Go inside a real jury room as 12 Americans deliberate a criminal case.

A TV show put one unsuspecting man on a fake jury surrounded entirely by actors for three weeks.

In the Amazon comedy "Jury Duty," Ronald Gladden believed he was participating in a documentary about the judicial process, unaware that everyone involved with the entire trial was an actor. In this podcast, Gladden and director Jake Szymanski reflect on the experience.

True crime content can influence the justice system

The 2014 podcast "Serial" inspired national doubt about the outcome and quality of a 1999 Baltimore murder case, resulting in overturned convictions (that were then reinstated). The series "In the Dark," whose second season pored over the murder trials of a Black Mississippi man, revealed crucial testimony was recanted, provided evidence of racial discrimination in jury selection, and was cited in case filings.

Hear from the casting director who assembled the entirely fake jury for 'Jury Duty'

Casting director Susie Ferris breaks down how she built the show's ensemble from scratch, from combing through early audition tapes to persuading James Marsden to play a heightened version of himself alongside unknowing juror Ronald Gladden.

Explore state-level data on juries.

The 1979 murder trial of Ted Bundy was the first nationally televised trial, offering a preview of the national obsession with true crime.

Experience a year inside an American courthouse with 'Serial' Season 3

Season Three of "Serial" immerses listeners in a Cleveland courthouse for a year, showcasing how everyday justice unfolds—through plea deals, judicial decisions, and the quiet mechanics behind daily life in the criminal justice system.

'Saturday Night Live' parodied the jury selection process in 2025

This "SNL" sketch lampoons the lengths people go to avoid jury duty, with prospective jurors claiming that a Kardashian hit them with a car, that they are from the future and already know the verdict, and that they should be the judge instead.

Explore jury nullification, the little-known power that lets jurors ignore the law and acquit anyway

When jurors disagree with a law, they can simply vote to acquit regardless of the evidence; however, this practice is rare, and the legal system actively discourages it. This podcast traces its history from a Quaker prayer meeting in London to the LA riots.

The roots of American law and the jury system trace back to medieval England

King Henry II established a jury of 12 local knights to settle land disputes in the 12th century, and his judges developed national laws common to everyone. American courts inherited this "common law" tradition directly from the English system.

Grand juries investigate crimes and decide whether the government has enough evidence to charge someone

Unlike trial juries, which determine guilt, grand juries decide whether there is probable cause to bring charges at all. If they find enough evidence, they issue a formal indictment. Federal grand juries are enshrined in the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution.

Black Americans were systematically excluded from juries for much of US history

Literacy tests, poll taxes, and even explicit laws kept Black Americans off juries until well into the 20th century. The Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968 mandated that federal juries reflect a fair cross-section of the community, though racial disparities in jury selection persist.

A Mississippi man was tried six times for the same crime, each time before an all-white or nearly all-white jury

This podcast investigates how prosecutor Doug Evans systematically struck Black jurors across decades of cases. The team built a database of every jury strike Evans made over 20 years, uncovering a racial pattern that was later cited by the Supreme Court when it overturned Curtis Flowers' conviction in 2019.

The vast majority of federal criminal cases never reach a jury.

In fiscal year 2022, nearly 90% of federal defendants pleaded guilty, and another 8% had their cases dismissed. This means just 2% went to trial at all, making a trial by jury a rare outcome in the modern federal court system.

The OJ Simpson case interrupted soaps’ daytime dominance, changing the genre

OJ Simpson's 1995 murder trial was broadcast for months, bumping soap operas from the airwaves. Fittingly, the trial provided the same salacious story lines, compelling characters, and open-ended narratives that soaps offered viewers. The key difference, of course, was that the Simpson trial was real life.

See how DOJ prosecutors took down a pharmaceutical company's executives over the opioid crisis

This FRONTLINE documentary follows federal prosecutors as they used anti-racketeering laws to convict executives at Insys Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company that bribed doctors to overprescribe a fentanyl painkiller.

Federal juries are selected from voter rolls and driver's license lists

Courts randomly draw prospective jurors from these sources, then mail qualification questionnaires. Those who qualify may be summoned for voir dire, where judges and attorneys question candidates before seating a final jury.

Adnan Syed's case became a podcast phenomenon thanks to 'Serial'

The 2014 debut of "Serial" is a journalist-led podcast series that overviews an investigation into a 1999 murder, reinvigorated the true crime genre, and set a new standard for audio storytelling. The 12-episode series also upended the investigation itself, leading to the vacated murder conviction of the victim's former boyfriend, Adnan Syed. Syed's conviction was reinstated, but his sentence was reduced. The series has hundreds of millions of downloads and accolades accompanied by "just about every major journalism award."

Read the criteria for federal jury selection and the exemptions and excuses that can get you out of it.

Federal jurors must be US citizens, at least 18 years old, proficient in English, and free of felony convictions. Active-duty military, full-time police and firefighters, and certain public officials are fully exempt from service.

A 1986 Supreme Court ruling prohibited race-based jury strikes, but racial imbalance in jury selection persists

Batson v. Kentucky banned prosecutors from excluding jurors on the basis of race, but critics say it backfired. Prosecutors often use race-neutral pretexts to remove potential jurors that judges rarely reject, and some courts have never found a violation of the ruling.

Grand juries were once considered a formality, but that may no longer be the case

New York's former chief judge famously said a prosecutor could get a grand jury to "indict a ham sandwich," showing how rarely a grand jury refused. However, recent cases in which prosecutors failed to secure an indictment during the second Trump administration are challenging that assumption.

Uncovering corruption in rural Mississippi

In 1997, Curtis Flowers was convicted of murdering four furniture store employees. The Black Mississippi native was tried in the 1996 crime six times over 21 years, during which he maintained his innocence and continued to appeal his case. This is the first episode in a 2018 investigative podcast series that heavily contributed to Flowers' conviction being overturned and all charges dropped.

All states did not require a unanimous jury verdict to convict until a 2020 Supreme Court case

In Ramos v. Louisiana, the court ruled that the Sixth Amendment requires unanimous jury verdicts to convict in criminal cases, overturning laws in Louisiana and Oregon that had allowed convictions with only 10 of 12 jurors in agreement.

True crime, explained

Tales exploring some of the most grisly and unthinkable crimes have satisfied the public's morbid curiosity for more than a century, and modern podcasting has shot the genre to new heights. Want to learn more about the history of true crime? 1440 has the breakdown here.

Voir dire is the process that determines who actually sits on a jury

Meaning "to speak the truth" in French, voir dire is the questioning of prospective jurors by a judge or attorney to assess their impartiality and suitability for service. Those deemed unfit are excused before a final jury is seated.

One murder and two siblings' betrayal

Sophia Johnson was convicted and later acquitted of murder in the 2002 slaying of her mother-in-law. More than 20 years later, she continues to deny the allegations first voiced by one of her younger brothers who said he saw Johnson commit the crime. This is the first episode in a 10-part series covering a three-year journalistic investigation into the cold case.

Trial by jury was an important source of colonial resistance to British rule

Colonial juries refused to convict Americans who violated British trade laws, and Britain's response, stripping away jury rights, became a central grievance of the Revolution. The Declaration of Independence explicitly cited the denial of the right to trial by jury as a charge against King George III.

True crime refers to media that detail real-life criminal cases

Some have taken this to mean that the retelling must include "as many nitty-gritty facts about the case as possible." True crime media can focus on a single case, such as in the 1966 book "In Cold Blood," or can include serialized collections of criminal cases or behaviors, such as in the podcast "Casefile."

Juror pay varies widely by state, and most employers are not required to cover it.

State court juror pay ranges from nothing in Illinois and South Carolina to $50 per day in six states, with a national average of around $22 per day. Only eight states and DC require employers to provide paid time off during jury service.

'Serial': The podcast that revived a genre (4 seasons)

"Serial" debuted in 2014, sparking the contemporary fascination with true crime podcast content with a look at the murder of teenager Hae Minh Lee in 1999, and the jailing of Adnan Syed. The Peabody Award-winning season became a pop culture sensation, spawned countless imitators, and was followed by three more seasons on new topics. Listen to all four seasons here.

A deep dive into the Murdaugh murder saga

Former South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison for the double murder of his wife and son. In 2024, 40 more years were added to the sentence for theft-related charges. The case gained nationwide coverage and revealed a twisting saga of drugs, deceit, violence, and more. Dive into this 93-episode podcast series with journalist Mandy Matney, who reported on the family for years.

Photography and video are prohibited in the Supreme Court—but artists are not

Because cameras are banned inside the Supreme Court of the United States, courtroom artists document proceedings through sketches. This exhibition features works from 1964 to today, capturing the human drama of landmark cases and shaping how Americans visualize justice.

'Twenty-One' producers presented fabricated narratives as reality

Producers of “Twenty-One,” which featured two contestants competing from separate isolation booths, knew the quiz show format could use storytelling in the same way that any fictional program could. They found a perfect narrative in the matchup between Charles Van Doren, an all-American Columbia University instructor, and Herb Stempel, an arrogant Queens native. Stempel intentionally lost the game, pretending not to know the answer to a question about his favorite movie, “Marty.”

'Jeopardy!' was conceived as a way to earn back skeptical audiences' trust

In the wake of the ‘50s scandals, networks were reluctant to greenlight new quiz shows. Merv Griffin’s wife suggested he flip the formula on its head, providing contestants with the answers (the exact act that had led to the scandals) and asking them to provide the questions. “Jeopardy!” premiered in 1964, effectively reviving the genre. It eventually became the top-rated quiz show in history with 23 million viewers.

'Dr. Death' (4 Seasons)

Taking a unique angle on the true crime genre, this series explores medical professionals whose lust for fame and success stops at nothing—even others’ lives. Each season explores a different doctor and the systems that enabled them. Begin with the season one and the story of Christopher Duntsch, accused of maiming or killing several patients, including leaving one quadriplegic and another brain-dead.

The Kennedy-Nixon debates marked the presidency's entry into the television era

In 1960, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon faced off in the first televised presidential debates. Kennedy's calm, telegenic presence contrasted with Nixon's uneasy appearance, showing how the new medium could shape voter perceptions and modern campaign strategy.

This American Life explored Ohio's gerrymandering battle

In 2022, Ohio lawmakers repeatedly drew congressional districts that the state Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional. This defiance violated a voter-approved reform intended to prohibit partisan gerrymandering.

Go behind the scenes of Davos with ‘60 Minutes’

In 2010, "60 Minutes" gained rare, near-unprecedented access to the World Economic Forum, with Scott Pelley roaming Davos’ exclusive meetings and elite spaces. See how global power brokers mingle, negotiate, and shape agendas offstage at the event.

The history of real-life crime magazines

Before podcasts and streaming services, details of true crime cases could be found smushed between glossy magazine pages. "True Detective Mysteries," a magazine of fictional crime retellings that debuted in 1924, quickly pivoted to sharing detailed reporting of real criminal cases after seeing what drove sales. Rebranding itself as "True Detective," the magazine launched dozens of imitators and only shut down publishing in January 2024.

The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in federal civil cases

Ratified in 1791, this amendment applies to cases where more than $20 is at stake—an amount that has never been adjusted for inflation.

S-Town: Murder in a small Alabama town

From the team behind "Serial," investigative journalist Brian Reed goes back to his hometown of Woodstock, Alabama, to probe an alleged murder. The hit series was downloaded a record 10 million times in four days, wrapping seven mini-stories in each episode into a twisting narrative with an ultimately suspenseful and surprise ending.

An adultery and poisoning case examined whether federal treaty power supersedes state law

This Radiolab podcast unpacks Bond v. United States, where a local love-triangle assault became a federal case under an international treaty—forcing the Supreme Court to confront a founding question: How far can federal power reach into crimes traditionally handled by the states?

The quiz show scandals eroded trust in the media

Many viewers were attracted to the shows because they were filled with real people winning real money. After it was exposed that “Dotto,” “Twenty-One,” “The $64,000 Question,” and others had been fixed, the genre struggled to regain viewers’ trust. The government intervened, too: President Eisenhower called the shows’ deception “a terrible thing to do to the American people” and Congress amended the Communications Act in 1960, explicitly outlawing fraudulent game shows.

The Supreme Court extended the ban on discriminatory jury strikes to include gender in 1994

In J.E.B. v. Alabama, the court ruled 6-3 that using peremptory challenges to exclude jurors based on sex violates the Equal Protection Clause, building on its 1986 Batson decision banning race-based strikes.

'Truth or Consequences' was the first TV quiz show

The game—which forced contestants who answered questions incorrectly to face "consequences" in the form of wacky stunts—debuted in 1941 with a one-off experimental broadcast on WNBT, then reappeared on NBC in 1950. In 1956, a fresh-faced Bob Barker made his television debut as the show's new host.

Revelations about quiz show ‘Dotto’ led to a larger scandal across the industry

The show, which aired on both CBS and NBC in slightly different iterations in 1958, followed a fairly standard question-and-answer format, with correct answers slowly revealing an image that contestants needed to solve. Despite its popularity, the show was canceled after it was revealed that one contestant had been provided with answers to the questions. That revelation led to similar scandals with four more shows over the next few months.

Explore 'The Presidents' collection

PBS's "The Presidents" collection profiles America's leaders through award-winning documentaries, interviews, and archival footage. The series captures how each president reflected the nation's values, crises, and culture while shaping the office's power and legacy.

How presidential candidates prepare for TV debates

One of the most significant performances of a politician's life is the televised debate, which requires the kind of preparation only an actor would be familiar with. This article dives into some of the recent history around debate prep norms, including how every campaign chooses someone to act like the opponent in mock debates—often to comical effect.

Determine if you're an ethical true crime fan

True crime entertainment researcher Lindsey Sherrill is obsessed with her field of study. She noticed that some true crime content dove into criminal and justice reform, illuminating forgotten cases, while others turned into exploitative entertainment. So, she developed four questions to reflect on the real-life implications of one's true crime consumption.

How a rural Indiana tragedy became true crime

In February 2017, two teens were dropped off at a local hangout spot near the northern edge of Delphi, Indiana, a city of less than 3,000 people. One of the girls was filming and briefly caught footage of a man coming toward them before they were apparently cornered and "marched to their deaths." The suspect remains unknown despite audio and grainy video evidence, giving rise to rumor and speculation.

Some novel ideas to improve presidential debates

The first televised presidential debates of 1960 were seemingly so consequential, candidates opted not to participate in one for 16 years. In the last 60 years, debate format has changed frequently as the political parties and news outlets vie for rules to either protect candidates or increase TV ratings. In this brief video, one expert suggests five interesting innovations to the debate format to make them more informative for the average US voter.