“I hope someone will tell me what this all meant.”
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It’s late at night, and I’ve just signed off on the final cut of Long Shadow: Rise of the Far Right, the second season of Garrett Graff’s history podcast. But there’s a moment near the end of the second episode that’s haunting me. It won’t let me go to sleep.
Jess Walter, who reported from Ruby Ridge back in 1992, tells Garrett about a watering hole located near the scene of the tragedy. Everyone involved—ATF agents, white nationalists, journalists—converged on the tavern after the deadly siege ended. “I remember an agent jokingly buying a round of Heinekens for the Nazis,” says Walter. “All of a sudden it was like one country again, over drinks.” The sight was bizarre, especially for the bar’s owner, Lorenz, a Swiss immigrant. “He had no idea what had happened,” recalls Walter, “and he said ‘I hope someone will tell me what this all meant.’”
Over the past seven years, we’ve all had our Lorenz-like moments, wondering what sense to make of seemingly disparate events like Charlottesville, the Black Lives Matter protests, and January 6. But to recognize the significance of those moments when you’re in them, you have to understand the context of what came before—and that’s what Long Shadow does so well. Listen to the trailer, and you'll hear that, yourself:
The first episode of LONG SHADOW: RISE OF THE AMERICAN FAR RIGHT drops April 12.
Exploring the decades-long rise of the far right and domestic terrorism in the U.S.—as well as the intelligence failures that fueled its fire—Long Shadow: Rise of the Far Right connects the dots between four decades of historical events and extremist acts. And in exploring this wild past, host Garrett Graff provides answers to some of the most existential questions facing the country today: How did America get the far right so wrong? And what will it take now to get it right?
Co-produced by Long Lead and Ambie Awards Podcast of the Year-winner Campside Media, this seven-episode season is a follow-up to the #1-charting, Long Shadow: 9/11’s Lingering Questions. Since its 2021 debut, Long Shadow’s first season has garnered hundreds of 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts, was called “rigorous, authoritative, and an electrifying listen” by the Financial Times, and thanks to your support, won a coveted Signal Award for Best History Podcast!
Yesterday, Long Lead was honored with two more award nominations, this time from The Webby Awards. The People vs. Rubber Bullets, our most ambitious project to date, is nominated as the Best Individual Feature, competing against journalism giants ProPublica, The Washington Post, and NBC News. And getting a nod for Best Use of Motion Graphics is our interactive feature Querdenken Everything, which will be going head-to-head against National Geographic and—no joke!—the U.S. Space Force.
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Next up from us: Long Shadow launches April 12. Be the first to hear it by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts, including:
Long Shadow on Apple Podcasts
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John Patrick Pullen
Founding Editor, Long Lead
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