"You Didn't See Nothin'" is a seven-part investigation of the 1997 racist assault on a Black child in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood. (cw for racism and violence--most of the links in this post mention or describe the assault at the center of this podcast.) The podcast is the work of Yohance Lacour, who reported on the nearly fatal assault of Lenard Clark in 1997 for the South Street News, a South Side neighborhood paper. Returning to the story 25 years later, Lacour looks into the local figures who pushed a racial reconciliation narrative on the story and details the mob ties of the primary identified assailant.

Throughout the podcast, Lacour also reflects on his journey from a young aspiring artist and journalist, through a prison sentence for selling drugs, and into his current work. There is some heavy truth-telling on the expectation of forgiveness and reconciliation when Black people are wronged in US society. I learned quite a bit from this podcast even though I was already well familiar with the story. 'You didn't See Nothin'' podcast revisits a 1997 Chicago hate crime and its aftermath, NPR, May 2024 In 1997, a 13-year-old was beaten by white Bridgeport teens. A podcast challenges the racial narrative that followed, Chicago Tribune, June 2023 'You Didn't See Nothin' Podcast Takes A Closer Look At The Lenard Clark Case And Its Impact On A Fractured City, Block Club Chicago, March 2023 The podcast is over a year old, but has gotten a boost recently after it won a Pulitzer. As an aside, Lacour is also a leather artist whose work is featured in this Smithsonian article and on his website.