The Kids of Rutherford County

The Kids of Rutherford County is an investigative journalism podcast about the Rutherford County, Tennessee juvenile arrest and incarceration scandal. It is hosted by Meribah Knight and produced by Serial Productions, ProPublica, and Nashville Public Radio.

Background

The show is a four-episode series hosted by Meribah Knight and produced by Serial Productions,[1] in collaboration with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio.[2] The first two episodes were released on October 26, 2023.[3] The two remaining episodes were released weekly on the following Thursdays.[4] The show uses the same style presentation as Serial.[5]

The show starts with a fight between middle school children; subsequently, several minors were arrested and sent to juvenile detention, some of whom were not present during the fight.[6] Some of the wrongfully incarcerated children had also been subjected to solitary confinement.[7]

Donna Scott Davenport was the county's singular juvenile court judge. Davenport had designed and oversaw an extralegal system which had dominated the juvenile court, including all cases before it, during 2000 through 2022.[8][9] The show investigates a decade of questionable cases involving a large number of children.[10]

References

  1. ^ White, Peter (October 19, 2023). "Serial Sets 'The Kids of Rutherford County' As Latest Podcast". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  2. ^ October 2023, Adam Shepherd 20. "Serial Productions to launch new podcast on illegal child detentions". www.podpod.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Praino, Nicolle S. (October 27, 2023). "WPLN's Meribah Knight Launches 'The Kids of Rutherford County'". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  4. ^ "Press Release: Introducing 'The Kids of Rutherford County,' a new podcast from Serial Productions". Editor and Publisher. October 20, 2023. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  5. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (November 5, 2023). "The week in audio: Gangster: The Story of the Burger Bar Boys; Kids of Rutherford County; Hits Radio Breakfast with AI Fleur East – review". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  6. ^ "Seven Great New Podcasts for November". Paste Magazine. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  7. ^ McHugh, Siobhan (December 17, 2023). "Ghosts, grit and genius: the most gripping podcasts of 2023". The Conversation. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  8. ^ Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn’t Exist. Almost Nothing Happened to the Adults in Charge" Meribah Knight and Ken Armstrong, ProPublica, December 15, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Nicol, Patricia (November 12, 2023). "The best true crime podcasts you can listen to now". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  10. ^ "November 2023 Best Podcasts: Missing Pages, Land of the Giants". Podcast Review. November 1, 2023. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.