Behind the Story
Come Behind the Story with WPRI 12 News in Providence, Rhode Island with conversations that take you beyond the headlines. Hear it from the journalists bringing you the most interesting news across Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Hosted by Target 12 Investigator Eli Sherman, 12 News anchor Kim Kalunian, and Boston Globe columnist Dan McGowan, this 30-minute show pulls back the curtain on how impactful stories come to light — and why they matter. Each week, reporters reveal the questions they asked, the obstacles they faced, and the moments that made the difference. It’s a front-row seat to the journalism that shapes your community.
Episodes
Ethan Hartley, editor of The East Providence Post, recently covered the city budget process where Mayor Bob DaSilva signed the latest tax-and-spending plan Wednesday.
Hartley said no services were cut, but he underscored that the city still raised the overall tax levy to the state-capped limit of 4% for the next fiscal year.
“Municipal budgets today are very tight,” Hartley said. “Just to get the basic services and take care of your ...
Ben Berke of Ocean State Media joined Eli Sherman and Dan McGowan on “Behind the Story” this week to discuss the role out of a police reform law that went into effect earlier this year.
Berke examined the Law Enforcement Officers Due Process Accountability and Transparency Act, or LEODPATA, and whether it's changed how officials handle cases of alleged police misconduct.
His reporting shows the law -- which replaced a previous versio...
Philip Eil, who's the author of "Prescription for Pain," recently wrote an opinion piece for Rhode Island Current, highlighting how quickly opioids and opioid-related deaths have become a central focus in the race for Rhode Island governor.
"I was uneasy to watch this really serious, literally life and death issue, get turned into campaign mudslinging where it's about scoring points," Eil said during a taping of the show on Wednesda...
12 News politics editor Ted Nesi joined Eli Sherman and Dan McGowan on “Behind the Story” this week to discuss the future of politics and pensions in Providence.
Nesi said he's been getting a lot of feedback over the past week in response to comments about the Providence pension system made by state Rep. David Morales, who recently announced he's running for Providence.
Appearing on "Newsmakers" last week, Morales said he'd tackle th...
Eric Rueb of The Providence Journal joined Eli Sherman and Dan McGowan on “Behind the Story” to discuss his experience covering sports in Rhode Island.
For years, Rueb has been reporting on youth and professional sports, and he expressed excitement over this year’s high school football season, which is officially underway.
“I’m going to watch Central Falls and East Greenwich on Thursday, and those are the games I love to see,” Rueb s...
Alexa Gagosz of The Boston Globe joined Eli Sherman and Dan McGowan on “Behind the Story” this week to discuss the Hasbro decision to relocate its headquarters from Pawtucket to Boston.
Gagosz covers a variety of topics including business and she's been tracking the yearlong uncertainty over whether the toymaker would make an out-of-state move. Hasbro for the past century has been headquartered in Rhode Island.
The company announced ...
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Ian Donnis of The Public's Radio and Rhode Island PBS joined Eli Sherman and Dan McGowan this week on “Behind the Story” to discuss politics, public media and health care in Rhode Island.
Donnis is a longtime political reporter, who also hosts the show "Political Roundtable." He covers local, state and national politics, and this week he discussed Rhode Island's upcoming gubernatorial election in 2026.
...
Anastasia E. Lennon of The New Bedford Light this week joins Eli Sherman and Kim Kalunian on “Behind the Story” to discuss the offshore wind industry, including the Trump administration order to stop work on the Revolution Wind project.
Lennon talked about what moves have been happening across the country leading up to stop-work order handed down last Friday to Revolution Wind, which project officials said was 80% completed.
She also...
Patrick Anderson of The Providence Journal this week joined Eli Sherman and Dan McGowan on “Behind the Story” to discuss his recent reporting on Gov. Dan McKee's education agenda.
Anderson is a government and politics reporter at the Projo, and he's part of a team of reporters who put together the newspaper's weekly Political Scene column.
The column this week focused on the governor's education agenda, which includes bolstering out-...
Tim White this week joins Eli Sherman and Kim Kalunian on “Behind the Story” to discuss the ongoing saga of Nicholas Alahverdian.
White is managing editor and chief investigative reporter at 12 News, and he's been covering Alahverdian for years leading up to his criminal trial that began this week in Utah.
Alahverdian, a conman from Rhode Island, was a longtime critic of the state's child welfare agency until he got jammed up with th...
Nancy Lavin of the Rhode Island Current this week joined Eli Sherman and Dan McGowan on “Behind the Story” to discuss her reporting on Woonsocket finances and State House politics.
Lavin is senior reporter for the independent, digital news outlet that focuses on state government and public policy. Lavin discusses ongoing financial issues in Woonsocket, which has seen its bond ratings yanked after struggling to get its annual financi...
Colleen Cronin of ecoRI News this week joined Eli Sherman and Kim Kalunian on “Behind the Story” to discuss her reporting about recycling violations in Providence.
Cronin is a Report for America fellow working at ecoRI News, a nonprofit news outlet that focuses on environmental news. She obtained years of recycling violations data that revealed Providence has ticketed most frequently in its poorest neighborhoods.
Cronin talks about h...
Ethan Shorey is chief editor of the The Valley Breeze, a weekly newspaper that covers several Rhode Island communities, including Pawtucket. In recent years, the state's fourth-largest city has seen a number of changes, including construction of a new soccer stadium for Rhode Island FC.
The USL team owners said they wanted to move into the city shortly after the Pawtucket Red Sox announced a move to Worcester. The soccer team starte...
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Dan Medeiros of the The Fall River Herald News joins Eli Sherman and Kim Kalunian on this week’s episode of “Behind the Story” to talk about the deadly fire that killed nine people and injured several more.
Medeiros is senior digital producer at the city's newspaper of record.
He lives and works in Fall River, which experienced one of its deadliest fires in recent history on Sunday. The fire broke out a...
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — WPRO radio's Tara Granahan joins Eli Sherman and Dan McGowan on this week’s episode of “Behind the Story” to discuss the world of talk radio, politics and the Washington Bridge.
Granahan is host of the Tara Granahan Show, weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon on NewsTalk 630 WPRO and 99.7FM.
She talks about what goes into putting together a show each day, what topics tend to resonate most with listeners and why ...
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island Monthly editor-in-chief and author Jamie Coelho joins Eli Sherman and Kim Kalunian on this week’s episode of “Behind the Story” to discuss her new book "Rhode Island Food Crawls: Touring the neighborhoods one bite & libation at a time."
Coelho talks about why she chose to write the book, which explores different ways people can spend a day (or multiple days) eating and drinking their way t...
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Providence Journal reporter Antonia Noori Farzan joins Eli Sherman and Dan McGowan on this week’s episode of “Behind the Story” to discuss her in-depth report about a fight over access to Napatree Point in Westerly.
Farzan discusses the Great Hurricane of 1938 that destroyed a roadway that's now at the center of a legal fight that the Watch Hill Fire District has leveled against the town. She discusses...
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Warwick Beacon editor John Howell joins Eli Sherman and Kim Kalunian on this week's episode of "Behind the Story" to discuss the ongoing contract dispute at Butler Hospital.
Howell goes behind the scenes on the issue, having landed a one-on-one interview with Mary Marran, president of Butler Hospital. He's also been spending his days at the picket line talking with health care workers about the strike ...
Ever wonder what it takes to bring you the news?
Our new show, Behind the Story, gives you an inside look at local journalism through conversations with the reporters who break the big headlines.
In this week's premiere, host Eli Sherman sits down with 12 News anchor Kim Kalunian and Boston Globe RI columnist Dan McGowan to discuss how they each got their start. Plus, Kim highlights her series on local Cold Cases, Dan talks about his...
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