After 10 seasons of the award-winning GroundTruth Podcast, we’re excited about what might come next. But to find the best way forward, we want to hear from listeners like you: What stories do you feel are under-reported and need to be told? What questions do you have about the podcast? Give us your feedback and ask us questions about the GroundTruth podcast, about our mission and our vision and our service programs in the field Report for America and more newly launched Report for the World. You...
Nov 21, 2021•1 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast In war, truth is the first casualty. It's a military maxim attributed to Aeschylus, the father of Greek tragedy. In the lead up to the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and ahead of the withdrawal from a war that became the longest in American history, GroundTruth's founder Charlie Sennott returns to Afghanistan and revisits a conflict he has covered on the ground since its first battles and its first casualties. Two decades later, amid an American departure from Afghanistan that many have compared to th...
Sep 10, 2021•18 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast A class of college students at UMass Amherst became the first group of researchers to take on Daniel Ellsberg's vast archive. For two students, it's more than a history project: It's a family story. We’d like to hear your thoughts about the podcast. Call us and leave a voice message with your feedback at (339) 365-3754. We listen to everything you send us and we might even share some of them on this podcast. As we look ahead to Season 11 of the GroundTruth Podcast, we want to feedback from list...
Aug 31, 2021•18 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Before he was helping plan the Vietnam War, Ellsberg was working at Rand Corporation as a nuclear war planner. In the late 1950’s and early 60’s, he came across a classified policy document that called for killing a fifth of the human population. “This, to me, was pure evil.” When he was facing trial for releasing the Pentagon Papers, he held another trove of secret documents on the Pentagon’s plans for nuclear war. His plan was to release these, most likely from prison. But in a strange twist, ...
Jun 23, 2021•40 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Now facing a possible 115 years in prison, Daniel Ellsberg awaits his federal espionage trial. Meanwhile, Nixon unleashes his Plumbers in an attempt to silence Ellsberg, and Barbra Streisand sings for the defense! In this episode we trace the series of events that tied Daniel Ellsberg’s espionage trial to the fate of Richard Nixon’s presidency. This podcast series is part of a wider collaboration with UMass Amherst and GBH, including a two-day conference presented by GroundTruth and UMass Amhers...
Jun 10, 2021•34 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast On September 30, 1969, Daniel Ellsberg opened his newspaper to a story out of Vietnam that would act as the trigger for copying the Pentagon Papers. We pick up on this wild ride when he offers the papers to members of Congress, who shrugged him off. He then went to the New York Times, the first publication of the papers landed on the front page on June 13th, 1971. Over the next 13 days, an FBI manhunt swept the Boston area for Ellsberg and his wife Patricia. Upon turning himself in, Ellsberg had...
May 18, 2021•44 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press knowing he could face the rest of his life in prison. But what turned this Cold War hawk into an anti-war dove? What were the motivating events and people who influenced his transformation? At 15, a tragic car accident would shape his sense of responsibility to the wider world. His time in the Marine Corps strengthened his dedication to serving his country. But in 1968 he would begin an unlikely encounter with another faction, the anti-war ...
Apr 30, 2021•39 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast In the series premiere, we pick up on Ellsberg’s first day at the Pentagon, the day he became acquainted with what he came to call the “lying machine.” It was August 4, 1964. Contradicting accounts of an attack in The Gulf of Tonkin would give President Johnson the green light to lead the country into war in Vietnam based on a lie. We follow this thread, and the deception, through his time in the field in Vietnam, where he saw how the lies on the ground made their way back to Washington. Back ho...
Apr 15, 2021•53 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Americans across the country opened their newspapers to the first reports based on classified documents leaked by a government insider, Daniel Ellsberg. Consisting of 7,000 pages of top secret documents, the Pentagon Papers revealed in cold, analytical detail how four presidential administrations lied to the American public: the reasons for entering the war, the failures of their policies, the low chances of success, and the reasons for staying the course. But for Ellsberg, the facts were overwh...
Apr 02, 2021•4 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast The turmoil of the 2020 presidential election campaigns has raised questions about just what it means to vote. Who gets to pull the lever? How can someone cast their ballot? Will all of the votes be counted in time? GroundTruth’s Voting Rights Fellows share local stories of voters, activists and election officials working to preserve the process this Nov. 3. Explore our Election 2020 reporting: https://thegroundtruthproject.org/election-episode-2020-and-counting/ Keep up with our on-the-ground r...
Oct 31, 2020•47 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast When you think about Kentucky's deep red politics today, it's likely the face of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his laconic drawl that comes to mind. But one northern corner of this solidly Republican state is streaked blue by its state house representation. Covering local government in northern Kentucky through our Report for America program, reporter Julia Fair with the Cincinnati Enquirer has been following this trend just across the Ohio River. It’s there, in Kentucky's District ...
Oct 29, 2020•13 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast The origins of Blues music is a complex weave of traditions, and the genre echoes suffering and endurance through centuries of hardship. Evolving from blended musical forms brought to the United States by enslaved Africans, then taking on the rhythm of work in the fields and heart of spirituals, the oppressive environment of the Jim Crow South ultimately shaped the Blues as we know it today. Today, the Blues are more often romanticized as the ballads of down and out troubadours, rambling and poo...
Oct 02, 2020•23 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast For most of us, it's hard to ignore the rising threat of climate change. But the sheer magnitude of the devastation it could cause is daunting. For those journalists trying to convey the sense of urgency to the public, it can become overwhelming. Living on Cape Cod, where towns and residents are trying to beat back rising tides with seawalls and sand, WCAI climate change reporter Eve Zuckoff is finding it difficult to build barriers of her own – between the existential threat she covers professi...
Sep 11, 2020•13 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast For many growing up in Chicago, the barber shop is a refuge. Raised on the Windy City's West Side, Report for America corps member Manny Ramos knows that fact well. "Barbers do more than just cut hair," he says, "they record history." They hear about the aspirations of the people whose hair they trim, and whose major life events they mark together. Ramos' reporting shows us how the barber shop has come to play a key role as a "community center" in Chicago, and how the loss of one barber rippled ...
Aug 28, 2020•19 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast In August 2018, well before any thought of a pandemic sweeping the country, Mississippi’s prison system saw a spike in inmate deaths. Correctional officials attributed many of these to “natural causes.” But these deaths aren't the only concerns for inmates and their families. Conditions in some of these prisons – men sleeping five to a cell or the sparse and unappetizing meals they get on a day to day basis or what the showers look like – have come to light through documentation by the inmates t...
Aug 13, 2020•19 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Bird Singing is an oral tradition that has been passed down for centuries among the tribes across the American Southwest. These stories are sung by male members of tribes – from young boys to elders – whose only accompaniment is a gourd fashioned into a shaker. But the threat of COVID-19 has forced these traditions online, in isolation. See video of Bird Singers performing here: https://gtruth.co/2X4lyjh We’d like to hear your thoughts about the podcast. Call us and leave a voice message with yo...
Jul 31, 2020•24 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast “Deadly Force,” a new podcast series from Report for America host newsroom WPLN in Nashville, focuses on the trial of the first Nashville police officer to be charged with murder for shooting someone in the line of duty. Through newly uncovered documents, original interviews and audio footage, Deadly Force gets a glimpse into the mind of a police officer struggling to make sense of when to use his gun and the culture in Nashville surrounding the use of force. We speak with reporter Samantha Max ...
Jul 17, 2020•22 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast July 3, 2018. It was almost Independence Day. Lee Eric Evans straightened a flag pole on his aunt’s front porch. He carefully unfurled an American flag so that it hung properly, making sure it didn’t touch the ground. Lee, who is 26 years old, was fussing over the flag for the 4th of July celebrations in the Farish Street Historic District which would happen the next day. I was working on a story about the importance of the District as a hub of black-owned businesses in the 1920’s and 1930s. I w...
Jul 02, 2020•11 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Report for America corps member Chris Ehrmann continues on his road trip across America, picking up in St. Louis, where economic recovery depends on where you live. Chris listens to protesters from Denver to Los Angeles, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, who are wondering, is this a tipping point? https://thegroundtruthproject.org/on-the-ground-with-report-for-america-pandemic-and-protest/ We’d like to hear your thoughts about the podcast. Call us and leave a voice message with your fe...
Jun 30, 2020•22 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Report for America corps member Chris Ehrmann embarked on a road trip across America, literally, from Times Square to Los Angeles, California. He traced the new landscape of COVID-19 across time zones and state lines. He spoke to those whose loved ones have been directly impacted by the virus, squaring off against those impacted by a devastated economy. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, his journey to witness a nation under lockdown was suddenly layered with thousands of protestors pou...
Jun 19, 2020•22 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast The 9th season of the GroundTruth Podcast is a playlist of stories from across America. We shadow our Report for America corps members as they bring us into their communities, and share the stories of people who’ve often felt unheard. Amid a pandemic and nationwide demands for justice and reform, the audio road trip begins with an actual road trip from coast to coast. We’d like to hear your thoughts about the podcast. Call us and leave a voice message with your feedback at * (339) 365-3754* . W...
Jun 09, 2020•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast As a thick morning fog was still lifting over the hills here above the San Francisco Bay, Ellsberg sat at his dining room table, sipping a cup of coffee and reading The New York Times. It was Friday, December 13th, the House Judiciary Committee had just sent the articles of impeachment for a full house floor vote. It feels like deja vu, 50 years on. Dan Ellsberg was reflecting on then and now. To some, the whistleblower is a hero, to others, a traitor. But at their core, at least, whistleblowers...
Jan 17, 2020•24 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast As Donald Trump took the oath of office and became the 45th President of the United States, journalists’ role of covering the White House and the presidency was turned upside down. It started day one with the inauguration and the very first press conference. Sean Spicer: “This was the largest audience to ever watch an inauguration, period. Both in person and around the globe.” The next day, on Meet the Press Kellyanne Conway stepped forward to defend the president’s exaggerations. She coined a p...
Dec 26, 2019•35 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast LGBT communities face challenges in all parts of the world. But in Poland, the right-wing populist Law and Justice party spent the last year insisting that pro-LGBT stances were a western import meant to weaken Poland internally. They claim that progressive social values have no place in polish identity, and refer to values pertaining to the LGBT community as “LGBT ideology.” Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński describes it as a battle. “The LGBT ideology is an offensive. Look at the trave...
Dec 24, 2019•31 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast In August, 1947, British colonial rule officially ended in India. Within 6 months, Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s independence movement, was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist who rejected Gandhi’s openness to India’s Muslims. For more than 70 years, India more or less remained a constitutional democracy granting religious equality to all. In 2014, Narendra Modi was elected prime minister. In May of 2019, Modi and his BJP party swept the elections with an overwhelming majority. This mand...
Dec 15, 2019•36 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast It is often said that journalism is the first draft of history. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s dominance of Hungarian media gives him the power to not only write the first draft, but to rewrite history, in step with his own nationalist narrative. Over the past 9 years, media outlets in Hungary have fallen victim to Orban’s campaign to expand government control or to shut down independent media. Critics say Orban’s goal is to create his own media machine to control the political climate, and to de...
Dec 07, 2019•30 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast In September, 2016, Juan Manuel Santos, the President of Colombia, and Timochenko Jimenez, the rebel leader of the FARC--the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia--signed a historic agreement that formally ended more than 50 years of conflict. It was a remarkable scene. Guests were dressed in white to symbolize peace, and a childrens’ choir sang Beethoven’s* Ode to Joy.* Timochenko spoke first. Near the end of his 30 minute speech, he made a plea to the entire country. “I would like to ask for ...
Nov 28, 2019•31 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Matteo Salvini is one of Italy’s most popular politicians. His harsh rhetoric against migrants, the media, and cultural integration has resonated with Italians, especially the youth. His party is the Lega, or league in English, and in the last 6 years, their support among Italians under 35 has grown from 8% to over 20%. And even more broadly, Lega is now the second most popular party across Italy. In this episode, targeting outsiders in Italy, our global fellows Alessia Cerantola and Lorenzo Bag...
Nov 14, 2019•32 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Since taking office in January, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has weaponized the fear of widespread crime, and tapped into the country’s anger with the rampant corruption. The former army captain has given the police carte blanche to fight violence with violence. But his policy of “the only good criminal is a dead criminal” has also taken the lives of innocents in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. GroundTruth Fellow Leticia Duarte walked with the victims of police violence th...
Oct 31, 2019•36 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast The hallmarks of populist nationalism are gaining ground in many of the world’s largest democracies, from Modi’s India to Bolsonaro’s Brazil and Trump’s America. In these, and many other countries, elected leaders are flirting with aspects of authoritarianism in an extreme era of mass migration, digital disruption and the looming threat of climate change. In a six-month reporting project titled Democracy Undone: The Authoritarian’s Playbook, GroundTruth reporting fellows in India, Brazil, Colomb...
Oct 17, 2019•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
