Re: URGENT: BuzzFeed News inquiry re allegations of sexual harassment by Lawrence Krauss
Mr. =indsay: =br class=""> I'm a reporter for BuzzFeed News who =as been investigating sexual misconduct
allegations against Lawrence =rauss.
The =tory concerns Krauss's actions towards students while a =rofessor of physics at Case Western Reserve University, as well as his =onduct in non-academic settings as a prominent figure in the skeptics =ovement. I am reporting this story along with two of my colleagues on =he science desk, Azeen Ghorayshi and Virginia Hughes.
Our =tory is about several allegations of sexual misconduct dating from 2006 =.0 2016. Our reporting also goes into how the various institutions =rauss has been affiliated with — Case Western, Arizona State =niversity, the Australian National University, the New College of the =umanities and the Center for Inquiry, for which you formerly served as =resident — have handled complaints and concerns about his =ehavior during this time.
Our =tory is corroborated by emails, university documents, official =omplaints, testimony from victims and witnesses, and interviews with =ore than two dozen of Krauss's current and former academic =olleagues, students, and peers in the skeptics movement.
I am =riting to you now because you are personally named in the story, and =ecause you had executive responsibility for CFI's actions =uring the time of some of the alleged incidents.
I =anted to offer you the opportunity to comment and/or respond to the =ain facts we plan to publish regarding your involvement as the former =ead of CFI during this time. If you wish to comment on any of these =indings, we need to hear from you as soon as possible. We =re planning on publishing our story Tuesday morning US Eastern Time. =/span>
Based =n our reporting so far, this is what we plan to publish that concerns =ou:
One incident involving Krauss allegedly =ccurred in May 2011on a CFI
=ruise. =/span>
Attendees had paid several thousand dollars to join a cultural =our of the Greek islands, featuring lectures from scientists and =riters, including Krauss. w
Krauss allegedly propositioned a female =ruise-goer, who rejected an invitation to join him and his female =ompanion for sex in their cabin.
No complaint was made, but the incident was =eported to a CFI staffer
No complaint was made, but the incident was =eported to a CFI staffer
at the time.
*
CFI’s leadership continued to embrace =rauss, making him an =onorary
member of its board of directors in December 2011. =/span>
*
But at least two staffers were sufficiently =oncerned about reports of
Krauss’s behavior that they urged you =ot to invite him on a 2014 cruise of =he Galápagos Islands.
*
In June 2013, after you rejected their advice =nd invited him on the
cruise, one of those staffers resigned. =/span>
*
At a conference in March 2012, another woman, =ho at that point was
also an employee of CFI, told you about an =ncident in 2006 in which Krauss forcibly kissed and groped her in a =otel
room. According to this woman, after she told you about this in =erson, you responded to her with silence.
*
The woman later told two other employees in =FI’s management about
the incident, and expressed her =iscomfort at having Krauss continue to speak at events.
*
CFI continued to book Krauss as a speaker at =ts events.
Again, =f you wish to comment on or clarify any of these points, please get in =ouch with us as soon as possible. If I do not respond immediately it is =ecause I am on another call, so please leave the best phone number to =each you.
Dear=Mr. Aldhous,
Adam Isaak resigned because I had a public spat with his =irlfriend, Rebecca Watson, who had issued a public call for CFI =mployees to quit. (That dispute is a whole other story, tangential to =our Krauss piece, so I will not get into it here.)
Timing is important =ere. The email from Pat was in March. The dispute with Watson started =n mid-May, after which Adam stopped showing up for work. (He said he =as sick & then went on vacation, or vice versa). He then then left =ome time in June. If the Krauss matter "pushed [him] over the edge," =hen he was tenaciously hanging on to the ledge for a few =onths.
The =mail from Pat Beauchamp was in the first person and Pat indicated she =as speaking for herself. (I found the email exchange last night; I will =orward it to you.) Adam had never been shy about expressing his =oncerns to me -- he asked for raises, complained about the hosts on the =odcast he was producing etc. The notion that he and Pat were working =ogether but that he decided he could not reveal his participation is =ifficult to credit.
I will be traveling to my home this evening. Plan to reach my =ome by 7:45, but if I don't answer right away, please try a bit later. =y number is: tel:.
Sincerely,
R. =indsay
LAWRENCE !!
Since the story =roke late last week in Buzzfeed about the numerous allegations of sexual harassment and creepy behavior by Lawrence Krauss, we've been treated to a litany of bad arguments in his defense, =any by his wife, who used a secondary Twitter =ccount to engage people on the issue. The arguments are almost =niformly illogical and disingenuous.
l=propose you write an article debunking alien abductions using the =ame argument. these people didnt know one abother. =here are 100 of them. why should they lie. . =tc. TELL nancy to stop. you are getting =nto dangerous territory. . this is not a court of =aw. . facts DO NOT make a difference. . =s you can see there are now some others who have been too afraid to =ome forward in the article. . you are self inflicting =br class="">
thanks.. I don't know about others I will =elay this to Nancy.
Lawrence M. Krauss
Director, The Origins Project at ASU
Co-Director,=Cosmology Initiative
Foundation =rofessor
School of =arth & Space Exploration and Physics Department Arizona=State University, P.O. Box 871404, Tempe, AZ 85287-1404 Research Office: Assistant (Jessica): | Origins Office (Cynthia):
origins.asu.edu I twitter.com/Ikrauss1 I krauss.faculty.asu.edu
Project 10 Year =elebration-Be a part of something 10 years in the making! -Origins April 5-9th 2018 — Visit for more info
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