Start Episode: “Introduction to QAnon”
Last summer, a high-rise condominium suddenly collapsed in the town of Surfside, just north of Miami Beach. It was an unimaginable catastrophe that killed 98 people and traumatized countless others. It also raised some unresolved questions: “Buildings like this don’t fall into America,” said Charles Burkett, Surfside’s mayor at the time. This gripping series from The Miami Herald follows the events of that night minute by minute, before zooming out to explore the aftermath and ongoing investigation. Through on-site interviews and audio clips, the voices of survivors, medical workers, reporters and local officials create a haunting and evocative portrait of what happened.
Start Episode: “No Warning”
It has been more than two months since Russia began its military invasion of Ukraine, with an eight-year-old conflict escalating into a devastating war that kills civilians, destroys cities and puts the world on edge. Given both the magnitude of the story and the reality of what’s happening, it can be a challenge to stay on top of the latest developments. Launched in early March, this NPR show operates more like a radio bulletin than a traditional podcast, with multiple new on-the-ground episodes released every weekday, each lasting less than 10 minutes. Featuring reporters, aid workers, military personnel and civilians, the series explores the conflict from every angle, while also digging into its historical context.
Start Episode: “What’s Russia’s Plan B?”
The September 11 attacks fall into the category of what some psychologists call flashbulb memories: moments of collective trauma that people have unusually vivid memories of. It is the reason that many people can remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. But this series from Pineapple Street Studios focuses on what came after the flashlight moment and the losses that are not commemorated. Presented by filmmaker Dan Taberski (“Missing Richard Simmons”), “9/12” explores the way America changed after the attacks, from seven very different perspectives. Among the voices: the maker of a movie who helped spread a conspiracy theory; a Brooklyn entrepreneur whose Muslim neighbors have begun to disappear in droves; and the staff of The Onion who were tasked with writing jokes about the news in a post-9/11 world.
The Aftermath of Capitol Riot: Key Developments
Starting Episode: “Too Soon”
Despite being one of the deadliest episodes of racial violence in American history, the massacre of the Tulsa race in 1921 has remained a largely unknown story until recently. A brutal white mob (backed by law enforcement officers) descended on a thriving black neighborhood in Oklahoma, killing residents, burning homes and businesses and damaging a community symbolic of black prosperity and success. Because the event was generally overlooked in schools, many people first heard about it last year, when the combination of America’s racial reckoning and the 100th anniversary of the massacre propelled a wave of new documentaries about the event. The second season of “Blindspot,” a History Channel and WNYC series, is an exhaustive and gripping chronicle of the long-hidden atrocity and ripple effects it had in Oklahoma and beyond.
Start Episode: “The Past Is Present”
More than a year after a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, much of the story feels incomprehensible. Researchers are still trying to understand how the riots snowballed from President Trump’s failed bid to undo the 2020 election and how rioters have been able to get in unopposed so far. In the meantime, this MSNBC show offers a sharp look into the mind of one person in that crowd – Rosanne Boyland, who was crushed by the crowd. She had little interest in politics until mid-2020 and was not much of a Trump fan. In just a few months, her friends and family believe, she had been radicalized. Over the course of five episodes, the host, Ayman Mohyeldin, tries to figure out exactly how.