Brody Mullins: Goldilocks and the Wolves of K Street, A Historical Account of Lobbying in the U.S.

In this episode of Early Returns, Jan Baran speaks with Brody Mullins, co-author of “The Wolves of K Street” and Pulitzer Prize winning Wall Street Journal journalist, about the historical, present and future world of lobbyists in the U.S.  When our founding fathers created the Constitution, they believed there would be both industry and worker factions lobbying towards a greater good.  Then, eventually big money took over big government and legal reforms were introduced.  They discuss the effect the legal reforms have had on the legitimacy of lobbying.  Did they help the public view of what was happening in Washington?  Did the reforms take it too far? And now that President Trump is at the helm and he is issuing executive orders, what does this mean for the future of lobbying?  

About Brody Mullins

Brody Mullins is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and author of The Wolves of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took over Big Government. The book, published by Simon & Schuster, is the definitive account of the rise of corporate power and lobbying in Washington. In two decades as an investigative reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Brody wrote scores of ground-breaking stories about the intersection of business and politics, exposing scandals that prompted new laws and regulations for powerful government officials, lobbyists and Wall Street traders.

In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Brody won the George Polk Award and was twice won the Everett Dirksen Award for best coverage of Congress. Washingtonian calls him one of the 50 best reporters in politics. He has appeared on Fox, CNN, MSNBC and his work has been published by The Washington Post, New York Times, Vanity Fair, Politico and The Atlantic.

Brody grew up in Washington, D.C. and graduated from Gonzaga College High School and Northwestern University. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, two daughters and son.