Podcasts

Broken Doors

With a typical search warrant, police are supposed to knock and announce themselves. But with no-knock warrants, police can force their way into people’s homes without warning.

Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca, “Broken Doors” is a six-part investigative podcast about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and what happens when accountability is flawed at every level.

About the hosts

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jenn-abelson/?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template" target="_blank"><b>Jenn Abelson</b></a> is the host of &#x201C;Broken Doors&#x201D; and an investigative reporter at The Washington Post. She was part of the team that won a Gerald Loeb Award in 2021. She was also part of the team recognized in 2020 as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its investigation into America&#x2019;s deadly opioid epidemic. Before joining The Post in 2019, she worked as an investigative reporter for the Boston Globe&#x2019;s Spotlight Team. <a href="https://twitter.com/jennabelson?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template" target="_blank">Follow Jenn on Twitter.</a>

Jenn Abelson is the host of “Broken Doors” and an investigative reporter at The Washington Post. She was part of the team that won a Gerald Loeb Award in 2021. She was also part of the team recognized in 2020 as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its investigation into America’s deadly opioid epidemic. Before joining The Post in 2019, she worked as an investigative reporter for the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team. Follow Jenn on Twitter.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/ndungca/?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template" target="_blank"><b>Nicole Dungca</b></a> is the host of &#x201C;Broken Doors&#x201D; and an investigative reporter at The Washington Post, where she was part of a team that won a Gerald Loeb Award in 2021. Before joining The Post, she was part of the Boston Globe&#x2019;s Spotlight Team, which was recognized as a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting in 2018. She was also part of a team there that was a finalist for a Livingston Award in 2018. <a href="https://twitter.com/ndungca?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template" target="_blank">Follow Nicole on Twitter.</a>

Nicole Dungca is the host of “Broken Doors” and an investigative reporter at The Washington Post, where she was part of a team that won a Gerald Loeb Award in 2021. Before joining The Post, she was part of the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team, which was recognized as a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting in 2018. She was also part of a team there that was a finalist for a Livingston Award in 2018. Follow Nicole on Twitter.

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“Broken Doors” is part of The Post’s Unaccountable series that examines policing in America amid the push for reform.

What differentiates a no-knock search warrant: Criminal justice experts estimate that police carry out tens of thousands of no-knock raids every year in the United States. Read the FAQ

No-knock raids have led to fatal encounters and small drug seizures: Judges routinely authorize requests for the surprise raids with little apparent scrutiny of claims by officers. Read the story.

When the sheriff waged a war on drugs: An investigation into no-knock raids in Mississippi revealed allegations that the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office had abused its power and trampled on the rights of residents. Read the story.

Behind the story: A conversation on how we produced “Broken Doors” and the power of audio storytelling. Read the Q&A.

Washington Post Live: Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford in conversation with “Broken Doors” host Nicole Dungca. Watch here.

Credits

“Broken Doors” is hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca. Production by Reena Flores, Sabby Robinson and Linah Mohammad. Editing by Renita Jablonski and David Fallis. Additional editing by Theo Balcomb and Sarah Childress. Copy editing by Laura Michalski. Project editing by Courtney Kan.

Original music, sound design, mixing and theme by Ted Muldoon.

Logo design and illustrations by Katty Huertas. Art direction by Amy Cavenaile, Chris Barber and Tara McCarty. Page design by Jake Crump. Design editing by Amy Cavenaile and Matt Callahan.

Additional production and support from Kim Bellware, Carmella Boykin, Phoebe Connelly, Hannah Good, Kathleen Floyd, Dave Jorgenson, Emma Kumer, Greg Manifold, Jordan Melendrez, Angel Mendoza, Allison Michaels, Robert Miller, Tessa Muggeridge, Sergio Non, Martine Powers, Casey Silvestri, Claire Tran, Emily Tsao, Chris Vazquez, Kanyakrit Vongkiatkajorn and Vanessa Williams.

Special thanks to Dalton Bennett, Alice Crites, Jennifer Jenkins, Nate Jones, Jeff Leen, Travis Lyles, Ted Mellnik, Jayne Orenstein, Emily Sabens, Kori Suzuki, Julie Tate, Hannah Thacker, Andrew Ba Tran, Julie Vitkovskaya, Joy Sharon Yi and the “Post Reports” team.

Contributors from Northwestern University's Medill Investigative Lab are Jordan Anderson, Rachel Baldauf, Monique Beals, Molly Burke, Yilun Cheng, Rebecca Holland, Michael Korsh, Kelly Milan, Madison Muller and Dhivya Sridar.

Contributors from the American University-Washington Post practicum program are McKenzie Beard, Vanessa Montalbano, Megan Ruggles and Carley Welch.

Contact the “Broken Doors” team at brokendoors@washpost.com.