>> Major funding for "Reporters Roundtable" is RWJ Barnabas health.

Promotional support provided by New Jersey as magazine.

-- by New Jersey business magazine.

Reporting to executive and legislative leaders in all 21 counties of the Garden State since 1954.

And by Politico's New Jersey playbook on artist a politics.

Online at politico.com.

♪ David: Primaries, corruption trials, French museums, and a new podcast.

We are covering all the bases this week.

Hey everybody, it is Reporters Roundtable.

I'm David Cruz.

Charles style is columnist for the Bergen record.

Daniel writes about health care and more for Politico NJ.

We are going to hear from the panel in just a few minutes, but we begin today with a special guest.

Usually the reporters are on this side of the roundtable but today we are breaking all the rules and welcoming one of our friends and colleagues who is burning up the charts with his intriguing new podcast about his search for his biological father.

It is called "inconceivable truth" and it brings Matt to roundtable.

Great to see you.

Matt: appreciate you having me on to talk about this.

David: Scribe at the Philly Inquirer, author of Chris Christie's bridge to redemption, now top rated podcaster.

It is going just like you planned it, right?

Matt: [LAUGHTER] It has been a strange few years.

I did this DNA test that revealed shocking secrets about my family and I basically decided I needed to do journalism on myself.

I needed to figure out who my actual biological father is, because I found out a few years ago the man I always thought was my father was not my father.

I had to figure out how I was actually conceived, because it turns out it was an unusual way even my own brother was not aware of, and I had to figure out why I was not suddenly 100% Jewish.

Turns out I am half ethnically Irish.

It did not make sense based on what I knew about myself.

I took some time off last year and searched literally the globe to figure out the identity of my real biological father and made a podcast about it.

David: How do you arrive at this point?

This podcast was how long in the conception and how long in the production?

Matt: I first did this DNA test in 2016 that revealed I was half Irish.

That did not make any sense.

There were a series of serendipitous events that resulted in me finding two half-sisters who were my same exact age, and from there I talked to one of those sisters in 2018, revealed to me that our father was actually a sperm donor.

That is when I turned on the recorder.

I started recording conversations with people in my life, first my mom in the fall of 2018, and I traveled to California and to Ireland.

I recorded conversations with my wife.

I audiorecorded everything.

It was really in conception for -- let me use the word again here -- for many years.

I was lucky enough to land a deal with a couple podcast companies, and that was just last summer.

I started reporting this out, as we say in journalism, in the fall of 2023.

Took about six months to put this together and get the answers I needed.

David: I mentioned all the things you had done before.

Because it seems to me this is a whole different way of storytelling for you.

Or is it?

Matt: It is in many respects, but many years ago, going on 20 years ago, in Cherry Hill when I was a news reporter there, I started a syndicated dating column.

I wrote about dates I went on when I was a single guy.

I did that and that column ran in the papers in New Jersey and a few across the country.

That was putting myself out there.

That was first person talking about dates, making fun of myself, pointing out my foibles.

I think that got me accustomed to this idea of writing about myself and talking about myself, but it is far more -- this podcast is far more intimate and personal than anything I have ever done before.

It involves the closest people to me in the world.

And it required some adjustments in terms of how I did my journalism.

I had to think about what the people I was talking about might think and feel and react to me after that and that is not something we normally have to worry about, or that does not affect our reporting normally as journalists.

In this sense it evolved my immediate -- it involved my immediate family and their story was my story.

It involved some conversations with them and negotiations in terms of what details we put out there.

I will keep it close to the vest, but there are plenty of details in this podcast.

David: Right, it is the story about your search for your biological father but damn if it does not take a bunch of weird twists and turns, and fertility treatments and how they did them back then.

How much of that -- how difficult was it the talk about that with your mom, for instance?

By the way, the conversations with your mom in here were just so great because they are so intimate and real.

How did she take to be in -- to being a part of all this?

Matt: Reluctant at first, but she said she saw this as an opportunity for me from a career perspective, and she felt I needed to tell the story and I wanted to find my biological father, but also the the opportunity to try something new from a journalism standpoint.

That has made six or seven hours of radio.

But with the kind of journalistic constructs of truth.

She wanted me to have that opportunity.

I decided it would be good for our relationship to have conversations that we normally don't have, that people don't normally have with their loved ones on an everyday basis.

That recorder really fades into the background, that audio recorder.

There were no cameras around and we were able to have conversations that I think brought us closer together in the end.

I was also able to really answer questions about myself and how I came to exist that were nagging at me.

This was important for me to do from a personal standpoint and I needed to pursue it as long and as far as I could.

David: Do you have a question for Mr. Katz, if that is his real name?

[LAUGHTER] >> Yeah, matt, you used your skills as a dogged, curious reporter on this quest for your identity, and I'm just curious how much of this gnawing question about your identity over the years shaped you as a reporter.

Matt: That is really interesting.

opens with the man I had always known to be my birth father and how I was estranged for him and how I would look for him even as a little kid.

I would look up his name in phonebooks books when I was in different cities, on vacationed in a different part of the country.

I would look in the phonebook book to see if I could find him because I did not know where he was.

It does seem to have -- it instilled in me this insatiable quest for knowing things and a curiosity.

I had this gnawing curiosity about my small world as a child and where my literal biological father was, and may be that altered my perspective on the world a little bit and made me insatiably curious about all kinds of other things.

I guess -- I do think there is something to that.

What people -- when they use the word curious, in telling this story, because I am curious about who I am and where I come from and what my ethnic identity really is, listeners like that.

Listeners relate to the curiosity.

Listeners connect with somebody on a quest trying to know something, and then they kind of want to join along and go on that journey too.

That is something new I feel like I've realized about journalism and storytelling through this whole process.

David: "Inconceivable Truth" podcast writer and host Matt Hatz.

Good to see you.

Thank you for coming on with us.

Matt: Appreciate the opportunity.

David: Panel, welcome to you all.

Let's try to pivot from fertility treatments to pretrial motions and campus protests.

Let's start with the Menendez trial set to begin in a couple weeks.

We see the defense might be contemplating a mental disorder defense on top of the Nadine did it defense from a couple weeks ago.

This trial will be a doozy, huh?

>> I think so.

The one characteristic about Menendez that I have always watched from afar is that he spent his entire life climbing this latter to power, and seeking that validation of a man of power who not only arrived in the top of the heap in Hudson County in New Jersey, but as a Cuban-American.

I think he is going to use every possible move to survive this and come out.

He will use every tactic in the book to fend off this really damaging indictment.

David: Who will draw the short straw to cover this trial?

>> Sean Sullivan, our intrepid cops and Attorney General reporter will handle it.

Sean is a really talented reporter.

It will be a lot to write about.

This is fascinating at not just New Jersey level but a national level.

David: There will be sidebars aplenty, that is for sure.

Daniel, is this an assignment you are lobbying for?

Daniel: [LAUGHTER] I live pretty far from southern Manhattan but I will be there for the first couple days.

I believe this will be my first time in the federal courtroom and I cannot use my laptop to take notes.

That would be a new experience.

David: A couple weeks after that is primary elections.

What races are you -- that what races are going to be most interesting to you?

Charles: I would still like to see the totals on the U.S. Senate race on both parties frankly.

I'm curious to see how, particularly in the Republican Party now, how the efficacy of the line which is still in place, and comparing that to the outcome in the Democratic primary.

And then of course the race in the eighth congressional district is a barnburner.

Rob Menendez Junior, will the albatross of his father drag him down against Hoboken's Rafy?

David: I know you had a lot of fun covering all these conventions leading up to the primaries.

The air is a bit out of the balloon on the U.S. Senate race on the Democratic side, all due respect to all of those people contesting that, but what is going to pique your interest the most?

Daniel: Going off what Charlie said, I think the Marquis race this primary season is in the eighth congressional district where you have the son of Senator Menendez.

I also think a similar test of a line free world, you can see that in the third congressional district in the Democratic primary where longtime assembly members, headed into this herb was a strong favorite because he had the district where candidates are faced favorably -- are placed favorably.

He does not have that anymore, so it will be an interesting first test to see what two lawmakers, what will the impact will be.

David: Any interest -- Brent: I think this is an interesting Senate race in general, even without Tammy Murphy being in it.

This has been a state where Democrats have won U.S. Senate seats for 50 years, but in a world where Bob Menendez is under indictment, Donald Trump is running for president, and you see Biden's numbers slipping in New Jersey, whoever wins the Republican nomination is not written out.

There could be a race in November.

Whether you want to see the Trump aligned candidate or the more traditional Republican, it's going to be a fascinating race.

This is not a Senate race to not pay attention to simple because Tammy Murphy is no longer in it.

David: Moving on, Congressman Payne was laid to rest this week.

Who succeeds him and how they succeed him will be the topic of much discussion, already has been.

What are we hearing?

Daniel: It is difficult to put a specific name out there, but I think at the very least this is a district, heavily focused on Essex County specifically in Newark.

There are parts of Hudson County, but for all intents and purposes this is an Essex based congressional district.

So I think you will likely see the next cumbersome and or Congresswoman -- next Congressman or Congresswoman come from Essex County.

The governor still must assign a special election for someone to see out the rest of Payne's term in Congress, but the real fight will be the special convention to replace Payne's name on the primary ballot for the term that will be on the November general election ballot.

That would run in 2025 and 2026.

David: Brent, does the line or lack of a line impact this particular contest right now?

Brent: I don't think so because it is still the party gathering to pick a replacement to put on the ballot, so the party will have a lot of say, in a sense basically replaces the line.

I have heard a few names.

I heard the state lawmakers in that area, Brittany Timberlake and Renée Burgess brought up among those names.

Donald Payne's son could possibly be thrown out there, although I don't think he has political experience.

There is a Newark school board member.

It will be interesting to see who is picked, but I don't think there is a favorite from what I have heard.

David: Brittany Timberlake or Shane ekes paid are my picks.

Charles: There is a whole roster.

To me it is hard to gain out who has the real advantage here.

I'm interested in what the governor is going to do about this, whether he does call for a special election.

In this environment with a lot of people clamoring for more democracy, and rather than having things done by Fiat and then later by the county committees, it seems to be that kind of old school pulling of the levers might be out of step with what the electorate wants.

So that will be an interesting dynamic behind the scenes in this whole thing.

David: Here is an odd story from this week, Jersey City Mayor candidate for governor Steve Philip reacting to a letter from the state economic development Authority, saying the state funding for the Pompidou center, aka French Museum, almost $60 million, is in jeopardy because the money to sustain the operation once the museum opens does not add up.

This is what he had to say.

>> The only thing that has changed is my relationship with the front office, meaning I've been more critical of lines, of Timmy Murphy's candidacy -- Tammy Murphy's candidacy and the direction of the Murphy administration.

Their tone trained -- tone changed regarding this project.

Nothing else has changed from when the project started, so I don't see how they could point to the finances now when the finances are actually cheaper than when they committed over the first two years.

David: Is it possible that the Murphy administration is sticking it to Fulup because he withdrew his endorsement of Tammy Murphy?

Brent: Murphy has said that is not the case, but this was the big question about Murphy's candidacy, would there be things behind the scenes?

Meaning if someone did not support Tammy Murphy or someone did, with a get punished or rewarded?

This is the first time this has come out in public, even though Tammy has dropped out of the race.

Will there be punishment to people who did not back her?

I don't know whether that was the case or not.

I don't know if this is the last we will hear of something like this.

David: What is the movie titled?

They May Be Blood.

How does this play out?

Petty and vindictive governor or the state being fiscally prudent?

Charles: I think the defense of the Murphy administration is fiscal prudence, and they are airing concerns now because they are facing budgetary oversight the next couple weeks.

But it is hard for me to believe that this is solely a fiscal, you know, being fiscally prudent and concerned about the future of this project.

These are the kind of disagreements that are done -- for people who support a project, they tend to support it, and with the power the governor has, intend to use that power to do everything in their ability to make sure it crosses the finish line.

I think Fulup going public and throwing Tammy Murphy under the bus gave them leads to throw him under the bus.

David: The debate on the open Public records act is maybe continuing away from the prying eyes of the press.

When are they going to drop this bill into a committee so we can see when they do it?

Daniel: I think that is important to take a look at the calendar.

The Senate has a voting session scheduled for May 9.

This overhaul of the open Public records act has been delayed.

The bill's top sponsor said in March that he wanted this done by early April or he will table it for the next 20 years.

It did not happen in April and he said we will get this done before the budget negotiations start to pick up.

It is to be determined with this bill ultimately looks like, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of appetite between the local government groups and even Republicans and the Senate Minority Leader backing this measure.

David: TBD.

Time for our only injures a moments, headlines and -- only in Jersey moments, headlines and notes that are quintessentially Jersey.

Brent: One thing I always like to say is New Jersey is the world and we have the most important people here that go on and do important things.

In the Tony nominations, there were a bunch of New Jersey natives nominated.

And it is one thing where Jersey is across the river from New York and we produce the kind of talent that wants to go over there and make Broadway the special place that it is.

Congrats to Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks who had a playoff victory last night.

Jalen was born in New Brunswick, my hometown too.

Rock on.

David: We really are the world.

What have you got?

Daniel: Speaking of Newark, and New Jersey, there was a viral tweet from an entertainment news organization promoting the new Planet of the Apes movie and there was a video of our ape overlords walking along the riverfront.

All of our New Jersey viewers will know this is Liberty State Park, squarely in New Jersey.

Only in national media does New Jersey become annexed.

[LAUGHTER] David: I first saw this video with zero context and I was like, what the hell is going on there?

Brent: The French Museum, that is what it was.

They are going to the French Museum.

[LAUGHTER] David: On the road to the French Museum.

Mine comes from campuses across the region.

In college approximately 100 years ago I was what you might call a student activist.

I demonstrated against the proposed athletics building while the library was falling apart.

I joined demonstrations against apartheid, hung a protest banner from the Gothic tower, for those of you who know what that is, but the most controversial thing I ever did was to burn a financial aid form during a campus protest.

At the time, President Reagan wanted to require anyone applying for financial aid to be registered for the draft, which I thought was wrong.

My cohorts thought burning a financial aid form was radical, and the college president summoned me to his office to tell me that I was creating a fire hazard on campus.

When I see what is happening on college campuses across the country today, taking over buildings, shutting down campuses, and worse, I look back at my big act of rebellion 1000 years ago and think, how quaint.

That is roundtable for this week.

Good to see you guys, thanks.

Thanks also to Matt Katz for joining us.

You can follow the show on X at @roundtablenj and get updates when you skin the QR code on your screen -- scan the QR code on your screen.

Thanks for watching.

We will see you next week.

>> Major funding for "Reporters Roundtable with David Cruz" is provided by RWJ Barnabas health, let's be healthy together.

Promotional support provided by New Jersey business magazine.

The magazine of the New Jersey business and industry Association, reporting to executive and legislative leaders in all 21 counties of the current state.

And by Politico's New Jersey playbook, online at politico.com.

♪