Hey Payback listeners! The newest season of another true crime pod, Paper Ghosts, is live. Go check out the beginning of Season 3!”

About Paper Ghosts: When a young college student’s car was found stranded on the side of a busy midwest highway in 1992, police figured it was a runaway case. Nine days later, she was found brutally murdered, nearly 500 miles away. In season 3 of PAPER GHOSTS, investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling true crime author M. William Phelps digs deep into the murder of Tammy Jo Zywicki and uncovers a murky police investigation, a potential pool of new suspects, and a community of people desperate for answers 30 years later.

Listen to Paper Ghosts on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1980s crime journalist Phil Stanford dove into the decadent and dangerous world of Miami just as the city was becoming the cocaine- and murder capital of the United States. His path would place him in the crosshairs of a federal investigation focusing on a mysterious and controversial drug smuggling pilot who claimed to be an operative of the American government- all while flaunting his extensive illicit activity. Murder in Miami traces the connection between the murder of a missing Miami private investigator to the sprawling roots of an international money laundering scheme as Stanford tries to make sense of his role in a surreal story of spies, smugglers, killers and corruption. All reaching to the highest levels on both sides of the law.

Listen here and subscribe to Murder in Miami on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a story about Marion County, Kentucky, a place with farming, moonshine, and pride in its bloodline. It’s a place that laid the foundation for a network of marijuana-growing outlaws called the Cornbread Mafia. Into this world walked a man named Johnny Boone, who set out to grow and harvest one of the greatest outdoor marijuana crops in modern times. But his timing was all wrong, and soon Marion County found itself at the national center of the War on Drugs. In their effort to take Johnny Boone and his syndicate down, law enforcement officials arrested 70 people...all from this pocket of Kentucky. It was the biggest marijuana bust in American history, and no one ever said a word. On Cornbread Mafia, we’re going to Marion County and finding out how a turning point in federal drug policy reshaped the story of a local community and had consequences that lasted for generations. Listen to Cornbread Mafia on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-cornbread-mafia-103395162/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The unbelievable but true story of the greatest spy of World War II. The Nazis don't know her name, but they want this woman dead. A mysterious agent is strategically dismantling their violent grasp on France and not only leading her own resistance factions but inspiring others. The Gestapo sends their devious double-agent, the priest Robert Alesh, to hunt down The Limping Lady before she threatens their entire push for Western Europe. But Virginia Hall was tougher and more resilient than they ever expected. Bestselling author and journalist Stephan Talty returns with Season 2 of Good Assassins: the dramatic story of a different kind of spy. Listen to Good Assassins on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-good-assassins-hunting-th-79805506/episode/listen-to-good-assassins-season-2-103218412/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shortly after the publication of Payback, Part 10, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced it had ratified groundbreaking collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with both the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams, guaranteeing the players equal pay—the resolution of a decades-long fight by Jessica McDonald the women’s team for gender equality. In this extended interview, Alex Andrejev speaks with Dan Lust, an attorney for Geragos & Geragos and the Sports Law professor at New York Law School, about surprising components of those CBAs, unexpected reasons the women’s team might have thought this was a bad deal, and the potential ripple effects of this contract across the sports landscape.

To continue supporting journalism like this, visit charlotteobserver.com/payback or newsobserver.com/payback .

Payback is hosted by Alex Andrejev. It's produced by Kata Stevens, Casey Toth, Julia Wall, and executive producer Davin Coburn. The executive producer for iHeartRadio is Sean Titone.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In late 2020, something unusual happens: Jessica McDonald and her USWNT teammates lose—this time in court, as the players’ lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation suffers a major setback. Yet, with a new president of U.S. Soccer on their side, the groundwork is laid for a breakthrough, including equal payments for the men's and women's teams. At the same time, the National Women’s Soccer League signs a collective bargaining agreement with its own players, as veterans like McDonald help set the league — and women’s soccer in America — on a path toward a more equitable, even more successful future.

To continue supporting journalism like this, visit charlotteobserver.com/payback or newsobserver.com/payback .

Payback is hosted by Alex Andrejev. It's produced by Kata Stevens, Casey Toth, Julia Wall, and executive producer Davin Coburn. The executive producer for iHeartRadio is Sean Titone.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As listeners heard in Part 9 of Payback, the role of athletes acting as advocates has never been more prevalent—or more polarizing. That’s particularly true for women athletes of color. In this extended interview, Alex Andrejev speaks with Dr. Leeja Carter, an associate professor of exercise psychology at Temple University, about the intersection of racism, sexism and classism in sport; historical and contemporary representations of Black women’s “strength;” and culturally sensitive health and physical activity approaches for women of color.

New episodes coming each Tuesday, through May 17.

To continue supporting journalism like this, visit charlotteobserver.com/payback or newsobserver.com/payback .

Payback is hosted by Alex Andrejev. It's produced by Kata Stevens, Casey Toth, Julia Wall, and executive producer Davin Coburn. The executive producer for iHeartRadio is Sean Titone.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In early 2019, heated internal negotiations explode into public view as 28 USWNT players, including Jessica McDonald, file a landmark lawsuit against U.S. Soccer for “institutionalized gender discrimination.” In that lawsuit, the players argue they play more games and win more often than the U.S. men’s team, yet still receive less pay from the federation; U.S. Soccer counters that the men’s games drives more revenue for the federation. And as McDonald and the national team advance to the finals of the 2019 World Cup, they know one more win on the field could signal something even greater off it—generations in the making.

New episodes coming each Tuesday, through May 17.

To continue supporting journalism like this, visit charlotteobserver.com/payback or newsobserver.com/payback .

Payback is hosted by Alex Andrejev. It's produced by Kata Stevens, Casey Toth, Julia Wall, and executive producer Davin Coburn. The executive producer for iHeartRadio is Sean Titone.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The unlikeliest of U.S. Women’s National Team journeys comes full circle in a doctor’s office. There, on a phone call during a routine checkup for her reconstructed knee, 31-year-old Jessica McDonald gets the call she’s waited for her entire life. But realizing her global soccer ambitions will mean once again contending with home life as a single mom. And here in his first interview, McDonald's son, Jeremiah Stuart, offers touching perspective on the search for personal and professional balance, and the sacrifices we make in pursuit of our dreams.

New episodes coming each Tuesday, through May 17.

To continue supporting journalism like this, visit charlotteobserver.com/payback or newsobserver.com/payback . 

Payback is hosted by Alex Andrejev. It's produced by Kata Stevens, Casey Toth, Julia Wall, and executive producer Davin Coburn. The executive producer for iHeartRadio is Sean Titone. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After her first minutes with the U.S. Women’s National Team, Jessica McDonald returns to the NWSL, and is once again on the move. This time, it’s her entire team, as the Western New York Flash become the North Carolina Courage. McDonald is only paid roughly $13,000 per season; but she flourishes back in the Triangle, where she’d once attended college, thanks to a chance encounter with a local family, which turns into a deep and lasting bond. And as McDonald and the Courage dominate the 2018 NWSL season, among the people who can’t stop watching: USWNT head coach Jill Ellis.

New episodes coming each Tuesday, through May 17.

To continue supporting journalism like this, visit charlotteobserver.com/payback or newsobserver.com/payback .

Payback is hosted by Alex Andrejev. It's produced by Kata Stevens, Casey Toth, Julia Wall, and executive producer Davin Coburn. The executive producer for iHeartRadio is Sean Titone.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.