The New Yorker Radio Hour – Episode 59: The Koch Brothers and Boxing Champion Heather Hardy

Date: December 2, 2016
Host: David Remnick | Produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

Overview

In this multifaceted episode, David Remnick leads listeners through three in-depth segments:

1. Jane Mayer on the Koch brothers’ political influence and the repercussions of her investigative reporting.
2. A vivid profile of boxing champion Heather Hardy, capturing her struggles within the male-dominated boxing world and a fight night drama.
3. Junot Díaz reflects on his complicated relationship with the Dominican Republic, immigration, memory, and the creative process.
   Humor, drama, and hard-hitting journalism intertwine, offering a window into American politics, sports, and culture.

1. Jane Mayer Versus the Koch Machine (00:29–16:50)

Investigating the Koch Brothers

• Jane Mayer recounts her experience reporting on the Koch brothers’ funding of the Tea Party and the hidden world of dark money in politics.
• She describes the tense, even paranoid, atmosphere when talking to former Koch employees, many of whom feared repercussions.
• “People were saying they play hardball, watch out... some of the ones I was able to talk to were literally looking over their shoulders the whole time...” — Jane Mayer (01:52)

Smear Campaign: The Plagiarism Accusation

• Remnick receives a tip from NY Post’s Keith Kelly: a right-wing blogger is about to accuse Mayer of plagiarism in retaliation for her Koch exposé.
• Mayer scrambles to respond: “If you want to take down a reporter, there’s pretty much nothing more lethal than charging them with plagiarism.” (03:24)
• The story collapses after Mayer gets exculpatory statements from the supposedly plagiarized reporters.
• The experience reveals how opposition research teams sometimes manufacture stories: “If they couldn't find it, they'd create it.” — Jane Mayer (05:15)

Koch Brothers: Methods and Motives

• Mayer traces how the Koch brothers built a business empire and developed an ideological crusade for economic freedom and minimal government.
• Notable quote: “[Charles Koch] set out to create a movement to, quote, destroy the current paradigm.” (07:48)
• The Kochs wield enormous financial influence through “dark money”—undisclosed political donations—fueling campaigns to serve both their ideology and business.

Striking Back Against Critics

• The Kochs’ retaliatory tactics predate Mayer’s reporting; a Senate investigation in 1989 spotlighted Koch Industries for oil theft from Native American reservations.
  • Ex-FBI agent Jim Elroy recounts being surveilled by an armed private investigator — “Go back and tell Charlie Koch that the next guy he sends out to run a surveillance on me, they go home in a bag.” (12:28)
• The Senate’s report concluded Koch Industries stole millions in oil, and a culture of intimidation surrounded investigations.
• Wick Sollers, a former federal prosecutor, said: "We don't know who sent them, but someone hired private investigators to dig up anything they could." (14:10)

Aftermath

• Mayer describes burning her draft notes for safety, humorously noting: “…they’d make incredible kindling. And so I took the pages and put them in the firebox … my family got to enjoy, you know, toasting marshmallows over them.” (15:55)

2. In the Ring With Heather “The Heat” Hardy (19:36–30:57)

Daily Struggle and the Pull of Boxing

• Profile of Heather Hardy, undefeated boxer and WBC International Super Bantamweight Champion.
• Hardy balances grueling training, single motherhood, and multiple jobs. “My daughter’s 11. She’s so unimpressed by me. It’s not cool when your mom does it.” (20:24)
• She discovered boxing during a tough period in her life; the first victory was addictive: “To have that feeling of victory, it was like drugs for me, and I just kept going back.” (21:20)

The Reality of Women’s Boxing

• The scene: local fights in small venues, with fighters paid according to how many tickets they sell.
• Hardy describes the pressure: “All these people came here to see you … you have to beat the [explicative] out of this girl. So … I did just that.” (22:41)
• On health risks: “There are definitely times, like, I feel I forget. … That gets scary sometimes because … is this, like, some kind of damage I’ve suffered in my head?” (23:31)

Fight Night Drama at Barclays Center

• Hardy’s biggest fight so far—complicated by missing weight (due to period timing), causing her purse money to forfeit to her opponent.
• Lou DiBella, her promoter: “She’s not the greatest female fighter in the world, but she’s one of the more exciting.” (26:00)
• Despite setbacks, Hardy refuses to withdraw: “I’m gonna beat this girl like she just stole my money.” (29:52)
• After a grueling match, Hardy wins by unanimous decision: “And still undefeated, from Brooklyn, New York—Heather ‘The Heat’ Hardy!” — Fight Announcer (28:24)

The Reality: Fighting for Nothing

• Hardy explains that, as a woman, “sometimes it’s harder for you to make your weight... So because I didn’t make weight, my opponent took my whole purse.” (29:19)
• Facing pressure from all sides, she fought that night for no money, only pride and her fans.
• “I worked so hard for this. So I was really, before I walked in the ring, prepared to fight for nothing. … At the end of the day, I didn’t come in on weight, and I was willing to pay the price.” (29:52)

3. Junot Díaz: Immigrant Memory, Critique, and the Ghosts of Home (35:32–46:37)

Home and Disillusionment

• Díaz discusses being stripped of his national honor from the Dominican Republic due to his fierce critique of the country’s anti-Haitian policies: “It’s not with the Dominican Republic. It’s with this political party that’s engineered a retroactive change to the Dominican Constitution.” (35:32)
• Reflecting on the immigrant’s memory: “There was real memory. There was sort of fantastic memory. … When you grow up in an immigrant enclave … there’s more continuity than you would have expected.” (38:02)

On Cultural Alienation

• Díaz describes moving to the U.S. at age six—likening it to a science fiction story—where his world was “gone … it’s like Superman’s Krypton being just exploded.” (38:53)
• He also recounts learning about American racism early: “I think I learned all the racist terms for Asians in those first 12 months because of that kind of trauma and that history that America had vis a vis Vietnam.” (39:58)

Science Fiction, Star Wars, and Writing

• Díaz is a deep sci-fi fan—especially Star Wars—and sees it as a core part of American mythology: “It is about boys and their fathers and male superpowers … all the basic building blocks of kind of American popular mythology have found their home in Star Wars.” (42:02)
• On his own process: “I have to generate a lot of crap to get anything good out. … The books you don’t write are simply opportunities for people to read other writers.” (45:32–46:37)
• Emphasizing the legitimacy of differing creative rhythms: “There are things that need to be written that can only be written by a slowpoke like me, and I sort of take comfort in that.” (46:29)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “If you want to take down a reporter, there’s pretty much nothing more lethal than charging them with plagiarism.” — Jane Mayer (03:24)
• “Go back and tell Charlie Koch that the next guy he sends out to run a surveillance on me, they go home in a bag.” — Jim Elroy (12:28)
• “All these people came here to see you ... you have to beat the [expletive] out of this girl. So … I did just that.” — Heather Hardy (22:41)
• “As a woman, you have certain times of the month where it’s harder for you to make your weight. ... So because I didn’t make weight, my opponent took my whole purse.” — Heather Hardy (29:19)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• Jane Mayer / Koch Brothers: 00:29–16:50
  • Smear campaign/plagiarism allegation: 02:53–05:15
  • Senate investigation story: 11:00–15:38
• Heather Hardy Profile and Fight Night: 19:36–30:57
  • Hardy describes first victory: 21:20–22:12
  • On the pressure of ticket sales: 24:41
  • Fight night at Barclays and aftermath: 25:04–30:57
• Junot Díaz in Conversation: 35:32–46:37
  • On being stripped of Order of Merit: 36:07
  • On memory/immigrant experience: 38:02–39:49
  • Racism upon arrival: 39:58
  • Star Wars and mythology: 42:02
  • Creative process and writing struggles: 45:02–46:37

Tone and Style

• The episode blends hard-hitting investigative journalism, lively human drama, and wry, candid humor. Remnick’s warmth and curiosity set the tone, while guests like Mayer and Hardy offer unflinching honesty and resilience.

Listen Further

Find more on these themes and stories at newyorkerradio.org.

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