The Improvement Association

by Serial Productions & The New York Times

1,609

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. These accusations have never been substantiated, but they persist. To get full access to this show, and to other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look behind the scenes, sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter.Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on our shows? Email us at serialshows@nytimes.com Reporter Zoe Chace went to Bladen County to investigate what’s really going on. 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.

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Recent Reviews

History Podcast junkie

Stolen elections are a conspiracy

From everything that I have read are elections in the US have been fair transparent and accurate. Every vote on Election Day is legit. Never thought that I would get a trump stolen election conspiracy talk on Serial. They usually tend to be towards the left. Listeners beware!
TechOso79

An American Voting Story

This podcast tells the story of the challenges Black voters across these United States are facing getting their votes to matter. The inner struggle of black voters is deep and has the scars of enslavement, Jim Crow era written all over it. As black voters are still building the foundation of multi generational organizations to server it’s community interest within American system that has pillars to keep black and other minorities out of equality. Podcast is well narrated, however I do challenge the author and all that read this review to gain a understanding of black history in American history.
rachlanar

Biased

Interesting topic but presenter/reporter too biased. On episode 3 moving onto another season.
horsegurl1313

Gave up after the second episode

It started out so strong but honestly the amount of time and weight given to petty white Republican voting officials was obnoxious.
Kk5427291

Just not that great

Echoing what others have said… there was just no point? A podcast that could have been incredibly interesting that was just okay and a reporter that clearly had so many biases that it was hard to believe her claims of “fair reporting.” Try again!
Mercedesland

Little Substance

I got to the end, and wanted my time back. There’s no “there” there.
AnnieHall450

The Improvement Association

Zoe Chace has a great voice. If this story has more updates of interest please have her on it.
Osmos Forticene

Extraordinary podcast

This podcast puts a human face on devastating realities like race in politics. Zoe Chace’s investigative reporting is excruciatingly human but exquisitely non-partisan — no easy feat. I literally couldn’t stop listening and ended up bingeing. I never do that. I’d recommend it to anyone.
AndreaDMelcher

Point was unclear

“A true story about election fraud” is the tagline for this podcast. I’m not entirely sure what this podcast was about, but it definitely was NOT about actual election fraud - at least not after the first 10-15 minutes. There are some interesting points about how allegations of fraud take on a life of their own, racial issues in voting and the challenges small towns face. But overall it was never clear what the point of the series was.
oldjohnhall

Worst Voice on Radio

Unlistenable
KimF50

Interesting, organized, professional

This was an interesting podcast presented in a high quality, professional manner. It was well researched, well organized and edited, and fairly reported. This is a good example of real investigative journalism, in contrast with most of the drivel out there these days that is not actually journalism. I also like the host’s voice, and generally the audio quality was good, both of which are important when you’re listening to something for hours.
z1g702

Zoe Chase is the best

Her voice is captivating and unique. I wish she narrated/reported more podcasts. She’s kinda lost her accent which I’m sad about but she still does a great job researching and reporting this story.
BlueJ516

Takes you to unexepcted places

Just when you think you know the story, this podcast reveals the deeper meaning impact of election fraud. Great story telling.
kittyxten

Amazing.

Absolutely wonderful podcast. I was hooked from the moment I heard the trailer. Wonderful job.
theaudball

Fascinating

Extremely well done. Nuanced and balanced. Well researched. Worth it to just hear the unique way Zoe says “vote.”
a;j:

Extremely well done.

Shows the nuance and intricacies of local politics, particularly in the modern south. Continues to dispel the notion that a black monolith acts in concert merely based on racial identity. Candidates matter.
oxfordshll

Riveting

Riveting, compelling, chilling, so well expressed.
ALeejelly

Wanted to like it

The reporter clearly had an agenda and wasn’t entirely impartial. The way that she presented things felt bias. I’m sure she ran into a lot of people unwilling to talk but she did more telling the story with her own words rather than audio evidence. This may not be her own fault at all, but this reporter didn’t really get the audio proof I feel is needed to make her conclusions.
CatLover8881

TAL Never Disappoints

All the This American Life podcasts I have listened to are educational and entertaining. They dispel ignorance. Thank you.
mojo82678

Fascinating story, unfortunately told with much bias

Make no mistake, the story is very interesting and the reporting is thorough. However, the agenda was clear throughout. Evidence against the two parties involved are held to different standards and comments throughout reveal the reporter’s bias clearly. A frustrating listen.
Rudy - Chicago

Immersive and Relatable

As a minority voter who moved from Raleigh to Chicago, I can relate. What struck me is the way she was articulating the reality of minority voters. She got it so well that I thought she was a Black or Hispanic journalist. Pleasant surprise near the end of episode 4. Quiet a story. Keep up the good work.
Kev Per

Great Job!!!

An intelligent, methodical, and rational look at a complicated issue in just one county in America. This is a very well done piece of investigative journalism. Hats off to you Zoe Chace for shedding some light on this and educating us all in the process. Allegations aren’t the same as substantiated claims or verified facts. That is very much missing in our present post 2020 election cacophony.
Lee B. in PA

Immersive, fascinating, balanced, superb.

Zoe Chace’s reporting is extremely thorough and nuanced. She uncovers a subtle but effective racism that has largely replaced violence but is just as effective in denying Black people equal access to democracy.
HWooDeedoo

It’s complicated

What I love about this series is how it shows each person’s perspective as if you were that person. The spectrum of opinions and beliefs are all true, even in opposition. Beliefs turn into chasms where dialogue disappears.
ladybethbug

Timely

I find this podcast interesting and enjoy Zoe’s reporting of the story. The Bladen County microcosm runs parallel to a pervasiveness evident on the larger political stage. My take-away is about politics and society, in general: regardless of truth behind a statement, if it’s said, it’s out in the universe, not to be unheard. To make the most informed choices in the ballot box, I have to listen to more than sound bytes.
collaginary

snore

promising but failed to deliver. I got bored with it.
ddsffssd

A

Okay
Miss Ginger 58

Great topic bad host

I stopped listening to this American life because I don’t like Chase’s style and although this topic interests me I’ll wait for another podcast to cover it.
JH4343

Well done!

Excellent reporting of a very timely topic!
evc1985

Great Series

Zoe Chace’s political stories for This American Life have always been excellent—expanding this story to its own series was such a good call.
Hanz-on

As a previous reviewer said: “nuanced”

As a white person concerned with racial equality, I appreciate this analysis of southern black politics on a local, intimate scale. Zoe did a great job with even-handed reporting of complex issues. I learned a lot. Important topic. Well done!
KatB730

Do this, except for the 2020 election.

I love how anything with NYT in front of it is automatically going to pin point anything republicans do while ignoring 10000% proof of election fraud all over this country for the 2020 presidential election. There are no more unbiased and responsible journalists. They’ve all sold their souls to the Democratic devil. Awful.
simnet6

Pulls off something very difficult

An excellent story looking at the nuances of local black politics in the shadow of racism without resorting to caricature or condescension. Lots to chew on here if you know where to look.
BonusDad

Totally Intriguing

As we used to say in Journalism 325, “What a yarn!” This is a terrific plot featuring a complex cast of characters expertly reported by one of the best audio voices of her generation. I really like the mix of Zoe’s reportorial narration and on-site recordings of ambient sound and interviews.
BravesAndBirds

I wished I liked it more

Make no mistake— this is a meticulously researched, thoughtfully written, and (as always for the Serial team) well-produced podcast. Like other reviewers, I think that Zoe Chace has the coolest voice, and she is gifted at building rapport with sources. The subject is so very timely and meaningful. However, the finished product didn’t seem to add up to the sum of its parts, and I found it on the dry side. I do not begrudge anyone who 5-starred this podcast...maybe it’s just me?
mileyfan1423

Love Zoe Chace!

Great story, unfolding with twists and turns you wouldn’t expect starting the show. Binged in 2 days. Zoe is fantastic!
Rowan55

Rowan Jones

The story is interesting, but listening to Zoe interview and interact with the characters in this real-life story makes it fantastic. I have had a “voice crush” on Zoe Chace for years, so I was pleased as punch to listen to her narrate this story. Thank you!
Jimmytjl

I was captivated

Thank you for this podcast. I binged it today. I thought the content was riveting and thorough and balanced. It explains so much about how we have ended up in the current vortex. I wish everyone could learn from it. Well done.
Suzan4

Well done

Very well done, clear, concise and fair. I live in North Carolina, know this story and still it was interesting. Zoe is exceptional. Another win for Serial.
7734 Esp

Very interesting

Ynnuf woh ereht era on evitgen seilper
goolyun

Mildly entertaining

I felt like the reporter tried to capture that down home magic that pervaded s-town. Somehow s-town (for me at least) managed to evade that lazy “otherness” that ruins most reporting and observations of the south. I found this show a pretty condescending attempt to interpret the exotic south for a Brooklyn crowd. Also maybe I missed something in the promotions for this season but I thought the show would transition into coverage of how all this set the stage for the Mark Harris debacle.
Terroirexplorer

Well done

The podcast is very well researched and presented: ideal journalism. The story is outrageous, but I also think the focus of the podcast is doing exactly what the white republicans in Bladen County want it to do. Yet again we are focusing on what the black PAC is doing wrong, glossing over the egregious crimes committed by white people.
Djm71861

It’s just not that interesting

This feels like a waste of time... like when someone you know who tells a story, but takes forever to tell it. It seems well produced but it never got me to really care. It’s tough to really even tell what this is even about. It feels like the narrator just narrates everything and there is almost no recorded interviews or “character development” type stuff. Because of this, the narrator comes across as a know-it-all. I got through the fourth episode and just stopped .
Mistletoe Whistler

Interesting but disappointing

I was super excited for this but it just wasn’t that gripping. It’s interesting but it seems like pretty normal local politics rather than a juicy scoop on something engaging.
epStar5000

Power dynamics

This show best helps listeners understand various dynamics of power. You see how Black people in Bladen county were able to concentrate power once they were able to rewrite the rules of elections, which is encouraging. It also shows the power of whiteness in that provably false accusations from white people still upended their power. And response to that had an impact from within too. It’s all fascinating. It’s a quintessentially American story that well-told, multifaceted, encouraging, and depressing, all in one. So, ya know, America.
carlgood1

More than just the fictions of ignorant whites

The inner workings of the group were absolutely fascinating. And as fun as it was to watch the racist people fail miserably with all their made up nonsense beliefs, the back half of this focused around Miss Minnie and Co were really a revelation. Hats off on deeply researched and well-told, long-form reporting. The ambition here is considerable.
Meta pelet

Excellent

Great reporting, terrific structure to the podcast and fine storytelling. I’m very involved in Voter Registration and Get Out the vote activities in NC, and thought I knew what was going on in Bladen County. However, I learned a LOT from this and suspect there are small towns and counties all over the South with similar dynamics. I hope Zoe and her crew receive awards for an excellent production.
iamthelobster

There’s no “there” there

Tale as old as time. People are duplicitous and often let their egos get in the way of their own best interests. Poor timing because election fraud stuff is tired.
jv---

Excellent reporting

This was so interesting - taking years of reporting about a small county’s elections and politics offered a sketch of racial, social, political, and class issues that were all very interesting to consider.
poppiseed11

Compelling and fascinating

Great series on election fraud with a terrific narrator. I loved listening to it.

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