On the morning of Billey Joe Johnson’s death, crime scene tape separates the Johnsons from their son’s body. Their shaky faith in the criminal justice system buckles as authorities fail to follow up on inconsistencies in the official story.

Al Letson
Reveal Host
Al Letson is a playwright, performer, screenwriter, journalist, and the host of Reveal. Soul-stirring, interdisciplinary work has garnered Letson national recognition and devoted fans.
Mississippi Goddam Chapter 1: The Promise
Billey Joe Johnson Jr. was a high school football star headed for the big time. Then, early one morning in 2008, the Black teenager died during a traffic stop with a White deputy. His family’s been searching for answers ever since.
Episode: When Abusers Keep Their Guns
By law, domestic abusers are banned from owning guns. But too often, those laws aren’t enforced, and the consequences can be deadly.
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Weapons With Minds of Their Own
The future of warfare is being shaped by computer algorithms that are assuming ever-greater control over battlefield technology. Will this give machines the power to decide who to kill?
A Racial Reckoning at Doctors Without Borders
The organization has been admired for decades for bringing desperately needed medical care to crises around the globe. But now it’s grappling with systemic inequities baked into global health.
The Bitter Work Behind Sugar
On a vast plantation in the Dominican Republic, Haitian migrants still use machetes to harvest sugarcane that’s exported to the U.S. The workers are protesting poor working and living conditions.
Forever Wars
On 9/11, the U.S. swore to “never forget.” But who gets remembered? We hear from reporters on Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen, where the aftermath of 9/11 is acutely felt two decades later.
Fighting Fire With Fire
As climate change continues making wildfires worse, how do we learn to live with fire?
The Jail Tapes in the Dumpster
A murder conviction sent Myon Burrell to prison for life when he was a teenager. An investigative reporter dug into what seemed a hopeless case. What she found helped free him.
For 20 years, I saw no peace
As the Taliban take over Kabul, an Afghan poet, a journalist fielding desperate phone calls and an American veteran reflect on the past and future of Afghanistan.