In The Dark

‌

Episodes

‌

In The Dark

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

S1 E4: The Circus

The Wetterling abduction story kept getting bigger as the case served as a conduit for public fear and grief. Capitalizing on a growing sense that pedophiles lurked in every shadow, the likes of Maury Povich and Geraldo Rivera joined the cause with sensational retellings of the crime and its consequences. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Sep 20, 2016•37 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast

S1 E3: The One Who Got Away

The closest you can get to a conversation with Jacob Wetterling about his abduction is to talk to Jared Scheierl. Scheierl was walking home from an ice skating rink in Cold Spring in January 1989 when a man who turned out to be Danny Heinrich forced him into a car, assaulted him, and let him go, uttering some chilling parting words: "If they come close to finding out who I am, I'll find you and kill you." That was nine months before Jacob's abduction. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.or...

Sep 13, 2016•45 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast

S1 E2: The Circle

When Jacob Wetterling was taken, authorities launched what would turn into one of the largest searches for any missing person in the history of the United States. But that first night, law enforcement didn't cover all the basics. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Sep 07, 2016•39 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast

S1 E1: The Crime

The abduction of Jacob Wetterling, which made parents more vigilant and led to the first national requirement that states track sex offenders via registries, took place before moonrise on a warm October night in 1989. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Sep 07, 2016•35 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast

Season One: The Trailer

After he disappeared nearly 27 years ago, Jacob Wetterling's remains have been found. Why did it take so long? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Aug 29, 2016•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast