Shattered

Shattered is a narrative podcast about Michigan stories. Most come from the state's past, but it also reports on recent events, like a night of protest in Detroit. Jeremy Allen, who says he hosted seasons one and three, describes it as a second look at some of the biggest stories in Michigan's history. He and Zach Rosen are credited as its producers and editors. The show runs in seasons, and the one on Jimmy Hoffa gives the clearest picture of how it works. 'The Comeback' opens on Hoffa surrendering to U.S. Marshals to serve time for jury tampering and for fraud tied to the Teamsters pension fund, after Bobby Kennedy had pursued him for more than a decade. It then treats parole as politics, explaining why freeing Hoffa could secure Teamster support for Nixon in 1972 and why it made sense to wait until Frank Fitzsimmons was elected union president. 'The Finale' is built differently. It starts in the WDIV parking garage in Detroit and turns into a drive between locations central to the case, including the Red Fox. Along the way, reporter Dan Moldea tells how a phone call to a man suspected of the murder led to a meeting at a Teamsters local in New Jersey, and then to lunch. The episode closes by thanking a long list of experts, journalists and scholars, admits to simply enjoying the name Marvin the Weasel, and asks to be told if anyone solves the case. Outside the seasons, the feed carries standalone stories. 'A Night in Detroit' is on-the-ground reporting from a May 31st protest that converged on police headquarters, where deputy chief Todd Bettison took a knee with protesters. The night also brought tear gas, flash bangs and arrests, narrated as they happen, and the episode judges that it went better than it could have but perhaps worse than it should have. The two-part 'Joyce' story grew out of a human-trafficking series Allen produced for WDIV, and it belongs mostly to Joyce Dixon Haskett herself. She describes sexual abuse from early childhood, a beating with pool sticks and a natural life sentence. Part one stops with her standing over a man, gun in hand. 'Joyce - Pt. 2' carries the story into prison, where a woman's words about hope reach her and she becomes an activist for incarcerated women and their ties to their children. Several of these episodes open with content notes, and the material earns them. The feed also includes a crossover conversation with Zach Rosen about his daily show, The Best Advice Show. For a first listen, 'Joyce' and 'Joyce - Pt. 2' make a complete story, and 'The Comeback' is a good way into the Hoffa season.