Grapevine

NBC News

In August 2022, at a packed school board meeting in Grapevine, Texas, a mom approaches the microphone and describes the exact nightmare that Republican politicians have been warning about. She accuses a teacher of convincing her child to change genders. As a result, she says, “I lost my son.” But when NBC News reporters Mike Hixenbaugh and Antonia Hylton look into this mother’s allegations, they find a different story: of a transgender child desperately wanting to be heard, a mother determined to put God first — and an English teacher caught in the middle. And they discover this isn’t just a story about one broken family. It’s also a story about a fringe religious movement wielding newfound power and the revival of a long-simmering quest by evangelicals to remake American education based on their version of biblical values. From NBC News Studios and the team behind the Peabody Award-winning series Southlake, Grapevine is a podcast about faith and power — and what it means to protect children — in an American suburb. read less

Our Editor's Take

Grapevine is a six-part documentary and investigative podcast from NBC News. It tells the story of a suburb in Texas by the same name. In this suburb, a fringe Christian movement is attempting to instill conservative values. According to this group, the US has become far too loose with its morals and beliefs. They think that liberal people have redefined marriage, sex, and gender for the worse. Their mission is to gather evangelicals and regain control of the seven "mountains" of American society. They believe this includes religion, media, government, family, business, arts, and education.

The hosts of Grapevine are Mike Hixenbaugh and Antonia Hylton. Mike is an experienced investigative reporter. With his work, he uncovered several systemic horrors. Some of his work includes exposing child abuse in foster care and safety issues in hospitals. Hixenbaugh's reporting has earned him many awards and created life-saving reform.

Antonia is also an accomplished journalist researching inequalities in America. She cocreated the web series The Movement with Darnell Moore. The reporter won an Emmy for her work on Vice News Tonight: Zero Tolerance. Together with Mike, she created the podcast Southlake. This project was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

This podcast examines one of those areas as the group tries to gain a majority on a local school board. After having entered the school board, this movement reached its goal of creating a public platform to campaign for its agenda. The hosts show the connections between the local and the national impact. It showcases how political trends in government and media can harm vulnerable people.

With this new podcast, the pair continues their successful collaboration. Mike and Antonia tell the story of Grapevine with empathy and care. The hosts interview teachers, teens, and parents. Their stories show a struggling community. They also demonstrate how the same struggles echo in other parts of the country.

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Play Trailer
Introducing: Grapevine
Sep 26 2023
Introducing: Grapevine
Two years after conservative activists turned critical race theory into a right-wing rallying cry, the political fight has shifted. The team behind the Peabody Award-winning podcast Southlake tells the story of one family broken apart in the midst of a new anti-LGBTQ culture war, and the high school English teacher caught in the middle.

Episodes

Introducing: Grapevine
Sep 26 2023
Introducing: Grapevine
Two years after conservative activists turned critical race theory into a right-wing rallying cry, the political fight has shifted. The team behind the Peabody Award-winning podcast Southlake tells the story of one family broken apart in the midst of a new anti-LGBTQ culture war, and the high school English teacher caught in the middle.
The Girl And The English Teacher
Oct 4 2023
The Girl And The English Teacher
A mother named Sharla publicly accuses a high school teacher in Grapevine, Texas, of using a graphic novel called “The Prince and the Dressmaker” to convince her child to change genders. Reporters Mike Hixenbaugh and Antonia Hylton set out to investigate the allegation. Sharla’s child, Ren, and Ren’s English teacher, Em Ramser, tell them a different story.
The Seven Mountains
Oct 4 2023
The Seven Mountains
Conservatives are gaining power in Grapevine, fueled by a once-fringe movement that calls on evangelicals to control the seven key “mountains” of American society — including education. A cellphone company with a Christian nationalist agenda heeds that call and sets its sights on winning school board seats in Grapevine, following an example set a year earlier in the neighboring city of Southlake.CORRECTION (Oct. 4, 2023, 08:40 p.m. ET): A previous version of this episode misstated the amount of money Patriot Mobile Action spent in school board elections in North Texas in spring 2022. It was nearly $500,000, not $600,000.
A Harvest Is Coming
Oct 11 2023
A Harvest Is Coming
Amid a growing anti-trans backlash, Ren devises a plan to get out of Texas — and away from her mother. In Grapevine, Sharla’s claim that teacher Em Ramser “infected” her child with lies about gender triggers online attacks, leading Ramser to consider leaving the profession.
A Raging Fire
Oct 13 2023
A Raging Fire
Weston Brown, 28, sees a video of his homeschooling mother calling for dozens of books on sexuality and gender to be banned from public schools in another Texas school district. To counter her political activism, Weston publicly shares his story of growing up gay in a fundamentalist Christian family. Feeling pressured by parents and school officials, Em Ramser removes LGBTQ symbols from her classroom and no longer recognizes the teacher she’s become.
Open The Floodgates
Oct 18 2023
Open The Floodgates
Evangelical activists open a new front in their campaign to impose their version of biblical morality in public schools — at the Texas statehouse. While legislators debate bills requiring the Ten Commandments and banning mention of gender identity in classrooms, three nonbinary students share the trauma they’ve endured at Grapevine High. Meanwhile, a coalition of progressive parents and disillusioned conservatives pledge to retake control of their school system.
A Final Lesson
Oct 20 2023
A Final Lesson
Grapevine goes to the polls in a contentious school board election driven by the fight over the role of religion and LGBTQ inclusion in public schools. As the dust settles, Ren reflects on the impact of her mother’s allegations. And, after months of feeling as if she’s had to erase herself, Em Ramser reclaims her voice.
They Came for the Schools
May 14 2024
They Came for the Schools
In an exclusive audio excerpt from Chapter 1 of “They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms,” author Mike Hixenbaugh uncovers Southlake’s history, demonstrating how policies meant to protect the town from outside development a half-century ago helped plant the seeds for conflicts over diversity, equity and inclusion—conflicts that are now tearing apart suburbs across the nation.For more details and to purchase the book, on sale May 14, 2024, follow this link: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/they-came-for-the-schools-mike-hixenbaugh?variant=41284682088482