Will Johnnie Veal, convicted of the murder of two police officers in 1970, be granted parole after fifty years in prison? How can he convince the parole board he’s reformed when he insists he’s innocent? What is prison time even supposed to accomplish? These are the questions that propel The Parole Room forward as it builds toward Johnnie’s twentieth parole hearing after nineteen rejections.   The Parole Room is an intimate journey with Johnnie, a deep dive into the criminal legal system,...

The Burden: Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he?  Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent years trying to untangle this dark intrigue. Then one day, his phone...

Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping, and that’s what listening to the show feels like: a raw, often funny, and always surprising peek into the reality of life inside prison. Hosts Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods co-created the show that launched in 2017 while Earlonne was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, where Nigel was a volunteer teaching photography. Since Earlonne’s release in 2018, the show has expanded to include stories from prisons across the state, including the...

In 1978, Pope John Paul I was found dead in his bed just 33 days after he was elected. The official story is that he suffered a fatal heart attack. But in the years since his death, some have claimed he was murdered to cover up crimes in the Vatican. The question of the Pope’s death has never been definitively answered, but there is one man who claims to know the truth. A man from one of New York City’s crime families who has deep ties to the Italian mafia. He was there the day of the Pope’s...

Homegrown: OKC dives into a case of domestic terrorism from the past that’s really a warning about the future.  Back in 1995, there was a disaster that should have prepared us for January 6th and the political violence that we’re seeing today: the Oklahoma City Bombing. Journalist Jeffrey Toobin reveals the story behind Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City Bombing, and right-wing extremism in America - how a decorated army veteran became consumed with rage, how he somehow went...

Yohance sits down with Kathleen Goldhar, the host of CBC’s new podcast Crime Story, to talk about Lenard Clark’s case and the many questions he grappled with while making You Didn’t See Nothin.  Every week, Crime Story brings you a true crime case told by the storyteller who knows it best. Find more Crime Story episodes in your podcast app, or using this link: https://link.chtbl.com/H4ag6cIN See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at...

In March, 2016, Shapearl Wells wakes up to a bamming at her door. It’s the police, telling her that her 22-year-old son, Courtney Copeland, has been shot. Detectives tell her Courtney drove his BMW to a police station for help. But Shapearl’s grief turns into suspicion when police start asking her questions.  From the Makers of “You Didn’t See Nothin”, “Somebody” is a co-production of Topic Studios, The Intercept, the Invisible Institute, and iHeartRadio, in association with Tenderfoot...

Help This Garden Grow is a new podcast docuseries telling the story of Hazel Johnson, a visionary of the Environmental Justice movement and a resident of the Altgeld Gardens community on the far South Side of Chicago. Hazel is the founder of People for Community Recovery, a 40 year-old organization that fights to address the toxic industrial pollution that has been killing the members of her community. Over the course of the multigenerational multipart documentary, hosts Damon Williams and...

On the West Side of Chicago, a father is seriously wounded by an apparent gang shooting. The worker who comes out to help him heal mentally and emotionally is a former gang member herself. She is part of a growing army of anti-violence workers fighting to bring peace to the streets of Chicago. In Motive Season 5, WBEZ criminal justice reporter Patrick Smith takes listeners out to the streets where workers are trying desperately to prevent shootings and help the victims of gun violence. See...

EPISODE 7: Nearly 50-years-old now, Yohance tries to make sense of what forgiveness means in the face of endless racial violence. Credits Host: Yohance Lacour Producers: Bill Healy, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Erisa Apantaku, Sarah Geis Sound Design/Mixing and Music Supervision: Steven Jackson and Phil Dmochowski at the Audio Non-Visual Company Original Music: Taka Yasuzawa Executive Producers: Alison Flowers and Jamie Kalven (Invisible Institute) and Josh Bloch (USG Audio) Production...

EPISODE 6: Yohance speaks to the Black minister about the notion that the attacker and his victim have become friends. Credits Host: Yohance Lacour Producers: Bill Healy, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Erisa Apantaku, Sarah Geis Sound Design/Mixing and Music Supervision: Steven Jackson and Phil Dmochowski at the Audio Non-Visual Company Original Music: Taka Yasuzawa Executive Producers: Alison Flowers and Jamie Kalven (Invisible Institute) and Josh Bloch (USG Audio) Production Support:...

EPISODE 5: The Black community becomes deeply divided over some of its leaders supporting the family of the attacker. Credits Host: Yohance Lacour Producers: Bill Healy, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Erisa Apantaku, Sarah Geis Sound Design/Mixing and Music Supervision: Steven Jackson and Phil Dmochowski at the Audio Non-Visual Company Original Music: Taka Yasuzawa Executive Producers: Alison Flowers and Jamie Kalven (Invisible Institute) and Josh Bloch (USG Audio) Production Support:...

EPISODE 4: As the trial approaches, a key witness goes missing and another is murdered.  Credits Host: Yohance Lacour Producers: Bill Healy, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Erisa Apantaku, Sarah Geis Sound Design/Mixing and Music Supervision: Steven Jackson and Phil Dmochowski at the Audio Non-Visual Company Original Music: Taka Yasuzawa Executive Producers: Alison Flowers and Jamie Kalven (Invisible Institute) and Josh Bloch (USG Audio) Production Support: Jennifer Sears and Josh...

News stories about the beating zero in on reconciliation and racial healing, as the attacker’s parents meet with prominent Black leaders. Credits Host: Yohance Lacour Producers: Bill Healy, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Erisa Apantaku, Sarah Geis Sound Design/Mixing and Music Supervision: Steven Jackson and Phil Dmochowski at the Audio Non-Visual Company Original Music: Taka Yasuzawa Executive Producers: Alison Flowers and Jamie Kalven (Invisible Institute) and Josh Bloch (USG...

Yohance begins to investigate the beating for a neighborhood newspaper, when his reporting gets some unwanted attention. Credits Host: Yohance Lacour Producers: Bill Healy, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Erisa Apantaku, Sarah Geis Sound Design/Mixing and Music Supervision: Steven Jackson and Phil Dmochowski at the Audio Non-Visual Company Original Music: Taka Yasuzawa Executive Producers: Alison Flowers and Jamie Kalven (Invisible Institute) and Josh Bloch (USG Audio) Production Support:...

When a 13-year-old Black boy is attacked in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood, Yohance rallies his crew to avenge the beating. Credits Host: Yohance Lacour Producers: Bill Healy, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Erisa Apantaku, Sarah Geis Sound Design/Mixing and Music Supervision: Steven Jackson and Phil Dmochowski at the Audio Non-Visual Company Original Music: Taka Yasuzawa Executive Producers: Alison Flowers and Jamie Kalven (Invisible Institute) and Josh Bloch (USG Audio) Production...

Part investigation and part memoir, “You Didn't See Nothin” follows Yohance Lacour as he revisits the story that introduced him to the world of investigative journalism, and examines how its ripple effects have shaped his life over the past quarter-century. In 1997, Lenard Clark was beaten into a coma by a gang of older white teens simply for being Black in a white neighborhood. One of Lenard’s attackers was from a powerful Chicago family. The media quickly turned towards stories of...