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The Breakthrough: The $2 Drug Test

We started this podcast seven years ago. The idea, honestly, was to create another platform to promote our work. But we realized something along way: It can be really interesting to hear how reporters have figured out their stories — the stonewalling they’ve faced, the wrong roads they’ve taken, and the moment when they figured it all out.

(David Sleight/ProPublica)

Now, we’re relaunching our show with that as our focus. We’ll be pulling back the curtain on the most compelling, powerful investigative journalism from newsrooms around the country.

We’re calling it The Breakthrough. We’re kicking things off today with two ProPublica reporters, Ryan Gabrielson and Topher Sanders, talking about how they discovered police departments nationwide use a $2 test for detecting drugs that can send innocent people to jail.

In the next two weeks we’ll hear how a reporter helped catch a serial killer, and how another snuck into North Korea to tell stories from the Hermit Kingdom.

Listen to this podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher.

Portrait of Kate Brown

Kate Brown

Kate Brown is ProPublica’s office and newsroom assistant. She also produces ProPublica’s weekly podcast.

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