Short Creek
Unfinished: Short Creek is a documentary podcast from Stitcher/Witness Docs and Critical Frequency that I reported and hosted, about a community on the Utah/Arizona border that is divided by much more than a state line. On one side are fundamentalist, polygamous Mormons who believe the town should be run by God—and his prophet. On the other are ex-believers who want democracy—and the right to believe (or not believe) as they want. When the prophet, Warren Jeffs, goes to prison for sex crimes, the community faces its painful past, and struggles to define its future. As part of the reporting for this project I embedded in Short Creek for three months and lived in the former prophet’s house.
I started reporting on Short Creek since 2016, when the Department of Justice — in an unprecedented move — sued the two towns that make up the community for violating the Constitution through religious discrimination. In 2017, I documented the historic election that followed the lawsuit, when a coalition of ex-believers challenged a slate of faithful incumbents. That work became part of an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning series that examines what it’s like for people who have left the church to try to create change.
Over the course of four and a half years, I spent a lot of time getting to know Short Creek and the people who call it home. I spent time at people’s kitchen tables, backyard barbecues, contentious city council meetings, and in houses of worship. I feel incredibly grateful that so many people opened themselves up to me and shared deeply personal stories.
Unfinished: Short Creek was named the #3 best podcast of 2020 by The New Yorker and one of the best podcasts of 2020 by The Atlantic and the Bello Collective. It received a Wilbur Award for Best Radio/Podcast series, Religion News Association Awards for Excellence in Enterprise Reporting (first place) and Excellence in Podcast Religion Reporting (first place), the Communal Studies Association Outstanding Project Award and was nominated for two Ambie Awards for Best Reporting and Best Production and Sound Design.
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