Unfinished

Stitcher Studios

Witness Docs presents Unfinished, an investigative anthology series digging into America's unfinished business. Season 1, Deep South, produced in collaboration with Market Road Films, brought us on a journey into the Arkansas Delta to investigate the lynching of Isadore Banks. Season 2, produced with Critical Frequency, takes us to Short Creek, a community on the Utah/Arizona border divided by much more than a state line. Season 3, produced with Scripps, explores dual loyalties and hidden histories via the story of Ernest Withers, one of the most important photographers of the 20th century -- who was both a Civil Rights Movement photographer and a FBI informant. Hear more great stories about complicated people from Witness Docs at witnesspodcasts.com

  • 34 minutes 38 seconds
    Introducing: Sounds Gay

    Stitcher Studios brings you a new documentary series, Sounds Gay! We call it a "mixtape" because every episode is its own self-contained story, but with a unifying theme: exploring the intersection of music and queerness. Check out this first episode featuring the amazing story of CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) as told from queer perspectives - and if you like it, go find the rest of the show by searching for "Sounds Gay" on your favorite pod delivery service.

    22 June 2023, 5:10 pm
  • 38 minutes 12 seconds
    Ernie's Secret | E10 Exposed

    The FBI’s abusive domestic surveillance is exposed and after years of keeping his identity as an informant secret, Bill Lawrence and Ernest must testify under oath about their relationship. How far will they go to protect each other and preserve Ernest’s legacy as a hero of the civil rights movement?

    24 August 2022, 4:00 am
  • 41 minutes 40 seconds
    Ernie's Secret | E9 The Assassination

    Dr. King returns to Memphis on April 3 to make good on his promise to lead a non-violent march. But first he has to get the militants on board. Ernest is relaying dozens of tips from inside every meeting and negotiation. Eye-witnesses share details of King’s final hours, and Ernest is instrumental in getting the most iconic and intimate images out to the world.

    17 August 2022, 4:00 am
  • 37 minutes 10 seconds
    Ernie's Secret | E8 The Invaders

    We begin the story of Martin Luther King Jr.’s last eight days alive. A sanitation workers' strike brings King to Memphis - but by this time, March 1968, the movement is splintered. A homegrown Black Power group called the Invaders wants more active resistance, a non-violent protest turns into a riot and Ernest, now a paid racial informant, provides the FBI with a front row seat to an unfolding disaster.

    10 August 2022, 4:00 am
  • 39 minutes 37 seconds
    Ernie's Secret | E7 Harm / No Harm?

    Ernest was an informant, but just how much damage did he actually cause? To what extent do the sins of the government fall on one man’s shoulders? Two people look over their FBI records and what Ernest revealed about them and arrive at very different conclusions.

    3 August 2022, 4:00 am
  • 38 minutes 48 seconds
    Ernie's Secret | E6 Informants

    The FBI launches a massive, illegal intelligence dragnet to gather information that could be used to disrupt, discredit and damage people and groups it deems a threat. A lot of people get caught up in providing information to the law enforcement, including Ernest. So what made him different?

    27 July 2022, 4:00 am
  • 34 minutes 38 seconds
    Ernie's Secret | E5 On The Front Lines

    Being on the front lines was dangerous - especially for a Black man with a camera. But Ernest puts himself at the center of the action. It’s easy to make friends with the Northern “agitators” pouring into West Tennessee and feed the FBI’s growing demand for their pictures.

    20 July 2022, 4:00 am
  • 31 minutes 56 seconds
    Ernie's Secret | E4 Fayette County

    Ernest’s relationship with the FBI blossoms in 1961 in Fayette County, Tennessee where Black sharecroppers are kicked off their land just for trying to vote. FBI Special Agent Bill Lawrence and Ernest show up to help, but end up seeing something more sinister in the works.

    13 July 2022, 4:00 am
  • 30 minutes 5 seconds
    Ernie's Secret | E3 Two Daughters

    How did Ernest operate and why did he do it? Two daughters bring us as close as we can get to the minds of the men at the center of our story, Ernest and his handler FBI Special Agent Bill Lawrence.

    6 July 2022, 4:00 am
  • 33 minutes 53 seconds
    Ernie's Secret | E2 License To Lie

    The FBI has a license to lie and it takes a landmark lawsuit to force them to hand over a trove of secret records detailing Ernest’s years as an FBI informant.

    29 June 2022, 4:05 am
  • 26 minutes 29 seconds
    Ernie's Secret | E1 The Perfect Cover

    Ernest Withers shot timeless photos covering the civil rights movement- Dr. King on that integrated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Emmett Till’s uncle pointing an accusing finger and striking garbage men in Memphis wearing I AM A MAN placards. His loyalty and dedication earned him the trust of movement leaders King, Young, Lawson. But what if that trust was misplaced - what if Ernest was leading a double life?

    29 June 2022, 4:00 am
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