In the Dark, hosted by Madeleine Baran, is an award-winning investigative-journalism podcast that started in 2016. Its first season looked at the mysterious abduction of Jacob Wetterling in rural Minnesota and the lack of accountability that sheriffs face when they fail to solve cases. Season 2 examined the case of Curtis Flowers, who was tried six times for the same crime. In 2020, In the Dark released a special report on the coronavirus pandemic in the Mississippi Delta. In 2023, In the Dark joined The New Yorker and in 2024, it released “The Runaway Princesses,” a four-part series that asks why the women in Dubai’s royal family keep trying to run away. Season 3, released in 2024, asked why no one was punished for the killings of twenty-five civilians in Haditha, Iraq. In the Dark won the Pulitzer Prize for audio for Season 3. The podcast is a three-time Peabody Award winner and, in 2019, became the first podcast to win a George Polk Award, one of the top honors in journalism. The program has also received an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access. In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app. If you have comments or story tips, please send them to [email protected].
Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan face multiple felony charges for child abuse following the discovery of surveillance footage capturing systematic violence against children in their care. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman detailed evidence of physical abuse and efforts to conceal evidence, leading to a $2...
The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services repeatedly failed to protect 27 children born to Sylvia Zhang and Guangzhong Chen, ignoring six separate referrals documenting medical neglect and physical abuse. Despite clear warning signs, the agency opted for minimal supervision, while a court-appoin...
Commercial surrogacy faces a profound legal and ethical crisis as surrogates challenge their contracts amidst allegations of child abuse against the intended parents. In Virginia, surrogates Stacey King and Melissa Epps find themselves in legal limbo after attempting to protect the infants they carried for a California...
The surrogacy industry operates in a significant regulatory vacuum, allowing individuals like Sylvia and Guojun to exploit systemic gaps for personal gain. By misrepresenting their marital status and child-rearing history, the couple successfully recruited numerous surrogates through agencies like BabyTree, often leavi...
The investigation centers on a mysterious Arcadia mansion where Sylvia Zhang and Guojun Xue amassed over 20 children through surrogacy, sparking widespread suspicion of human trafficking. Former employees describe a volatile, surveillance-heavy workplace characterized by labor violations, alcohol abuse, and bizarre dis...
Surrogacy becomes a site of exploitation as a couple, Sylvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan, recruits multiple women across the United States to carry their children simultaneously through their own private agency. What begins as a series of individual "journeys" to help a couple build a family unravels into a disturbing scanda...
The American surrogacy industry faces scrutiny through an investigation into a "baby factory" operating within a Los Angeles mansion. A couple residing in the home claimed 21 children as their own, nearly all born via surrogates who were allegedly deceived throughout the process. These children were discovered living i...
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