The New York Times, in collaboration with its subsidiary Serial Productions, has officially announced the upcoming release of a new five-part true crime podcast titled The Idiot. The series is hosted, written, and reported by M. Gessen, a prominent New York Times Opinion columnist and National Book Award-winning author. Scheduled for a full-platform release on March 26, the podcast marks a significant departure for Gessen, shifting their focus from international geopolitics and authoritarianism to a deeply personal investigation into a criminal case involving their own family.
The narrative centers on Gessen’s cousin, Allen Gessen, and a shocking revelation that disrupted the family’s history. For years, M. Gessen maintained a strained relationship with Allen, characterized by a mutual lack of affinity dating back to their shared childhood. However, this personal disdain took a darker turn when Gessen discovered that Allen had been arrested for orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting his ex-wife. The podcast chronicles Allen’s journey across multiple continents—spanning the Gessen family property in Cape Cod to Russia and Zimbabwe—culminating in his incarceration in a California federal prison.
The Intersection of Personal Narrative and Investigative Journalism
The Idiot aims to bridge the gap between high-stakes investigative journalism and the intimacy of a family memoir. Julie Snyder, the executive editor of Serial Productions, noted that the series derives its unique tension from Gessen’s perspective as a relative. Snyder observed that while Gessen has spent a career reporting on global figures of terror and oppression, including dictators and high-level criminals, they found themselves uniquely challenged when trying to comprehend the motivations and actions of a family member.
Ira Glass, the veteran host of This American Life, served as an editor on the series. Glass has characterized the production as one that "reinvents the form" of the true crime genre. By focusing on the psychological nuances of a family dynamic rather than just the procedural elements of a crime, the podcast seeks to offer a more profound exploration of why individuals commit acts of violence and how those actions ripple through a family tree.
A Chronology of the Case and Production
The development of The Idiot follows a timeline that mirrors both the criminal proceedings against Allen Gessen and M. Gessen’s evolving career at The New York Times.
- Early Life and Family Disconnect: The podcast establishes the background of the Gessen family, highlighting the childhood interactions between M. and Allen. These early segments provide the foundational context for the "impatient contempt" Gessen describes feeling toward their cousin.
- The Criminal Allegations: The core conflict arises when Allen Gessen is implicated in a federal investigation. He was accused of attempting to hire an individual to kill his former spouse, a case that eventually led to federal charges.
- The Investigation: M. Gessen began the reporting process by tracing Allen’s movements across the globe. This included investigating his business dealings and personal life in Russia and Zimbabwe, seeking to understand the path that led a family member to federal prison.
- Production and Collaboration: Following the acquisition of Serial Productions by The New York Times in 2020, the project was greenlit as a flagship limited series. The production team utilized the narrative expertise of Julie Snyder and the editorial oversight of Ira Glass to refine the story over several months of post-production.
- Official Launch: All five episodes of the series are set to debut simultaneously on March 26, 2024, across all major podcasting platforms, including the New York Times Audio app.
The Profile of M. Gessen
M. Gessen joined The New York Times as an opinion columnist in May 2024, bringing a storied reputation as one of the world’s leading voices on Russian politics and human rights. Gessen’s career is defined by a rigorous examination of power structures. They are the author of 11 books, most notably The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, which was awarded the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2017.
In addition to their literary success, Gessen is a recipient of the George Polk Award for opinion writing. Their work often explores the fragility of democracy and the rise of autocratic regimes. The transition to a true crime format represents a thematic shift, yet Gessen applies the same analytical lens to their cousin’s criminal history that they previously applied to the actions of political figures like Vladimir Putin.
The Strategic Evolution of Serial Productions
The launch of The Idiot is a continuation of the strategic partnership between The New York Times and Serial Productions. Since the 2020 acquisition, the partnership has focused on high-quality, long-form narrative journalism that leverages the Times’ reporting resources with Serial’s storytelling prowess.
Previous collaborations have yielded significant critical and commercial success:
- Nice White Parents: An exploration of the impact of white parents on the New York City public school system.
- The Improvement Association: A true-life investigation into allegations of election fraud in North Carolina.
- The Kids of Rutherford County: A co-production with ProPublica and WPLN Nashville that investigated the illegal jailing of children in Tennessee. This series won the 2023 George Polk Award for investigative reporting in podcasting.
The Idiot represents the next phase of this partnership, moving into "personal true crime," a subgenre that relies on the host’s proximity to the subject matter to drive the narrative. This approach follows the success of podcasts like S-Town, which also prioritized character study over traditional whodunit tropes.
Analysis of Implications for the True Crime Genre
The release of The Idiot comes at a time when the true crime genre is facing increased scrutiny regarding ethics and sensationalism. By having a journalist of Gessen’s caliber lead the investigation into their own family, The New York Times is positioning the series as a more intellectual and ethically rigorous alternative to the "pulp" true crime that dominates much of the market.
The podcast addresses several broader societal and psychological themes:
- The Nature of Criminality: Investigating whether criminal intent is a product of environment, genetics, or individual choice.
- Family Loyalty vs. Journalistic Integrity: Gessen’s struggle to remain objective while reporting on a relative provides a meta-narrative about the responsibilities of the press.
- The Global Reach of Federal Law: The case illustrates the ability of U.S. federal authorities to prosecute crimes with international components, particularly those involving murder-for-hire and interstate commerce.
Broader Context: The New York Times Audio Strategy
The Idiot is a central component of The New York Times’ broader push to dominate the digital audio landscape. Since launching The Daily in 2017, the Times has aggressively expanded its audio offerings to include the New York Times Audio app, which serves as a hub for podcasts, narrated articles, and archival content.
By investing in limited-run series like The Idiot, the Times aims to drive subscriptions and maintain its status as a premium content provider. The involvement of Ira Glass and Julie Snyder—two figures synonymous with the "Golden Age of Podcasting"—ensures that the production meets the high standards expected by the Times’ audience.
Conclusion and Release Expectations
As the March 26 release date approaches, industry analysts expect The Idiot to perform well among listeners of prestige podcasts. The combination of M. Gessen’s intellectual pedigree and the narrative mastery of the Serial team creates a high-profile offering in a crowded market.
The podcast will be available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the New York Times website. For the Times, the series represents a successful fusion of its Opinion department’s intellectual depth and its Audio department’s narrative innovation. For M. Gessen, it is a rare public exploration of a private family trauma, framed through the lens of a professional investigator.
