Slow Burn

Slow Burn illuminates America’s most consequential moments, making sense of the past to better understand the present. Through archival tape and first-person interviews, the series uncovers the surprising events and little-known characters lurking within the biggest stories of our time.


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Season 10: The Rise of Fox News

How a cable news channel became a cultural and political force—and how a whole bunch of people rose up to try and stop it.


Season 9: Gays Against Briggs

A nationwide moral panic, a California legislator who rode the anti-gay wave, and the LGBTQ+ people who stepped up and came out to try and stop him.


Season 8: Becoming Justice Thomas

Where Clarence Thomas came from, how he rose to power, and how he’s brought the rest of us along with him, whether we like it or not. Winner of the Podcast of the Year at the 2024 Ambies Awards.


Season 7: Roe v. Wade

The women who fought for legal abortion, the activists who pushed back, and the justices who thought they could solve the issue for good. Winner of Apple Podcasts Show of the Year in 2022.


Season 6: The L.A. Riots

How decades of police brutality, a broken justice system, and a video tape set off six days of unrest in Los Angeles.


Season 5: The Road to the Iraq War

Eighteen months after 9/11, the United States invaded a country that had nothing to do with the attacks. Who’s to blame? And was there any way to stop it?


Season 4: David Duke

America’s most famous white supremacist came within a runoff of controlling Louisiana. How did David Duke rise to power? And what did it take to stop him?


Season 3: Biggie and Tupac

How is it that two of the most famous performers in the world were murdered within a year of each other—and their killings were never solved?


Season 2: The Clinton Impeachment

A reexamination of the scandals that nearly destroyed the 42nd president and forever changed the life of a former White House intern.


Season 1: Watergate

What did it feel like to live through the scandal that brought down President Nixon?

History
Documentary
Politics
26
The Rise of Fox News | 4. Beacon of Truth
The Daily Show Ridiculed Fox News. And Fox News Loved It.
59 min
27
The Rise of Fox News | 3. The Other Guy’s Hambu...
Life at CNN was pretty darn sweet. Then came Fox News.
51 min
28
The Rise of Fox News | 2. A Network for Normal ...
The Fox News story began with the death of a dream.
54 min
29
The Rise of Fox News | 1. We Report. You Can Su...
How Fox News went from bumbling to seemingly invincible.
51 min
30
Decoder Ring: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… Wil...
How a popular children’s book got caught up in the culture wars.
38 min
31
Season 10 Trailer: The Rise of Fox News
Coming Sept. 18
2 min
32
Decoder Ring: Chuck E. Cheese Pizza War (Encore)
In the 1980s, two restaurant chains duked it out to become the preeminent robot pizza arcade.
45 min
33
Decoder Ring: The Hysteria Over Mass Hysteria
It’s all in your head. Or is it?
33 min
34
Decoder Ring: Standing Up for Sitting Down
Sitting has, once again, stepped into the spotlight as a kind of villain.
35 min
35
Gays Against Briggs | The Story Behind Our Cove...
Host Christina Cauterucci interviews the activists who inspired this season's cover art.
27 min
36
Decoder Ring: The Secret Life of Lawn Ornaments
Gnomes, flamingos, and lawn jockeys—every garden decoration has a message for us.
44 min
37
Gays Against Briggs | Tribeca Festival Live Show
Host Christina Cauterucci interviews special guests at the 2024 Tribeca Festival.
95 min
38
Gays Against Briggs | 7. Turn Around. Fight Back.
After an infuriating verdict, gay San Franciscans took their anger to the streets.
47 min
39
Gays Against Briggs | 6. The Murders at City Hall
Thousands of activists gave everything to the Prop 6 campaign. Harvey Milk gave his life.
51 min
40
Gays Against Briggs | 5. Strange Bedfellows
In the 1970s, gay rights activists took a gamble—on Ronald Reagan.
50 min
41
Gays Against Briggs | 4. You Must Come Out
In the fight against John Briggs, desperate times called for a deeply personal tactic.
52 min
42
Gays Against Briggs | 3. Harvey Milk vs. the Ma...
How the unofficial mayor of Castro Street became the public face of the anti-Briggs campaign.
52 min
43
Gays Against Briggs | 2. Defend Our Children
John Briggs’ crusade against gay teachers tapped into a deep well of conservative anxiety.
48 min
44
Gays Against Briggs | 1. A Hotbed of Homosexuality
In the 1970s, California played host to the biggest gay rights fight the country had ever seen.
45 min
45
Season 9 Trailer: Gays Against Briggs
Coming May 22nd.
1 min
46
Decoder Ring: How the Jalapeño Lost Its Heat
For more than a century, Americans have been obsessed with Mexican food – and changed it.
29 min
47
Decoder Ring: Making Real Music for a Fake Band
The Broadway show ‘Stereophonic’ on how to construct the sound of the ’70s.
37 min
48
Decoder Ring: Can the “Bookazine” Save Magazines?
Why is there a magazine all about Robert Redford in the CVS checkout lane?
33 min
49
Decoder Ring: Andrew Wyeth's Secret Nudes (Encore)
Why did America’s favorite artist hide 240 pieces of artwork from his wife?
50 min
50
Decoder Ring: Why Stylists Rule the Red Carpet
Avery Trufelman and Melissa Rivers on what the fashion police hath wrought.
38 min