We’re thrilled to share some exciting news from our newsroom: Failures to Act, a powerful multimedia investigation from NHPR’s Document team — produced in collaboration with the visual storytellers at The Pudding — has been nominated for a 2024 Peabody Award in the Immersive & Interactive category.
Published as a companion to The Youth Development Center podcast, Failures to Act delves into what has become one of the largest youth detention abuse cases in American history — originating in New Hampshire. The project brings to light the stories contained in more than 1,281 civil lawsuits filed by people who say they were abused as children while in state custody. NHPR’s Jason Moon read and analyzed every complaint, while The Pudding provided data analysis, web design, and illustration, turning these stories into an interactive digital experience that captures the scale of the alleged abuse.
The result is a visually and emotionally powerful timeline where users can explore six decades of allegations, each complaint represented by an illustration of a child. Visitors can pause to read about individual plaintiffs or hear their voices recounting their lived experiences. The timeline also demonstrates that this was not an isolated issue, but a systemic crisis.
“Our goal with this piece was to give New Hampshire residents and decision-makers a more nuanced understanding of both the scale and the nature of these allegations, and to center the voices of these children — now adults — seeking justice,” said Katie Colaneri, senior editor of the Document team. “We’re so honored the Peabody jury has recognized this reporting.”
This investigation was supported with funding from the Data-Driven Reporting Project. DDRP is funded by the Google News Initiative in partnership with Northwestern University | Medill. Additional media elements were contributed by the New England News Collaborative.
“The YDC project was a perfect collaboration for us — pairing our visual and data journalism with NHPR's investigative reporting expertise to shine a light on this important story,” said Russell Samora, journalist-engineer for The Pudding.
Out of more than 1,100 entries, only 68 were chosen as 2024 Peabody nominees. To be counted among them is more than an award — it’s an opportunity to shine a national spotlight on the voices and experiences of the people who came forward to share their stories.
For over 80 years, the Peabody Awards have recognized storytelling that defends the public interest, encourages empathy, and expands our understanding of the world. We’re proud to be part of that tradition.
To explore all of this year’s Peabody nominees, visit PeabodyAwards.com.
And if you haven’t yet experienced Failures to Act, we encourage you to explore the project here. NHPR supporters make it possible for the team to keep investigating and sharing these stories with you.
