Chris Harland-Dunaway

An AMerican Murder in Istanbul

When an American journalist and her mother were murdered in their apartment in Istanbul, Turkish authorities apprehended a distant cousin, tried him in near-secrecy, and sent him to prison. Investigative files from the case reveal strange inconsistencies and missed-leads that suggest possible accomplices may remain at-large, and beg the question: why didn’t the FBI get involved when an American was murdered abroad?

Lead producer for Reveal, October 10, 2020

outside the wire

An inside look at an experimental US psychological warfare operation against the Taliban, waged over the radio, staffed by Afghan DJs. When US troops came home, the DJs stayed. This story follows a DJ named Wafa and his odyssey to stay alive. Part of a special project by The Verge, titled Pirate Radio, and aired on the Vergecast.

Reported and Produced for The Verge, November 2019

Take no Prisoners

In December 1944, Adolf Hitler surprised the Allies with a secret counterattack through the Ardennes forest, known today as the Battle of the Bulge. In the carnage that followed, there was one incident that top military commanders hoped would be concealed. It's the story of an American war crime nearly forgotten to history, told by one of the few surviving witnesses.

Aired nationally July & December 2018 by Reveal

Rescuing Audio From Nuremberg

Here’s something you don’t hear every day: a Supreme Court justice grilling the top brass of the Nazi Party in court. Recordings like this from the Nuremberg trials were forgotten for years. But now, archivists are working to digitize thousands of old audio recordings of the Nuremberg trails, which will then be released to the public, likely in 2020.

Aired nationally February 2019 by PRI’s The World 

BURN PITS

American soldiers are coming home with mysterious lung problems. In Iraq and Afghanistan, scores of American military bases disposed of trash by throwing it in a pit and burning it. The deluge of smoke often drifted down on the bases. The Department of Defense and the VA say there is no conclusive evidence linking burn pit smoke to veterans’ health problems. One sick veteran waits for science to confirm his suspicions, walking the well-worn footsteps of his military father.

Aired May, 2018 on WHYY and The Pulse podcast

Still Alive

Willie was only a teenager when he started abusing painkillers. He was heading down the road of addiction. As the nation grapples with an opioid epidemic, Willie’s story offers a look at the Straight Edge culture that helped him resist drugs. But Willie’s reckoning with addiction would have never happened without the grim serendipity of a terrible accident. 

Aired April, 2016 on KALX, WDMB, and KBCS

Racing in Redlands

Pro cycling is a tough gig. The sport is filled with long days of training, crashes, life on the road, and often very little pay. But theres a reason that people do it, despite the hardship. Tim Rugg is one rider who has raced for a long list of amateur teams and one professional one. He's reaching a point in his career where he has to ask himself: "Should I keep going, or move on?"

Redlands Bicycle Classic is the biggest pro-am race in America. Riders who win the race often go on to big teams and comfortable lives. That makes Redlands the crucible of Tim Rugg's decision process. A big win, and he'll continue his career, but a bitter loss might mean the end.

Aired April, 2016 on KALX

The Big Squeeze on berkeley's artists

Berkeley’s artists are feeling the pinch of rising rents. Many are being forced into itinerant lifestyles, living in RVs. Older artists who came to the city in the 1970’s made their way through their own hardscrabble beginnings, buying wrecked houses and rebuilding them, or living in farmhouses or in one case, a chicken coop. But now, these older artists are established and can weather the rising rents. Younger artists just arriving in the Berkeley art scene can’t afford it. If tech money can just connect with the art scene, it might be possible to compensate for the costs of rent. If the City of Berkeley makes a bold legislative move, maybe it can save its young artists, and its artistic tradition.

Aired April, 2016 on KALX