In The Dark

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 method of teaching reading that doesn’t work, and are now reckoning with the consequences.  “Sold a Story” is available wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more at soldastory.org.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 behind palace walls, revealing a story of astonishing courage and cruelty. "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.

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 started reporting on Season 3. We can’t tell you what it’s about yet, but it’s the most ambitious story we’ve pursued, and we’re thrilled to have the resources of The New Yorker and Condé Nast Entertainment to help us tell it. For more on the new partnership, check out the team’s interview with David Remnick on The New Yorker Radio Hour. And follow other podcasts from The New Yorker, including The Political Scene, The Writer’s Voice, the Fiction podcast, and the Poetry podcast.

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 accountability? See photos of Curtis Flowers on Instagram.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A storm hits Greenville just in time for Easter. Two pastors and a mayor clash over how to do church during a pandemic.

A new limited-run series from In the Dark, reporting on Covid-19 in the Mississippi Delta. Episodes every Thursday, beginning April 30. Support journalism with a donation to In the Dark.

District Attorney Doug Evans has prosecuted Curtis Flowers for 23 years and six trials. Now he says he's done.

After almost 23 years, Curtis Flowers is no longer behind bars. For his family, it's a long-awaited reunion. But not everyone in Winona is happy.

After nearly 23 years locked up, Curtis Flowers has a chance to get out on bail -- if his lawyers can convince the judge to rule in his favor.

It's been 11 days since the U.S. Supreme Court threw out Curtis Flowers' conviction. But the story didn't end there. In recent days, there have been three other significant developments, including new details from a key witness, that may determine Flowers' fate.

On Friday, June 21, after months of deliberation, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its opinion in the Curtis Flowers case. In a 7-2 ruling, the justices threw out the conviction from his sixth trial, in 2010. The decision of what happens next -- whether to release Flowers or begin a seventh trial -- now lies with the same prosecutor who's pursued him from the beginning: Doug Evans.

After nearly nine years of appeals of his sixth trial, Curtis Flowers finally had his case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. At issue was whether DA Doug Evans tried to keep African-Americans off the jury in the 2010 trial. Flowers wasn't at the Supreme Court -- he remains on death row in Mississippi -- but the In the Dark team was. This is what we saw.

We resume Season Two with the U.S. Supreme Court weighing Curtis Flowers' case. We preview oral arguments and delve into the allegations at the heart of the appeal: that Doug Evans tried to keep African-Americans off the jury in Flowers' sixth trial.

We answer your questions and report on a fire in Winona.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Curtis Flowers' appeal. Now the justices will examine if District Attorney Doug Evans had a history of racial discrimination in jury selection.

In Season 1 of our podcast, we reported that the Jacob Wetterling case was a botched investigation. Just yesterday, law enforcement acknowledged it too.

Two months after the season ended, we return to Winona to see what has changed. Turns out, a lot. Curtis Flowers' mother has died. The whole town is talking about the case. Flowers' defense lawyers are including our findings in their legal filings to the Supreme Court. Citizens are trying to file bar complaints against the district attorney, Doug Evans. One man has gone into hiding, his personal safety threatened because he spoke to us. In this update episode, we look at what's happened in Winona since our last episode and what happens next with Curtis Flowers' case.

For the last episode of the season, we went to meet Jeffery Armstrong, who, a few years after Curtis Flowers first went to prison, found what might have been a key piece of evidence. What he found -- and where he found it -- offers hints that someone else may have committed the Tardy Furniture murders. Armstrong turned the evidence into the cops. And then, he says, it disappeared.

Prosecutors have always said that Curtis Flowers was the only serious suspect in the Tardy Furniture investigation. But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. Who was he? Why was he questioned? When we finally found Hemphill, living in Indianapolis, he had some very surprising things to say about the case.

After re-examining the case, we'd found no direct evidence linking Curtis Flowers to the murders at Tardy Furniture. But we had one lingering question: How did Flowers become the main suspect? Why would investigators focus so much on Flowers based on so little evidence? In short, why Curtis? We decided to find out.

After investigating every aspect of the Curtis Flowers case, we were nearly ready to present what we'd found to District Attorney Doug Evans. But first we tried to learn all we could about him: his childhood, his years as a police officer and his record as district attorney. Then, finally, we met the man who's spent more than two decades trying to have Flowers executed.

There's one critical aspect of the Curtis Flowers case that we haven't looked at yet -- the makeup of the juries. Each of the four times Flowers was convicted, the jury was all white or nearly all white. So we decided to look more closely at why so few black jurors had been selected. And it wasn't always happenstance.

Odell Hallmon, the state's key witness in the Curtis Flowers case, is serving three consecutive life sentences. We wondered what he might say now that there are no deals to cut, and he will spend the rest of his days in prison. Would he stick to his story that Flowers had confessed to the Tardy Furniture murders? We wrote him letters and sent him a friend request on Facebook. Weeks went by and we heard nothing. And then, one day, he wrote back.

No witness has been more important to the prosecution's case against Curtis Flowers than Odell Hallmon. He testified in four trials that Flowers had confessed to him while the two men were in prison together. Hallmon has an astonishingly long criminal history that includes repeated charges for drug dealing, assault, and robbery. So how reliable is his testimony and did he receive anything in exchange for it? In this episode, we investigate the veracity of the prosecution's star witness.

Over the years, three inmates have claimed that Curtis Flowers confessed to them that he killed four people at the Tardy Furniture store. But they've all changed their stories at one time or another. In this episode, we investigate who's really telling the truth.

Investigators never found the gun used to kill four people at Tardy Furniture. Yet the gun, and the bullets matched to it, became a key piece of evidence against Curtis Flowers. In this episode, we examine the strange histories of the gun and the man who owned it.

The case against Curtis Flowers relies heavily on three threads of evidence: the route he allegedly walked the morning of the murders, the gun that investigators believe he used, and the people he supposedly confessed to in jail. In this episode, we meet the witnesses who said they saw Flowers walking through downtown Winona, Mississippi, the morning of the murders. Some of their stories now waver on key details.

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.

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?

The sentencing of Danny Heinrich on Nov. 21, 2016, brought to a close the 27-year investigation into the abduction and murder of Jacob Wetterling. But it didn't end the story.

When Danny Heinrich confessed in court on Sept. 6 to abducting and murdering Jacob Wetterling and assaulting Jared Scheierl 27 years ago, investigators declared that at last, the public had the truth. But despite Heinrich's excruciatingly detailed accounts, the truth remains elusive. Many questions remain unanswered.

In November 2012, a police officer named Tom Decker was shot and killed in Cold Spring, Minn., after getting out of his car to check on a man who lived above a bar. The man was quickly arrested and held in the Stearns County jail. He was interrogated but then released without charges. The state crime bureau later ruled him out as a suspect. Investigators turned their focus to another man, Eric Thomes, who hanged himself before he could be charged with the crime. Nearly four years after the murder, Sheriff John Sanner has refused to close the case "because we're still hopeful that new information will come in," he said.

Soon after the abduction and murder of Jacob Wetterling in 1989, Stearns County sheriff's investigators came face to face with his killer, Danny Heinrich, who would confess to the crime 27 years later. Then they let him go. It wasn't the first time that had happened in Stearns County.

In the 1970s and early '80s, missing children weren't considered a policing priority. You couldn't even enter missing child information into the FBI's national crime database. But that changed quickly.

Dan Rassier now wishes he'd insisted that police search his family's St. Joseph farm top to bottom the night Jacob Wetterling was abducted. That way, they would have known there was nothing to find. And it would have been harder for them to come back 21 years later to search with backhoes and declare him a "person of interest" in the case.

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.

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.

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.

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.

After he disappeared nearly 27 years ago, Jacob Wetterling's remains have been found. Why did it take so long?