Paper Trail

Epizodes

• How Microsoft’s “Little Workaround” Created a Major Pentagon Threat 09.07.2026 33min

  A source told reporter Renee Dudley something she found hard to believe: that Microsoft was running tech support for the Department of Defense through China, the country’s biggest cybersecurity adversary. The arrangement was called “digital escorting.” She thought it sounded like a conspiracy theory — until she started looking into it. This is the story of what she found and how her investigation changed government policy. Read More: www.propublica.org/article/microsoft-digital-escorts-pentagon-defense-department-china-hackers Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate.
• Should People Who Killed Their Abusers Walk Free? 25.06.2026 38min

  In 2024, Oklahoma legislators passed an unusual law: It would create a pathway to freedom for people who could prove that domestic violence was a substantial contributing factor to their crime — even if that crime was first-degree murder. Members of a “survivor sisterhood” who’d found a connection in their shared histories of abuse hoped that, perhaps, they would all soon be going home. But, as reporter Pamela Colloff discovered, nothing would play out as expected. Reporter: Pamela Colloff Read More: https://www.propublica.org/article/oklahoma-survivors-act-domestic-violence Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate.
• How a 25-Cent Pill Became a Hundred-Billion-Dollar Business 11.06.2026 41min

  Reporter David Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer and soon learned that one of his drugs would cost almost $1,000 per pill. He set out to discover why, and uncovered financial records and legal filings that shocked him. The drugmaker’s strategy to raise the price over and over again helps explain why our healthcare system is the most expensive in the world. Read the original reporting: https://www.propublica.org/article/revlimid-price-cancer-celgene-drugs-fda-multiple-myeloma Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate.
• How to Fight a Health Insurance Denial With a Little-Known Tool 28.05.2026 39min

  ProPublica got a tip from a reader named Teressa. Her husband was having a severe mental health crisis, and her health insurance company was denying coverage for his hospital and inpatient treatment. She was fighting back against the denials — and recording every phone call with the company as she did. She brought reporter Duaa Eldeib along for the journey, which ended after Teressa was able to deploy what one source called the industry’s “best-kept secret.” Reporter: Duaa Eldeib How to file an external appeal: https://www.propublica.org/article/health-insurance-denial-external-review Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate.
• How to Lose a Car in 15 Days 21.05.2026 41min

  Local reporters at The Connecticut Mirror heard story after story of drivers having their cars towed and then sold out from underneath them, sometimes in just 15 days. They teamed up with ProPublica to investigate why, how often this was happening and who was profiting from it. This episode traces the history of the 100-year-old law that made all of it legal and follows the reporters as they try to track down drivers’ cars and confront the bureaucrats allowing a flawed system to take advantage of vulnerable people. Reporters: Ginny Monk and Dave Altimari Read More: https://www.propublica.org/series/on-the-hook Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate.
• What the FDA Won’t Tell You About Your Medications 14.05.2026 38min

  For years, the Food and Drug Administration told the public that generics are just as safe and effective as brand-name medications. But ProPublica reporters uncovered reports from the FDA’s own inspectors detailing everything from pigeons pooping onto boxes of sterilized equipment to evidence of a factory cheating on quality testing. Even though the FDA knew about these reports, it let some of those troubled factories overseas keep shipping their drugs to the U.S. — some of which might have ended up in your medicine cabinet. This episode details why and how a secretive group inside the FDA made the decision to keep this information from the public and how you can find out where your own medications are made. Reporters: Debbie Cenziper and Megan Rose Read More: https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-drug-loophole-sun-pharma Look up your own drugs: https://projects.propublica.org/rx-inspector/ Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate.
• Introducing “Paper Trail” 07.05.2026 4min

  Investigative journalism can change the world. Host and reporter Jessica Lussenhop tells the story of how she learned that for herself. Follow this feed for a new investigation on every episode. It might change the way you see the world, too.  Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate.