Paper Trail
Investigative reporters at ProPublica chase down evidence of wrongdoing and bring it to light. That evidence can be on paper — or on thumb drives, in secret recordings, from conversations with whistleblowers. Each episod...
Insights from recent episode analysis
On the show
- Gus Garcia-Roberts1 ep
- Sharon Lerner1 ep
- Melissa Sanchez1 ep
Also: Sebastian Rotella, Andy Mannix, Brett Murphy, Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Renee Dudley, Pamela Colloff, David Armstrong, Duaa Eldeib, Ginny Monk, Dave Altimari
Audience Interest
Podcast Focus
Publishing Consistency
Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.
Most discussed topics
Brands & references
Total monthly reach
Based on 1 signal.
Built from
By chart position
- 🇺🇸United States · DocumentaryHOME#9635K to 3.4M
- 🇨🇦Canada · Documentary#228.6K to 45K
- 🇮🇳India · Documentary#306.2K to 33K
- 🇦🇷AR · Documentary#133.9K to 21K
- 🇩🇪Germany · Documentary#542.6K to 14K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
680K to 3.6M🎙 Weekly cadence·11 episodes·Last published 1w ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
1.4M to 7.2M🇺🇸93%🇨🇦1%🇮🇳1%+1 more - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
747K to 4.0M
Market Insights
Platform Distribution
Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly
Total Followers
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Total Plays
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Total Reviews
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* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/15/26 |  Susan Collins and the Case of the Disappearing FBI Probe | When the Trump administration shut down an elite FBI anti-corruption unit, investigations in progress got shelved. ProPublica reporters learned details of one of these: The CEO of a naval technology company alleged that he had bribed politicians, including Sen. Susan Collins. If he was telling the truth, his story provided a road map to how corruption really works in Washington, D.C. But the CEO was in prison for fraud, and Collins claimed she’d been cleared by the FBI. Could anything he said be true? Read the original reporting here: https://www.propublica.org/article/fbi-susan-collins-navatek-campaign-donations-investigationContact the reporters here: Molly Redden, William Turton, Avi Asher-SchapiroSupport our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate. | 44m 02s | ||||||
| 10/1/26 |  Who’s the Shadow President? | Reporter Andy Kroll got his hands on secret tapes of a low-profile bureaucrat named Russell Vought. Turns out, as director of the Office of Management and Budget, he’s been quietly reshaping the federal government and commanding many of the second Trump administration’s biggest moves. Read the reporting here: https://www.propublica.org/article/russ-vought-trump-shadow-president-omb Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate. | 36m 12s | ||||||
| 9/15/26 |  Don Jr.’s Secret Wedding Guest | While investigating the personal wealth of the president’s oldest son, investigative reporters Justin Elliott and Brett Murphy learned something almost too strange to be true: that a Russian oligarch closely allied with Vladimir Putin might have attended Donald Trump Jr.’s recent wedding in the Bahamas. Using a combination of social media and shoe-leather reporting, a team of ProPublica reporters soon realized that the guest list was just the tip of the iceberg. Read the reporting here: https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-jr-wedding-bankrolled-russian-oligarch-umar-kremlev-putinSupport our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate. | 28m 35s | ||||||
| 9/10/26 | sportsexploitation+5 | Gus Garcia-Roberts | Major League Baseball | Dominican Republic | MLBDominican Republic+5 | — | 44m 28s | ||
| 9/3/26 | forever chemicalsenvironmental health+3 | Sharon Lerner | 3MProPublica | — | forever chemicals3M+3 | — | 44m 24s | ||
| 8/20/26 | immigrationlaw enforcement+5 | Melissa SanchezSebastian Rotella | ProPublicaTren de Aragua | ChicagoVenezuela+1 | immigration raidChicago+5 | — | 41m 40s | ||
| 8/6/26 | child sexual abusechurch accountability+3 | Andy Mannix | Old Apostolic Lutheran ChurchProPublica+1 | Minnesota | child abuseOALC+7 | — | 45m 45s | ||
| 7/23/26 | foreign aidTrump administration+4 | Brett MurphyAnna Maria Barry-Jester | ProPublicaUSAID+2 | South SudanKenya | USAIDTrump+5 | — | 33m 41s | ||
| 7/9/26 | cybersecuritygovernment policy+4 | Renee Dudley | MicrosoftDepartment of Defense+1 | China | MicrosoftDepartment of Defense+5 | — | 33m 51s | ||
| 6/25/26 | domestic violencelaw+3 | Pamela Colloff | OklahomaProPublica+1 | — | Oklahoma lawdomestic violence+3 | — | 38m 34s | ||
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| 6/11/26 | healthcare costspharmaceutical pricing+4 | David Armstrong | RevlimidProPublica+2 | — | cancerdrug pricing+6 | — | 41m 25s | ||
| 5/28/26 | health insurancemental health+3 | Duaa Eldeib | ProPublica | — | health insurance denialmental health crisis+3 | — | 39m 14s | ||
| 5/21/26 | car towinginvestigation+4 | Ginny MonkDave Altimari | The Connecticut MirrorProPublica | — | car towingConnecticut+6 | — | 41m 37s | ||
| 5/14/26 |  What the FDA Won’t Tell You About Your Medications | For years, the Food and Drug Administration told the public that generics are just as safe and effective as brand-name medications. But ProPublica reporters uncovered reports from the FDA’s own inspectors detailing everything from pigeons pooping onto boxes of sterilized equipment to evidence of a factory cheating on quality testing. Even though the FDA knew about these reports, it let some of those troubled factories overseas keep shipping their drugs to the U.S. — some of which might have ended up in your medicine cabinet.This episode details why and how a secretive group inside the FDA made the decision to keep this information from the public and how you can find out where your own medications are made.Reporters: Debbie Cenziper and Megan RoseRead More: https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-drug-loophole-sun-pharmaLook up your own drugs: https://projects.propublica.org/rx-inspector/Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate. | 38m 58s | ||||||
| 5/7/26 |  Introducing “Paper Trail” | Investigative journalism can change the world. Host and reporter Jessica Lussenhop tells the story of how she learned that for herself.Follow this feed for a new investigation on every episode. It might change the way you see the world, too. Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate. | 4m 34s | ||||||
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Chart history for Paper Trail
Peaked at #9 in United States, top 10 in 1 of 50 tracked markets, currently #9 in United States.
| Market | Genre | Peak | Current | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | — | #9 | #9 | — |
| AR | — | #13 | #13 | — |
| Canada | — | #22 | #22 | — |
| Ireland | — | #26 | #26 | — |
| Norway | — | #29 | #29 | — |
| India | — | #30 | #30 | — |
| PH | — | #31 | #31 | — |
| SG | — | #32 | #32 | — |
| CZ | — | #33 | #33 | — |
| Spain | — | #34 | #34 | — |
| Netherlands | — | #37 | #37 | — |
| ID | — | #37 | #37 | — |
| Sweden | — | #38 | #38 | — |
| South Africa | — | #39 | #39 | — |
| RO | — | #44 | #44 | — |
| United States | — | #46 | #46 | — |
| KE | — | #46 | #46 | — |
| IS | — | #49 | #49 | — |
| France | — | #50 | #50 | — |
| Australia | — | #51 | #51 | — |
Chart Positions
50 placements across 46 markets.
Chart Positions
50 placements across 46 markets.