In The Dark

About In The Dark

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. 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.

Publisher

ñopl

Category

society & culture · true crime

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

29 Aug 2016

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

29 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Oct 2026

   The Journey Update: The D.A. Brings Charges

   Three weeks after we released The Journey, Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang were arrested, and local prosecutors charged them with child abuse. The F.B.I. is now looking into the couple, and new details have emerged about what happened inside their mansion.

2. 

   13 Oct 2026

   The Journey, Episode 5: The Children

   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 Journey.” 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.

3. 

   9 Oct 2026

   Season 2 Update: Curtis Flowers Has Died

   Host Madeleine Baran reports the tragic death of Curtis Flowers, a man twice convicted of murder, offering a somber update on his case.

Who has been a guest on In The Dark

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ava
• Heidi
• Heidi Blake