Witness Docs presents Unfinished, an investigative anthology series digging into America's unfinished business. Season one of Unfinished, Deep South, produced in collaboration with Market Road Films, brought us on a journey into the Arkansas Delta to investigate the lynching of Isadore Banks. Season two takes us to Short Creek, a community on the Utah/Arizona border divided by much more than a state line. On one side are fundamentalist, polygamous Mormons who believe the town should be run by God—and his prophet. On the other are ex-believers who want democracy—and the right to believe (or not believe) as they want. When the prophet, Warren Jeffs, goes to prison for sex crimes, the community has to face its painful past...and struggle to define its future. From Witness Docs and Critical Frequency, hosts Ash Sanders and Sarah Ventre move beyond the headlines and embed in the community to bring you Unfinished: Short Creek, a very American story about the battle between freedom of religion and freedom from religion that asks whether people on two sides of a deep divide can rediscover common ground. Hear more great stories about complicated people from Witness Docs at witnesspodcasts.com.
Introducing: Sounds Gay
Stitcher Studios brings you a new documentary series, Sounds Gay! We call it a "mixtape" because every episode is its own self-contained story, but with a unifying theme: exploring the intersection of music and queerness. Check out this first episode featuring the amazing story of CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) as told from queer perspectives - and if you like it, go find the rest of the show by searching for "Sounds Gay" on your favorite pod delivery service.
6/22/2023 • 34 minutes, 38 seconds
Ernie's Secret | E10 Exposed
The FBI’s abusive domestic surveillance is exposed and after years of keeping his identity as an informant secret, Bill Lawrence and Ernest must testify under oath about their relationship. How far will they go to protect each other and preserve Ernest’s legacy as a hero of the civil rights movement?
8/24/2022 • 38 minutes, 12 seconds
Ernie's Secret | E9 The Assassination
Dr. King returns to Memphis on April 3 to make good on his promise to lead a non-violent march. But first he has to get the militants on board. Ernest is relaying dozens of tips from inside every meeting and negotiation. Eye-witnesses share details of King’s final hours, and Ernest is instrumental in getting the most iconic and intimate images out to the world.
8/17/2022 • 41 minutes, 40 seconds
Ernie's Secret | E8 The Invaders
We begin the story of Martin Luther King Jr.’s last eight days alive. A sanitation workers' strike brings King to Memphis - but by this time, March 1968, the movement is splintered. A homegrown Black Power group called the Invaders wants more active resistance, a non-violent protest turns into a riot and Ernest, now a paid racial informant, provides the FBI with a front row seat to an unfolding disaster.
8/10/2022 • 37 minutes, 10 seconds
Ernie's Secret | E7 Harm / No Harm?
Ernest was an informant, but just how much damage did he actually cause? To what extent do the sins of the government fall on one man’s shoulders? Two people look over their FBI records and what Ernest revealed about them and arrive at very different conclusions.
8/3/2022 • 39 minutes, 37 seconds
Ernie's Secret | E6 Informants
The FBI launches a massive, illegal intelligence dragnet to gather information that could be used to disrupt, discredit and damage people and groups it deems a threat. A lot of people get caught up in providing information to the law enforcement, including Ernest. So what made him different?
7/27/2022 • 38 minutes, 48 seconds
Ernie's Secret | E5 On The Front Lines
Being on the front lines was dangerous - especially for a Black man with a camera. But Ernest puts himself at the center of the action. It’s easy to make friends with the Northern “agitators” pouring into West Tennessee and feed the FBI’s growing demand for their pictures.
7/20/2022 • 34 minutes, 38 seconds
Ernie's Secret | E4 Fayette County
Ernest’s relationship with the FBI blossoms in 1961 in Fayette County, Tennessee where Black sharecroppers are kicked off their land just for trying to vote. FBI Special Agent Bill Lawrence and Ernest show up to help, but end up seeing something more sinister in the works.
7/13/2022 • 31 minutes, 56 seconds
Ernie's Secret | E3 Two Daughters
How did Ernest operate and why did he do it? Two daughters bring us as close as we can get to the minds of the men at the center of our story, Ernest and his handler FBI Special Agent Bill Lawrence.
7/6/2022 • 30 minutes, 5 seconds
Ernie's Secret | E2 License To Lie
The FBI has a license to lie and it takes a landmark lawsuit to force them to hand over a trove of secret records detailing Ernest’s years as an FBI informant.
6/29/2022 • 33 minutes, 53 seconds
Ernie's Secret | E1 The Perfect Cover
Ernest Withers shot timeless photos covering the civil rights movement- Dr. King on that integrated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Emmett Till’s uncle pointing an accusing finger and striking garbage men in Memphis wearing I AM A MAN placards. His loyalty and dedication earned him the trust of movement leaders King, Young, Lawson. But what if that trust was misplaced - what if Ernest was leading a double life?
6/29/2022 • 26 minutes, 29 seconds
Introducing: Ernie's Secret
The story of Ernest C. Withers, an African-American journalist dubbed the "original civil rights photographer" -- who also happened to be an FBI informant. In this third season of Unfinished, co-produced with The E.W. Scripps Company, host and journalist Wesley Lowery (CBS News, Washington Post) brings listeners through a story of dual loyalties, hidden histories and one man caught in the middle. Lowery also provides new perspectives and insights on government overreach, and explores whether Withers was coerced and simply caught up in FBI surveillance during the Civil Rights Movement. New episodes start June 29
