The Kids of Rutherford County

From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody-award winning reporter based in the South.For over a decade, one Tennessee county arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. A four-part narrative series reveals how this came to be, the adults responsible for it, and the two lawyers, former juvenile delinquents themselves, who try to do something about it. To get full access to this show, and to other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts. To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look behind the scenes, sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter. Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on our shows? Email us at serialshows@nytimes.com

Recent Episodes

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Recent Reviews

HOV Surfer

Voice - couldn’t do it

The repeated cadence of every sentence spoken in the same pattern became so distracting that I had to tap out midway through the first episode.
ElHa0519

good story bad voice

the story was very intriguing and very well written, but the hosts voice was infuriating. so annoying.
EllaFitz425

The host’s voice ruined it for me

The story is so interesting, but the vocal fry is ruining the whole podcast. I even tried to speed it up to 1.5 and it’s still bad.
xime0624

It’s important these stories are told and heard!

I really appreciate this series. It was infuriating to listen but important for these stories to be told, especially because this is still happening and likely outside of Rutherford County too. Good reporting brings accountability and I think this series did that.
Deemcnei

Music Disruptive

Story was good but this awful drum beat in the middle of interviews was very disruptive to the story. Music is meant to enhanced, not take over a story.
my bad shawty

Me too

I too cannot stand to listen to the voice any longer 🥲
littleoncape

Great story voice awful

Intrigued by the story, great reporting but after 1 1/2 episodes I can’t take her voice anymore. I really tried and am bummed I won’t be able to finish it. Thought I I could it ignore, but I can’t. It seems like many podcasters on Serial and this American life talk like that. I googled the host to see if I was the only one who had an issue and saw so many articles about this type of voice. I’m a female and my reaction has nothing to do with the fact that she’s a woman. This type of speaking irritates me whether it’s a male or female.
Not MNJB

What’s with this women’s voice

What’s with the voice? The end of the sentences. Too much. Not good.
JennR8

5 star story. 1 star voice

This story is insane and rage inducing. The judge abused her power to abuse children and strip them of basic human rights. If you can get past the host’s (fake I think?) voice, it is worth it. I’m into the story so I am finishing the podcast, but I would not if it was more than 4 episodes. I don’t normally get annoyed by voices, but her frog voice grates every bone in me
KJ03 44

Turtles

I like turtles
florida heathen

Narrator should speak normally.

Serial is always a good show content wise but this narrator thinks she’s Keith Morrison and is constantly faking a really poor deep sound that grates on your soul. You can’t fake gravitas. You have it or you dont and she does not.
lakelifesc

Vocal fry

The story sounds interesting, but I could not stomach the host’s vocal fry. I had to switch to something else after the first episode.
BlockPillarSlab

Important Story, but…

All the production and editing work is strong (although yes, there’s a lot of vocal fry going on). At its core, this is an important story. But it’s not an entertaining one. It’s just a bad fit for the paid podcast format.
Cyndilandmace

Vocal Fry

Can’t get over the narrator’s voice. I’m out after 5m of listening.
R00ster Cogburn

Good reporting, narrator needs work

Narration is bad at times.
MisterConductor

An incredible true story.

I listened to the first two episodes at the laundromat and the time passed quickly. The story was told well. A report that reminded me of actual journalism, a story told without the narrator's opinion telling listeners what to think. I miss that journalistic integrity and this podcast reminded me why I loathe 24/7 television "news."
Ron Hollywood

It’s good

Great story. I do have a hard time with the host’s pretentious voice.
sgosnoss

Narrator is awful

Some people have voices for podcasts and some don’t. This narrator does not have a good voice for narration. She actually does sound like a high teenager. I could not listen to it. I wanted to but too distracting from the actual story.
soul24

A worthwhile story but the narrator…

You should listen to this because the content is well-researched and the story needed to be told. I like how it’s only four episodes. Short and sweet. Too many podcasts go on and on, stretching out across many unnecessary episodes. My biggest complaint is the narrator’s delivery style. It’s distracting. She’s very dry and her voice trails off, sometimes mid-sentence. If you need to go to sleep, put your headphones on at night and you’ll be in La La Land in no time. But it’s not like she’s the only podcast narrator who should probably reconsider their style. All in all I recommend this one.
5am Groggy

Narrator needs to work on professional voice

The narrator sounds like a high 18 year old young woman. It’s incredibly distracting from the content, which is engaging and interesting. I have no idea why a journalist would think this is an appropriate way to narrate.
Ladybugsplendor

Content vs Listenability

I love this podcast. I love the format, the content, everything. With one exception, at times, not the entire podcast, the host’s vocal fry is too distracting.
pay for it- and no commercials

Great reporting

I’m only listening because of the good reporting. The narrator is so annoying. Please stop purring like that!
Katewalton23

Narrator is trying hard to ruin this story

Hoping she hears herself, laughs when she realizes she sounds silly, and moves on with her normal voice. Lol.
Shar 2966

Beautiful work

A story everyone should know about. So very worth your time.
Soapjunkie67

Appalled

I’m on episode 2 and loving the show but so appalled that this happened! I’m a retired courtroom clerk from the Orange County Superior Court in California and I’ve never seen anything like this. In California we have CJP, Council on Judicial Performance and I’m wondering, does Tennessee not have this too because, if not, they need it and, if they do, these attorneys need to be reporting on Judge Davenport.
LexiWanda

why is she talking like that

the narrators voice and weird cadence is extremely hard to listen to …. not sure i’ll be able to listen to this one to completion because it’s very annoying.
LaurLaurRN

Excellent!!

I really hope there’s a part two coming soon!! Need more info on the follow-up!!
elby wood

Narrator should never work again

I was interested in this story, but will have to learn about it elsewhere as I couldn’t get through more than 5 minutes before I couldn’t take her voice anymore. Agreed with another reviewer that it sounds like parody - like a bad SNL one of a “serious podcast voiiiccce-ah”. Unfortunate that it will definitely keep people from the story.
PCtobenamedlater

Worth a listen

I’ll listen to anything from or recommended by Serial. Although I may have been hoping for a little more, I found the topic interesting. Our world has become so complex, and is reliant on so many parties acting in an ethical manner that it feels like progress is grindingly slow.
HAMapplereview

Great content

Can’t believe this went on for so long. The research and story telling was great. I guess my ears are different from everyone else. The story was way more important for me.
Headset Issue

Unlistenable

The hosts vocal fry could easily be mistaken for parody. It will have you yearning for the sound of nails on a chalkboard. No exaggeration, most ridiculously impossible to listen to audio ever. Insane.
Apeppey

Excellent content, rough vocal fry

Content is excellent. Interesting, engaging, well researched. I would give it 5 stars, but the narrator has a bizarre cadence and vocal fry that makes certain portions difficult to listen to.
Librarian Listening

Very informative

Very well done! I am fascinated by this piece, and I hope to see a “sequel.”
weh04

Important Story

The story is so sad and so important. The narrator has an odd cadence to her presentation that makes it a little hard to follow.
slamgranderson

Story well told

Great show. Fantastic reporting. Engaging structure and pacing. I liked how it came with a healthy dose of humor.
Listeninglinguist

Great story - couldn’t listen to host

This story was so beautifully researched and timely. The host is clearly a fantastic journalist, but her voice was grating after seconds. I’m an academic linguist, I know there’s a sexist attitude to speech affects that are predominantly used by women. This is NOT the reason her voice was irritating to your listeners. It was her cadence, modulation and vocal fry all working together that made every sentence monotonous - tortured, even. Sorry - but I agree with the other reviewers: nails on a chalk board (and I’d say it about a male narrator with the same issues too!)
Jman360u2

Narrator counts

She may be a fantastic reporter, but reporting skills do not equal engaging narration skills. I would have liked to hear the story, but couldn't get past her voice and reading skills
DoctahMom

Important Story

Loved the podcast, thought it was well done. Maybe I am more tolerant, or busier doing other things while listening, but I think the narrator is good.
Adops10

Unlistenable

Interesting topic, but horrible narrator.
RobinsNest0101

The Narrators voice is distracting

I agree with what most every reviewer has talked about. Please choose your narrators wisely. I love Serial Productions. Let Sarah narrate!!!!! ;)
hogan's dump

Vocal burn

I wish someone else would narrate this great story. But I had to stop listening on account of the narrator’s voice. Vocal burn is contrived, it’s not natural.
MicRH22

Loved the topic, hard to listen to narrator

The topic is compelling and interesting. However, the way the narrator draws out her last word is extremely distracting. She speaks ‘normally’ in other areas, so hopefully she can correct this. It would be an amazing podcast.
Momof2Boys115

Good Topic, Not so good host

The vocal fry and the inflection at the end of each sentence is maddening. By ep 3 I resorted to read the transcript for each episode so I could find out what happened with this topic.
Mo*123

Ugh

Would love to listen to this but I cannot stand the way the host talks.
Laup4

Sounds Like an SNL Skit

I saw all the reviews on how exasperatingly awful the vocal fry is but I assumed they had to be somewhat inflated for effect. I was wrong. It truly is difficult to listen to. The narrator sounds like a character in an SNL skit of a podcast parody. I am amazed nobody involved with the production of this podcast recognized this issue.
JoshuaTweed

Too much vocal fry. Ouch

.
B is for Beth

Wanted to continue

This was a story I was interested in listening to but, I’m so sorry to say, the narrator’s vocal fry and downward inflection at the end of every sentence/thought was too much for me. I couldn’t get through the first episode, it was too distracting.
GaiaNin

The Narration is ROUGH

I really enjoyed this story. It was well researched and laid out. However, the voice of the narration was really hard to listen to. Just rough.
iwkakaka

Hard to listen to narrative

This was a great series but it’s a struggle to go through the speaking narrative.
Katiekrez

Sad to say…

I just had to surrender in the middle of episode 2. The content is moving and the interviewees are extremely knowledgeable. But the vocal fry on the journalist has officially driven me mad. I think some vocal coaching would do her well! She has a great knack for storytelling, maybe just not in spoken word.