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.

Brett Myers
Interim Executive Producer
Brett Myers is an interim executive producer for Reveal. His work has received more than 20 national honors, including a George Foster Peabody Award, four nationalEdward R. Murrow Awards and multipleThird Coast/Richard H. Driehaus Competition awards. Before joining Reveal, he was a senior producer at Youth Radio, where he collaborated with teenage reporters to file stories for "Morning Edition," "All Things Considered" and "Marketplace."
Prior to becoming an audio producer, Myers trained as a documentary photographer and was named one of the 25 best American photographers under the age of 25. He loves bikes, California and his family. Before that, he was an independent radio producer and worked with StoryCorps, Sound Portraits and The Kitchen Sisters. Myers is based in Reveal's Emeryville, California, office.
The Great Arizona Water Grab
A surprising group of investors is fueling a global scramble for water in the most unlikely of places – the Arizona desert. As wells run dry, there’s a race for profits.
It’s Not Easy Going Green
There’s a way to “fight” climate change that’s cheap, popular and completely ineffective.
Guatemala’s War on Journalists
Politicians are cracking down on independent journalists, setting back efforts to expose corruption and impunity.
The Pentagon Papers: Secrets, Lies and Leaks
Daniel Ellsberg worried that the Vietnam War would spiral into nuclear apocalypse. So he secretly copied a 7,000-page report that exposed the reality of U.S.’s role in Vietnam.
They Followed Doctors’ Orders. The State Took Their Babies.
Medications like Suboxone help pregnant women safely treat addiction. But in many states, taking them can trigger investigations by child welfare agencies that separate mothers from their newborns.
The Culture War Goes to College
From banned books to forbidden pronouns, the culture war is raging inside America’s classrooms. We go to one Florida college where students and faculty are battling Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Welfare-to-Work Industrial Complex
How “work requirements” spawned a lucrative industry profiting off people in need.
The Post-Roe Health Care Crisis
Abortion bans are confusing doctors about what’s still legal. Reveal investigates the effects on pregnant women and the growing influence of anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers.
The Battle for Clean Energy in Coal Country
Across the country, states are moving to renewable energy – but Montana is doubling down on fossil fuels.