The Last Ride
Two young men of color vanished three months apart, on the same road in Naples, Florida, under eerily similar circumstances nearly 20 years ago. They were last seen with the same white sheriff's deputy. The since-fired deputy said he gave the men rides to Circle K stores, a story that could never be corroborated. He's the only person of interest, but has never been charged. No one has. What went wrong? Did the police drop the ball? Did the media? The eight-episode series, distributed by the NPR Network, includes new details and exclusive interviews with Tyler Perry, Ben Crump, family and friends of the men, and investigators, and dramatic polygraph audio. Reported by veteran journalists with the Naples Daily News and The Fort Myers News-Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, and produced in partnership with WGCU Public Media.
Our Editor's Take
The Last Ride is an eight-episode true crime podcast distributed by NPR. The people who produced this podcast want answers. Everyone involved wants to solve an injustice no one seems willing to address. The story? Two young men of color, Felipe Santos and Terrance Williams, disappeared in Florida in 2003 and 2004. In both cases, the Collier County Sheriff's Deputy, Steven Calkins, was the last one seen with each man on the same road in Naples, Florida. The US criminal legal system has never held Caulkins accountable. Furthermore, they have never pointed at anyone for these disappearances.
Janine Zeitlin, host of The Last Ride, has been reporting on these cases for years. In her research, she realized she may have been the only reporter to speak to Deputy Calkins, a white man. She believes he spoke to her because they shared a rural Illinois hometown. But Zeitlin wasn't the only one concerned about these cases' lack of attention. Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump also got involved. Even celebrities, like filmmaker Tyler Perry, joined the fight. He wanted to address discrepancies in how the media addresses missing person cases. The story of a missing white woman will often get more attention than stories of others who are missing. The Last Ride podcast team doesn't just want to find justice for these two missing men. They want to change the approach to missing-person coverage.
Each episode begins with audio from people connected to the case. Victims' relatives, witnesses, and others express their disbelief. In one episode, Zeitlin talks to one victim's mother. She plays an emotional reading of an outgoing answering machine message. The victim's mother recorded it right after her son disappeared. She quotes a Bible verse about how things do not remain hidden. In another episode, the show shares polygraph audio from Deputy Calkins. He sounds angry and does not seem to want to answer questions.
The production of the show includes tense music that enhances the supporting media. The listening experience is sobering but compelling. Fans of true crime who care about injustice might find The Last Ride podcast captivating.
Episodes
