The Churn is an episode of the Reveal podcast. Paranoia, in a world designed for setbacks. Lost Patient talks with Adam Aurand’s family, about his life “stuck in a loop”. Then an interview about de-institutionalization with the former Washington governor, that over sought it.
The Reveal podcast is produced by the Center for Investigative Journalism, the episode “The Churn” was created in partnership with KUOW and the Seattle Times. With the Lost Patient podcast reporters. The interview is structured in a compelling fashion. As in, it flows effectively. The story telling guides the listener by introducing them to ‘the’ problem, causes and resources for addressing it. It is thoughtful. “The Churn”, episode for instance, tackles its story, of Adam Aurand, a man with mental health conditions, substance addiction and a lack of resources, first.
Second, the story follows the trend, the ‘in and out of institutions, and on the streets’ trend. John F. Kennedy’s policy to move from centralized mental institutions to a proposed 1500 nationwide community-based clinics.
Then, the story of where this policy plan fell apart. The focus is moved at 33:00 minutes in, where an interview is conducted with Dan Evan’s, the former Washington governor. He gives insight into the political approaches that failed at addressing mental health in the 60s and 70s. Revealing that there isn’t political emphasis on the issue in a concrete, proactive manner.
Adam’s story is brief but powerfully used. With recordings of Adam’s mother and sister, giving us their perspectives. Adam had a set of mental health conditions that affected his ability to interact with others appropriately. This social and imperative difference was multiplied by drug use. His mother could not handle it alone. While clinical care helped, when the care showed promise, the hospital decided he could go back out into the world. They left him with the information to contact a homeless shelter in Seattle. Unfortunately, he never made it.
The effectiveness of the story, as the listener, is experiencing it with the family. We hear a somber story accompanied by a transition “technically everything went the way it was supposed to”. The hospitals, families, and justice system all did what was allowed, legal and within their responsibility. That is powerful.
The podcast discusses the causes of this issue, ‘mental illness, institution, homeless loop’ as a political challenge. It was a change that was financially motivated. De-institutionalization started in 1963 and was a failure. The 1500 clinics were halved, and most did little to address the crisis. The promise of better medicine, to ‘cure’ these issues was never fruitful. In a way this issue was overlooked time and time again. As housing became unaffordable for the poorest citizens, this led to a crisis on the streets. That leaders tend not to give attention or responsibility around.
While we cannot blame the former governor exclusively for the epidemic of mental health, and homelessness. What it has become over 40 years. The interview with Dan Evans gives context into his thought process. It was not politically motivating, and not speaking about it meant shredding responsibility, for which he had.
The narrative, tone and organization of Reveal is realistic, calm and well researched. These stories are often years in the making. This extensive focus gives investigative reporters a lot to say. The research furthers the audience’s understanding of the issue, while the interviews provide humanity.
Link to podcast episode and article.