Hometown, Alaska Alaska Public Media

Many programs on Justice Alaska focus on explaining Alaska’s judicial system from the inside, from the perspective of judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys, as well as participants in therapeutic courts and administrators within the Department of Corrections.Kyle Hopkins, in the ADN newsroom after learning “Lawless” was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. (Alaska Public Media/Julia O’Malley)Today’s program is a look from the outside. A team of reporters from the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that collaborates with local reporting teams on investigative projects, produced two series, “Lawless” and “Unheard.” They tell stories of a broken public safety system in rural Alaska, where one in three communities has no local law enforcement. The result: tragic stories of lives lost, damaged survivors, communities essentially abandoned by the state. ADN reporter Kyle Hopkins led the effort; “Lawless” was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2020.Kyle joins us today