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Based on the life of Susanna Madora Salter. 

Narrated by Elle Fanning. 

Argonia, Kansas, 1887. Susanna Salter is baking bread when there’s a knock at the door. She learns she’s been nominated for the mayoral elections as a prank by some of the men of the town. After all, what could be funnier than the notion of a female leader? Nobody expected that serious, reserved Susanna would accept the nomination, let alone that she would be elected the first female mayor of the United States. 

Journalist: Olivia Rutigliano

Writer: Maggie Milstein

Voice: Elle Fanning 

Production: Christopher Hooton

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Latifi, Iranian-born owner of a small parts factory in Alabama, loved by his workers, had been fulfilling military contracts for years, making parts cheaper and better than the competition. When he finds out his secretary has been embezzling money, he fires her. Embittered and vengeful, she tells the FBI that Latifi has been sending classified information to China. As Latifi fights to keep his factory open and his workers employed, a politically aggressive US attorney tries to bring him down: “We don’t care if Latifi is innocent. Our goal is to put him out of business.”

Journalist: Lynda Edwards

Voice: Sarah Elizabeth Wallis

Production: Christopher Hooton

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Chevalier d'Eon is a brave army captain, a sparkling dinner companion –– and a spy in King Louis XV's secret service, tasked with planning an invasion of England from within London's highest social circles. But the French government, having no idea that the Chevalier is working for King Louis, plots to assassinate the charismatic diplomat, who only narrowly survives. When the scandal subsides, the Chevalier returns to France with a request: to be recognized as a woman. This is the story of one of the 18th century's most remarkable characters: the spy who dared to craft her own identity.

Writer: Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

Production: Christopher Hooton

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crime writer Diane Fanning was working on her first non-fiction book, spending time visiting and writing to a serial killer on death row. When Diane saw a case on the TV show 20/20 about a mother who was convicted of brutally murdering her 10-year-old son, she wrote about it in a letter to the convict. His letter back chilled her to the bone. He knew details about the case that only one person could have known...

Journalist: Nile Cappello

Narration: Maggie Robinson Katz

Audio: Diane Hope & Evan Phillips

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1943. While World War II rages, a different kind of battle takes over a British village in Lancashire where US troops are stationed. Throughout their service, Black American troops had faced daily bigotry and racism from their own countrymen. One night, the tension erupts into violence and the sleepy, unremarkable village of Bamber Bridge becomes a battleground between two Americas.

This story contains explicit language and racial slurs. Listener discretion is advised.

Inspired by true events.

Writer: Brianna Porter

Journalist: Ian Leslie

Voice: Gregory Holmes Jr

Production: Christopher Hooton

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Camels, sand storms, scorpions, and sand dunes towering like buildings—these are amongst Sidi’s first ever memories. Raised in a nomadic tribe on the far edge of the Sahara desert, Sidi doesn’t have a father like the other kids. He dreams of meeting him, even after his mom explains he’s gone away to heaven, a journey from which he won’t return. When Sidi discovers that many years ago a foreign documentary crew had visited the tribe, he sets out on a quest to recover this lost footage and see his father’s face—a journey that takes him far from the only home he has ever known. Along the way, he begins to feel a lifeline connecting him to his father, Chighali, across distance, time, and memory.

Journalist: Sahar Zand

Audio: Evan Phillips

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A deep-dive into Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of one of London’s 7/7 bombers and a notorious wanted criminal in the UK. A white woman from a nondescript town, Lewthwaite became the poster girl for radical Islam in the UK and garnered the reputation of being one of the most deadly terrorists in the world. As the tabloids grew greedy for sensational stories, the White Widow became their favorite villain and – perhaps – their favorite creation.

Journalists: Alexandra Bradford & Samira Shackle

Voice: Caroline Ford

Production: Christopher Hooton

Special Thanks: Kieran Fitzgerald & Allison Friedman

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As tensions over South Africa’s white-owned farmland escalate, Midas Wanana and other Black residents take matters into their own hands, creating a new settlement on the edge of a white-owned vineyard. They call the settlement Azania, a precolonial name for South Africa. When the white farmer, Stefan Smit, is murdered in his own home, the finger is immediately pointed at the Black occupiers and tension in Azania reaches a boiling point, ultimately costing Wanana his life. But something isn’t adding up. To catch the real perpetrator, detectives will need to look far closer to home. 

Journalist: Christopher Clark

Voice: Anele Matoti

Production: Christopher Hooton

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When brutal murders in the community push the Reverend to his limits, he knows he needs to reach the people at the heart of the violence. But as he walks the streets by night, his own son is out on those same streets, immersed in gang life and drug dealing, earning the nickname Little Killer.

While the Reverend advocates for peace among drug addicts and gang members, the person he wants to save the most is the one who feels furthest out of reach: his son.

Journalist: Danny Gold

Voice: Marc Samuel

Audio: Oluwakemi Aladesuyi & Evan Phillips

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This story contains potentially triggering subjects, including suicide, homophobia, physical violence, and misgendering.

In 2015, an exceptional trial took place in Jerusalem. The body of transgender activist and beloved community leader May Peleg was held in police custody. May’s request was that her ashes be divided in two: one half scattered into the sea, the other at the roots of an Illawarra Flame tree, a fiery red tree with both male and female blossoms. Meanwhile, her mother petitioned the courts, intending to ignore May’s wishes and bury her in a traditional way, under the male name given to her at birth. This is a story inspired by her life and her legacy.

If you or someone you know is suicidal, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or message the Crisis Text Line at 741741. You can also call the Trevor Project’s free confidential suicide prevention service for LGBTQ youth at 1-866-488-7386. These programs provide free, confidential support 24/7.

Writers: Rachel Chaya Zisser & Samantha Newton

Journalist: Naomi Zeveloff

Voices: Muriel Naim & Roey Victoria Heifetz

Audio and Original Music: Kyle Feehan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.