 While creators of a popular podcast series visited the Brainerd area yesterday as part of a traveling series put on by Minnesota Public Radio called MPR Connects. Madeleine Barron and Samara Fremark of the podcast In the Dark talked about their experience with the Peabody Award-winning podcast. The first season of In the Dark covered the investigation into the Jacob Wetterling case. The second season released last spring followed the case of a Mississippi man tried six times for the same crime who now sits on death row. Barron, the lead reporter for the podcast was joined by American public media reports senior producers Samara Fremark to talk about how they chose and pursue their stories. I hope that people, it gets people thinking more about these sort of core functions of our democracy, you know, the police, the prosecutors, the criminal justice system, so that when we make decisions in our own communities, we have the right kind of questions to ask and we sort of know to not always accept everything at face value. The event was part of a four-part series by MPR put on throughout greater Minnesota. The speakers answered audience questions and highlighted the importance of investigative journalism. The podcast is currently planning a third season but they've not yet announced the subject of their investigation. To me, it's like the most important kind of journalism. It's the journalism that tells people what they don't already know and you know, there's so many things we wouldn't know about if there weren't investigative journalists. And so I think to us it feels really, it feels absolutely indispensable. I mean, it's, it's, it's expensive. It takes time. It takes money. We recognize that but it feels very worth it to us. The event was MPR connects last stop in the series after previously holding events in Rochester, St. Cloud and Duluth. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.