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Document

Document is the NHPR newsroom’s award-winning narrative podcast series. Each season, we tell a gripping new story that illuminates an issue affecting people in the Granite State and beyond right now – often in ways you don’t expect. Document follows the story as it’s unfolding and goes deep on why it matters.

We’re driven by the idea that taking the time to tell the whole story leads to bigger impact – opened minds, changed policies – and a more nuanced understanding of the people at the heart of important issues affecting many of us every day.

  • In March of 2022, Lauren publishes her first story detailing allegations against Eric Spofford. The events of the next several months illustrate the ways powerful, wealthy people can intimidate sources and try to stop journalism from happening. And then, there was the vandalism… Listen to the whole series now by clicking here.
  • As Eric Spofford tells it, he spent his teen years in the throes of addiction and crime. When he got sober, he became a crusader for recovery. We hear how he built his company – and his power. And we hear allegations that he abused that power by sexually assaulting members of his own staff. Listen to the whole series now by clicking here.Nearly all the music in this podcast was written by Jason Moon. At the top of this episode, we used an excerpt of a track by “grapes” featuring J. Lang and Morusque. It’s called “I dunno.”To support investigative journalism like The 13th Step at NHPR, click here.
  • What is “the 13th step,” and why does it matter? It all starts with understanding what it’s like to be in the earliest days of recovery. We meet two women who say they were harassed during early recovery. And we meet the man who allegedly harassed them – the founder of New Hampshire’s largest addiction treatment network. Listen to the whole series now by clicking here.
  • Reporter Lauren Chooljian starts getting tips about the founder of New Hampshire’s largest addiction treatment network. He is allegedly sexually harassing or assaulting women — employees and former clients at his facilities. The tips send Lauren on a journey deep into the addiction treatment industry, which, as one source says, “needs a #MeToo movement.” The 13th Step is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio’s Document team. Listen to the whole series now by clicking here.
  • As you might remember, The List was all about secret lists of police officers. Officers who engaged in misconduct that could potentially be used to undermine their testimony in a trial.In The List, we talked why these lists were created in the first place, why some cops hate these lists, and why a lot of people think they shouldn’t be secret. We focused largely on the story of New Hampshire’s version of this kind of list, what’s known around here as the Laurie List. And we asked: what would happen if the list was finally made public?But it was a question we didn’t get to answer because – well, the Laurie List was still secret. We knew there were somewhere north of 250 names of police officers on it. But we didn’t know which names. Until now.
  • Attorneys for the federal government and Josh collide in a dramatic courtroom debate that traces the history of Josh’s family, the War on Drugs, and the ethics of death resulting laws themselves. In the end, a judge hands Josh a sentence. And we ask you to decide if this outcome is justice. Document is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio. More at nhpr.org/document.
  • Death resulting laws seek to punish a single person — the drug dealer — for an overdose death. But the laws all but ignore what pushed that dealer into this terrible position in the first place. In this episode we tell the story of everything in Josh’s life that pushed him into the hotel bathroom where Liz overdosed on drugs he gave her. And we examine a broader definition of “guilt” to find a system that failed Josh at every step of the way. Document is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio. More at nhpr.org/document.
  • In 1986, racist fears and the death of a basketball star prompt Congress to lay down the legal foundation for the War on Drugs. Today most Americans see that war as a failure. But buried deep in that 35-year-old law was the death resulting law — a penalty little used until the opioid epidemic, and now disproportionately impacting people of color. Document is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio. More at nhpr.org/document.