Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting

Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting brings you in-depth journalism that makes a difference – the stories you can't get anywhere else. With PRX, we produce a weekly public radio show and podcast dedicated to the world's best investigative reporting. Tune in. There's always more to the story.

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A frank conversation with a white nationalist

Richard Spencer, an ardent Donald Trump supporter, believes in the creation of a “white ethnostate.” Last week, host Al Letson caught up with him to discuss the future of America.  

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No Choice: Failing America's veterans

This week, we’re investigating why a system designed to improve VA healthcare actually made things worse for many vets. Much worse.

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In this week’s episode, we’re investigating the places – physical and virtual – where sex trafficking thrives.

In California’s Emerald Triangle, trimmers like Emily Rothman (pictured above) arrive by the truckload each autumn, hoping to make a small fortune by working long hours on marijuana grows.

But because many locals are wary of law enforcement, some farm owners are emboldened to sexually exploit their employees. It’s common for abuse to go unreported.

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We’re trying something out this week.

Starting Monday, Aug. 22, we’re rolling out a brand-new investigation exclusively on Instagram. 

In a series of serialized chapters, we investigate how America’s glut of plea deals is unfairly targeting low-income people – some of whom never committed crimes.

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Dropped and dismissed: Child sex abuse lost in the system

It took Tennessee Watson decades to finally confront the man she says sexually abused her as a child. Here’s what happened when she did.

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From A to Zika

From Florida to Texas and Puerto Rico, the Zika virus is touching down across America. This week’s podcast investigates what’s being done – and what’s not being done – to stop it.

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Welfare is alive and well in America. 

It’s just not helping many poor people. 

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A Welfare Check

Twenty years ago, President Bill Clinton signed welfare reform into law, effectively rewriting decades of social assistance legislation. 

Today, few low-income people receive any cash welfare. And, as our new episode with Marketplace's "The Uncertain Hour" podcast explains, those who do benefit are getting help in unexpected – sometimes strange – ways.

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Bordering on insecurity

One border official did it for sex. Another blamed depression and financial trouble. Yet another allegedly received cash and a “deluxe” hot tub worth $10,000.

The circumstances of their crimes differ, but prosecutors say these defendants have something in common: The corrupt actions they’re accused of weakened the same U.S. borders and ports of entry they swore to protect.

On this week’s episode, we teamed up with The Texas Tribune to investigate why good border authorities turn criminal. Hear the full episode above, or get the podcast.

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Who’s getting rich off your student debt?

Forty-two million Americans owe $1.3 trillion in student debt. That’s a little more than Mexico’s entire GDP. 

Our new episode explains who got rich off the crisis – and who’s being impoverished by it. 

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The student debt crisis, by the numbers

Across America, 42 million people owe a total of $1.3 trillion in student loan debt. That’s a little more more than Mexico’s total GDP.

Our latest investigation explains how we got into this mess, who’s getting rich, and how debt is altering people’s lives. 

The numbers, courtesy of a recent Consumer Reports survey, might surprise you:

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The man inside: Four months as a prison guard

What’s life like inside a private prison? Mother Jones reporter Shane Bauer spent four months working as a corrections officer at Winn Correctional Center in rural Louisiana. He saw lockdowns, beatings and stabbings. 

And the more time he spent inside, the more he felt himself change. Hear his story on our latest podcast. 

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The man inside: Four months as a private prison guard

A reporter for Mother Jones worked for four months at a private prison in Louisiana. Our new episode tells the harrowing story of what he saw. 

Listen here. 

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After Orlando

The June 12 attack on a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. 

This week, we set everything else aside to bring you a special episode on gun violence in America – and the people scrambling to tally the destruction. 

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A sonic memorial to the Orlando shooting victims

As part of this week’s episode about gun violence in Orlando and beyond, we created a sonic memorial to those lost in the Pulse Nightclub.  

The first tone represents the birth of Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, who was the oldest person to be taken away that night. The last tone is for Akyra Monet Murray, born in 1998, the youngest person in the nightclub.

The memorial’s repeating motif signifies 50 years – and all the lives that began therein.

Sometimes, those lives end too soon.

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How a timber town slipped into lawlessness

Josephine County, Oregon, used to earn a large portion of its revenue from timber harvests. But when environmental regulations put a squeeze on the Pacific Northwest’s wood products industry, the county’s budget took a serious hit.

The sheriff’s office, in particular, faced draconian cuts. Beginning in 2012, it began cutting jail staffing, patrol hours and more. The result, said one local, was a “revolving door” for criminals.

We traveled to Josephine County to explain how a small community slipped into lawlessness – and why the federal government may bear some responsibility. 

Read the full investigation: In the rural West, residents choose low taxes over law enforcement.

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Poison lurking In schools

PCBs were used in construction materials across America for decades. Yet despite being banned in 1979, these toxic chemicals still may be lingering in thousands of schools. And a growing chorus of scientists and parents says they pose serious health risks. Today’s podcast, a collaboration with WNPR and KPCC, investigates the effects of PCBs on communities from California to Connecticut – and the barriers that make rooting them out difficult.