Post Reports

In the third episode of the “Broken Doors” podcast, we come face to face with a sheriff and a judge.Read more:All this week on “Post Reports,” we’re airing episodes of the “Broken Doors” podcast, an investigative series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.The third episode of this series is called “‘You’re interrogating me.’” In this episode, we return to a rural county in Mississippi.After hearing from survivors of no-knock raids and learning about the deadly consequences, we put our questions directly to the sheriff and the judge who had allowed these raids in Monroe County. People in the community still live in fear as Ricky Keeton’s family continues their battle for justice.For any updates to the series since the podcast aired earlier this year, check out Monday’s Post Reports episode, “No-knock warrants, revisited.”

In the second episode of the “Broken Doors” podcast, a family confronts a sheriff after a deadly no-knock raid.Read more:All this week on “Post Reports,” we’re airing episodes of the “Broken Doors” podcast, an investigative series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.The second episode of this series is called “‘Why y’all had to go in that way?’” In Episode 2, we return to a rural county in Mississippi.Around 1 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2015, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office hurled a battering ram into the home of Ricky Keeton to carry out a no-knock search warrant. After the raid turned deadly, Ricky’s family confronted the sheriff — and began secretly recording. For any updates to the series since the podcast aired earlier this year, check out Monday’s Post Reports episode, “No-knock warrants, revisited.”

An unusual warrant. A pattern of questionable no-knock raids. A reporting thread that just kept going. “Broken Doors” is an investigative podcast series from The Washington Post, hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.Read more: No-knock warrants allow police to force their way into people’s homes without warning. What happens when this aggressive police tactic becomes the rule, rather than the exception? All this week on “Post Reports,” we’re airing episodes of the “Broken Doors” podcast, a six-part investigative series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.Today, we have the first episode of this series, called “‘That’s what you get.’” In Monroe County, Miss., sheriff’s deputies burst through the front door of a man’s home as he slept. He said they pointed a gun at his head and ransacked his home in search of drugs and cash. The no-knock search warrant they used was threadbare. But that wasn’t the worst of it.For any updates to the series since the podcast aired earlier this year, check out Monday’s Post Reports episode, “No-knock warrants, revisited.”

Today on “Post Reports,” we revisit the use of one of the most intrusive and dangerous tools in policing: no-knock warrants. Read more: Two years after the death of Breonna Taylor, the Justice Department announced federal charges against four officers involved in her death. At the time, officers had a no-knock warrant for the young Black woman’s apartment. For Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, the Justice Department investigation represented a step toward justice for her daughter — but it was also a reminder of how much further police accountability has to go.Since this spring, and the release of the “Broken Doors” podcast, activists, local government leaders and national law enforcement officials have continued to scrutinize the use of no-knock warrants by police. Today on “Post Reports,” investigative reporters and “Broken Doors” hosts Nicole Dungca and Jenn Abelson bring us updates from across the country, revisiting fatal no-knock cases and weighing in on what’s happened in Kentucky since Taylor’s death. 

Today on “Post Reports,” Helena Andrews-Dyer on her new book, “The Mamas” and what it takes to be an authentic Black mother in a mostly White mom group.Read more:Washington Post culture writer Helena Andrews-Dyer talks about her latest book “The Mamas: What I Learned About Kids, Class and Race from Moms Not Like Me.”The book is a memoir of Andrews-Dyer’s personal experience of what it was like to be the only Black woman in her neighborhood’s mom group. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to join at first. “I think for me as a Black mother, immediately just instantly the image that comes up in your head is White women,” Andrews-Dyer said. “It's like strollers taking over the local cafe, going to baby yoga, baby music class in their yoga pants. It's just like all of these images and stereotypes pop into your head and you immediately think, as a Black woman and woman of color, ‘Oh, that's not for me.’”But in some ways, Andrews-Dyer writes, “I needed this space as much as they did.” Andrews-Dyer is a middle-class, Black professional woman living in a rapidly gentrified neighborhood in Washington, D.C., with two little girls and a husband. But she “had not seen a story about motherhood that looked like me. … And so I had to tell it.”“The Mamas” was released by Crown Publishing this week.

President Biden’s new plan to cancel some student loan debt will impact millions of Americans. On today’s “Post Reports,” we learn how this program works, what it means for the economy and why some people are unhappy with this approach. Read more:Millions of Americans rely on the federal government to cover the cost of college. Soaring tuition costs, higher enrollment and changes to the federal lending system have all contributed to the $1.6 trillion in outstanding federal student debt. This week, President Biden announced a plan to cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for many borrowers, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients.National higher education reporter Danielle Douglas-Gabriel provides a walkthrough of who qualifies for the plan and the arguments for and against this massive debt forgiveness.  

In the last days of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber set off a blast at Kabul airport. It killed an estimated 170 Afghans and more than a dozen U.S. troops. Today, one year after the withdrawal, Pentagon reporter Dan Lamothe takes a closer look at the days leading up to that devastating blast and what happened in its aftermath. From a Marine in a scout-sniper team, to the top military commander who planned and directed the operation, today’s episode shares the stories of the U.S. service members who lived through the violent evacuation process. Some of these never-before-heard accounts offer a different and more nuanced picture than the story the U.S. government tells. 

On today’s “Post Reports,” how a car bombing in Moscow has become a flash point in the war in Ukraine, and what it could signal is coming next. Read more:On Saturday, Daria Dugina, the daughter of a far-right Russian nationalist, died in a car bombing in a Moscow suburb. Russia’s domestic security agency, the FSB, accused Ukraine of organizing the attack, which many think was intended for Dugina’s father, Alexander Dugin.  Ukraine denied any involvement. The killing has already created a new flash point, as Putin’s ally calls for “more than revenge” for his daughter’s killing and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns of a possible escalation in Russian attacks ahead of Ukraine’s independence day. Reporter Mary Ilyushina explains what this bombing could mean for the future of the war in Ukraine.

Today on Post Reports, how government officials in Iran cut corners to expedite a yet-unproven vaccine developed by a company close to the supreme leader. Read more:Last year, as Iranian regulators considered endorsing a locally developed coronavirus vaccine, a top health official issued a warning, saying the test results were insufficient, and the vaccine’s approval could undermine efforts to contain the deadly spread of covid throughout Iran.But the vaccine had influential backers – it was the highly touted project of a company called Barkat, part of a corporate empire close to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Business reporter Yeganeh Torbati reports that government officials cut corners to expedite the yet-unproven vaccine, even as the supreme leader barred the import of some Western-made vaccines, and imports of other vaccines encountered delays.

Today on “Post Reports,” the changing relationship between former president Donald Trump and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and what it could mean for the future of American politics. Read more:Rupert Murdoch has swayed global politics through his media empire for decades. His relationship with former president Donald Trump was regarded as one of his strongest alliances, with Trump dominating the conservative media outlets Murdoch owns. But as media reporter Sarah Ellison explains, Trump and the Murdochs were aligned for mutual benefit – and that dynamic could be changing. Correction: A previous version of this podcast mistakenly referred to 21st Century Fox instead of Fox Corporation. The Murdochs sold most of 21st Century Fox to Disney, and rebranded the assets they retained as Fox Corporation.