The first season of the ABC News podcast Truth and Lies telling the story of Jeffrey Epstein proved not only to be a download success but a journalistic one, too. It won the 2021 Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Storytelling. The season chronicled the rise and fall of the disgraced financier and the stories of the women who fought to bring him to justice. Today ABC Audio announced the true crime series is returning with a second season titled “The Informant.” It tells the story of how an ordinary man became a hero when he risked his life to stop a terror attack.
The new season will bring not only a fresh story, but also a new host. Author Dick Lehr – who wrote “White Hot Hate: A True Story of Domestic Terrorism in America’s Heartland” – will tell the tale of Dan Day. The podcast explores how a father and husband in Garden City, Kansas, gained the trust and confidence of the FBI and found the courage to infiltrate a right-wing militia group planning to carry out mass murder that they hoped would be bigger than the Oklahoma City bombing. The 1995 bombing was the deadliest act of homegrown terrorism in U.S. history.
Truth and Lies: The Informant features Day’s secret audio recordings as he goes undercover for the FBI. The tapes offer critical insight into members of the militia group and the terror plot they hatched and methodically planned over several months. The series spotlights interviews with figures central to the story, including Day, the FBI agents and federal prosecutor who led the investigation, as well as members of the Muslim community that the hate group targeted.
The podcast benefits from some cross-company synergy. ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos’ production company, which created the Hulu documentary “The Informant: Fear and Faith in the Heartland,” serves as the source material for these firsthand accounts and interviews. ABC says the podcast also features new interviews delving into the persistent and pervasive problem of Islamophobia in the U.S. and how the politically charged rhetoric of 2016 added fuel to the fire.
“Podcasts provide an incredible opportunity for us to expand on the best-in-class storytelling of ABC News and reach new audiences,” said Liz Alesse, Vice President of ABC Audio. “The story of Dan Day’s heroism was ripe for the telling in the audio space because there was such an incredible trove of secret recordings.”
The first two episodes of the five-episode “The Informant” season will premiere next Wednesday, Jan. 11.
The past year has brought new management to ABC Audio. Top of FormBottom of FormAlesse was promoted to VP of ABC Audio last May. She oversees the entire audio business, including ABC News Radio, podcasts, and the network’s content service. Then in July, ABC News promoted Josh Cohan to Director of Podcast Programming. His focus is on developing ABC Audio’s content strategy for its growing podcast business.