The AJC Breakdown podcast

Breakdown

Veteran AJC journalist Bill Rankin presses on to expose injustices in this award-winning true crime podcast. He pores over trial transcripts and court records to break down the story and the criminal justice system.

Crime

Breakdown

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William "Roddie" Bryan (left), Greg McMichael and Travis McMichael will be sentenced Monday in the federal hate crimes case over Ahmaud Arbery's murder. (Pool, File)

Credit: Pool photos

Sentencing Monday in hate crimes case over Ahmaud Arbery’s murder

Gabriel Sterling, a top aide to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, has been one of most vocal defenders of the office's integrity. In the seventh episode of the AJC's "Breakdown" podcast, Raffensperger and Sterling sit down for an interview about the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: Hyosub Shin

‘Breakdown’ Episode 7: Planting the seeds of truth

How do you indict a president? It's never happened before. The sixth episode of the AJC's Breakdown podcast looks back at past criminal cases involving presidents and vice presidents, including Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal. Can these cases tell us anything about what's ahead for the Fulton special purpose grand jury investigation of former President Donald Trump? (AP file)

Credit: AP file

‘Breakdown’ Episode 6: One for the History Books

New filing suggests Fulton County will retry Tex McIver in shooting of his wife. (Bob Andres / bandres@ajc.com)

Credit: Bob Andres

Fulton DA announces intention to retry McIver for murder

Coverage of the Trump Grand Jury

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will wait until after the May 24 primaries to call in witnesses to testify about whether former President Donald Trump tried to illegally overturn election results in Georgia in 2020. (AJC and McClatchy File photos)

Credit: File photos

Trump probe: How would the Fulton County special grand jury work?

File photo / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Phil Skinner

Key players in the Fulton DA’s Trump probe

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will wait until after the May 24 primaries to call in witnesses to testify about whether former President Donald Trump tried to illegally overturn election results in Georgia in 2020. (AJC and McClatchy File photos)

How can Trump fight Fulton’s election meddling probe?

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to the Silver Elephant Gala at the Columbia Convention Center in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday, July 29, 2022. (Joshua Boucher/The State/TNS)

Credit: Joshua Boucher

Fulton DA seeks to question Graham about any coordination with Trump

Rudy Giuliani's lawyer Bill Thomas (L) and prosecutor Nathan Wade talk after a court challenge to Rudy Giuliani's subpoena to the Fulton County special grand jury examining Georgia's 2020 elections at Fulton Superior Court Thursday, August 9, 2022. Steve Schaefer / steve.schaefer@ajc.com)

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Fulton judge orders Giuliani to testify before grand jury next week

Rudy Giuliani ordered by judge to testify in Fulton County special grand jury

Giuliani seeking to delay Fulton grand jury testimony

Rudy Giuliani speaks to supporters from The Ellipse near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Standing by and watching is lawyer John Eastman. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI

Courtroom showdowns on deck for Fulton Trump probe

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Season 8 — The Ahmaud Arbery case

In a special episode of the AJC's "Breakdown" podcast, hosts Bill Rankin and Greg Bluestein explore the Ahmaud Arbery case and where it goes from here.

‘Breakdown’ S08, Ep.1 : The Ahmaud Arbery case begins

In the second episode of the 8th season of "Breakdown," the three defendents in the Ahmaud Arbery case get their day in court. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: Hyosub Shin

‘Breakdown’ S08 Ep.2: Defendants in Arbery case get their day in court

In the third episode of the 8th season of "Breakdown," Bill Rankin and Asia Simone Burns take a close look at Georgia's citizen arrest law. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: Hyosub Shin

‘Breakdown’ S08 Ep. 3: How Georgia lets citizens arrest fellow citizens

The fourth episode of the 8th season of "Breakdown" looks at the backgrounds of Gregory and Travis McMichael, the father-and-son suspects in the Ahmaud Arbery murder. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: Hyosub Shin

‘Breakdown’ S08, Ep. 4: Father and son

Season 7 — Judgment Call

Anthony Hill — seen here with his parents Anthony Hill Sr. and Carolyn Baylor-Giummo — was an Afghanistan War veteran killed in 2015 during an encounter with DeKalb police officer Chip Olsen.

‘Breakdown’ S07, Ep. 1: ‘They’re here to help me’

Former DeKalb County police officer Robert "Chip" Olsen and his wife Kathy Olsen stand for a photo at their Alpharetta residence. The couple has been married for 16 years. (Alyssa Pointer/alyssa.pointer@ajc.com)

Credit: Alyssa Pointer

‘Breakdown’ S07 Ep. 2: The road to indictment

Former DeKalb County Police Officer Robert Olsen stands by himself on a break from testifying during his pre-trial in May of 2018. (STEVE SCHAEFER / SPECIAL TO THE AJC)

Credit: Steve Schaefer

‘Breakdown’ S07 Ep. 3: ‘Impervious to pain, superhuman strength’

Protesters celebrate after hearing that former DeKalb County Police Officer Robert "Chip" Olsen was indicted by a grand jury in January 2016 for the shooting death of Anthony Hill. Episode 4 of Breakdown examines why police encounters with the mentally ill often turn deadly. Ben Gray / bgray@ajc.com

‘Breakdown’ S07 Ep. 4: Policing a mental health crisis

Season 6 — A Jury of His Peers

Bill Rankin and Kevin Riley cohost the sixth season of 'Breakdown.' (BOB ANDRES /BANDRES@AJC.COM )

‘Breakdown’ S06, Ep. 1: A Jury of His Peers

AJC Editor Kevin Riley reviews the script for Episode 2 just before he and Bill Rankin entered the booth to record their narration.

‘Breakdown’ S06, Ep. 2: Voice of a killer?

Nicholas Benton, accused of a double-murder during a drug deal gone bad, appears at a hearing in Fulton County Superior Court. (BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM)

Credit: Bob Andres

‘Breakdown’ S06, Ep. 3: A trial by jury

Surveillance video captures two men as the approach a Pontiac Bonneville at a Valero station in northwest Atlanta in April 2016. The man on the right was Quincy Wytche, who would be shot dead a few minutes later. On the left, police say, is Nicholas Benton, who was later charged with killing Wytche and a second man.

‘Breakdown’ S06, Ep. 4: Deliberation

Season 5 — The McIver Murder Case

A Fulton County sheriff's deputy escorts Claud "Tex" McIver into the courtroom for a pretrial hearing. (AJC file image)

‘Breakdown’ S05 Ep. 1: The Tex McIver case

Tex and Diane McIver in an undated photo.

‘Breakdown’ S05 Ep. 2: Whirlwind romance, storybook wedding, tragic death

Diane McIver poses with Donald Trump, then a presidential candidate, and Gov. Nathan Deal.

‘Breakdown’ S05 Ep. 2.5: McIver trial delayed, with fireworks

McIver confers with attorney Bruce Harvey, who has been joined on the defense team by Don Samuel. Bob Andres / bandres@ajc.com

‘Breakdown’ S05, Ep. 3: Muddy Waters

Season 4 — Murder Below the Gnat Line

‘Breakdown’ S04, Ep. 1: Was the right man convicted in South Georgia murder?

‘Breakdown’ S04, Ep. 2: Two key witnesses change their stories

‘Breakdown’ S04, Ep. 3: A murder and a mask

‘Breakdown’ S04, Ep. 4: ‘You will die in prison, never to be released’

Season 3 — Predator, M.D.

‘Breakdown’ S03 Ep. 1: Predator, M.D.

‘Breakdown’ S03, Ep. 2: Allegations dogged doctor for decades, went unheeded

‘Breakdown’ S03, Ep. 3: Why would a doctor abuse his patients?

‘Breakdown’ S03, Ep. 4: Doctor relocates his practice, and his problem

Season 2 — Death in a Hot Car

Justin Ross Harris Case Podcast: Season 2 of “Breakdown” from the AJC explores the death of Cooper Harris in a hot car. Breakdown Season 2, Episode 1: “Mistake or Murder?” is now available in iTunes or your favorite podcast app.

‘Breakdown’ S02 Ep. 1: Death in a Hot Car — Mistake or Murder?

‘Breakdown’ S02 Ep. 2: Did the police get the evidence right?

‘Breakdown’ S02 Ep. 3: Leanna Harris: Once implicated, never charged

‘Breakdown’ S02 Ep. 4: Deciding the case before it begins?

Season 1 — Railroad Justice in a Railroad Town

‘Breakdown’ S01 Ep.1: Railroad justice in a railroad town

‘Breakdown’ S01 Ep. 2: Public defender lost but never gave up

‘Breakdown’ S01 Ep. 3: The view from the stoop, a botched appeal

‘Breakdown’ S01 Ep. 4: Interlude--Of prison riots and mountain trackers

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