Today, we’re sharing the first episode of the brand new podcast Spotlight: Snitch City, produced by The Boston Globe's award-winning Spotlight team – some of the same folks who brought you the Gladiator podcast!

Named a “must listen” podcast by The Guardian, Snitch City brings you inside the secret world of police informants through one small city – at the forefront of America’s drug war – New Bedford, Massachusetts. Featuring never-before-told cases, the podcast investigates how officers have exploited the secrecy of the informant system to enrich themselves, break laws, protect drug dealers, and attack perceived enemies… all with impunity.

In this specific episode of Snitch City, you’ll find yourself on the docks of New Bedford, hearing whispers about a rogue police officer harassing fishermen and stealing drugs, all of which come to a head one late night aboard a scalloping boat. The officer forces his way on board, saying an informant told him there would be drugs on board, and demands some. But when another officer, Mark Raposo, shows up, he thinks his colleague is in the middle of a “drug rip.” Now Raposo is ready to blow the whistle on what he’s seen. And it turns out that this officer’s abuse of the informant system is just the tip of the iceberg in this historic port city.

To listen to the rest of the series, follow Spotlight: Snitch City on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.

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Patty Wen goes behind the scenes with the creators of FX’s American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez. Showrunner Stuart Zicherman shares his process of translating the Gladiator podcast for television, including the exhilaration of bringing the Patriots’ locker room to life. And Executive Producers Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson join Patty to discuss working with Ryan Murphy on the American Story franchise and how these series are really a way of looking at ourselves through the lens of shared obsessions and the role we, as a culture, play in how these stories unfold.

All episodes of FX’s American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez are now streaming on Hulu.

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Actors Thomas Sadoski and Norbert Leo Butz join Patty Wen to talk about the new FX series American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez. Sadoski, who plays Hernandez’s agent Brian Murphy, and Butz, who plays Patriots' coach Bill Belichick, discuss how they brought these complicated, larger-than-life figures to the screen — and the complex ethics of their relationships with the troubled athlete.

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Patty Wen is joined by actor Josh Rivera, the star of the new FX series American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, adapted from the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc. from Wondery and The Boston Globe. They talk about his preparation to play football star Aaron Hernandez, what it was like on set, and how he found humanity in such a complicated figure.

FX’s American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez premieres on Tuesday, September 17 on FX, next day on Hulu.

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The New England Patriots are in the Super Bowl again, and many current NFL players are feeling the physical toll the season has taken. Aaron Hernandez spoke to his former teammates nearly every day from prison: about the injuries they endured, and the drugs they took to dull the pain. Some of the drugs were legal, administered by the teams, but some drugs weren't. The drugs can help players remain on the field. But at what cost?

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Aaron Hernandez died in 2017 but his life still raises questions. On this special episode Liz Dolan, host of “Safe For Work” and “Satellite Sisters,” speaks with Bob Hohler of the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team about the making of Gladiator, and the one question he still wants answered.

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In life, Aaron Hernandez weighed 240 pounds. In death, the most important part of his body was just over 3 pounds. When researchers analyzed his brain they were shocked by what they found. A lifetime of football had seemingly taken a tremendous toll, but could it explain his violent crimes?

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With his arrest, Hernandez traded in his jersey number for an inmate number in the Massachusetts prison system. His voice was rarely heard from again in public -- but he spent hours talking on the phone from inside jail. Spotlight obtained ninety hours of jail calls -- never before heard publicly -- that provide an intimate look at his life and mind in the period before his first murder trial.

For more information on issues raised by this series, including suicide prevention, mental health, LGBTQ+ support, and concussion and sports safety, here is a list of support groups and educational organizations

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Aaron Hernandez was enjoying success on the field, but in his third season with the Patriots, the fragile balance of his life tipped. There were people who cared for him trying to intercede, from an old girlfriend to his teammates. But no one could successfully help him escape from violence, drugs, and extortion attempts.

For more information on issues raised by this series, including suicide prevention, mental health, LGBTQ+ support, and concussion and sports safety, here is a list of support groups and educational organizations

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Aaron Hernandez was one of eight players who graduated high school early to join the powerhouse University of Florida football team. Six of them would go on to play in the NFL. Forget the senior prom, it was time to learn a playbook as thick as a dictionary. But perhaps the most important lesson he learned was after he got into a bar fight his freshman year: when you're a football player, actions don’t always have consequences.

For more information on issues raised by this series, including suicide prevention, mental health, LGBTQ+ support, and concussion and sports safety, here is a list of support groups and educational organizations

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