logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
28m 17s

The Kids of Rutherford County - Ep. 1

Serial Productions & The New York Times
About this episode

A police officer in Rutherford County, Tenn., sees a video of little kids fighting, and decides to investigate. This leads to the arrest of 11 kids for watching the fight. The arrests do not go smoothly. 

From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody-award winning reporter based in the South.

To get full access to this show, and to other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.

To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look behind the scenes, sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter.

Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on our shows? Email us at serialshows@nytimes.com 

Up next
Today
The Retrievals, Season 2 - Trailer
C-sections are the most frequently performed major surgeries in the world. So why do so many patients feel severe pain during them? Season 2 of the award-winning podcast “The Retrievals” is an investigation into this underreported problem — and the new effort to solve it.Listen w ... Show More
4m 24s
Feb 2025
The Good Whale - Ep. 6
After a month at sea, Keiko pops up near a Norwegian fishing village, causing a stir among the residents and his own team of caretakers. They figure that if they wait until spring, maybe Keiko will swim off again with a wild pod. If they can all just make it to spring. Our newest ... Show More
35m 34s
Feb 2025
The Good Whale - Ep. 5
Keiko disappears in Icelandic waters, swimming east for four weeks. Unobserved, with no human contact. Since nobody knows what happened to Keiko during that mysterious time, we decided to recreate it — as a musical. From Keiko’s perspective, naturally. Watch the music video for " ... Show More
15 m
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
Episode 1: The Egregious Video
A police officer in Rutherford County, Tenn., sees a video of little kids fighting, and decides to investigate. This leads to the arrest of 11 kids for watching the fight. The arrests do not go smoothly.From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica ... Show More
28m 17s
Nov 2023
From Serial: ‘The Kids of Rutherford County’
In April 2016, 11 Black schoolchildren, some as young as 8 years old, were arrested in Rutherford County, Tenn. The reason? They didn’t stop a fight between some other kids. What happened in the wake of those arrests would expose a juvenile justice system that was playing by its ... Show More
28m 56s
Nov 2023
Episode 4: Dedicated Public Servants
The lawyers settle with the county, which agrees to pay the kids who were wrongfully arrested and illegally jailed; the hard part is actually getting the kids paid. From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids ... Show More
38m 41s
Nov 2023
Episode 3: Would You Like to Sue the Government?
Wes Clark reads a telling line in a police report about how Rutherford County’s juvenile justice system really works. He and his law partner Mark Downton realize they have a massive class action on their hands. From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with Pr ... Show More
47m 54s
Oct 2023
Trailer
For over a decade, one Tennessee county arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. A four-part narrative series reveals how this came to be, the adults responsible for it, and the two lawyers, former juvenile delinquents themselves, who try to do someth ... Show More
2m 31s
Apr 2024
Missing Autistic Boy, Sebastian Rogers, MOLESTED?
A vigil was held over the weekend in the Hendersonville community as the search for Sebastian Rogers moves into it's sixth week. The Rogers family saying they are holding onto hope that the teen will come home safe.   This , as father Seth Rogers says his son was molested in the ... Show More
19m 8s
Jan 2023
Memphis releases deadly police beating videos
The city of Memphis released graphic videos of Tyre Nichols’ arrest that appears to show police hit the 29-year-old Black man nine times in four minutes. Nichols died three days after the arrest and beating. Five former Memphis police officers who were involved in the traffic sto ... Show More
1h 35m
Aug 2019
Deputy Sheriff sex-stalks 12-year-old girl he meets on kids game "Minecraft"
A Texas deputy sheriff is in custody after cyberstalking a 12-year-old girl. He struck up a relationship with her after playing the online game "Minecraft." Pasquale Salas, charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, coerced the girl into sending explicit photos by threatening h ... Show More
40m 39s
Sep 2023
Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt's Court Hearing Delayed
The anticipated bail hearing for Ruby Franke, 41, and Jodi Hildebrandt, 54, originally set for Monday, was unexpectedly postponed just an hour before it was due to start. As the cloud of allegations surrounding the two Mormon podcasting partners grows darker, the legal system is ... Show More
9m 57s
May 2022
EPISODE 3: A Bloody Fingerprint, A Bent Fire Poker, and Mystery DNA
The knife used to kill John Sheridan is just the first of many clues casting doubt on law enforcement’s conclusion of murder suicide. A newspaper crime reporter, a veteran homicide detective out of Philly, and a whistleblower point to significant pieces of evidence that have been ... Show More
32m 45s