Where is the Improvement Association located?
And to everyone in Bladen County, North Carolina, for your incredible generosity with your time. The Improvement Association is produced by Serial Productions and The New York Times.
What is the Improvement Association PAC?
From the makers of Serial and The New York Times, a five-part series about allegations of election fraud — and the powerful forces that fuel them. The Improvement Association PAC’s power in the county is threatened when an unlikely candidate enters the race for county commissioner.
Is the Improvement Association a true story?
From Serial Productions, I’m Zoe Chace. This is The Improvement Association, a true story about election fraud. Cogdell is an incumbent who doesn’t want to lose his seat, obviously. So just on that score, he’s anti-Mark.
Who are the producers of the Improvement Association?
The Improvement Association is produced by Serial Productions and The New York Times. Listen to Chapter Five. Reported by Zoe Chace; produced by Nancy Updike, with help from Amy Pedulla; edited by Julie Snyder, Sarah Koenig, Neil Drumming and Ira Glass; original score by Kwame Brandt-Pierce; and sound design and mix by Phoebe Wang.
Who produced the music for Chapter One?
Listen to Chapter One. Reported by Zoe Chace; produced by Nancy Updike, with help from Amy Pedulla; edited by Julie Snyder, Sarah Koenig, Neil Drumming and Ira Glass; original score by Kwame Brandt-Pierce; and sound design and mix by Phoebe Wang.
Why does Marshall say the PAC is powerful?
Marshall says that’s a common accusation directed at the Improvement Association PAC. Because the PAC is powerful, Marshall says, their endorsement’s powerful. So whichever candidate the PAC doesn’t endorse, that candidate or that candidate’s supporters will accuse the PAC of vote buying.
Why is Mark not open to dealing with them?
Because Mark is open to dealing with them, but they are not open to dealing with him because they think that he’s going to be the white man’s little token. And that’s not true. But he’s been dealing with white folks all of his life. All of his life, he’s dealt with them.
New York Times
For at least a decade, allegations of cheating have swirled around elections in rural Bladen County, N.C. Some people in town point fingers at a Black advocacy group, the Bladen County Improvement Association, accusing it of bullying voters, tampering with ballots and stealing votes outright.
Trailer
A new podcast from the makers of "Serial" and The New York Times. For at least a decade, allegations of cheating have swirled around elections in rural Bladen County, N.C.
Episodes
A new podcast from the makers of "Serial" and The New York Times. For at least a decade, allegations of cheating have swirled around elections in rural Bladen County, N.C.
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If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
Why was Zoe Chace's hearing so riveting?
zoe chace. To me, the hearing was riveting because of the testimony. Now McCrae is basically an elections professional, who loves politics, but the people who worked for him who took the stand and testified, they were not like that. This was a job they did for a few weeks or a few months, for a little extra money.
Who ran for Congress in 2018?
It looks like this. In the midterm election of 2018, this guy, Mark Harris, white, Republican, former Baptist pastor, ran for Congress in North Carolina. It seemed at first like he definitely won.
About the Podcast
For at least a decade, allegations of cheating have swirled around elections in rural Bladen County, N.C. Some people in town point fingers at a Black advocacy group, the Bladen County Improvement Association, accusing it of bullying voters, tampering with ballots and stealing votes outright.
About the Host
Zoe Chace explains the mysteries of the global economy for NPR’s Planet Money. As a reporter for the team, Chace knows how to find compelling stories in unlikely places, including a lollipop factory in Ohio struggling to stay open, a pasta plant in Italy where everyone calls in sick, and a recording studio in New York mixing Rihanna’s next hit.
