16 17 The Intercept The Intercept SOMEBODY In March 2020, The Intercept launched the “Somebody” podcast. The seven- part investigative documentary series, a co-production of Topic Studios, The Intercept, and iHeartRadio, in association with Tenderfoot TV, has amassed over 1.5 million downloads, drawing acclaim and driving action. The Pulitzer Prize Board named “Somebody” a 2021 finalist for Audio Reporting, citing the podcast as “a dogged and searing investigation of the murder of a young Black man in Chicago and the institutional indifference surrounding it.” As a result of The Intercept’s reporting, Chicago’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) — which monitors city agencies and probes misconduct — opened an official investigation. For more than a year, Chicago’s OIG has been “working diligently” to analyze several issues illuminated by the podcast. Investigators are exercising close scrutiny of police officers’ decision to handcuff Courtney Copeland as he was dying; examining the presence of superficial detective work; and evaluating the way in which police berated Copeland’s mother, Shapearl Wells, the host of “Somebody.” The city remains under a consent decree to reform the department, particularly around officers’ use of force. According to a scathing report by the inspector general, Chicago police are cited as having grossly mishandled the protests following the murder of George Floyd. Beyond its impact on the public discourse around policing in Chicago, “Somebody” disrupted the genre of investigative reporting. It joins a growing movement of journalists who seek to do their work in less extractive ways. Upending the convention of investigative podcasts — in which journalists take the mic to tell someone else’s story — the Invisible Institute and The Intercept designed “Somebody” around the emotional weight and authenticity of Shapearl’s voice. As the team tackled systemic inequities within modern policing, it also challenged the asymmetrical power dynamic reporters often have with their subjects. The Intercept journalists sought to be storytellers, and not story-takers, to accompany Shapearl on her narrative journey, putting our craft at the service of her experience and Illustration: First Look Media voice. One podcast reviewer described our ethos in the form of a question: “Could ‘Somebody’ be the beginning of what narrative reparations sound like?” “Somebody” has influenced educators and students alike; following its release, the podcast’s producers developed a podcast teaching guide that serves as a tool for talking about race and the police. As shared by People magazine, Shapearl was quoted for her intimate perspective on an issue of national importance: “When I see George Floyd, it takes me back to day one, because he was essentially begging like my son was begging for someone to help him.”