{"id":16417,"date":"2025-11-20T22:09:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T22:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/?p=16417"},"modified":"2025-11-21T14:31:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T14:31:58","slug":"american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"How the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe"},"content":{"rendered":" \n
\n
\n \n

John Hammontree knows a good story when he hears one. Hammontree, the Murrow Award-winning head of podcasts for AL.com<\/a> and current Nieman Fellow<\/a> at Harvard University, says the idea for a podcast about domestic terrorist Eric Rudolph initially came to him following the events of January 6th<\/sup> and the fall of Roe v. Wade. <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

During a lunch outing with some of his newsroom colleagues in Birmingham, Alabama, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and 2021 Nieman Fellow John Archibald<\/a> held the table rapt with the story of his trip to North Carolina in search of Rudolph, who bombed Birmingham\u2019s New Woman All Women Health Care Center in 1997. <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Rudolph was eventually convicted in connection with bombings across the South from 1996 to 1998, including the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

After that lunch, Hammontree decided to reach out to Becca Andrews, a Western Kentucky University journalism professor and author of \u201cNo Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Together, they got to work on making an eight-episode serialized podcast, \u201cAmerican Shrapnel: The Weaponization of Eric Robert Rudolph,\u201d<\/a> which was released in July and tells a story of domestic terrorism and extremist political ideology that still resonates today. <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

\u201cI knew Becca through Reckon<\/a>, and through her work with Mother Jones. Her deep history of knowing the history of abortion rights, abortion access, anti-abortion movements, was a piece that we needed for this story,\u201d Hammontree says. (Hammontree, Andrews, and I were all colleagues at Reckon News, the now-shuttered digital publication that grew out of AL.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Even with the right team in place, producing a podcast on Rudolph and the bombings was no easy feat \u2014 and no one had anticipated production taking three years. I chatted with the team about a familiar issue to journalists that has grown more challenging as our nation\u2019s politics have grown more fractured: getting sources to speak on the record. <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\"\"
Andrews, Hammontree, and Archibald<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div> \n
\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

I clocked at least six reasons various people gave you for not wanting to be interviewed: it was too long ago, privacy, fear of being targeted for speaking on the record about controversial topics, concern about their careers, faulty memory, concerns about what their families might think. To some extent, this just comes with the territory as journalists, but it seemed like for this specific project, there was an overwhelming number of refusals to speak on the record. Would you agree?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

John Archibald:<\/strong> There were a lot, but that also comes with the fact that we interviewed a whole lot of people. There were people who were never going to talk to us. [Jeff Tickal], who was instrumental in getting [Eric Rudolph\u2019s] car tag number in Episode 1, said, in some ways, the case is still active, and \u201cif I said something that didn\u2019t match up with what I said, I could jeopardize the case.\u201d But what he would never say out loud, I think, is that he\u2019s a Republican sitting judge in Alabama and he would rather hang on a cross than talk about abortion, than how he helped catch a killer.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Becca Andrews:<\/strong> We have this person that I\u2019m trying to talk to right now who has been very back-and-forth. She\u2019s just genuinely terrified of this moment. She\u2019s a private person and the political climate is not helping her feel safe to tell her story that is critical of white supremacy. And even though her experience is her experience and has nothing to do with politics, she\u2019s just like, \u201cI don\u2019t know that I even want to consider touching that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

As a journalist it\u2019s frustrating because \u2026 I feel it right now in my position as a professor, this chilling effect of, \u201cCan we speak freely\u2026? What\u2019s going to happen?\u201d I think it\u2019s affecting us in journalism too with our sources.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

John Hammontree:<\/strong> Jermaine Hughes<\/a> [the University of Alabama at Birmingham student who witnessed Rudolph leaving the scene of the crime and followed him] is a whole separate category of person. He hasn\u2019t spoken to the media since [the bombing] happened. He\u2019s just the true definition of a Good Samaritan and a hero. There\u2019s something almost noble about it. I mean, it\u2019s frustrating, don\u2019t get me wrong, but he has this principled stance of \u2026 never going to try to seek out credit or anything for this story. I wish he had talked to us, I wish we were the exception, but there\u2019s something to be said for the fact that he\u2019s never spoken to the media.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

We\u2019ve spoken off the record to some people who knew Eric directly. One of them was an old Army buddy of his, who initially was interested in going on the record, and then called back the next day [after] he\u2019d spoken with his wife and he just didn\u2019t want to get his name dragged into all that, which I understand. I wouldn\u2019t want to be on the record of being an old friend of a serial bomber. But some of those conversations did give us the chance to learn more about Rudolph, which, on deep background, did affect the way we told the story.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

We reached out to everybody in his family: his brothers, his sisters, his mother. Some people talked to [Rudolph\u2019s mother, Patricia] back then, but since then, they\u2019ve gone cone of silence. The family\u2019s not talking. Maybe that\u2019ll change when [his mother] passes, maybe not.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

And then Eric, we each wrote multiple letters. We don\u2019t know if he got them, we don\u2019t know if he read them, but we never heard from him.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Archibald:<\/strong> For everybody in the story that made the final cut, there were many more who didn\u2019t get that far, who had other reasons for not wanting to talk, and a good many of them were trauma. <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

It\u2019s like one of those things with Jermaine Hughes, the witness who followed [Rudolph], the hero. We didn\u2019t get to talk to him, but when we found that transcript of his police interview from two hours after the [Birmingham clinic] bombing, in some ways, it seemed even more perfect because he was telling his story fresh in that moment. And what we found from so many people is when they talk about things they remember \u2014 like me \u2014 they remember things wrong, and through their own particular filter in that moment.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Hammontree:<\/strong> And there were some mundane things like people not checking their Facebook messages or not checking their emails. We had about three \u2014 they responded two weeks after the podcast went live.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

How did you care for the people you interviewed? Some folks got quite emotional during their recollections.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Archibald:<\/strong> [Chris Eidson, a paramedic on the scene featured in Episode 1] comes to mind on that. We just let him talk. I think some of that\u2019s in the final tape. He was obviously very shaken by [the Birmingham clinic bombing].<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

I think I said something about, \u201cI\u2019m sorry to put you through it again,\u201d and he said, \u201cNo, no, no, that\u2019s what I think is supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

We had a lot of conversations you didn\u2019t hear with him about how it was going to be portrayed. He said he came to us because he knew we would tell it in a sensitive way. And then we talked about what that sensitivity looked like. And that\u2019s what you end up with.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

We basically said, \u201cWe just want you to tell your story, and you tell what you\u2019re comfortable telling.\u201d And he just opened up. And John and I, honestly, just sat there in an emotional state of wonder because he was summing up things that I thought were so extremely powerful and that we had never heard before. I think he understood that.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Hammontree:<\/strong> Some of the details he provided affected things like sound design or the music we would play. He talked about the ringing in his ears, and we tried to bring that to life for listeners.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

One of the things I love about podcasting is just how intimate it is as a medium. If you\u2019re just reading Chris Eidson\u2019s words, it\u2019s not the same as hearing the catch in his voice. It\u2019s a great way to [practice] journalism because it takes audiences into the room with you. You can hear the timbre in [police officer] Jeff Postell\u2019s voice, and you can hear [The Otherside Lounge bombing<\/a> victim Memrie Wells Cresswell\u2019s] birds tweeting in the background. You can hear [former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama] Doug Jones banging on the table for emphasis. I think, in some ways, that\u2019s unique to the form.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Talk about Memrie, Becca.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Andrews:<\/strong> I\u2019m still shocked that we got through the phone conversation, because the first phone conversation she was like, \u201cI Googled you and you\u2019re a liberal.\u201d And because I\u2019m human, I sometimes make assumptions about people too. I was taken aback because I was like, \u201cOh, you\u2019re queer \u2014 you wouldn\u2019t be conservative!\u201d So it took us a minute to be like, \u201cOkay, look, I\u2019m not telling the story as someone who typically votes Democrat. I am telling the story as someone who cares about the story, we care about the story, and we care about what happened to you and we care about the societal repercussions that are echoing in our present moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

It was clear that she was still dealing with some of this trauma. Basically everyone who has been through a bombing is dealing with that trauma for the rest of their lives. I took that really seriously and tried to prep for the interview with that in mind: What\u2019s going to make you comfortable? Do you want your partner there? How do we do this in way that makes you feel safe?<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

I just remember that interview and feeling so lucky to be able to sit there and listen to her talk about her experience and share. It\u2019s a thing we feel as journalists, right? When you\u2019re in an interview and someone\u2019s sharing with you and there\u2019s this intimacy and you feel so fortunate to do this work in the first place, but also to just be trusted with that kind of experience. The whole interview was like that. I just felt like I was holding my breath and awed by it, by her.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

The other dynamic with [Memrie] specifically was she had also been traumatized by the media. She had been outed by the media.<\/a> That was another thing that was very present in the dynamic, that I think that we all felt was important to be sensitive to and thoughtful about. And we were all horrified that that happened to her.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Hammontree:<\/strong> When we were structuring the podcast, we wanted to make sure that we built episodes around her perspective, around Diane [Derzis<\/a>, owner of the New Woman All Women Health Care Center in Birmingham, Ala.] <\/a>and Emily<\/a> [Lyons, the nurse injured in the bombing there] so that it wasn\u2019t just the story of Eric Rudolph. He\u2019s a vehicle, and this is the story of dozens of people who were affected by him, and it\u2019s also the story of the people trying to make a whole army of Eric Rudolphs. So we wanted to try to set aside specific episodes to broaden the scope of the story.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

How were you all able to take care of yourselves? You all spent three years researching and recording the podcast.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Archibald:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been doing this a long time and covered a lot of these things \u2026 but we\u2019re in a fortunate situation in that anytime we come across this stuff, we get to write it down. And when you write this stuff down, you process it in a different way than when you let it sit and fester. I honestly believe, whether it\u2019s executions or bombings or disasters, the fact that I\u2019ve always had to do obits for people \u2026 you get to process it, and you give them some kind of honor with the way you do it, and you get to figure out how you think about it.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

And having two other people in this situation to share it all with, and bounce it all back and forth, and hear them \u2014 even when they\u2019re wrong \u2014 tell you what they think about it, and to just check yourself \u2026 has been really valuable.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Andrews:<\/strong> The group dynamic really helped. None of us can take ourselves seriously because the other two are there to check that. That\u2019s a gift.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Hammontree: <\/strong>Doing this deep dive back into the history, about the rise of some of these violent movements, in some way made the current moments scarier \u2014 the assassination in Minnesota [of state Rep. Melissa Hortman], the [Charlie Kirk] assassination, January 6th<\/sup>, the bombing of an IVF clinic, the bomb threats in North Carolina \u2014 you could just see the continuum of them. But I think it also helped us, or at least helped me, to understand that this is not brand new. This is something that\u2019s been building, and that there have also been people kind of pushing back, and getting in the way. When you hear Memrie or you hear Emily or Diane, you hear that they\u2019re still fighting 20, 25 years later, and it gives you resolve.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

***<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Minda Honey<\/em><\/a> is the author of the dating memoir <\/em>“The Heartbreak Years”<\/em><\/a> and writes a weekly newsletter, Writing for Fakers, at <\/em>mindahoney.substack.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Subscribe to Storyboard<\/h2>\n \n
\n

Get insights into the craft of journalism and storytelling in your inbox, delivered on Fridays.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n<\/div> \n
\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a reporting team revisited a series of bombings across the South in the 1990s, fears of political backlash remained prevalent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":16423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,7],"tags":[425],"topics":[],"authors":[432],"issue":[],"class_list":["post-16417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays-on-craft","category-5-questions","tag-podcasts","authors-minda-honey"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe - Nieman Storyboard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe - Nieman Storyboard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a reporting team revisited a series of bombings across the South in the 1990s, fears of political backlash remained prevalent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nieman Storyboard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-20T22:09:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-21T14:31:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1200x1200bf-60.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Armstrong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Armstrong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Armstrong\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/dbd266fce594ab446e7429e65afc4ee1\"},\"headline\":\"How the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-20T22:09:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-21T14:31:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2319,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/1200x1200bf-60.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"podcasts\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Story Craft\",\"Strictly Q&A\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/\",\"name\":\"How the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe - Nieman Storyboard\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/1200x1200bf-60.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-20T22:09:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-21T14:31:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/1200x1200bf-60.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/1200x1200bf-60.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"\u201cAmerican Shrapnel\u201d podcast\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20\\\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Nieman Storyboard\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Nieman Storyboard\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/NiemanKOLogo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/NiemanKOLogo.svg\",\"width\":1,\"height\":1,\"caption\":\"Nieman Storyboard\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/dbd266fce594ab446e7429e65afc4ee1\",\"name\":\"Mark Armstrong\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b746abea2ec39a8f4022fde7a0b0148b995b2adeb1da3b2a4e80c33334ee696f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b746abea2ec39a8f4022fde7a0b0148b995b2adeb1da3b2a4e80c33334ee696f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b746abea2ec39a8f4022fde7a0b0148b995b2adeb1da3b2a4e80c33334ee696f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Armstrong\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/markarms.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/author\\\/markarms11gmail-com\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe - Nieman Storyboard","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe - Nieman Storyboard","og_description":"As a reporting team revisited a series of bombings across the South in the 1990s, fears of political backlash remained prevalent","og_url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/","og_site_name":"Nieman Storyboard","article_published_time":"2025-11-20T22:09:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-21T14:31:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1200x1200bf-60.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mark Armstrong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Armstrong","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/"},"author":{"name":"Mark Armstrong","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dbd266fce594ab446e7429e65afc4ee1"},"headline":"How the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe","datePublished":"2025-11-20T22:09:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-21T14:31:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/"},"wordCount":2319,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1200x1200bf-60.jpg","keywords":["podcasts"],"articleSection":["Story Craft","Strictly Q&A"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/","url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/","name":"How the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe - Nieman Storyboard","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1200x1200bf-60.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-20T22:09:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-21T14:31:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1200x1200bf-60.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1200x1200bf-60.jpg","width":1200,"height":1200,"caption":"\u201cAmerican Shrapnel\u201d podcast"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/11\/20\/american-shrapnel-podcast-helped-sources-feel-safe\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How the team behind the \u2018American Shrapnel\u2019 podcast helped their sources feel safe"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/","name":"Nieman Storyboard","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#organization","name":"Nieman Storyboard","url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/02\/NiemanKOLogo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/02\/NiemanKOLogo.svg","width":1,"height":1,"caption":"Nieman Storyboard"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dbd266fce594ab446e7429e65afc4ee1","name":"Mark Armstrong","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b746abea2ec39a8f4022fde7a0b0148b995b2adeb1da3b2a4e80c33334ee696f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b746abea2ec39a8f4022fde7a0b0148b995b2adeb1da3b2a4e80c33334ee696f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b746abea2ec39a8f4022fde7a0b0148b995b2adeb1da3b2a4e80c33334ee696f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Armstrong"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/markarms.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/author\/markarms11gmail-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16417"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16437,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16417\/revisions\/16437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16417"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=16417"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=16417"},{"taxonomy":"issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue?post=16417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}