 Secret recordings reveal what happened to Latifa after armed men stormed the yacht she was hoping would bring her to freedom."The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker.  To read Heidi Blake’s reporting on the princesses of Dubai, visit newyorker.com/princesses.

The Runaway Princesses, Episode 4: Hostage

Latifa has made it to international waters, but she’s not out of danger. Her father has powerful forces at his command."The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker. Subscribers to The New Yorker have early, ad-free access to all episodes. Visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe.

The Runaway Princesses, Episode 3: A Nice Lunch

Princess Latifa is desperate to help her sister Shamsa, who’s been captured, drugged, and imprisoned on her father’s orders. She makes a plan to flee Dubai."The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker. Subscribers to The New Yorker have early, ad-free access to all episodes. Visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe.

The Runaway Princesses, Episode 2: Escape

As sex workers flee Sheikh Mohammed’s U.K. estate bruised and weeping, no one is held to account. British authorities look the other way after one of the sheikh’s own daughters tries to escape."The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker. Subscribers to The New Yorker have early, ad-free access to all episodes. Visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe.

The Runaway Princesses, Episode 1: Sisters

New episodes of “The Runaway Princesses” will drop each week in the In the Dark feed. But if you want to listen right away, you can get the whole series now. Just visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe for $1/week.If you’re already a New Yorker subscriber, download the app for iOS or Android to listen.

Want all episodes of The Runaway Princesses today?

The wives and daughters of Dubai’s ruler live in unbelievable luxury. So why do the women in Sheikh Mohammed’s family keep trying to run away? The New Yorker staff writer Heidi Blake joins In the Dark’s Madeleine Baran to tell the story of the royal women who risked everything to flee the brutality of one of the world’s most powerful men. In four episodes, drawing on thousands of pages of secret correspondence and never-before-heard audio recordings, “The Runaway Princesses” takes listeners behind palace walls, revealing a story of astonishing courage and cruelty."The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker. Subscribers to The New Yorker have early, ad-free access to all episodes. Visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe.

Trailer: The Runaway Princesses

Big news! In the Dark has a new home and a new team of partners. The podcast now comes to you from The New Yorker—the legendary home of extraordinary journalism.____In the Dark is a Peabody Award-winning podcast that tells deeply reported stories. Season 1 investigates lapses by law enforcement after the kidnapping of eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling. Season 2 examines the case of Curtis Flowers, a Mississippi man tried six times for the same crime. In the Dark journalists have already started reporting on Season 3. We can’t tell you what it’s about yet, but it’s the most ambitious story we’ve pursued, and we’re thrilled to have the resources of The New Yorker and Condé Nast Entertainment to help us tell it. For more on the new partnership, check out the team’s interview with David Remnick on The New Yorker Radio Hour. And follow other podcasts from The New Yorker, including The Political Scene, The Writer’s Voice, the Fiction podcast, and the Poetry podcast.

An Announcement

During three years investigating the Curtis Flowers case, we’d talked to nearly everyone involved: lawyers, witnesses, jurors, family members, investigators, politicians, and many, many people around town. But there was one person we hadn’t yet interviewed — Curtis Flowers. That is, until one day in early October, a few weeks after he’d been cleared of all charges. For the final episode of Season 2, we at long last talk to the man at the center of it all.
Read: Will Doug Evans face accountability?

See photos of Curtis Flowers on Instagram.

S2 E20: Curtis Flowers

After 24 years, the case against Curtis Flowers is finally over. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch asks the judge to dismiss the charges against Flowers for lack of evidence. Flowers is released from house arrest and free – truly free – at last.
Read the story.

S2 E19: Freedom

College football is practically a religion in Mississippi. And for the players, it's life. As Covid-19 upended their world, the teammates at Delta State struggled to find structure and support for an off-season like no other. 

Coronavirus in the Delta E6: Delta State

As the coronavirus swept into the Mississippi Delta, a judge in the small city of Indianola decided to release every inmate she had in jail. That is, every inmate except one. 

Coronavirus in the Delta E5: Geno

In the middle of a pandemic, with so many people suffering alone, it seemed an appropriate time to hear from a Delta blues singer. Enter Watermelon Slim. 

Coronavirus in the Delta E4: Watermelon Slim

The doctors and nurses at Greenwood Leflore Hospital brace for the pandemic, cordoning off their ICU and preparing for an influx of patients. Then the virus strikes one of their own. 

Coronavirus in the Delta E3: The Hospital

How do you self-isolate when your home is a single room that you share with 107 men? That's what inmates at Mississippi's infamous Parchman prison have been wondering for six weeks. 

Coronavirus in the Delta E2: Parchman

A storm hits Greenville just in time for Easter. Two pastors and a mayor clash over how to do church during a pandemic. 

Coronavirus in the Delta E1: Greenville

A new limited-run series from In the Dark, reporting on Covid-19 in the Mississippi Delta. Episodes every Thursday, beginning April 30. Support journalism with a donation to In the Dark.

Coronavirus in the Delta: The Trailer

District Attorney Doug Evans has prosecuted Curtis Flowers for 23 years and six trials. Now he says he's done. 

S2 E18: The Recusal

After almost 23 years, Curtis Flowers is no longer behind bars. For his family, it's a long-awaited reunion. But not everyone in Winona is happy. 

S2 E17: Home

After nearly 23 years locked up, Curtis Flowers has a chance to get out on bail -- if his lawyers can convince the judge to rule in his favor. 

S2 E16: A Hearing

It's been 11 days since the U.S. Supreme Court threw out Curtis Flowers' conviction. But the story didn't end there. In recent days, there have been three other significant developments, including new details from a key witness, that may determine Flowers' fate. 

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