In The Dark
The New Yorker
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 in 2024, it released “The Runaway Princesses,” a four-part series that asks why the women in Dubai’s royal family keep trying to run away. Season 3, released in 2024, asked why no one was punished for the killings of twenty-five civilians in Haditha, Iraq.In the Dark won the Pulitzer Prize for audio for Season 3. The podcast is a three-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.New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access. In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app.If you have comments or story tips, please send them to inthedark@newyorker.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books
16 snips
May 1, 2018 • 42min
Season 2, Episode 1: July 16, 1996
On the morning of July 16, 1996, someone walked into a furniture store in downtown Winona, Mississippi, and murdered four employees. Each was shot in the head. It was perhaps the most shocking crime the small town had ever seen. Investigators charged a man named Curtis Flowers with the murders. What followed was a two-decade legal odyssey in which Flowers was tried six times for the same crime. He remains on death row, though some people believe he's innocent. For the second season of In the Dark, we spent a year digging into the Flowers case. We found a town divided by race and a murder conviction supported by questionable evidence. And it all began that summer morning in 1996 with a horrifying crime scene that left investigators puzzled.
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8 snips
Apr 16, 2018 • 2min
Trailer: Season 2
Curtis Flowers has been tried six times for the same crime. For 21 years, Flowers has maintained his innocence. He's won appeal after appeal, but every time, the prosecutor just tries the case again. What does the evidence reveal? And how can the justice system ignore the prosecutor's record and keep Flowers on death row?
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23 snips
Sep 7, 2016 • 39min
Season 1, Episode 2: 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.
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33 snips
Sep 7, 2016 • 35min
Season 1, Episode 1: The Crime
The haunting case of Jacob Wetterling's abduction unfolds on a warm October night in 1989. Memories of a joyful boy contrast sharply with the chaos of his kidnapping during a seemingly innocent bike ride. The investigation reveals critical failures and evokes the community's heartache. As Jacob's family seeks closure, the episode illustrates the lasting impact on child safety laws and the need for accountability in protecting vulnerable children. Unearthing this tragedy, the discussion reflects on the urgent implications of inaction against child exploitation.
17 snips
Aug 29, 2016 • 4min
Trailer: Season 1
After he disappeared nearly 27 years ago, Jacob Wetterling's remains have been found. Why did it take so long?
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