New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey were astonished when the ramifications of their 2017 investigation into Harvey Weinstein’s repeated sexual abuse in Hollywood did not only end with Weinstein’s firing and trial, and changes to Hollywood. It also started the nationwide #MeToo movement, coined earlier by activist Tarana Burke. Suddenly, thousands of women were sharing their own stories of sexual harassment and abuse online, prompting new laws, changes to workplaces and a creating a community of survivors.

Ms. Kantor and Ms. Twohey opened the Summer Institute Speaker Series on Thursday evening at the Martha’s’ Vineyard Hebrew Center, discussing the impact of their work and the continued importance of investigative journalism in a changing political landscape. The talk was moderated by Geraldine Brooks, and the audience took part as well, asking questions and applauding the journalists for their efforts.

Both women said that at its core, investigative journalism is about scrutinizing power. They also learned that another part of the job, Ms. Twohey said, has been to protect truth in the aftermath of a story. This is part of the reason why they wrote She Said, a book that chronicles the process and impact of the Weinstein investigation.

“We’ve broken the story, we were astonished by the reaction, and we find ourselves custodians of this story,” Ms. Twohey said.

Megan Twohey discussed recent stories, including alleged drug use by Elon Musk.

Hailey McLaughlin

Megan Twohey discussed recent stories, including alleged drug use by Elon Musk.

Hailey McLaughlin

As coverage on the subject exploded, the pair looked for a way to protect the story’s integrity, constructed from months of research and reporting. This included, in 2022, a film adaptation of She Said directed by Maria Schrader, which was true to the book.

“But it was completely weird,” Ms. Twohey said. “The idea that we were somehow going to end up on the big screen and that the story was going to be returned to Harvey Weinstein’s own medium was just beyond bizarre.”

The journalists also talked at length about how much has changed since 2017, including how stories are spread and controlled. Ms. Twohey said she received an “incredible education” into today’s media environment after her investigation into the controversy surrounding the movie It Ends With Us, starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

The movie was also directed by Mr. Baldoni, who faced allegations of sexual harassment by Ms. Lively. Based on thousands of text messages between the co-stars, Ms. Twohey and her colleagues at the New York Times revealed a smear campaign against Ms. Lively that manipulated press and online coverage.

After the story was published, Mr. Baldoni sued the New York Times for defamation.

Jodi Kantor spoke about her recent work focusing on the Supreme Court.

Hailey McLaughlin

Jodi Kantor spoke about her recent work focusing on the Supreme Court.

Hailey McLaughlin

“It’s just very interesting to now be working in this new media environment in which there are not just different standards, but in some cases, no standards whatsoever,” Ms. Twohey said. “We’ve always been subject to legal action, but I really think that there’s going to be more and more defamation suits brought against these organizations like the New York Times.”

Mr. Baldoni’s lawsuit was dismissed in June.

Ms. Twohey also spoke about her recent work covering Elon Musk’s personal life, including his alleged extensive drug use on the campaign trail and in the White House. Along with Kirsten Grind, Ms. Twohey spoke to the initially “tight-lipped” members of Mr. Musk’s inner circle who spoke about his use of ketamine, magic mushrooms and ecstasy, one even sharing a photo of a daily pill box which contained markings of Adderall.

“You can’t quite be sure what the impact of your stories are going to be now, but it’s still absolutely worthwhile for the public to know what the state of these powerful figures are if they’re under the influence,” Ms. Twohey said. “His life was so much more chaotic and messy behind the scenes than people understood, and we felt like that was really important for people to understand.”

“As a long time investigative reporter, I’ve said the base job of journalism is to scrutinize power,” Ms. Kantor said. “That’s what we do, whether it’s an elected official or an appointed official.”

For Ms. Kantor, this scrutiny has recently taken place among the Supreme Court, with investigations into the influences that led to landmark decisions like the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson, which eliminated the right to abortion. Her work has focused especially on Justice Amy Coney Barret’s swing vote — the justice voted against hearing Dobbs v. Jackson, although she eventually voted with the majority to overturn abortion.

One of the difficulties of Ms. Kantor’s reporting, she said, was the fact that Supreme Court justices’ papers are kept secret decades after they leave office.

“How can it be that nine of the most powerful people in the country work in secret?” Ms. Kantor said. “What I wanted to start to do was establish a more independent lens through which you see the justices, a way to make independent inquiries.”

Still, Ms. Kantor said that studying the Supreme Court has been like “looking into a kind of mirror.”

“The aspirations of a great judge and the aspirations of a great journalist are very much the same,” Ms. Kantor said. “They are trying to be guided only by law. We’re trying to be guided only by truth.”

Audience members who attended the event Thursday commended the pair for that very quality.

“For me what was interesting was their motivation and determination to pursue the truth, to unearth the truth despite the backlash and the resistance they might get,” said Linda Kaplan, who read She Said for her book club in Boston.

After working together on the story and its book and film adaptations, Ms. Kantor and Ms. Twohey said they remain close. They sit across from each other in the newsroom and live just 10 blocks away from each other, according to Ms. Twohey. The pair will sometimes go for walks in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, discussing the difficulties of stories they are working on, and exchanging advice.

“When Megan published her awesome Elon Musk story, it was published on a Friday, and the next morning, I brought Megan pastries,” Ms. Kantor recalled, turning to Ms. Twohey. “We were kind of sitting on the stoop of your building, and you were telling me about the reception of the story...and our boss walked by. And he looked at us, and he said, ‘You guys really do this?’ And yeah, yes we do.”

“We continue to sort of confide in each other like sisters,” Ms. Twohey said. “I know that I can always talk to Jodi.”

On July 17, Dr. Anthony Fauci will be featured guest for the speaker series. The event will take place at the Agricultural Hall.