Long Shadow

Season 1

1. Trailer: Long Shadow: 9/11's Lingering Questions Trailer

   Show notes

   Many of us watched the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 unfold right before our eyes. In the years since, law enforcement, congressional inquiries and the press have successfully uncovered more about what happened that day. But now on the 20th Anniversary of the attacks, many mysteries remain. Hosted by bestselling author and reporter Garrett Graff, Long Shadow answers those lingering questions and explores other enduring mysteries that still surround 9/11, the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Premiering this August, produced by Long Lead and Goat Rodeo.

   Jul 21, 2021 2 min

2. Why weren’t more people rescued from the Twin Towers?

   Episode 1

   Show notes

   After both towers of the World Trade Center were hit on September 11, 2001, first responders coordinated the largest emergency response in New York City’s history. But their heroism at Ground Zero was hampered by institutional bureaucracy and ultimately undone by decisions made decades earlier, when the Twin Towers were built.

   So why did these iconic structures and architectural marvels fall so fast? Could more people have been rescued from the towers? And could some of those deaths have been avoided?

   Aug 18, 2021 46 min

3. What was the target of United Airlines Flight 93?

   Episode 2

   Show notes

   Every defense mechanism the U.S. government had on 9/11 failed except for one: the passengers and crew aboard United Airlines Flight 93. They were on the final plane to be hijacked that day and heard reports of the attacks from loved ones on the ground. Then they rallied to stop the terrorist plot.

   But where was the plane headed before it crashed? What was the intended target of the Flight 93 hijackers?

   Aug 20, 2021 28 min

4. Who issued the order to shoot down Flight 93?

   Episode 3

   Show notes

   With the Capitol under attack, the President on Air Force One, and the Defense Secretary missing, Vice President Dick Cheney was the most powerful man in the country on the morning of 9/11. From a bunker beneath the White House, he gave fighter pilots flying above the Capitol permission to shoot down hijacked commercial planes.

   But did Cheney actually have the authority to issue this order? Did he and President Bush connect before or after Cheney ordered the fighters into battle? And was the U.S. even ready to shoot down any hijacked flights?

   Aug 25, 2021 40 min

5. Was there a “fifth plane” on 9/11?

   Episode 4

   Show notes

   After the first two hijackings, the nation’s air traffic controllers quickly and efficiently grounded thousands of planes flying to and over the continental United States. Their quick thinking is said to have potentially saved countless lives.

   But what if another plane was meant to be hijacked that day, and never made it off the ground? What if there was a fifth plane on 9/11?

   Sep 1, 2021 34 min

6. Could 9/11 have been stopped before it happened?

   Episode 5

   Show notes

   Before 9/11, FBI Special Agent John O’Neill kept setting off alarms about the emerging terrorist organization al-Qaeda and their mysterious leader Osama Bin Laden. As a result of his warnings the FBI knew terrorists were planning a big attack and the CIA even had eyes on two of the eventual hijackers prior to the attacks.

   So what went wrong? Why didn’t they capture the hijackers? What more could law enforcement have done to stop the attacks? And could they have been prevented?

   Sep 3, 2021 46 min

7. Who was the 20th hijacker?

   Episode 6

   Show notes

   Immediately after 9/11, investigators began piecing together the plot. In the flight manifests, they discovered a pattern: A team of five terrorists hijacked every plane that day, except for one. United Airlines Flight 93 had only four hijackers. Investigators believed one person was missing from that group.

   Who was the 20th hijacker — if there even was one? And is there a 9/11 hijacker still on the loose?

   Sep 8, 2021 39 min

8. What was the Saudi connection to 9/11?

   Episode 7

   Show notes

   Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, which was also the home of al-Qaeda’s leader, Osama Bin Laden. In the days after September 11, dozens of his friends, family members and business associates left the U.S. on secret flights bound for The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. That has led to questions that four presidents have avoided answering:

   What role did the Saudi government play in the attacks? What did it know?

   Even worse, did it help?

   Sep 10, 2021 30 min

9. How do we move on from 9/11?

   Episode 8

   Show notes

   When we think about 9/11, we often only think of the tremendous loss of life on that day. But what we sometimes forget about are those who made it; the thousands of people who survived the attacks, but have had to carry it with them every day since.

   Firefighter Jay Jonas and Port Authority Police Officer Will Jimeno were in the Twin Towers on September 11 — 100 stories of the World Trade Center fell on top each of them. But they got back up and survived.

   How did they move on from this attack? And how should we?

   Sep 11, 2021 53 min

1. Long Lead Presents: The Depths She'll Reach Trailer

   Show notes

   Out now from Long Lead, The Depths She’ll Reach, the story of how Alenka Artnik emerged from mental health struggles to become one of the world’s most elite athletes. A multimedia feature by Xan Rice and Daan Verhoeven, produced by Long Lead.

   https://onjustonebreath.com/

   Nov 18, 2021 2 min

Season 2

1. Trailer: Long Shadow: Rise of the American Far Right Trailer

   Show notes

   The Ruby Ridge raid, the Waco siege at the Branch Davidian compound, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Jan. 6 insurrection… they are all explosive moments in recent U.S. history. But connect the dots between these—and other—seemingly disparate, violent events, and you’ll answer some of the most existential questions facing the U.S. today: How did America get the far right so wrong? What will it take now to get it right?

   In LONG SHADOW’s first season, host Garrett Graff examined the lingering questions of 9/11, the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Season two, LONG SHADOW: RISE OF THE AMERICAN FAR RIGHT, explores how the modern domestic extremist movement grew from a fatal shootout on a mountain top in Idaho, was fanned by a fiery fiasco on the plains of Texas, and ultimately led to a riot on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.

   Crackling with rich archival tape and riveting eyewitness and expert interviews, this seven-episode narrative podcast examines a thread of history that’s vitally relevant to our current political climate. It will help listeners understand why the fringe is overrunning the mainstream, conspiracy theorists have captured offices in Congress, and peaceful protests are turning into riots. How did we get here? Find out by following and listening to LONG SHADOW: RISE OF THE AMERICAN FAR RIGHT.

   Co-produced by Long Lead and Campside Media

   Mar 29, 2023 3 min

2. Waco: The Spark

   Episode 1

   Show notes

   Out of the flames of a tragic government mishap—the 1993 siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas—the modern far-right movement is born.

   Apr 12, 2023 39 min

3. Ruby Ridge: The Revolution Begins

   Episode 2

   Show notes

   The government lays siege to Ruby Ridge, Idaho, where Randy Weaver and his family are hiding out in the shadow of a growing white supremacist movement, a year before Waco.

   Apr 19, 2023 57 min

4. Oklahoma City: Sic Semper Tyrannis

   Episode 3

   Show notes

   Experts claimed 1995’s Oklahoma City bombing was a lone-wolf event, but Timothy McVeigh’s act of retribution for the Waco siege, shows how domestic extremism has evolved.

   Apr 26, 2023 41 min

5. Info War: From the Fringe to Fox News

   Episode 4

   Show notes

   Using conspiracy theories and anger to amass enormous audiences in the 1990s, Rush Limbaugh and Bill Cooper pave the way for Fox News to mainstream far-right outrage.

   May 3, 2023 44 min

6. The Bundys: A Call to Arms

   Episode 5

   Show notes

   When the government seizes Cliven Bundy’s cattle over unpaid grazing fees, militias like the Three Percenters and the Oath Keepers—which are later at 1/6—aid a standoff on his ranch.

   May 10, 2023 44 min

7. MAGA: American Carnage

   Episode 6

   Show notes

   After Trump’s election, far-right extremism explodes, and internet racism boils over into the real world. From Charleston to Charlottesville to Christchurch, experts warn of a race war.

   May 17, 2023 51 min

8. January 6: Day of the Rope

   Episode 7

   Show notes

   Emboldened by COVID lockdown protests and fighting Black Lives Matter demonstrators, far-right extremists and white power groups prepare to overthrow the government on Jan. 6… or a later date.

   May 24, 2023 56 min

Season 3

1. Trailer: Long Shadow: In Guns We Trust Trailer

   Show notes

   This season host Garrett Graff, in collaboration with The Trace, recounts how a very specific, carefully manufactured fear has driven explosive demand for guns across the U.S. It’s the history of how firearms went from being an ordinary part of rural American life to a menacing element in modern society — and the epidemic of gun violence that’s come with it. How did we get here — how did America get so divided over guns — and can we we find a way forward? Find out, this season on LONG SHADOW.

   LONG SHADOW: IN GUNS WE TRUST is produced by Long Lead and Campside Media in collaboration with The Trace, and is distributed by PRX.

   Apr 2, 2024 4 min

2. A Uniquely American Problem

   Episode 1

   Show notes

   Mass shootings have plagued the U.S. for generations. But in 1999, when shots rang out in a suburban Denver school, it was different. What changed? Everything.

   Apr 9, 2024 41 min