you’ve got people pointing the finger at your relatives... it’s just a mess.”
—Amy [14:14]
[21:21-22:53] The controversy is even affecting NBC’s plans for Olympic coverage:
Quote:
“NBC has made the decision to keep Craig Melvin back stateside while this all goes on... So they made announcements about shuffling of talent.”
—Amy [21:42]
[22:55-24:05] An update on high-level support:
Quote:
“Savannah thanked President Trump for the hard work of local and federal authorities on the case... what the family needs right now, prayers, more than anything.”
—Amy [23:10]
This episode is a pointed look at the challenges of real-time reporting during active criminal investigations. With a compassionate but sharp critique, Amy and T.J. underscore how unchecked speculation and premature accusations by the press can damage lives—and impede justice. The hosts blend personal experience, industry savvy, and empathy for the Guthries as they walk listeners through this tense chapter.
For ongoing updates, listeners are encouraged to follow Amy & T.J. on their podcast platform.