Podcast about Kansas City, Kansas, investigates police corruption while telling victims’ stories

The story of Roger Golubski, a police officer accused of corruption and whose investigations put at least one innocent man in prison, has been a top story in Kansas City, Kansas, for the past few years.

The Kansas City Star has run dozens of columns, editorials, news stories and in-depth feature stories about FBI investigations into Golubski. Star headlines tell part of the story:

“Kansas City, Kansas, police have cooperated in years-long Roger Golubski investigation”

“House of corruption: KCK police brought women to this place, former neighbor says”

More recently, “Ex-KCK cop Roger Golubski to remain under house arrest while awaiting trials, judge rules”

However, the “Overlooked” podcast, produced by NPR affiliate KCUR, provides something that even dedicated newspaper reporting can’t.

Hosted and reported by Peggy Lowe, the six-part series smartly balances two very different storylines. First, it investigates the murder investigator himself, grindingly describing Golubski and the accusations against him. The podcast producers are careful to keep un-convicted crimes as “alleged” when writing about Golubski. 

However, the sheer number of moral failings and alleged criminal acts swamps listeners. The podcast details how Golubski investigated murder victims who he personally and closely knew without disclosing that relationship. How he’s accused of receiving oral sex in his office. How he propositioned Black women at their most vulnerable moments — including when he was interviewing them as witnesses in murder investigations.

In addition to these investigative details, the podcast delivers a second narrative, one that requires compassion and delicacy. Listeners hear from the victims: women who accuse Golubski of raping them, family members who are haunted by relatives’ unsolved murders, an ex-wife who was played by Golubski’s dishonesty.

Those victim’s voices are overwhelmingly women. Yes, we hear from Lamonte McIntyre, the man who was wrongfully imprisoned for 23 years because of Golubski’s sloppy — if not willfully misdirected — investigation.

However, the voices of women tell the story, from episode one to six.

The courage of those women, especially Niko Quinn, shines. As “Overlooked” explains, Quinn suffered both the unsolved murder of her sister Stacey and her cousin, known as little Don. Alleged misconduct by Golubski seems to be to blame in both failed investigations.

White male police officers held power over Black women in Kansas City, Kansas, for generations. Nevertheless, Quinn and other women boldly speak to Lowe about Golubski and the police department that overlooked and allegedly enabled him.

“Overlooked” creates its own style in a genre that is both popular and accomplished: podcasts about shoddy murder investigations. KCUR’s work mixes the generational scope of “White Lies” (a podcast about a civil rights era murder in Alabama) with the personal writing (and a bit of the musical tone) of “Serial.”

“Overlooked” also conjures a bit of “She Said,” the New York Times investigation of Harvey Weinsten. As titanic and looming white men, Weinstein and Golubski seem conjoined by a decades-long use of sexual power over helpless victims, along with their reliance on enablers who looked the other way — if not worse.

That is all to say that “Overlooked” is its own thing: a blend of thorough reporting, vibrant writing and narrative storytelling. So, it’s no surprise that the podcast won a national investigative award this month. KCUR’s website lists the team that produced the series as Lowe, Mackenzie Martin, Suzanne Hogan, Steve Vockrodt, Dan Margolies, C.J. Janovy, Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

This series also showcases why podcasts can be so powerful and are so popular. “Overlooked” and other ambitious efforts mix documentary audio, investigative reporting, personal observation and wrenching interviews.

This particular series rises to the vanguard of an often cluttered pile of podcasts. By dedicating years of dogged recording along with veteran skilled journalists to the investigation of this one sordid story.

The final episode of “Overlooked” hints that more episodes are possible, which would be helpful to wrap up unanswered questions. Golubski’s federal trial promises more revelations and might provide not just a satisfying ending to a stellar podcast series, but also justice for a man who terrorized the Black community in Kansas City, Kansas.

Upcoming episodes might also help to answer the looming question that isn’t fully answered by these first six episodes of “Overlooked.”

What moral failings and criminal acts by other people in the Kansas City, Kansas, police department allowed Golubski to manufacture a story this horrifically long with this many victims’ stories to tell?

Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.