How did the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery come so close to escaping all scrutiny?

The Georgia coast, where Ahmaud Arbery was born and killed, is steeped in history. Hank Klibanoff and his students trace the family roots of Ahmaud and the men who chased him, and marvel at what they find.

Funny, humble, and always saying “I love you.” The officer who approached Ahmaud as he sat alone in his parked car saw something different.

Why did they chase him in the first place? Investigators find disturbing Instagram posts and text messages.

Ahmaud Arbery went for a Sunday afternoon jog in a quiet neighborhood near the Georgia coast. He never made it home.

The afternoon of February 23, 2020, was a typically beautiful winter day on Georgia’s coast. Sunny and clear with a high near 65. At about 1 p.m., Ahmaud Arbery was taking advantage of the near-perfect running weather. He’d gone for a jog down Satilla Drive, right by the home of Gregory McMichael. Tragically, Ahmaud Arbery never made it home. For months after three white men chased him to his death, Georgia of 2020 looked disconcertingly like Georgia of 1950. This is the story of the long arc...

Sallie Nixon was small in stature, but large in spirit, strength and willpower. In 1948, she watched as two white men killed her husband Isaiah Nixon because he dared to vote. She lived on, overcame obstacles and inspired generations of family members, including children and grandchildren who affectionately call her Sallie Mama. In July 2020, she passed away at the age of 96. Host Hank Klibanoff remembers Sallie Nixon in this special episode, and is joined by her daughter Dorothy Nixon...

In 1936, a black man named Thomas Finch was shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer who later became leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Very little was known publicly about Finch’s death until his name appeared at a new memorial to the victims of lynching. In this special episode of Buried Truths, Hank Klibanoff sits down with Stephannie Stokes, the reporter who uncovered Thomas Finch's story, for an in-depth look at what happened, and how it's connected to the stories on Buried Truths. Read...

Howard Moore, Jr. and Newton Collier join Hank Klibanoff for a live show at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.

The season two live show continues with a panel discussion on truth, policing, race relations and our individual roles, followed by a pointed Q&A with the audience.

Former president Jimmy Carter visits Hank’s class at Emory University.

Hank talks to 1A about making Buried Truths.

Why tell A.C.’s story? Hank looks at the many ways in which 1962 resonates today and he heads to Macon with his students to visit A.C.’s gravesite. 

So what happens after the storm? Hank discusses the after effects of the A.C. Hall verdict, grand jury proceedings and an FBI investigation. Will they follow the lead of the coroner’s jury? And what became of Eloise Franklin?

The police take the stand. Years later, one of their sons speaks out. The jury delivers its decision.

How accurate is eyewitness identification? Donald Hollowell, one of the civil rights attorneys representing A.C. Hall's family, questions what Doris Hopper actually saw. Hank looks at the science...and he speaks to Doris.

It's the wrong gun?! As Barnett Hopper takes the stand, saying the gun that police found isn’t his after all, we examine the kind of training that officers like Brown and Durden received. Hank discusses police culture and training with a former police officer, now law professor. His focus –  policing the police.

Sixteen year old Eloise Franklin takes the stand in front of five white jurors, three attorneys and a courtroom full of spectators. The police officers' defense attorney Denmark Groover, a staunch segregationist who tried to stop clocks and change flags, asks her more than 230 questions. Years later, Eloise recalls the experience. The inquest takes a break.

A rookie black lawyer, who's never examined a witness, who doesn't even know what a coroner's inquest is, gets his chance in a Macon, Georgia, courtroom against a legendary white supremacist lawyer and politician. Can this possibly go well? Listen to the actual testimony -- and that rookie's reflections, in that same courtroom, 56 years later. 

Why did A.C. run?

A night stroll, a missing gun and two rookie cops.

A.C. Hall lived until he was seventeen years old. On an October night in 1962, he encountered two police officers investigating a stolen gun. They were looking for a colored man...and they found A.C. In season 2 of Buried Truths, Hank Klibanoff examines A.C.'s story and the surrounding context. It's a story of injustice, resilience and racism in the American South. We can't change our history, but we can let it guide us to understanding.

Isaiah Nixon’s daughter, Dorothy, joins Hank Klibanoff for a live event in Atlanta. Buried Truths producer David Barasoain and Dr. Catherine Meeks, executive director of the Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing, also join the conversation.

Buried Truths Live is coming to Atlanta on November 28. Season 2 is coming this February.

The backstory behind The Buried Truths podcast and its host, Hank Klibanoff.