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NPR's original documentary podcast unearths the stories behind the headlines. Police shootings. Towns ravaged by opioids. The roots of our modern immigration crisis. We explore what's been sealed off, undisclosed, or never brought to light. We return with a deeply-reported portrait of why these stories, and the people behind them, matter.

Support in-depth storytelling that matters by subscribing to Embedded+ and unlock early access to new episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/embedded

Most Recent Episodes

Buffalo Extreme: Do Good, Get Good

It's hard enough for adults to carry on after a mass shooting. How do kids manage it? We hear from kids at a cheer team whose gym was blocks away from last year's racist massacre in Buffalo, N.Y. Kristen Uroda for NPR hide caption

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Kristen Uroda for NPR

Buffalo Extreme: Do Good, Get Good

How do you make sense of something terrible that's happened—and move forward? From the cheer gym to the therapy office, we follow the parents, coaches and kids of Buffalo All-Star Extreme in the year after the Tops massacre. The mass shooting set back the cheerleaders' training schedule by months, and now competition is just weeks away. After everything that happened to her community, Coach Yani wants her team to win more than ever.

Buffalo Extreme: Do Good, Get Good

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Buffalo Extreme: Base

The Buffalo All-Star Extreme cheer team grapples with the repercussions from a mass shooting at a nearby grocery store. Kristen Uroda for NPR hide caption

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Kristen Uroda for NPR

Buffalo Extreme: Base

Ayanna Williams Gaines is the coach and founder of Buffalo All-Star Extreme, a Black competitive cheerleading and dance team from Buffalo, New York. Williams Gaines started the gym as a space for Black girls to feel safe and to thrive in the predominantly white world of cheer. But on May 14, 2022, a white supremacist came to a predominantly Black neighborhood on the east side of Buffalo and killed ten Black people at a grocery store just a few blocks away from the gym. In the wake of the massacre, feeling like a target, Williams Gaines and her cheer families are faced with the challenge of making sure their cheerleaders feel safe and confident, on and off the stage.

Buffalo Extreme: Base

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Introducing Buffalo Extreme
Raquel Scoggin/NPR

Introducing Buffalo Extreme

What happens after a racist mass shooting in your neighborhood? On May 14, 2022, the world changed for residents of Buffalo, New York, when a white man approached the Jefferson Street Tops supermarket and started shooting. He murdered ten and injured three people, almost all Black. That same day, teenagers and children — members of a Black cheer team called BASE — were at their gym around the corner. "Buffalo Extreme" is their story: a 3-part series where NPR hands the mic to the girls, their moms and coaches as they navigate the complicated path to recovery in the year after.

Introducing Buffalo Extreme

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Taking Cover: The Gulf School

A photo of Shihab Mansour Hussein during his time as a interpreter for the US military is held by his brother. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Taking Cover: The Gulf School

Tom and Graham meet Shihab's brother in Baghdad — but he's wary. They also visit Fallujah, to find the schoolhouse and talk with people who were on the other side of the occupation. Then, finally... back to Camp Pendleton.

Taking Cover: The Gulf School

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Taking Cover: Cover-Up

Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal (right) testifies while flanked by Navy Adm. James Stavridis (center) and Air Force Lt. Gen. Douglas Fraser (left) during his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on June 2, 2009. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption

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Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Taking Cover: Cover-Up

The team turns to Pat Tillman's family for help. Duncan Hunter the elder, and the younger, respond to NPR's questions... kind of. A breakthrough in the search for the interpreter has Tom and Graham planning a trip back to where it all began.

Taking Cover: Cover-Up

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Taking Cover: Up the Chain

With four different versions of the JAGMAN investigation in hand, plus additional information uncovered through the course of reporting, NPR was able to piece together a complete picture of what happened on April 12, 2004. Emily Bogle, Chris Haxel and Alyson Hurt/NPR hide caption

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Emily Bogle, Chris Haxel and Alyson Hurt/NPR

Taking Cover: Up the Chain

Tom and Graham work their way up the chain of command, looking for someone — anyone — who can explain how and why this incident was buried. One general claims he can't recall the incident. Another talks with the team at the Pentagon, then changes his story about Duncan Hunter's involvement.

Taking Cover: Up the Chain

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Taking Cover: Finding David

David Costello stands in his parents' home near Cleveland, Ohio. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Taking Cover: Finding David

As Tom and Graham work to track down the men in the courtyard, one of the wounded Marines has long remained elusive. His former comrades wonder if he's even still alive. Eventually, with help from Carlos, the team finds David. His chilling story reflects the lingering wounds of war.

Taking Cover: Finding David

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Taking Cover: JAGMAN

Elena Kennison-Zurheide and a photo of her and husband Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Zurheide Jr., who was killed in 2004. Graham Smith/NPR hide caption

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Graham Smith/NPR

Taking Cover: JAGMAN

Hoping to get their hands on the official investigation, the NPR team flies to Tucson. But problems begin shortly after arrival. The widow of a man who died in the explosion wants to know why the Marine Corps lied to her. Tom and Graham want to know why the recommended punishments were overturned. The team finally confirms a crucial detail from the original tip.

Taking Cover: JAGMAN

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Taking Cover: Stand-To

Marines share descriptions of the horrors of treating and evacuating more than a dozen men — all in the middle of a massive firefight that kicked off after the explosion in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004. Angelica Alzona for NPR hide caption

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Angelica Alzona for NPR

Taking Cover: Stand-To

The wounded are evacuated. The battle subsides. Now the men of Echo 2/1 begin to wonder: What happened? The Marine Corps says "no records exist" but Tom and Graham find testimony before an obscure Congressional subcommittee that says otherwise. The team also finds that promises made — to Congress, to the families of the dead and to wounded Marines — have been broken. And, they hear from one man who knows exactly what happened in the courtyard of that schoolhouse — but they still have to wonder, why was this covered up?

Taking Cover: Stand-To

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Taking Cover: Danger Close

Crosses honoring fallen Marines stand at the top of Horno Ridge at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Graham Smith/NPR hide caption

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Graham Smith/NPR

Taking Cover: Danger Close

NPR's Pentagon Correspondent, Tom Bowman, receives a shocking tip from a trusted source: A deadly explosion during the Iraq War was an accident—friendly fire, covered up by the Marine Corps—and the son of a powerful politician may have been involved.

Taking Cover: Danger Close

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