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Introducing: Overlooked

Crysta Henthorne
/
KCUR 89.3

Former Kansas City, Kansas, detective Roger Golubski is accused of putting an innocent man in jail, exploiting vulnerable Black women, and terrorizing the community for decades. How did he get away with it for so long, and what does justice look like?

On Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022 FBI agents arrestedRoger Golubski — a retired Kansas City, Kansas, Police detective — on charges that he raped, sexually assaulted and kidnapped two women in the 1990s. The indictment and arrest of Roger Golubski was a big deal in the community.

But it’s far from over. These federal charges are just a tiny piece of adecades-long story.

In 1994, Roger Golubski put an innocent man, Lamonte McIntyre, in prison for 23 years. And it wasn’t until 2017, when McIntyre was exonerated and a list of murdered women appeared, that people in power started to realize how deep the problem went.

Golubski had been using his badge to exploit women for decades — and it was an open secret. There were people who tried to sound the alarm, but not enough people listened.

Introducing: Overlooked, a new investigative podcast fromKCUR Studiosand the NPR Midwest Newsroom.

For the past two years, KCUR's Peggy Lowe has been investigating corruption within the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department. Overlooked dives deep into the whole story of Golubski, introduces the people who he's wronged, and asks what accountability and justice truly looks like.

Coming soon. Subscribe now, wherever you get podcasts.

Overlooked is a production of KCUR Studios and the NPR Midwest Newsroom. Hosted by Peggy Lowe. Reported by Peggy Lowe, Steve Vockrodt and Dan Margolies. Produced, mixed and sound designed by Mackenzie Martin and Suzanne Hogan. Edited by CJ Janovy. Mixing help from Paris Norvel and Trevor Grandin. Digital editing by Gabe Rosenberg. Social media promotion by Allison Harris. Photos by Carlos Moreno and Julie Denesha. Artwork by Crysta Henthorne. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Special thanks to Genevieve Des Marteau, Lisa Rodriguez and Holly Edgell. Bernie Rhodes is our lawyer.

I’m a veteran investigative reporter who came up through newspapers and moved to public media. I want to give people a better understanding of the criminal justice system by focusing on its deeper issues, like institutional racism, the poverty-to-prison pipeline and police accountability. Today this beat is much different from how reporters worked it in the past. I’m telling stories about people who are building significant civil rights movements and redefining public safety. Email me at lowep@kcur.org.
Whether it’s something happening right now or something that happened 100 years ago, some stories don’t fit in the short few minutes of a newscast. As a podcast producer and reporter at KCUR Studios, I help investigate questions and local curiosities in a way that brings listeners along for adventures with plot twists and thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes there isn’t an easy answer in the end – but my hope is that we all leave with a greater understanding of the city we live in. Reach me at mackenzie@kcur.org.
Every part of the present has been shaped by actions that took place in the past, but too often that context is left out. As a podcast producer for KCUR Studios and host of the podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, I aim to provide context, clarity, empathy and deeper, nuanced perspectives on how the events and people in the past have shaped our community today. In that role, and as an occasional announcer and reporter, I want to entertain, inform, make you think, expose something new and cultivate a deeper shared human connection about how the passage of time affects us all. Reach me at hogansm@kcur.org.
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