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Andy Mills vs. transgender people

Andy Mills is an American musician and podcaster who produced The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, a podcast series hosted by Megan Phelps-Roper that presents anti-trans extremist J.K. Rowling in a sympathetic light.

Mills has also appeared on anti-trans podcasts, including Blocked and Reported with Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog, as well as with Meghan Murphy, Nick Gillespie, Meghan Daum, and Sarah Haider.

Background

Kevin Andrew “Andy” MIlls was born to Susan Derouen “Sue” Mills and Timothy Jay “Tim” Mills, a volleyball coach. Mills grew up in a religious family.

Andy Mills transferred to Greenville College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2007.

#MeToo and workplace behavior allegations

Mills was accused of inappropriate conduct toward coworkers. Washington Post columnist Erik Wemple shared several anecdotes and statements, writing:

Jamison York, Mills’s former boss at Radiolab, tweeted recently, “One of my biggest professional regrets is that I couldn’t interrupt [Mills’s] will to power while I supervised him at Radiolab. I saw the ways he used the show as a means to mistreat people and insulate himself from the consequences.”

NPR’s David Folkenflik wrote:

Separately, audio producer Andy Mills, the co-creator and co-host of the hit podcast Caliphate, resigned, saying past accusations of inappropriate behavior toward female colleagues while a public radio producer had made it difficult for him to stay at the Times. His status and conduct, a focus of contention several years ago, resurfaced after the core of the reporting of Caliphate collapsed. The paper published an investigation in December that concluded that its key subject appeared to have lied about being an executioner for ISIS after Canadian authorities charged him with a terrorism hoax.

Mills is a principal in Rockwell Creative Studio LLC, with Matt Boll of The Hudson Branch.

Podcasts

Anti-transgender activism

Mills became interested in trans people in 2013 after meeting the supportive parent of a gender diverse child. Mills’ bosses spiked the story because of how Mills was approaching it.

References

Chan, J. Clara (February 5, 2021). NY Times’ ‘Caliphate’ Producer Andy Mills Resigns After Resurfaced Misconduct Accusations. The Wrap https://www.thewrap.com/new-york-times-andy-mills-caliphate-resigns/

Folkenkirk, David (February 6, 2021). 2 Prominent ‘New York Times’ Journalists Depart Over Past Behavior. NPR https://www.npr.org/2021/02/06/964618301/two-prominent-new-york-times-journalists-depart-over-past-behavior

Mills, Andy (February 5, 2021). Resignation. https://www.andymills.work/resignation

Staff report (April 13, 2021). You Majored in Storytelling? Greenville University https://www.greenville.edu/news-media/news/2021/04/13/you-majored-in-storytelling

Team RadioLab (January 7, 2021). A note from RadioLab. WNYC https://radiolab.org/podcast/note-radiolab-team

Tracy, Marc (February 5, 2021). Two Journalists Exit New York Times After Criticism of Past Behavior. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/business/media/donald-mcneil-andy-mills-leave-nyt.html

Folkenflik, David (January 12, 2021). Public Radio Stations Rebuke ‘N.Y. Times’ Over Actions In Correcting ‘Caliphate.’ NPR https://www.npr.org/2021/01/12/955873886/public-radio-stations-rebuke-times-for-ethical-lapses-related-to-caliphate-podca

Wemple, Erik (January 8, 2021). Collapse of ‘Caliphate’ podcast brings scrutiny to NYT producer Andy Mills. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/08/collapse-caliphate-podcast-brings-scrutiny-nyt-producer-andy-mills/

Tracy, Marc; Robertson, Katie; Hsu, Tiiffany (December 18, 2020). New York Times Says ‘Caliphate’ Podcast Fell Short of Standards. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/business/media/new-york-times-caliphate-podcast.html

Folkenflik, David (December 18, 2020). ‘New York Times’ Retracts Core Of Hit Podcast Series ‘Caliphate’ On ISIS. NPR https://www.npr.org/2020/12/18/944594193/new-york-times-retracts-hit-podcast-series-caliphate-on-isis-executioner

Kachka, Boris (February 5, 2018). Do As I Say, Not As I Do: WNYC tolerated sexual harassment and bullying for years. Now, its CEO must satisfy angry staffers without sliding into an overzealous panic. The Cut https://www.thecut.com/2018/02/at-wnyc-an-uncertain-path-out-of-scandal.html

The Power of Storytelling (August 28, 2018). Interview: The twists and turns of audio storytelling with Andy Mills.
https://www.thepowerofstorytelling.org/interview-andy-mills-power-of-storytelling/

Mills, Andy (April 10, 2014). Lessons Learned While Making A (The) Daily. Transom https://transom.org/2017/lessons-learned-making-daily/

Mills, Andy (April 10, 2014). Using Music: Andy Mills. Transom https://transom.org/2014/using-music-andy-mills/

Central Standard (April 12, 2012). Kohn: A Storyteller Is Born From His Own Story. KCUR https://www.kcur.org/show/central-standard/2012-04-12/kohn-a-storyteller-is-born-from-his-own-story

Media

Contrapoints (April 17, 2023). The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmT0i0xG6zg

Meghan Murphy (December 16, 2024). Andy Mills was forced to resign from the New York Times after being falsely accused of “abuse.” The Same Drugs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuFeQrwuZL4

Nick Gillespie (Jul 3, 2024). Andy Mills: Quitting The New York Times and making ‘The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling.’ ReasonTV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGvlZ7GoOwo

Meghan Daum and Sarah Haider (July 12, 2024). Why It Is So Hard to Talk About Gender | Andy Mills.
A Special Place in Hell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj0tbAmT2Xo

Singal, Jesse; Herzog, Katie (February 2, 2024). Episode 201: Mills Spills (with Andy Mills). Blocked and Reported https://www.blockedandreported.org/p/episode-201-mills-spills-with-andy

Resources

Andy Mills (andymills.work)

Rockwell Studio (rockwell.studio)

New York Times Company (nytco.com)

  • Andy Mills [archive]
  • nytco.com/person/andy-mills

Tumblr (tumblr.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

  • kandrewmills [deleted]

SoundCloud (soundcloud.com)

New York Times (nytimes.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)