LEONARD: Political Prisoner
In 1977, Native American activist Leonard Peltier was sentenced to consecutive life terms for killing two FBI agents. Then in 2000, a Freedom of Information Act disclosure proved the Feds had framed him. But Leonard's still in prison. This is the story of what happened on the Pine Ridge Reservation half a century ago—and the man who's still behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.
Episodes
23 episodes
Louise
We interview Native American author Louise Erdrich, who attended Leonard Peltier’s murder trial in her hometown of Fargo, North Dakota, in 1977. The 2021 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction analyzes where it all went wrong for Peltier, while shar...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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1:00:29
Snow Job
We explore what went down in the federal courthouse in Fargo to convince Leonard that he’d been railroaded into a life behind bars with help from author Louise Erdrich, filmmaker Kevin McKiernan, and attorneys Kevin H. Sharp and Bruce Ellison, ...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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1:24:21
O Canada
On February 6th, 1976, a tip led Canadian police to the Mountain Cree Camp School in Alberta where one of America’s Most Wanted was hiding out with a few of his friends – and at least one government operative. Hear how Peltier’s luck finally ra...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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1:03:39
Not Guilty
We dissect the murder trial of Bob Robideau and Dino Butler who were acquitted by an all-white jury of twelve in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a period of intense deliberations that almost resulted in a hung jury and retrial. This is the story of h...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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53:24
Dragnet
Under increasing scrutiny to avenge their fallen brothers, the FBI fans out across the country and tracks down the Jumping Bull fugitives one by one. Through a combination of illegal searches, physical violence, and coerced confessions, the Bur...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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49:25
Tipi Quest
Singer-songwriter Joe Troop details how he learned of Leonard’s story while living abroad in Argentina with his Grammy nominated urban bluegrass band Che Apalache. Hear Joe’s new single “Free Leonard Peltier” that was released in support of the...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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21:09
NDN Kars
Singer-songwriter Keith Secola expounds on Leonard’s life as a symbol for native rights and Indigenous sovereignty in an unplugged acoustic set, which includes an Anishinaabe flute blessing, the track “Innocent Man,” and a very special version ...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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21:37
Big Burning Dumpster Fire
Journalist Jen Bendery has been reporting on Leonard Peltier’s case for the Huffington Post for the last two years. In this one-on-one interview we chat with Jen about the Biden administration’s strides for Native Americans, missing and murdere...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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39:04
What The Hell Just Happened?
On the 46th anniversary of the Oglala shootout, we rally for clemency at the Black Voters Matter demonstration in Washington, D.C., a few hundred yards from where a violent mob stormed the Capitol Building on January 6th. It’s a beautiful momen...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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1:22:26
Son of June
We return to Pine Ridge to visit the grave of Joe Kills Right Stuntz, the murder site of Pedro Bissonette, and the June Little cabin on the Jumping Bull ranch with Chase Iron Eyes. Chase is an Oglala Lakota and currently serves as the co-direct...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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56:22
Sacrificed
The FBI transferred Special Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams to Pine Ridge to help with a backlog of cases despite neither having any training, experience, or special preparation for the civil war raging on the reservation. On June 25, 197...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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51:08
Good Indian Guides
In the early morning hours of June 28th, 1975, daylight was breaking on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation when Leonard Peltier, Bob Robideau, and Dino Butler discovered they’d been hiking in the wrong direction. Instead of finding themselves in...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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48:56
The Great Escape
To avoid the tragic fate of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, who were killed after surrendering to the US government, AIM leader Dennis Banks was persuaded to leave Wounded Knee the night before the federal stand down on May 8, 1973. The warrior s...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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19:41
Treaty Defender
Over the course of his tenure, President Trump issued 143 pardons, but he showed no mercy to Leonard Peltier. In this episode Leonard reacts to Trump’s snub; filmmaker Kevin McKiernan joins us for a conversation with Indian treaty expert Charle...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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51:31
Incident at Pacific Palisades
According to the documentary’s director, accomplished filmmaker Michael Apted (Coal Miner’s Daughter, Thunderheart, The World Is Not Enough), Robert Redford ruined “Incident at Oglala” out of fear of upsetting the powers that be. Although Redfo...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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40:09
Indigenous Resilience
Political prisoners are often forgotten because the government disappears them into the system. Leonard’s art draws attention back to his story, which is why some would rather silence him. In this bonus episode we speak with UCLA professor Dr. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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41:12
I Ain’t No Young Man No More
The Bureau of Prisons makes it deliberately hard to interview federal inmates. In the case of political prisoners like Leonard Peltier, they make it even harder. But in this episode, we get around all their procedural barricades and finally spe...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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53:13
Coincidental Witness
In June, 1975, reporter Kevin McKiernan traveled to South Dakota to cover the trial of AIM leader Dennis Banks who was standing trial for his role in the 1973 Custer Courthouse Riot. But as the hearing got underway on June 26, word spread that ...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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41:30
Treaties, Goons, and G-Men (Part 2)
Edgar Bear Runner, the newly elected President of the Porcupine District of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, was just 25 on the morning of June 26, 1975. When shots rang out on the Jumping Bull ranch between the FBI and members of the America...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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46:20
Treaties, Goons, and G-Men (Part 1)
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation—full of gold, uranium, and oil—contains some of the most valuable land on the planet. But the Federal Government didn’t know that when they originally granted the territory to the Lakota in the Fort Laramie Tre...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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40:48
Mr. Bear Runner Goes to Rushmore
To commemorate July 4, 2020, President Trump is traveling to the Black Hills of South Dakota to give a speech in front of Mount Rushmore. But for the Lakota, the Black Hills are sacred. And the carvings of the four Presidents represent a desecr...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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18:39