The shooting hits at the heart of Boston’s most bitter divisions and reopens a wound around race relations that was just beginning to heal. In 1974, the city was thrown into turmoil when a judge ordered the desegregation of Boston schools. Some parents revolted and attacked school buses carrying Black children. The Stuart shooting aftermath reignites unresolved anger and revives an ugly chapter of Boston's history.
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Episode 3: Boston's Backstory

1989 Boston. The crack epidemic is raging, the murder rate soaring, and white flight has taken hold. Charles Stuart and his pregnant wife, Carol, are carjacked, drawn deep into a dangerous “inner city” neighborhood, and allegedly shot by a Black man. All of Boston – and the nation – is gripped by the hunt for the suspect. What follows will reveal truths about the city... and ourselves. Presented by The Boston Globe and HBO Documentary Films, Murder in Boston: The Untold Story of the Charles and Carol Stuart Shooting is hosted by Adrian Walker who, along with a team of Pulitzer-winning investigative reporters, unveils explosive new findings and change the narrative of a story long cemented in the city’s lore. The HBO Documentary Series Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, and Reckoning is available to stream on Max starting December 4.

TV & Film

True crime

Days after this podcast wrapped, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called a press conference. She had a major announcement about the Stuart case. Of course, we were there. In this episode, we’ll tell you how the mayor’s news landed with a community still trying to make peace with this case… and about a surprise figure who appeared that day, a man the Globe team had been chasing for a long time. Now we are able to share that important story, and much more.
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Episode 10: Long Overdue

We knew when we started out on this story, we were digging into something that would cause people pain. And we've tried to balance our jobs as fact-finders and journalists, with being humane and thoughtful. Two innocent people lost their lives. The suspect’s family had their world upended too. And countless others will never be the same. So, what now? How does this story end? Has anything changed? And is it too late for justice? Find out in the final episode.
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Episode 9: Is This How it Ends?

Thirty-four years later, many reporters are still dragging the sins of their Stuart coverage around, in one form or another. This includes your host, Globe columnist Adrian Walker. There’s no doubt, the media screwed up. Journalists moved on without any corrections or apologies, but not without a gnawing sense that something had broken down. And it’s time to reckon with that coverage.
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Episode 8: Setting the Record Straight

The main suspect might be dead, but this story is far from over. The long-told narrative – some kind of true-crime catnip – suggests the world was fooled by a master manipulator. But that’s not the case. More than 30 years later, Boston Globe investigative reporters dive into the case, unearth secret grand jury files, and obtain never-before-released recordings. The reporters find a conspiracy that was bigger than anybody knew and uncover evidence that suggests someone else may have pulled the trigger.
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Episode 7: The Accomplice

Everything you know, everything you’ve heard, is flipped on its head when one morning a man walks to the edge of the Tobin Bridge and steps off, falling 145 feet into the frigid waters below. The death sends waves of disbelief, rage, and guilt through Boston. And it forces everyone to examine themselves and the role they’ve played in a terrible hoax.
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Episode 3: Boston's Backstory

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