Aubrey Wieber: director of the 907 Initiative

Aubrey Wieber is the founder and executive director of the 907 Initiative. The 907 Initiative is an Alaska-based government watchdog organization working to increase public transparency for state and local government. Aubrey grew up mostly in Portland, Oregon, but his youth took a dramatic turn when he and his mother joined a cult, Ramtha's School of Enlightenment, while he was in middle school. That experience had profound repercussions, and he dropped out of high school at 15. But after getting his GED, he earned a degree in journalism and made his way to Anchorage in 2019 for a job at the Anchorage Daily News. He quickly grew disillusioned with the limits placed on him as a reporter and left journalism altogether. We discuss the origin of the 907 Initiative and its place in the Alaska political ecosystem, specifically its coverage of former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson.

Article about the media and Eric Swalwell from The New Yorker, "What Brought Down Eric Swalwell," by Jon Allsop.