Al Letson, host of Reveal, the nationally acclaimed investigative radio show and podcast from the Center for Investigative Reporting, will headline an event at the Hotel Jerome Grand Ballroom celebrating the vital role of independent, investigative journalism and in-depth story telling.

In an event presented by Aspen Journalism — a local, nonprofit, investigative news organization — in collaboration with The Center for Investigative Reporting, Letson will appear in conversation with Aspen Journalism Editor and Executive Director Curtis Wackerle on Friday, Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
Co-sponsored by Aspen Public Radio, PRX and the Hotel Jerome, Aspen Journalism’s event is free to attend, but attendees are asked to RSVP on Aspen Journalism’s website.

Reveal reaches more than one million listeners weekly on more than 500 public radio stations nationwide and has earned multiple Peabody and duPont awards, along with several Pulitzer Prize finalist honors. The team produces hard-hitting stories about corruption, government overreach, racial and economic justice and the most threatening systemic failures in our democracy. With a long-form approach, Reveal has exposed rehabilitation centers operating as unpaid labor camps, cold cases of mysterious deaths in Mississippi, veteran hospitals overprescribing opiates to traumatized vets and dangerous conditions in the warehouses that fulfill Amazon orders.

"I'm thrilled to visit Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. We need deep, factual reporting now more than ever to help heal the divisions across our country. I'm looking forward to exploring how independent journalism and human-centered storytelling can ground communities in truth and strengthen our democracy," Letson said.
Letson came to journalism on an unconventional path — he first produced hip-hop records and found his way into theater, playwriting and poetry. After traveling the country competing in poetry slams, he was recruited via a nationwide search looking for fresh public radio talent to create his first radio show, State of the Re:Union, and, beginning in 2013, he began working on the pilot episodes for Reveal. Back then, at the dawn of the podcast boom, many were skeptical that a weekly, hour-long investigative audio show would be feasible. But time has proven that the show’s creators were innovators, as evidenced by the vast proliferation of investigative journalism podcast platforms today.

“Reveal broke trail on bringing investigative journalism to new audiences through public radio and podcasting. It has long been a favorite program of mine because of its relevant, original reporting that holds power to account and its commitment to relevance and originality. And Reveal is a joy to listen to, in large part because of the warmth and authenticity of its host,” said Wackerle. “It is a particular honor to welcome Al and learn from his work. I am excited to share ideas on what it means to build and sustain journalism outside the traditional model — and what these experiments might tell us about the future of investigative reporting.”

Aspen Journalism was founded in 2011 as an independent, nonprofit news organization committed to in-depth and investigate reporting on local issues. It has long maintained a particular interest in Roaring Fork and Colorado basin water coverage, and has grown to deliver long-form reporting on environment, land use, social justice and more. Funded almost entirely by charitable contributions and grants, Aspen Journalism provides its reporting to the public for free on its website and through partnerships with local and regional news organizations including Aspen Daily News, Aspen Public Radio, The Aspen Times and Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

Established in 1977, the Center for Investigative Reporting is America's oldest nonprofit investigative news organization and it, too, initially partnered with established print newspapers to get groundbreaking, in-depth stories out to the public. The organization later shifted its focus to public television news before launching Reveal. Following a notable merger in 2024 with Mother Jones magazine, the newsroom is reaching more readers and listeners than ever across multiple platforms.