Embedded

For a long time, the police department in Yonkers, New York had a reputation as overly aggressive, especially when it came to policing the poorer parts of the city. There were lots of stories of "bad apples"-police officers who allegedly roughed people up or planted drugs during random stops and arrests. Eventually, the U.S. Department of Justice stepped in to investigate. Now the Yonkers Police D...

Episode 1 takes listeners to Yonkers, New York, a city with a long and ugly history of bad policing. The Justice Department has demanded an overhaul of the department and has been monitoring it for more than a decade. The commissioner in Yonkers has promised to do what the feds want and more. He has promised to "reform" policing in Yonkers and turn his officers into guardians of the community, acc...

In a new multi-part series, Embedded listeners will get to know the Yonkers Police Department, located just outside New York City. For over a decade, the department has been monitored by the federal government because of its history of misconduct. A new generation of leaders say they are fixing what's been broken in Yonkers and will soon finish the reform process. But what does this really mean an...

Part 5: There's one important part of the newspaper's story we couldn't bring you until now: what it's like to have their attacker stand trial. And the unexpected ways that trial can affect you. Plus a big update about the newspaper itself. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Priva...

One of the first police shootings to be captured on cell phone, millions saw Bay Area Rapid Transit police Officer Johannes Mehserle fire a single, fatal gunshot into Oscar Grant's back as the 22-year-old lay face down on the train station platform. Now, a lawsuit filed by NPR member station KQED has forced BART to comply with California's 2019 police transparency law, and release never-before-hea...

Fellow officers long suspected a veteran detective in Antioch, Calif., was leaking operational police secrets to a drug dealer. For years, the department didn't act on their concerns. Even after the detective was finally fired in 2017, his record remained secret. In episode six of On Our Watch we look at the incentives departments have to investigate dishonest cops and what the secrecy around poli...

An officer is repeatedly disciplined for not turning in his police reports on time. A mom goes to the police asking for help with her missing daughters. In the fifth episode of On Our Watch , we look at what can happen when police don't follow through on reports of victimization, and an accountability process that doesn't want to examine those failures. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about ou...

A 16-year-old Black kid walks into a gas station in Stockton, Calif. to buy gummy worms for his little sister. When the teen gets in an argument with the clerk over a damaged dollar bill, a white officer in plainclothes decides to intervene — with force. In the fourth episode of On Our Watch, we trace the ripple effects of this incident over the next 10 years in a department trying to address raci...

After his son is shot and killed by a Richmond, Calif. police officer, a father looking for answers becomes a police transparency advocate. When the files about his son's death are released, they show an accountability system that seems to hang on one question: did the officer fear for their life? And in a rare interview, we hear from the officer who pulled the trigger. See pcm.adswizz.com for inf...

A police officer in Los Angeles told women he'd let their cars pass inspection if they had sex with him. In the San Francisco, Bay Area, another woman says an officer used police resources to harass and stalk her. The California Highway Patrol quietly fired both men for sexual harassment, but never looked into whether their misconduct was criminal. The second episode of the NPR series On Our Watch...

In the small Northern California town of Rio Vista, a woman named Katheryn Jenks calls 911 for help. But after the police arrive, she ends up injured and inside a jail cell, facing serious charges. That same day, California Governor Jerry Brown signs a new law, State Senate Bill 1421, that opens up long hidden records of police misconduct, including files that might change the outcome of Jenks' ca...

Part 4: In our final episode, the Capital Gazette is swept up in the troubles of the newspaper industry. Its corporate owners are making painful cuts, and a hedge fund with an ominous reputation seeks control. Staff members, who survived the 2018 shooting and kept the Capital going, wonder if the paper can last. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for...

Part 3: The Capital Gazette takes on a new beat: itself. As the shooter's case works its way towards trial, the staff tries to balance coverage obligations with personal feelings. Here is Capital photographer Paul Gillespie's stunning collection of photographs of the newspaper's staff and the families of the victims. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data...

Part 1: Five colleagues are shot dead. Everyone is traumatized. On that day, June 28, 2018, what can the remaining staff of the Capital Gazette do that might make a difference? Publish "a damn paper." See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

In a new four-part series, Embedded listeners will get to know the surviving staff of The Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, MD, where a gunman murdered five people in June 2018. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Mitch McConnell has consistently rejected the rules and norms that once guided Supreme Court nominations. He says he's taken his cue from the Democrats. This week, we dig into the history that shaped Mitch McConnell's views on judicial nominations. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. N...

Embedded heads to the U.S. Senate for an in-depth conversation with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

This week, Embedded takes a look at how Mitch McConnell managed four years of the Trump Presidency with shrewdness and surprising success. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

A lot of us don't pay much attention to money in politics. But Mitch McConnell does. And unlike most politicians, he speaks bluntly in favor of more political spending, not less. That stance led to a long battle with one Senator, who fought McConnell harder than just about anyone else. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage y...

Mitch McConnell has no problem with money in politics. In fact, his view is the more the better. This week, Embedded digs into Mitch McConnell's long and singularly focused effort to keep the money pipeline open and flowing into American politics. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NP...

What is it about Mitch? How did a politician famous for his lack of charisma become one of the most powerful men in Washington? This week, we continue our deep dive into the world of Mitch McConnell, looking back on his early years as an up-and-coming politician. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship...

It looks very likely President-elect Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will be "Washington's new power couple." What do their non-relationship in the Senate, their negotiations during the Obama administration, and their warm speeches over the years tell us about how they will or won't work together under a Biden presidency? See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collectio...

A new NPR podcast delves into a world where the NRA is viewed as too soft on guns and where a new network of more extreme pro-gun groups is on the rise. We hear a preview of NPR's "No Compromise" podcast. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

For weeks and weeks, when millions of Americans were still under lockdown, there were pretty clear rules about what to do. Now that things are opening up, many people are having to decide for themselves what's safe and what risks they're willing to take. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferen...

The workers who produce pork, chicken, and beef in plants around the country have been deemed "essential" by the government and their employers. Now, the factories where they work have become some of the largest clusters for the coronavirus in the country. The workers, many of whom are immigrants, say their bosses have not done enough to protect them. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our...