Reveal
387 episodes - English - Latest episode: 20 days ago - ★★★★★ - 7.6K ratingsReveal’s investigations will inspire, infuriate and inform you. Host Al Letson and an award-winning team of reporters deliver gripping stories about caregivers, advocates for the unhoused, immigrant families, warehouse workers and formerly incarcerated people, fighting to hold the powerful accountable. The New Yorker described Reveal as “a knockout … a pleasure to listen to, even as we seethe.” A winner of multiple Peabody, duPont, Emmy and Murrow awards, Reveal is produced by the nation’s first investigative journalism nonprofit, The Center for Investigative Reporting, and PRX. From unearthing exploitative working conditions to exposing the nation’s racial disparities, there’s always more to the story. Learn more at revealnews.org/learn.
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Episodes
The teen reporter, the evictions and the church
July 31, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBThree stories from local reporters who uncovered injustice and inequality in their hometowns, from an eviction crisis in Ohio to a Hitler-quoting state police training in Kentucky. Louisville high schooler Satchel Walton knew something was off about the PowerPoint presentation used by the Kentucky State Police to train new recruits. The slides urged officers to be “ruthless killers” and quoted both Robert E. Lee and Adolf Hitler. Walton reached out to Reveal to ask about our past ...
Weapons with minds of their own
June 26, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBThe future of warfare is being shaped by computer algorithms that are assuming ever greater control over battlefield technology. Will this give machines the power to decide who to kill? The United States is in a race to harness gargantuan leaps in artificial intelligence to develop new weapons systems for a new kind of warfare. Pentagon leaders call it “algorithmic warfare.” But the push to integrate AI into battlefield technology raises a big question: How far should we go in han...
Monumental Lies
June 19, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBThe murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police officer last year sparked a wave of social justice protests, including ones targeting monuments that celebrate segregationists, slave-owners, conquistadors and Confederate leaders. Since then, about 160 monuments have come down, but roughly 2,000 remain standing. We teamed up with Type Investigations to visit dozens of Confederate monuments and found that for devoted followers, they inspire a disturbing – and distorted – view of h...
Emission control
June 12, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBIf we want to quickly combat climate change, we need to deal with “the other” greenhouse gas: methane. Methane leaks are heating up the planet and harming people who live where gas drilling takes place. Reporter Elizabeth Shogren introduces us to a NASA scientist who’s devoting his career to hunting down big methane leaks. Riley Duren and his team have figured out how to spot methane pollution from airplane flyovers, and in an experiment, his data was used to make polluters plug t...
Viral Lies
June 05, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBFrom anti-vaxxers to QAnon, we look at how misinformation spreads online – and the lives it disrupts. There are lots of reasons people give for not getting a COVID-19 vaccine – lack of access, personal choice or general distrust. Then there are the conspiracy theories, which have spiked during the pandemic. The World Health Organization calls it “an infodemic,” where dangerous medical misinformation sows chaos and mistrust. So how do conspiracy theories spread? Reporter and episod...
The Mystery of Mountain Jane Doe
May 29, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBIn the summer of 1969, a young woman was found dead off a remote mountain trail in Harlan, Kentucky. She’d been stabbed multiple times. Her identity was a mystery, so locals referred to her as Mountain Jane Doe. Decades later, a woman from the area takes up the cause of identifying the murdered woman, and her quest for answers leads investigators to a hillside grave and a DNA lab, bringing some long-awaited answers. Mountain Jane Doe is one of more than 13,000 in a national databa...
The Pentagon Papers: Secrets, Lies and Leaks
May 22, 2021 04:00 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBIn 1971, a 22-year-old named Robert Rosenthal got a call from his boss at The New York Times. He was told to go to Room 1111 of the Hilton Hotel, bring enough clothes for at least a month and not tell anyone. Rosenthal was part of a team called in to publish the Pentagon Papers, an explosive history of the United States’ political and military actions in Vietnam that shattered the government’s narratives about the war. Former military analyst Daniel Ellsberg leaked the secret paper...
Why Police Reform Fails
May 08, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBSix years after Ferguson, St. Louis hasn’t seen a single substantive police reform. A group of young Black leaders have instead set their sights higher: taking control of city politics. In 2014, then-Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown. His death sparked reports, blue-ribbon commissions and countless police reform efforts. But so many of those reforms fell short of their stated goals. Today, St. Louis leads the nation in police killings per capita. ...
Banking on Inequity
May 01, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBCongress spent hundreds of billions of dollars to rescue small businesses hurt by the pandemic. But Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money disproportionately went to White neighborhoods, leaving communities of color behind. Small businesses are the heart of Los Angeles’ many neighborhoods. Reporter Laura C. Morel talks with business owners around Los Angeles who either received PPP money or faced insurmountable hurdles to get one of the forgivable loans. Morel talks with a Latinx ...
The Rise and Fall of Madoff's Ponzi Scheme
April 24, 2021 04:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBAfter Bernie Madoff’s death, we dig into how he pulled off one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history. Reporter Steve Fishman explores what lessons the fallen financier’s story holds for today. Madoff duped thousands of investors out of tens of billions of dollars, and his scam rocked Wall Street for years. Fishman, who spent years interviewing investors, regulators and even Madoff himself from inside federal prison, traces the rise and fall of his scheme. We learn how Madoff pu...
The Jail Tapes in the Dumpster
April 17, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBSixteen-year-old Myon Burrell was sent to prison for life after a stray bullet killed an 11-year-old girl in Minneapolis in 2002. Amy Klobuchar, who was Minneapolis’ top prosecutor, brought first-degree murder charges as part of a national crackdown on gang violence – a crackdown that engulfed young men of color. Burrell maintained his innocence for 18 years in prison. Associated Press reporter Robin McDowell spent a year looking into his case and found that multiple people had l...
Sick on the Inside
April 03, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBFor decades, the United States has operated a system of private “shadow prisons” to house noncitizens convicted of federal crimes. Now, President Joe Biden has ordered these contracts to be wound down. We revisit an investigation with Type Investigations and The Nation Magazine into these prisons – and ask what will happen to them now. This show has been updated with new reporting, based on a show that originally aired Feb. 6, 2016. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the W...
Minor League Pay
March 27, 2021 04:00 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBFrom the Frisco RoughRiders to the Dayton Dragons, minor league baseball teams are a classic American tradition. But their players are not covered by some classic American laws: Players can earn less than the equivalent of minimum wage and don’t get paid overtime. We explore how that’s even possible with the podcast The Uncertain Hour from our colleagues at Marketplace. This season, they’re looking at how certain companies – and whole industries – maneuver around basic worker prote...
Juvenile (In)justice
March 20, 2021 07:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBLarissa Salazar grew up in Wyoming, and when she was in eighth grade, she got in a fight on a school bus. That snowballed into her spending 16 months in a state juvenile facility. Reporter Tennessee Watson follows Larissa’s experience in the juvenile justice system in Wyoming, a state that locks up kids at the highest rate in the nation. Larissa’s mom says that instead of helping her daughter, the system made things worse. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reve...
Protecting Kids from Abuse
March 13, 2021 05:00 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBFor years, the Pentagon mishandled sexual assault cases involving kids living on military bases, until an Associated Press investigation jolted lawmakers into action. Reporter Holly McDede brings us to Berkeley High School in California, where students were fed up with what they saw as a culture of sexual harassment and assault among their peers. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
The Unpaid Cost of Elder Care
March 06, 2021 05:00 - 51 minutes - 46.7 MBResidential care homes seem like the perfect place for Mom or Grandpa to live out their golden years, but their home-like facades are hiding rampant wage theft and exploitation of caregivers. Reveal’s Jennifer Gollan takes us into her investigation of the care-home industry. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Remember Me This Way
March 03, 2021 05:00 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MBIn this special episode of the podcast, we hear the story of one of more than 500,000 Americans who’ve died from COVID-19. David León was a father of six; a small-business owner in Fresno, California; and a leader in the city’s Latino community. His death left a hole in that community and with the family he left behind. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Into the COVID ICU
February 27, 2021 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBDr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez graduated from medical school during the pandemic. We follow the rookie doctor for her first months working at a hospital in Fresno, California, as she grapples with isolation, anti-mask rallies and an overwhelming number of deaths. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Timber Wars
February 13, 2021 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBThirty years ago, activists and scientists turned a fight over the spotted owl and ancient trees into one of the biggest environmental conflicts of the century. The process transformed the way we see – and fight over – the natural world. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
The Ticket Trap
February 06, 2021 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBSports, theater and concert fans are itching for events to start happening again. So are clever ticket sellers who’ve figured out ways to cash in on unsuspecting customers shopping online. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
How the Pandemic Changed Us
January 30, 2021 05:00 - 50 minutes - 45.8 MBRacial justice, police accountability, mutual aid, climate activism and warp-speed vaccines – we examine the ways our COVID-19 year changed American society. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
A Transfer of Power
January 23, 2021 05:00 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBRage, chaos and conspiracies defined Donald Trump’s last days as president. As the nation swears in Joe Biden, we look at the long shadow cast by the White supremacist and anti-immigrant forces that brought Trump to power. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
The Evolution of All-American Terrorism (rebroadcast)
January 16, 2021 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBLong before the attempted coup by his supporters, Trump fanned the flames of white supremacy & domestic terrorism. This week on Reveal, we track the increase in right-wing domestic terrorist attacks since 2016—and ask whether law enforcement has taken these violent threats seriously enough. This is a rebroadcast of a show that originally aired June 27, 2020. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Democracy Under Siege
January 09, 2021 05:00 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBA mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, aiming to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory. How did we get here? We examine President Donald Trump’s rhetoric over the last four years, as he stoked conspiracy theories, coddled White supremacists and laid the groundwork for inciting violence. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Take No Prisoners (Rebroadcast)
January 02, 2021 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBThis episode originally was broadcast July 28, 2018. In December 1944, Frank Hartzell was a young soldier pressed into fierce fighting during the Battle of the Bulge. He was there battling Nazi soldiers for control of the Belgian town of Chenogne, and he was there afterward when dozens of unarmed German prisoners of war were gunned down in a field. Reporter Chris Harland-Dunaway pieces together what led up to that event, who was responsible and why no Americans were held account...
When Lighting the Voids (Rebroadcast)
December 26, 2020 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBThis week, we present a special episode of Reveal produced by our partners at StoryWorks, a documentary theater company. “When Lighting The Voids” is an audio drama inspired by Reveal’s investigation into a deadly explosion at a Mississippi shipyard. This deconstructed mystery is based on real accounts, real events and real people. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Policing Pregnancy
December 19, 2020 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBIf the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade, states could set their own rules about abortion. Some states have already closed clinics, and for those that remain they’ve added obstacles—like collecting personal data about people who get abortions and declaring that fetuses have civil rights from conception. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
All the President’s Pardons (Update)
December 12, 2020 05:00 - 51 minutes - 46.7 MBPresident Donald Trump has granted clemency to several controversial people, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Trump’s friend and political operative Roger Stone. But what about the people who have applied through the official process and are waiting for answers? We go beyond the headlines and tell the story of a pardons system that’s completely broken down. In 2019, we focused on the case of Charles “Duke” Tanner, a former boxer who was sentenced to life ...
Reproducing Racism (Rebroadcast)
December 05, 2020 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBAs racial disparities in health come into the spotlight amid COVID-19, we explore how the legacy of racism affects maternal health in the U.S. Plus, we hear from doctors working hard to turn things around. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Fancy Galleries, Fake Art (Rebroadcast)
November 28, 2020 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBThe story of how two well-respected New York art galleries sold more than $80 million in fake art, and why almost no one ever was punished by authorities. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
The Bad Place
November 21, 2020 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBThe vacant building that once housed the Riverside Academy in Wichita, Kansas, was covered in haunting graffiti: “Burn this place.” “Youth were abused here … systematically.” “This is a bad place.” The facility, run by the for-profit company Sequel Youth & Family Services, promised to help kids with behavioral problems. But state officials had cited the facility dozens of times for problems including excessive force by staff, poor supervision and neglect. Don’t miss out on the nex...
Trump’s Global Echoes
November 18, 2020 05:00 - 8 minutes - 7.89 MBThe United States has traditionally been a leader of democracy internationally, taking a big role in establishing institutions such as the United Nations. But President Donald Trump’s “America First” priorities have left a leadership vacuum in important international organizations. What will it take to turn that around? Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
United, We’re Not
November 14, 2020 05:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBWhere does America go from here? We talk with an asylum-seeking family, a Georgia woman on abortion access, and West Virginians on the impact of Black Lives Matter. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
The American Divide
November 07, 2020 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBUnborn babies' hearts are at risk as EPA caves to chemical companies’ 20-year effort to whitewash the science on the risks of an extremely dangerous and prevalent chemical, TCE. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Stopping a Movement
October 31, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46 MBIn what may be the largest protest movement in the nation’s history, millions of Americans have taken to the streets this year to protest racism and police brutality. In response, the federal government cracked down, filing charges against protesters in 31 states. We also learn how Austin, Texas, voted to slash its police budget. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Remembering a White Supremacist Coup
October 24, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBOn the eve of a contentious election, Reveal looks back to the nearly forgotten election of 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina. A coup d’etat gave birth to much of the structural racism that still plagues our nation today. This suppressed history left a deep scar that the local community is still working to overcome. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
An Adolescence, Seized
October 17, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBA 10-year-old Honduran girl came to the United States seeking asylum. Instead, she was detained – away from her family – for nearly seven years. Reporter Aura Bogado follows her story. After a lawsuit against the U.S. government, we discover that tens of thousands of children have been held in custody for months, instead of days. And nearly 1,000 have spent more than a year in shelters. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
An American Murder in Istanbul: Justice for Halla
October 10, 2020 04:00 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBAn American journalist and her mom are found murdered in Istanbul. Police say they caught the killer. Friends and family say the investigation was incomplete. In collaboration with ABC News and freelance reporter Fariba Nawa, we dig into the investigative files against the convicted killer and learn that the U.S. government chose not to get involved in the investigation. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Whose Vote Will Count?
October 03, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBFrom problems with vote-by-mail systems to voter suppression, we travel to Wisconsin and Florida to examine the potential for chaos in the 2020 elections. Then we hear from postal workers about handling the huge number of mail-in ballots. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Catching Amazon in a Lie
September 26, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBAmazon says its warehouses are safe for workers, but we’ve obtained numbers that show they’re getting hurt much more often than the company claims. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
COVID-19 in Confinement
September 19, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBAt a time when self-isolation is the best way to avoid the pandemic, we examine two places where people have no choice but to live with strangers: nursing homes and prisons. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
America's Ring of Fire (Rebroadcast)
September 12, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBWildfires are getting bigger, more expensive to fight and closer than ever to where people live. The consequences can be deadly. We examine how wildfires got so dangerous – and how some are fighting back. Parts of this episode originally were broadcast Oct. 8, 2016. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
The Robert Mueller of Latin America
September 05, 2020 04:00 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBCrusading prosecutor Iván Velásquez has been called the Robert Mueller of Latin America. He’s known for jailing presidents and paramilitaries. But Velásquez met his match when he went after Jimmy Morales, a television comedian who was elected president of Guatemala. Morales found an ally in Donald Trump. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
The Refuge Revealed (Rebroadcast)
August 29, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBThe 40-year fight over drilling for oil in one of the world’s wildest places, Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is coming to a head. The Department of the Interior has just removed the final hurdle to allow oil industry bids for the right to drill in the refuge. Opponents say climate change is warming the Arctic twice as fast as the rest of the planet, and the plants, animals and people living there are struggling to adapt. In this episode, we examine the future of the refu...
Lost in Transplantation (Rebroadcast)
August 22, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBQuickly delivering donated organs to patients waiting for a transplant is a matter of life and death. Yet transportation errors are leading to delays in surgeries, putting patients in danger and making some organs unusable. This episode originally was broadcast Feb. 8, 2020. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
Monumental Lies (Update)
August 15, 2020 04:00 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBThe Civil War ended more than 150 years ago, but the Confederacy didn't completely die with it. Monuments, shrines and museums are found throughout the South. We teamed up with Type Investigations to visit dozens of them and found that for devoted followers, they inspire a disturbing – and distorted – view of history: Confederate generals as heroes. Slaves who were happy to work for them. That twisted history is also shared with schoolchildren on class trips. And you won't believe w...
American Rehab Chapter 8: Shadow Workforce
August 08, 2020 07:00 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MBFor decades, work-based rehabs have spread across the country. No one knows how many are out there, so we counted them ourselves. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
American Rehab Chapter 7: The Work Cure
August 01, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBOne man’s journey into Cenikor leads to almost two years of backbreaking labor. The program will change him. But can it help Chris Koon with his addiction? Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
American Rehab Chapter 6: The White Vans
July 29, 2020 04:00 - 23 minutes - 21.7 MBBefore sunrise, a line of passenger vans heads to job sites across Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Cenikor didn't want to show us where they were sending rehab participants to work. So we followed the vans to find out. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
American Rehab Chapter 5: Reagan with the Snap
July 25, 2020 04:00 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBCenikor rises from the ashes, thanks to the inventor of NFL football pads, the war on drugs and the endorsement of an American president. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.