Damaria Bates and Jimia Stokes started their jobs as mental health workers, full of hope. But soon, they saw signs of severe abuse-- mentally ill prisoners with injuries, drenched in tear gas. When they tried to report the problems, they say fe

7: Tipping Point

Oct 16th, 2020 37m 59s

Atomwaffen was the most extreme white supremacist group, pushing for societal collapse. Today, their ideas are on the streets.

8: The ‘After’

Mar 27th, 2020 28m 30s

“Nobody talks about ‘the after,’” one woman said about sexual assault. “The during is terrible, but it’s the after, that’s the hard part.”On the final episode of Motive, the “remembering it for the rest of your life” part of the story.

3: Underpaid And Underappreciated

Feb 9th, 2023 35m 28s

Gunshot victim Joey struggles to get police to arrest the man he believes seriously wounded him and killed his neighbor. Meanwhile, low-pay and job insecurity make it harder for anti-violence workers to do their jobs and build a life for themse

2: De/Escalation

Feb 2nd, 2023 35m 16s

Sirenzo Strong spends his work days trying to talk to gang members in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. Part of his turf is the site of a former housing complex, Rockwell Gardens. When former residents return to the old neighborhood, s

1: After The Gunfire

Jan 26th, 2023 36m 50s

Former gang members are out on Chicago’s streets trying to slow the relentless violence. A man shot 11 times hides with his kids at home.

5: The Trial

May 5th, 2022 37m 5s

Two Illinois prison guards were tried for beating Larry Earvin to death. We try to make sense of the trial and what it says about prisons?

1: The Blind Spot

Mar 28th, 2022 40m 30s

Men in an Illinois prison said they were beaten in a spot with no security cameras. But no one took action, until someone died. Exposing violence and cover ups, Season 4 of Motive investigates the hidden world of big prisons in small towns. Pla

6: The New Nazis

Oct 9th, 2020 43m 28s

How did President Trump, the border wall, and the 2017 Charlottesville rally play into the education of a white supremacist?

4: Boots To Suits

Sep 25th, 2020 39m 50s

Daytime TV discovered neo-Nazi skinheads and it was a ratings bonanza. But it also helped to grow the hate movement across America.

3: Union And Division

Sep 18th, 2020 36m 23s

The Chicago Area Skinheads are, by some accounts, the first racist skinhead crew to organize in the U.S. What drew in those young recruits? And how one brutal event brought them down.

2: Romantic Violence

Sep 11th, 2020 34m 37s

It was the ‘80s. Reagan was president. And for angsty, angry teens, the punk scene provided family and expression. Until the Nazis showed up and ruined everything.

1: The Hate Crate

1 Sep 4th, 2020 35m 23s

A shy kid from Chicago shaves his head and prepares for an inevitable race war. In the early 1980s, it looked like organized white supremacy was declining in the U.S. But a generation of racist skinheads breathed new life into the movement.Seas

5: Did Anyone Know?

Feb 28th, 2020 35m 21s

While studying abroad in Spain, Hayley McAleese and Carly Van Ostenbridge reported to both the police and their school that they had been sexually assaulted. It didn’t go as expected.

4: Can’t Tell Anyone

Feb 21st, 2020 27m 8s

Most of the women in this story did not go to the police. And while some told a friend, family member or therapist what happened, most say they tried to bury it and move on. Why? And what made these women decide to finally break their silence?

9: Batman On The West Side

1 Nov 15th, 2019 33m 19s

Now a multi-millionaire, T.J. could have done anything. But he called himself Batman and started a violent gang war.For photos, video, court documents and more visit the Motive page at the Chicago Sun-Times.

7: Inmate K51114

1 Nov 1st, 2019 24m 16s

In prison, T.J. becomes a part of the gang hierarchy and dives deep into religion. Not long after inmate number K51114 is released, cracks start to appear. For photos, video, court documents and more visit the Motive page at the Chicago Sun-T

6: Mousey Is Dead

1 Oct 25th, 2019 27m 31s

Brian Nelson was the leader of T.J.'s gang: The Simon City Royals. Nelson spent almost thirty harrowing years in prison. What was left when he came out?For photos, video, court documents and more, visit the Motive page at the Chicago Sun-Times.

Bonus

Introducing - You Didn't See Nothin

May 1st, 2023 2m 29s

Here's another podcast we think you'll find interesting. Twenty-five years ago in Chicago, a little boy named Lenard Clark was beaten into a coma just for being Black. Almost overnight, the news stories turned to racial reconciliation and forgi

6: Aftermath

Mar 2nd, 2023 41m 11s

Anti-violence worker Cecilia Mannion confronts her desire for revenge after the car her kids are riding in is shot up 20 times. Meanwhile outreach workers in Garfield Park are trying to slow a string of shootings stemming from the theft of an $

5: Collateral Damage

Feb 23rd, 2023 37m 57s

A 14-year-old boy whose father was wounded in a gang shooting faces down threats of violence and the temptations of joining a gang. Meanwhile, a person who killed one woman and wounded another will avoid criminal charges.

4: Getting In And Getting Out

Feb 16th, 2023 32m 41s

The gang murder of 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams shook Chicago and affected many of the anti-violence workers on the West Side. As former gang members they sympathized with Jaslyn’s dad, Jontae, his desire to spend time with his daughter and how that