5 episodes
The Kids of Rutherford County Serial
-
- True Crime
-
-
3.9 • 95 Ratings
-
From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody-award winning reporter based in the South.
For over a decade, one Tennessee county arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. A four-part narrative series reveals how this came to be, the adults responsible for it, and the two lawyers, former juvenile delinquents themselves, who try to do something about it.
-
Episode 1: The Egregious Video
A police officer in Rutherford County, Tenn., sees a video of little kids fighting, and decides to investigate. This leads to the arrest of 11 kids for watching the fight. The arrests do not go smoothly.
From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody-award winning reporter based in the South. -
Episode 2: What the Hell Are You People Doing?
A young lawyer named Wes Clark can’t get the Rutherford County juvenile court to let his clients out of detention — even when the law says they shouldn’t have been held in the first place. He’s frustrated and demoralized, until he makes a friend.
From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody-award winning reporter based in the South. -
Episode 3: Would You Like to Sue the Government?
Wes Clark reads a telling line in a police report about how Rutherford County’s juvenile justice system really works. He and his law partner Mark Downton realize they have a massive class action on their hands.
From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody-award winning reporter based in the South. -
Episode 4: Dedicated Public Servants
The lawyers settle with the county, which agrees to pay the kids who were wrongfully arrested and illegally jailed; the hard part is actually getting the kids paid.
From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody-award winning reporter based in the South. -
Trailer
For over a decade, one Tennessee county arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. A four-part narrative series reveals how this came to be, the adults responsible for it, and the two lawyers, former juvenile delinquents themselves, who try to do something about it.
From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody-award winning reporter based in the South. Get it everywhere you get your podcasts on Thursday, October 26th.
Customer Reviews
Shocking and important story
I’m only 3 episodes in but I’m already flabbergasted by the injustices discussed in this podcast.
The vocal fry really isn’t as much of a problem as other reviews would have you believe. Even if it is, this podcast’s too important to miss.
Keep listening, ignore the bad reviews
Men use vocal fry all the time, and no one complains. If you found the vocal fry irritating, you should ask yourself why it’s such a problem when a woman uses it.
(I’m not saying it wasn’t used by the narrator, it was. I either got used to it or it eased as the episodes went on.)
This story is important and worth hearing, I hope people will keep listening.
Great subject, terrible delivery
Not sure I’ll be able to finish this one due to narrator’s appalling drawl at the end of each sentence. Funnily enough she seems able to do the credits in a normal voice