Long Shadow: 9/11's Lingering Questions returns

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, a promise echoed through the halls of the U.S. government: "Never again."

Fueled by post-9/11 fear, the country’s leadership would embark on the largest bureaucratic overhaul in half a century, consolidating 22 federal agencies under the banner of the Department of Homeland Security. The new bureau’s mission was simple: Keep the nation safe and stop the next attack at all costs.

But over the years, the obligation to safeguard the country slowly laid the groundwork for a different kind of terror — one we’re seeing on America’s streets today.

In a special episode of Long Shadow: 9/11's Lingering Questions — out today and commemorating the 25th anniversary of the attacks — Pulitzer Prize-finalist historian, journalist, and author Garrett Graff traces how the government’s response to the events of September 11 led to the buildup of a massive federal police force, an apparatus that has since been overtaken by a wave of corruption and criminality amounting to one of the most destructive scandals U.S. law enforcement has ever faced.

“Still reeling, our nation had a decision to make,” Graff says in the episode’s opening minutes. “What liberties would we sacrifice to protect our freedom? How much power would we give our government? In the wake of 9/11, we couldn’t see what was being created.” What was constructed, he says, is a “national secret police force stronger and larger than our country could have imagined in August of 2001.”

Marking the dividing line between the 20th and 21st centuries, the events of September 11, 2001 quickly became the hinge upon which so much changed. Many watched the tragedy unfold live on television, but most still don’t understand what happened that day. Twenty-five years later, more than a third of Americans are too young to even remember the tragic event.

While thorough, large-scale efforts like the 9/11 Commission tried to make sense of that chaotic day, many questions remain. This first season of Long Shadow attempts to answer them and explore other enduring mysteries surrounding September 11.

“Still reeling, our nation had a decision to make. What liberties would we sacrifice to protect our freedom? How much power would we give our government? In the wake of 9/11, we couldn’t see what was being created.” –Garrett Graff

Among the most critically acclaimed journalism franchises of the decade, the four seasons of Long Shadow make sense of what people know — and what they thought they knew — about the most pivotal moments in U.S. history. Through riveting, complex narratives, the podcast has cast new light on events including Waco, Columbine, Y2K, 9/11, COVID-19, January 6, and beyond.

A winner of eight Signal Awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award, and an RFK Human Rights Journalism Award, Long Shadow was named a “Best Podcast of 2024” by The Atlantic and Audible and “Best Podcast of 2025” by Rolling Stone. Its Peabody Award-finalist third season on America’s gun violence epidemic has been integrated into Harvard Law’s curriculum on the Second Amendment.

Long Shadow is produced by Long Lead and distributed by PRX. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.