Power Corrupts

Nick Yarris spent 22 years on death row. At one point, he even escaped. But then, right before he was slated to be executed, DNA evidence proved he was innocent. Is the death penalty justified? Can a just society execute people? Are you more likely to be executed if you kill a white person? And why do most death sentences come from a tiny number of American counties?     ----   Power Corrupts is written and narrated by Brian Klaas. The executive producer and sound editor is .

What's something that you do every 2 weeks? For Michelle Lyons, over a span of 12 years, she watched someone get executed every two weeks in Texas. What are inmates like on their last day alive? Did she have misgivings watching people take their last breath? And what do people who are strapped to the gurney actually say for their final statements?     ----   Power Corrupts is written and narrated by Brian Klaas. The executive producer and sound editor is .  

Why did the CIA try to kill an African political leader with poisoned toothpaste? How did a sturdy couch save a leader from being killed during an elaborate plot involving a self-sinking boat and a collapsing ceiling? Was a recent attempt to blow up Venezuela's dictator with a small consumer drone a genuine attack, or just a pretext to crack down on his political opponents? Is democracy more likely to emerge when dictators are assassinated, or does it just make the situation worse? And which US president got shot in the chest by a would-be assassin but continued speaking for 90 minutes, even as he was bleeding before the crowd?     ----   Power Corrupts is written and narrated by Brian Klaas. The executive producer and sound editor is .

Why did the war in Afghanistan hinge on the ability of a teenager to help buy 100 million bullets for the US military? Where do you even go to buy 100 million bullets? What are international arms dealers actually like? Is the US facilitating war crimes in Yemen while simultaneously transferring weapons to terrorists? And why is so much of the world's corruption wrapped up in gunrunning?      ----   Power Corrupts is written and narrated by Brian Klaas. The executive producer and sound editor is .

What's the best way to smuggle a crocodile onto an airplane? What is the journey actually like for migrants getting smuggled from Afghanistan to Australia? Why is the European Union paying migrant smugglers in Niger to open bakeries? Will Trump's proposed border wall actually do anything to stop smuggling? And how should you go about smuggling your pet turtle onto an airplane?     ----   Power Corrupts is written and narrated by Brian Klaas. The executive producer and sound editor is .