Best The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX Podcasts (2025)

1
Teaching Kids to Read: How One School District Gets It Right 50:18

3m ago50:18

50:18

The schools in Steubenville, Ohio, are doing something unusual—in fact, it’s almost unheard of. In a country where nearly 40 percent of fourth graders struggle to read at even a basic level, Steubenville has succeeded in teaching virtually all of its students to read well. According to data from the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford Unive…

1
How Trump Exploits Working Class Pain 26:52

4h ago26:52

26:52

Sociologist Arlie Hochschild has spent years talking with people living in rural parts of the country who have been hit hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs and shuttered coal mines. They’re the very people President Donald Trump argues will benefit most from his sweeping wave of tariffs and recent executive orders aimed at reviving coal mining i…

1
How Police Guns End Up in the Hands of Criminals 50:45

4d ago50:45

50:45

When the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department in California wanted to purchase new firearms, it sold its used ones to help cover the cost. The old guns went to a distributor, which then turned around and sold them to the public. One of those guns—a Glock pistol—found its way to Indianapolis. That Glock was involved in the killing of Maria Leslie’…

1
What Trump’s Tariff Shock Will Cost You 30:01

8d ago30:01

30:01

Justin Wolfers teaches economics 101 at the University of Michigan. It’s an introductory course about supply, demand, and trade. The basics. He wishes President Donald Trump attended. Wolfers, an Australian known for his research on how happiness relates to income, is one of the more prominent economists speaking up about Trump’s sweeping tariff po…

1
Trump’s Deportation Black Hole 50:45

11d ago50:45

50:45

On March 15th, federal agents rounded up more than 230 Venezuelan nationals who were then deported to El Salvador and locked up in the country’s notorious mega-prison. The Trump administration said the men belonged to a violent Venezuelan gang, but presented no evidence, and there were no court hearings in which the men could contest the allegation…

1
Trump’s “Pincer Attack” on Journalism Is Working. But There’s Hope. 29:03

14d ago29:03

29:03

David Folkenflik occupies a unique role at NPR: He’s a journalist who writes about journalism. And that includes the very organization where he works, which is once again being threatened by conservatives in Washington. The second Trump administration has aggressively gone after the media in its first few months. It’s kicked news organizations out …

1
The Churn 50:19

18d ago50:19

50:19

Adam Aurand spent nearly a decade of his life stuck in a loop: emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, jails, prison, and the streets in and around Seattle. During that time, he picked up diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder. He also used opioids and methamphetamine. Aurand’s life is an example of what happens …

1
She Launched “The Daily Show.” Now She’s Fighting Red State Abortion Bans. 27:55

21d ago27:55

27:55

The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead’s path to advocacy was a curvy one. She started out as a comedian, first as a stand-up and then working on The Daily Show. In the early 2000s, she co-founded Air America Radio, which was designed to be a counterweight to the popularity of radio personalities on the right. Today, as producer of the Feminist Bu…

1
The Strike That Broke a Supermax Prison 50:33

27d ago50:33

50:33

At 18, Jack Morris was convicted of murdering a man in South Los Angeles and sent to prison for life. It was 1979, and America was entering the era of mass incarceration, with tough sentencing laws ballooning the criminal justice system. As California’s prison population surged, so did prison violence. “You learn that in order to survive, you yours…

1
Exclusive: Trump Fired This Top Watchdog. Now He’s Speaking Out. 26:34

30d ago26:34

26:34

Fraud, waste, and abuse: That’s what inspectors general are tasked with investigating throughout the federal government. But in his first week in office, President Donald Trump did something unprecedented. He fired at least 17 IGs—more than any president in history—without notifying Congress or providing a substantive rationale for doing so, both o…

1
The Deputies Who Tortured a Mississippi County 50:30

1M ago50:30

50:30

When Andrea Dettore-Murphy first moved to Rankin County, Mississippi, she didn’t believe the stories she heard about how brutal the sheriff’s department could be when pursuing suspected drug crimes. But in 2018, she learned the hard way that the rumors were true when a group of sheriff’s deputies raided the home of her friend Rick Loveday and beat …

1
Bird Flu, Measles, and Trump’s Ticking Time Bomb 31:35

1M ago31:35

31:35

This month marks the five-year anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed 1.2 million people in the US alone. While life has returned to normal for most Americans, the threats to our health haven’t disappeared. On this week’s episode of More To The Story, infectious disease epidemiologist Jessica Malaty Rivera talks with host Al Letson …

1
The Plague in the Shadows 50:50

1M ago50:50

50:50

Decades before Covid-19, the AIDS epidemic tore through communities in the US and around the world. It has killed some 40 million people and continues to take lives today. But early on, research and public policy focused on AIDS as a gay men’s disease, overlooking other vulnerable groups—including communities of color and women. “We literally had t…

1
Trump’s Mass Deportations Are Decades in the Making 30:46

1M ago30:46

30:46

This past weekend marked a major escalation in the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts, with the dramatic detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist who played a prominent role in the protests against Israel on Columbia University’s campus last year. Khalil, a Columbia graduate student, is a permanent legal resident in the US. …

1
An Atrocity of War Goes Unpunished 50:45

2M ago50:45

50:45

In November 2005, a group of US Marines killed 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. The case against them became one of the most high-profile war crimes prosecutions in US history—but then it fell apart. Only one Marine went to trial for the killings, and all he received was a slap on the wrist. Even his own defense attorney found the outcome shocking. “…

1
How Trump’s January 6 Pardons Hijacked History 35:59

2M ago35:59

35:59

One of President Donald Trump’s first actions as president was simple and sweeping: pardoning 1,500 people convicted of offenses related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. That single executive action undid years of work and investigation by the FBI, US prosecutors, and one person in particular: Tim Heaphy.Heaphy was the lead investi…

1
A Decade of Reveal 50:51

2M ago50:51

50:51

This week on Reveal, we celebrate our 10-year anniversary with a look back at some of our favorite stories, from investigations into water shortages in drought-prone California to labor abuses in the Dominican Republic. And we interview the journalists behind the reporting to explain what happened after the stories aired. Support Reveal’s journalis…

1
More To The Story with Al Letson 2:33

2M ago2:33

2:33

From the unflinching investigative team behind Reveal comes a new weekly podcast that delivers More To The Story. Every Wednesday, Peabody Award-winning journalist Al Letson sits down with the people at the heart of our changing world for candid—sometimes uncomfortable—conversations that make you rethink your entire newsfeed. Whether he's sounding …

1
40 Acres and a Lie Part 3 51:01

2M ago51:01

51:01

The loss of land for Black Americans started with the government’s betrayal of its “40 acres” promise to formerly enslaved people—and it has continued over decades. Today, researchers are unearthing the details of Black land loss long after emancipation. “They lost land due to racial intimidation, where they were forced off their land (to) take fli…

1
40 Acres and a Lie Part 2 50:40

2M ago50:40

50:40

Skidaway Island, Georgia, is home today to a luxurious community that the mostly White residents consider paradise: waterfront views, live oaks and marsh grass alongside golf courses, swimming pools, and other amenities. In 1865, the island was a thriving Black community, started by freedmen who were given land by the government under the 40 acres …

1
40 Acres and a Lie Part 1 50:35

3M ago50:35

50:35

Our historical investigation found 1,250 formerly enslaved Black Americans who were given land—only to see it returned to their enslavers. This is an update of an episode that originally aired in June 2024. Support Reveal’s journalism at Revealnews.org/donatenow Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org/n…

1
Immigrants on the Line 50:45

3M ago50:45

50:45

Mackenson Remy didn’t plan to bypass security when he drove into the parking lot of a factory in Greeley, Colorado. He’d never been there before. All he knew was this place had jobs…lots of jobs. Remy is originally from Haiti, and in 2023, he’d been making TikTok videos about job openings in the area for his few followers, mostly other Haitians. Wh…

1
After the Crash 50:36

3M ago50:36

50:36

A police officer chased a Native teen to his death. Days later, the police force shut down without explanation. In 2020, Blossom Old Bull was raising three teenagers on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. Her youngest son, Braven Glenn, was 17, a good student, dedicated to his basketball team. That November, Old Bull got a call saying Glenn was…

1
In Fallujah, We Destroyed Parts of Ourselves 50:46

3M ago50:46

50:46

It’s been 20 years since the Battle of Fallujah, a bloody campaign in a destructive Iraq War that we now know was based on a lie. But back then, in the wake of 9/11, the battlefield was filled with troops who believed in serving and defending the country against terrorism. “Going to Fallujah was the most horrific experience of our lives,” said Mike…

1
All the President’s Pardons 50:24

3M ago50:24

50:24

President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son and President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to set free people who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, bring back memories of what’s considered the most controversial pardon ever: Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon. Ford’s pardon of the former president in 1974 sparked outrage among politicians and the A…

1
Fortress Europe: The Fight for Refugees in Greece 51:21

4M ago51:21

51:21

In 2015, hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and repression were trying to reach safe havens in Europe. From his home in Norway, Tommy Olsen decided to travel to Greece, a major gateway for migrants and refugees. He joined hundreds of volunteers helping the new arrivals and later created an NGO, the Aegean Boat Report, which monitors the pl…

1
Take No Prisoners 50:55

4M ago50:55

50:55

It was their first day in battle and the two best friends had just switched places. Bob Fordyce rested while Frank Hartzell crawled down into the shallow foxhole, taking his turn chipping away at the frozen ground. Just then, German artillery fire began falling all around them. With his body plastered to the ground, Hartzell could feel shrapnel den…

1
A Whistleblower in New Folsom Prison 50:52

4M ago50:52

50:52

When Valentino Rodriguez started his job at a high-security prison in Sacramento, California, informally known as New Folsom, he thought he was entering a brotherhood of correctional officers who hold each other to a high standard of conduct. Five years later, Rodriguez would be found dead in his home. His unexpected passing would raise questions f…

1
50 States of Mind 50:53

4M ago50:53

50:53

Every summer, 50 of the nation’s best and brightest teenage girls gather in Mobile, Alabama, to embark on two of the most intense weeks of their lives. Everybody wants the same thing: to walk away with a $40,000 college scholarship and the title of Distinguished Young Woman of America. Reporter Shima Oliaee competed for Nevada when she was a teenag…

1
The Racist Hoax That Changed Boston 50:39

5M ago50:39

50:39

Note: This episode contains descriptions of violence and suicide and may not be appropriate for all listeners. In 1989, Chuck Stuart called 911 on his car phone to report a shooting. He said he and his wife were leaving a birthing class at a Boston hospital when a man forced him to drive into the mixed-race Mission Hill neighborhood and shot them b…

1
Buried Secrets: America’s Indian Boarding Schools Part 2 50:54

5M ago50:54

50:54

Chief Red Cloud was a Lakota leader in the late 1800s, when the conflict between the US government and Native Americans was intense, and he was the tribal chief when the Catholic church built a boarding school on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Generations of children were traumatized by their experience at the school, whose mission was…

1
Buried Secrets: America’s Indian Boarding Schools Part 1 50:20

5M ago50:20

50:20

In the early 1990s, Justin Pourier was a maintenance man at Red Cloud Indian School, a Catholic school on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. One day, he says he stumbled upon small graves in the school’s basement. For nearly 30 years, Pourier would be haunted by what he saw and told no one except his wife. “Those are Native children down t…

1
The Many Contradictions of a Trump Victory 50:02

5M ago50:02

50:02

As Donald Trump prepares to enter the White House for a second term, the reasons people voted him into office are becoming more clear. For Micki Witthoeft, it’s cause for celebration. Her daughter, Ashli Babitt, was shot and killed by a police officer after storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Today, Witthoeft is confident Trump will stand b…

1
From Victim to Suspect 51:12

6M ago51:12

51:12

Nicole Chase was a young mom with a daughter to support when she took a job at a restaurant in Canton, Connecticut. She liked the work and was good at her job. But the place turned out to be more like a frat house than a quaint roadside sandwich spot. And the crude behavior kept escalating—until one day she says her boss went too far. Chase turned …

1
How Donald Trump Won the Presidency, Again 32:32

6M ago32:32

32:32

Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris on Tuesday night to become only the second president in US history to win two nonconsecutive terms. (The last one? Grover Cleveland in 1892.) Trump won the presidency following one of the most tumultuous election years in modern US history—one that included an incumbent president pulling out of his reelection bid…

1
Remembering a White Supremacist Coup 50:51

6M ago50:51

50:51

In the late 1800s, Wilmington, North Carolina, was a city where African Americans thrived economically and held elected office. This did not sit well with White supremacists, who during the election of 1898 used violence to intimidate voters and overthrow the elected government. It’s considered the only successful coup d’etat in US history. The lea…

1
Why Elon Musk Went Full MAGA 21:28

6M ago21:28

21:28

Just a few years ago, Elon Musk seemed to be just another Silicon Valley billionaire with no true political compass. He once described himself as “half-Republican, half-Democrat” and often donated money to candidates from both parties. But all that seemed to change during the Covid-19 pandemic when Musk started taking much more right-wing stances a…

1
Swing States of Denial 50:34

6M ago50:34

50:34

In 2020, as elections officials counted votes in Phoenix, protesters swarmed outside the Maricopa County election center. Many held flags; some had AR-15s. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was there yelling into a bullhorn, “Burn in hell, Joe Biden.” They claimed the election was stolen. Since then, dozens of court cases across the country have all f…

1
Why You Shouldn’t Buy the Election Narrative About Black Men 25:20

6M ago25:20

25:20

Earlier this month, former President Barack Obama stopped by a Kamala Harris campaign office in Pennsylvania and made headlines by admonishing Black men for being less enthusiastic about supporting her for president compared with the support he received when he ran in 2008. “Part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of …

1
Red, Black, and Blue 49:46

6M ago49:46

49:46

Every four years, the presidential election brings with it a perennial question about an essential voting bloc: Who will Black voters turn out for? Mother Jones video correspondent Garrison Hayes has spent months on the campaign trail talking to Black voters about how they see the goals and limits of their own political power. He paid special atten…

1
A Christian Nationalist Has Second Thoughts 40:45

6M ago40:45

40:45

The Reverend Rob Schenck was once one of America’s most powerful and influential evangelical leaders. He routinely lobbied legislators to adopt a Christian conservative agenda. Members of his anti-abortion activist group barricaded the doors and driveways of abortion clinics. He even trained wealthy couples to befriend Supreme Court justices in an …

1
In God We Vote 50:52

6M ago50:52

50:52

A small church in a small town in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has been flexing its political muscle and building an outsized reputation for blurring the line between church and state. Pastor Don Lamb wants his congregants to be engaged in spiritual warfare and not be “head-in-the-sand, Jesus-loves-you kind of Christians,” especially when it com…

1
Not All Votes Are Created Equal 50:19

7M ago50:19

50:19

As any schoolkid might tell you, US elections are based on a bedrock principle: one person, one vote. Simple as that. Each vote carries the same weight. Yet for much of the country’s history, that hasn't been the case. At various points, whole classes of people were shut out of voting: enslaved Black Americans, Native Americans, and poor White peop…

1
Did the US Cause Its Own Border Crisis? 50:35

7M ago50:35

50:35

The right to asylum has been enshrined in US law since the 1950s. It’s meant to provide a safe haven for people fleeing violence and government persecution. Laura Ascencio Bautista and her family have faced both in Mexico, where her brother Benjamin disappeared along with 42 others in 2014 after police stormed a bus from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teache…

1
Black in the Sunshine State 50:28

7M ago50:28

50:28

In the summer of 2023, Reveal host Al Letson felt compelled to return home to Jacksonville, Florida. His best friend had recently passed away following a long battle with cancer, and he wanted to be close to the place where they became men together. But when he arrived, he found a city and state he barely recognized. In recent years, the Republican…

1
Your Retirement Investments Are Probably Fueling Climate Change 50:07

7M ago50:07

50:07

Reveal reporter Jonathan Jones was working on a story about a massive coal plant expansion in Montana when he wondered who was bankrolling the project. It turns out a major shareholder of the energy company driving the project was The Vanguard Group, the investment firm where he happens to have his retirement savings. This discovery put Jones on a …

1
She Ate a Poppy Seed Salad. Child Services Took Her Baby. 50:03

8M ago50:03

50:03

Pregnant with her fifth child, Susan Horton had a lot of confidence in her parenting abilities. Then she ate a salad from Costco: an “everything” chopped salad kit with poppy seeds. When she went to the hospital to give birth the next day, she tested positive for opiates. Horton told doctors that it must have been the poppy seeds, but she couldn’t …

1
They Followed Doctors’ Orders. The State Took Their Babies. 51:17

8M ago51:17

51:17

Jade Dass was taking medication to treat her addiction to opioids before she became pregnant. Scientific studies and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that taking addiction-treatment medications during pregnancy leads to the best outcomes for both mothers and babies. But after Dass delivered a healthy daughter, the hospital reporte…

1
A Baby Adopted, A Family Divided 51:13

8M ago51:13

51:13

In 2017, David Leavitt drove to the Northern Cheyenne reservation in Montana to adopt a baby girl. A few years later, during an interview with a documentary filmmaker, Leavitt, a wealthy Utah politician, told a startling story about how he went about getting physical custody of that child. He describes going to the tribe’s president and offering to…

1
The COVID Tracking Project Part 3 50:43

8M ago50:43

50:43

At the height of the pandemic, COVID-19 was talked about as “the great equalizer,” an idea touted by celebrities and politicians from Madonna to then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But that was a myth. Ibram X. Kendi and Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research worked with The COVID Tracking Project to compile national numbers on how COVID-1…

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