Criminal

Black and white illustration of a horse looking to the left.

John & Trooper

Episode #188

2022-05-13 12:17:02

Download

For 10 years, Detective John Reilly and his horse Trooper were the only mounted team assigned to Central Park. They rode the same route every day. John says Trooper didn’t like change. “If you changed the route, he got mad.” And then in 2019, they both retired at the same time.
White text on black background that reads "427 Emails"

427 Emails

Episode #187

2022-04-22 12:15:40

Download

There is a guard at Pontiac Correctional Center who some staff praise for being tough and having their backs. But other staff and people in the prison say she is known for abuse. The Department of Corrections and State Police obtained 427 of the guard’s emails, revealing the conversations she’d had with other staff when it seemed like no one was looking.
Black and white sketch of a magpie, standing on a rock, with its head tilted as if it’s looking at you. Text: Episode 186: The Magpie, Criminal.

The Magpie

Episode #186

2022-04-08 12:01:43

Download

When Shigeru Yabu was 9 years old, he and his family were incarcerated at Heart Mountain Internment Camp, along with thousands of other Japanese and Japanese American families. One day, Shigeru discovered a baby magpie that had fallen out of its nest. He named her Maggie. “That bird walked up my arm all the way to my shoulder, and we looked at each other, eye to eye.”
Black and white sketch showing a corner of a cozy looking library. There’s an armchair with a large, open book propped up on a pedestal in front of it. Behind the armchair are shelves that go up to the ceiling, filled with books, and there’s also a globe on one shelf.

The Princess

Episode #185

2022-03-25 12:01:48

Download

One night in 1817, a woman appeared in the village of Almondsbury, in England. No one could figure out who she was. But everyone wanted to solve the mystery.
A table with an antenna, walkie talkies, and some headphones.

Ransom

Episode #184

2022-03-11 11:45:13

Download

Miles Hargrove was in his sophomore year of college when he got a phone call that his father had been kidnapped.

Breaking into the FBI

Episode #183

2022-02-25 12:56:40

Download

In 1971, a woman visited an F.B.I. office in Pennsylvania. She identified herself as a college student interested in learning about opportunities for women in the F.B.I. None of that was true. She was there “to see whether there were security alarms before we could decide if we could break in.”
Black and white sketch of a lobster—the lobster is white, against a black background

The Midnight Slider

Episode #182

2022-02-11 12:49:52

Download

In 2013, a small boat called The Midnight Slider was found floating empty in the waters off of Isle Madame in Nova Scotia. “Murder is not something that occurs in this neck of the woods very often,” says Jake Boudrot, editor of the The Reporter, “There’s always been a tradition of taking care of families, watching out, looking out for one another.” 
Black and white digital illustration of a man in profile, smoking a piple, holding a tall bottle of whiskey in front of his face.

Pappy, Another Round

Episode #181

2022-01-28 13:29:26

Download

When it comes to Kentucky bourbon, Pappy Van Winkle is among the most exclusive. You can’t get it unless you’re exceptionally lucky, exceptionally wealthy, or willing to break the law. The Pappy frenzy has the police, bartenders, and even the Van Winkle family themselves wringing their hands. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, sales of the most expensive American whiskeys have basically doubled since 2016, when we first looked into Pappy Van Winkle. We decided to find out what's happening now. 
Black and white digital illustration of the state of North Carolina with the county lines delineated. Text: The Boycott.

The Boycott

Episode #180

2022-01-14 13:10:41

Download

15 years after the Supreme Court ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education, many schools across the South were still segregated. Some school districts actively blocked desegregation. North Carolina passed legislation authorizing tuition grants to white private schools, sometimes called "segregation academies." Members of the KKK held rallies in North Carolina, describing desegregation as "anti-Christian" and "communistic." When the Federal government pressured school boards to comply or lose their funding, many responded by shuttering Black schools and assigning Black students to formerly all-white schools. It was called "one-way desegregation." In a very rural part of North Carolina, Black students and their families decided to fight back.
Black and white sketch of seven different animals: a heron flying with a fish in its beak, a cat stretching amongst several dollar bills, a fox with a shoe in its mouth, a dog with a steak in its mouth, a parrot with a cursing speech bubble, a cat sitting on a car, and a beaver clutching a token that reads “DG.”

A Splendid Newfoundland, Cursing Birds, and the Fashion Fox

Episode #179

2021-12-17 12:57:57

Download

Stories of animals really going for it.
White sketch, against a black background, of Stanley Milgram's shock machine. It resembles an old fashioned radio, with long rows of switches and indicator lights, and dials at the top.

“The experiment requires that you continue.”

Episode #178

2021-12-03 12:50:45

Download

1. Please continue.  2. The experiment requires that you continue.  3. It is absolutely essential that you continue.  4. You have no other choice, you must go on.
Black and white sketch of Benjamin Ferencz from the chest up, as a young man, wearing a suit

Palace of Justice

Episode #177

2021-11-19 13:06:50

Download

When Benjamin Ferencz was 27 years old, he prosecuted his very first trial. There were 22 defendants, each of them high-ranking members of Nazi Germany’s death squad. The entire world was watching. Today, we take a look at the Nuremberg trials and their role in defining international law after World War II. This episode originally aired in 2018—this version includes an update with Benjamin Ferencz, who celebrated his 101st birthday earlier this year.
Black and white sketch of eight vials sitting in a vial holder, half full with dark liquid that looks like blood.

The Red Flag

Episode #176

2021-11-05 12:25:30

Download

In 2006, a man named William Ramsey went to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida for a life-saving liver transplant. It was a success, and so when his health started to decline after the procedure, doctors couldn't figure out why.
Black and white abstract illustration of two eyes, one open and one shut.

Ghost Racket Crusade

Episode #175

2021-10-22 14:24:37

Download

The story of two famous friends — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini — and the disagreement that ended their friendship: can we speak to the dead? 
Sketch showing white footprints on a black background, showing a dance pattern, with arrows pointing from foot to foot to indicate the next steps

The Loves

Episode #174

2021-10-08 12:16:48

Download

“There is something he hasn’t been telling me and I’m about to find out what it is.”

Family Money

Episode #173

2021-09-24 12:53:59

Download

When Beverley Schottenstein’s husband Alvin died, she and her children sold their stake in his family’s business, worth an estimated 90 million dollars. Family relationships got complicated. It was hard to know who to trust. And what happened next surprised everyone. Beverley told us, “I was floored.”