Podcasts · True Crime · Society & Culture

In The Dark

The New Yorker

29 episodes · in order

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.

More about the show

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

  1. Trailer: Season 1

    · 3:38 · Trailer

    After he disappeared nearly 27 years ago, Jacob Wetterling's remains have been found. Why did it take so long? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices.…

  2. Season 1, Episode 1: The Crime

    · 37 min · S1 E1

    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.…

  3. Season 1, Episode 2: The Circle

    · 41 min · S1 E2

    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…

  4. Trailer: Season 2

    · 2:19 · Trailer

    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…

  5. Season 2, Episode 1: July 16, 1996

    · 46 min · S2 E1

    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…

  6. Season 2, Episode 2: The Route

    · 56 min · S2 E2

    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…

  7. Trailer: Coronavirus in the Delta

    · 3:15 · Trailer

    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. Learn more about your ad…

  8. Coronavirus in the Delta, Episode 1: Greenville

    · 44 min · S4 E1

    A storm hits Greenville just in time for Easter. Two pastors and a mayor clash over how to do church during a pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad…

  9. Coronavirus in the Delta, Episode 2: Parchman

    · 34 min · S4 E2

    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. Learn more about your ad choices.…

  10. An Announcement

    · 12 min · Bonus

    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…

  11. Trailer: The Runaway Princesses

    · 3:18 · Trailer

    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…

  12. The Runaway Princesses, Episode 1: Sisters

    · 43 min · S5 E1

    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…

  13. The Runaway Princesses, Episode 2: Escape

    · 48 min · S5 E2

    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…

  14. Trailer: Season 3

    · 2:48 · Trailer · Explicit

    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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…

  15. Season 3, Episode 1: The Green Grass

    · 47 min · S3 E1 · Explicit

    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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…

  16. Season 3, Episode 2: I Have Questions

    · 40 min · S3 E2 · Explicit

    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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…

  17. Season 3, Episode 3: Sounds Like Murder

    · 45 min · S3 E3 · Explicit

    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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…

  18. Season 2 Update: Five Years Later

    · 49 min · S2 E21 · Bonus

    After nearly twenty-three years behind bars, Curtis Flowers was freed, in part due to In the Dark’s reporting. Now he’s back in Winona, Mississippi, where his saga began. What brought him home, and how is he doing? We…

  19. Trailer: Blood Relatives

    · 2:42 · Trailer

    Five family members, murdered. A sixth in prison for life. It’s one of Britain’s most infamous crimes. But did the justice system get it wrong? “Blood Relatives,” a six-part series from In the Dark, is coming on…

  20. Blood Relatives, Episode 1

    · 50 min · S6 E1

    On August 7, 1985, five family members were shot dead in their English country manor, Whitehouse Farm. It looked like an open-and-shut case. But the New Yorker staff writer Heidi Blake finds that almost nothing about…

  21. Blood Relatives, Episode 2

    · 1 h 00 min · S6 E2

    Heidi visits an unlikely group of detectives: the victims’ extended family. Their sleuthing upended the police’s original theory of the case. New Yorker subscribers get full, ad-free access to “Blood Relatives” and…

  22. Trailer: The Journey

    · 2:47 · Trailer

    Why did a mysterious couple collect babies in a Los Angeles mansion? A five-part series from In the Dark, hosted by the New Yorker staff writer Ava Kofman, investigates. New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free…

  23. The Journey, Episode 1: Gifts

    · 59 min · S7 E1

    A woman in Texas agrees to carry a child for a wealthy couple in California. She thinks she’s helping a family in need. Then she becomes a whistle-blower. New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The…

  24. The Journey, Episode 2: Intended Parents

    · 58 min · S7 E2 · Explicit

    Ava investigates what is going on inside the Arcadia mansion. What is the couple actually up to? And why do they want so many kids? New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The Journey.” In Apple Podcasts,…

  25. The Journey, Episode 3: The Industry

    · 59 min · S7 E3

    It takes a village to create such a large family. Ava uncovers how the stunning lack of regulation in the surrogacy industry enabled the couple’s plans. New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The…

  26. The Journey, Episode 4: The Courts

    · 56 min · S7 E4

    One of the surrogates secretly takes home the baby she carried. And, in an unprecedented circumstance, it seems like she might have the chance to keep her. New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The…

  27. Season 2 Update: Curtis Flowers Has Died

    · 8:58 · S2 E22

    We received tragic news this week from Winona, Mississippi. Curtis Flowers was found dead in his home at age fifty-six. Photo by Ben Depp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  28. The Journey, Episode 5: The Children

    · 55 min · S7 E5 · Explicit

    Will the children be returned to the couple’s mansion? As the judge reaches a decision, Ava examines a confidential court file and makes a startling discovery. New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The…

  29. The Journey Update: The D.A. Brings Charges

    · 31 min · S7 E6 · Bonus

    Three weeks after we released “The Journey,” Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang were arrested, and local prosecutors charged them in a child-abuse case. The F.B.I. is now looking into the couple, and new details have emerged…

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