In The Dark - podcast cover

In The Dark

The New Yorkerwww.newyorker.com

In the Dark, hosted by Madeleine Baran, is an award-winning investigative-journalism podcast that started in 2016. Its first season looked at the mysterious abduction of Jacob Wetterling in rural Minnesota and the lack of accountability that sheriffs face when they fail to solve cases. Season 2 examined the case of Curtis Flowers, who was tried six times for the same crime. In 2020, In the Dark released a special report on the coronavirus pandemic in the Mississippi Delta. In 2023, In the Dark joined The New Yorker and Condé Nast. “The Runaway Princesses,” a four-part series that asks why the women in Dubai’s royal family keep trying to run away, came out in January. 

In the Dark is a two-time Peabody Award winner and, in 2019, became the first podcast to win a George Polk Award, one of the top honors in journalism. The program has also received an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

Episodes

From The New Yorker Radio Hour: Rachel Aviv on Alice Munro’s Family Secrets

Alice Munro, a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, was perhaps the most acclaimed short-story writer of our time. After her death, last year, her youngest daughter, Andrea Skinner, revealed that Munro’s partner, Gerald Fremlin, had sexually abused her starting when she was nine years old. The abuse was known in the family, but, even after Fremlin was convicted, Munro stood by him, at the expense of her relationship with her daughter. In this episode, the New Yorker staff writer Rachel Aviv ...

Mar 11, 202532 min

Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and the Future of American War-Crimes Prosecutions

Donald Trump’s selection of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense caught the attention of the In the Dark team. Hegseth, formerly a weekend co-host of “Fox & Friends,” is a longtime supporter of accused American war criminals, and has called Eddie Gallagher, the Navy SEAL who was tried for murder and other crimes, a “war hero.” The reporters Madeleine Baran and Parker Yesko discuss what Hegseth’s appointment could mean for war-crimes prosecutions under the Trump Administration. Learn about y...

Nov 22, 202426 min

Presenting “Sold a Story”

In the Dark presents the first episode of “Sold a Story,” an award-winning investigative podcast that is changing how children are taught to read. In this episode, “The Problem,” a mother watches her son's first-grade lessons during Zoom school and discovers with dismay that he can’t read. Her son isn’t the only one: more than a third of fourth graders in the United States can’t read on even a basic level. In “Sold a Story,” the host, Emily Hanford, exposes how educators came to believe in a met...

Nov 19, 202432 min

Bonus: Your Season 3 Questions, Answered

Was it scary to knock on all those Marines’ doors? What was it like to report in Iraq? Is it still possible for any Marines to face consequences for what happened in Haditha? The In the Dark team sits down to answer your questions. To view the online-only features of Season 3—the photographs, war-crimes database, and interactive documentary—visit newyorker.com/season3 . Have a story idea for the In the Dark team? E-mail us at inthedark@newyorker.com. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org...

Nov 12, 202442 min

Bonus: “Cleared by Fire”

For the past year, the Interactives Department at The New Yorker has been working alongside In the Dark on a remarkable visual exploration of what happened that day in Haditha. Sam Wolson, who co-directed the project, joins the podcast to talk about “Cleared by Fire.” Find the interactive documentary at newyorker.com/season3 . Got questions for the In the Dark team? E-mail them to us at inthedark@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Sep 27, 202412 min

Episode 9: Patient #8

For years, we’d thought what everyone thought: that there were twenty-four civilians killed by Marines in Haditha on November 19, 2005. But maybe everyone was wrong. To find online-only features, visit newyorker.com/season3. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Sep 17, 202450 minSeason 3Ep. 9

Episode 8: On Trial

The case against the squad leader, Frank Wuterich, finally goes to trial. To find online-only features, visit newyorker.com/season3. And to get episodes early and ad-free, visit newyorker.com/dark. The audio of Frank Wuterich in this episode comes from the podcast “Murder in House Two,” by Michael Epstein. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Sep 10, 20241 hr 3 minSeason 3Ep. 8

Episode 7: Innocent in My Eyes

The conflicting narratives about what happened in Haditha make their way through the opaque inner workings of the military justice system, until they reach a top commander who decides which story to believe. To find online-only features, visit newyorker.com/season3. And to get episodes early and ad-free, visit newyorker.com/dark. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Sep 03, 20241 hr 1 minSeason 3Ep. 7

Episode 6: The Full Picture

Startling new information emerges from deep within the investigation files. Then the In the Dark team gets a big break. To find online-only features, visit newyorker.com/season3. And to get episodes early and ad-free, visit newyorker.com/dark. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Aug 27, 202456 minSeason 3Ep. 6

Episode 5: Four Brothers

Was it a face-off with insurgents or the murder of four innocent brothers? We investigate what happened in the final house the Marines entered that day. To get episodes early and ad-free, visit newyorker.com/dark. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Aug 20, 202459 minSeason 3Ep. 5

Episode 4: What They Saw

Two conflicting stories about what happened that day emerge—one from the Marines involved in the killings, and another from a very different perspective. To get episodes early and ad-free, visit newyorker.com/dark. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Aug 13, 202453 minSeason 3Ep. 4

Episode 3: Sounds Like Murder

We travel around the U.S. to find the Marines who were on the ground in Haditha on the day of the killings. To get episodes early and ad-free, visit newyorker.com/dark. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Aug 06, 202441 minSeason 3Ep. 3

Episode 2: I Have Questions

A trip to a Marine Corps archive reveals a clue about something that the U.S. military is keeping secret. To get episodes early and ad-free, visit newyorker.com/dark. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 30, 202436 minSeason 3Ep. 2

Episode 1: The Green Grass

A man in Haditha, Iraq, has a request for the In the Dark team: Can you investigate how my family was killed? To get episodes early and ad-free, visit newyorker.com/dark. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 30, 202442 minSeason 3Ep. 1

Start Listening to Season 3 Today

Episodes 1 and 2 of our new season are coming out on July 30th, but subscribers can listen to episodes early. If you aren’t currently a New Yorker subscriber, you can become one for just $1 per week. You’ll get early access to episodes of Season 3 as they come out, and everything else the magazine publishes—plus, a free tote bag. Visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe today, and, for the best listening experience, download the New Yorker app . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choi...

Jul 23, 20242 min

Trailer

A crime committed. A crime forgotten. A crime unpunished. Season 3 of In the Dark, coming July 30th. Listen early and ad-free at newyorker.com/dark. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 16, 20243 min

The Runaway Princesses, Episode 4: Hostage

Secret recordings reveal what happened to Latifa after armed men stormed the yacht she was hoping would bring her to freedom. "The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker. To read Heidi Blake’s reporting on the princesses of Dubai, visit newyorker.com/princesses. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Feb 20, 202446 minSeason 2Ep. 24

The Runaway Princesses, Episode 3: A Nice Lunch

Latifa has made it to international waters, but she’s not out of danger. Her father has powerful forces at his command. "The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker . Subscribers to The New Yorker have early, ad-free access to all episodes. Visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Feb 13, 202432 minSeason 2Ep. 23

The Runaway Princesses, Episode 2: Escape

Princess Latifa is desperate to help her sister Shamsa, who’s been captured, drugged, and imprisoned on her father’s orders. She makes a plan to flee Dubai. "The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker . Subscribers to The New Yorker have early, ad-free access to all episodes. Visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Feb 06, 202444 minSeason 2Ep. 22

The Runaway Princesses, Episode 1: Sisters

As sex workers flee Sheikh Mohammed’s U.K. estate bruised and weeping, no one is held to account. British authorities look the other way after one of the sheikh’s own daughters tries to escape. "The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker . Subscribers to The New Yorker have early, ad-free access to all episodes. Visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Jan 30, 202439 minSeason 2Ep. 21

Trailer: The Runaway Princesses

The wives and daughters of Dubai’s ruler live in unbelievable luxury. So why do the women in Sheikh Mohammed’s family keep trying to run away? The New Yorker staff writer Heidi Blake joins In the Dark’s Madeleine Baran to tell the story of the royal women who risked everything to flee the brutality of one of the world’s most powerful men. In four episodes, drawing on thousands of pages of secret correspondence and never-before-heard audio recordings, “The Runaway Princesses” takes listeners behi...

Jan 23, 20243 min

An Announcement

Big news! In the Dark has a new home and a new team of partners. The podcast now comes to you from The New Yorker —the legendary home of extraordinary journalism. ____ In the Dark is a Peabody Award-winning podcast that tells deeply reported stories. Season 1 investigates lapses by law enforcement after the kidnapping of eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling. Season 2 examines the case of Curtis Flowers, a Mississippi man tried six times for the same crime. In the Dark journalists have already starte...

Mar 09, 202311 min

S2 E20: Curtis Flowers

During three years investigating the Curtis Flowers case, we’d talked to nearly everyone involved: lawyers, witnesses, jurors, family members, investigators, politicians, and many, many people around town. But there was one person we hadn’t yet interviewed — Curtis Flowers. That is, until one day in early October, a few weeks after he’d been cleared of all charges. For the final episode of Season 2, we at long last talk to the man at the center of it all. Read: Will Doug Evans face accountabilit...

Oct 14, 20201 hr 1 minSeason 2Ep. 20

S2 E19: Freedom

After 24 years, the case against Curtis Flowers is finally over. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch asks the judge to dismiss the charges against Flowers for lack of evidence. Flowers is released from house arrest and free – truly free – at last. Read the story . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Sep 04, 202017 minSeason 2Ep. 19

Coronavirus in the Delta E6: Delta State

College football is practically a religion in Mississippi. And for the players, it's life. As Covid-19 upended their world, the teammates at Delta State struggled to find structure and support for an off-season like no other. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jun 11, 202030 min

Coronavirus in the Delta E5: Geno

As the coronavirus swept into the Mississippi Delta, a judge in the small city of Indianola decided to release every inmate she had in jail. That is, every inmate except one. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

May 28, 202033 min

Coronavirus in the Delta E4: Watermelon Slim

In the middle of a pandemic, with so many people suffering alone, it seemed an appropriate time to hear from a Delta blues singer. Enter Watermelon Slim. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

May 21, 202021 min

Coronavirus in the Delta E3: The Hospital

The doctors and nurses at Greenwood Leflore Hospital brace for the pandemic, cordoning off their ICU and preparing for an influx of patients. Then the virus strikes one of their own. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

May 14, 202029 min

Coronavirus in the Delta E2: Parchman

How do you self-isolate when your home is a single room that you share with 107 men? That's what inmates at Mississippi's infamous Parchman prison have been wondering for six weeks. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

May 06, 202030 min

Coronavirus in the Delta E1: Greenville

A storm hits Greenville just in time for Easter. Two pastors and a mayor clash over how to do church during a pandemic. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Apr 30, 202040 min