The Journey, Episode 1: Gifts

Three weeks after we released “The Journey,” Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang were arrested, and local prosecutors charged them in a child-abuse case. The F.B.I. is now looking into the couple, and new details have emerged about what happened inside their mansion.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will the children be returned to the couple’s mansion? As the judge reaches a decision, Ava examines a confidential court file and makes a startling discovery.  New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The Journey.” In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 We received tragic news this week from Winona, Mississippi. Curtis Flowers was found dead in his home at age fifty-six.  Photo by Ben Depp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the surrogates secretly takes home the baby she carried. And, in an unprecedented circumstance, it seems like she might have the chance to keep her.  New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The Journey.” In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It takes a village to create such a large family. Ava uncovers how the stunning lack of regulation in the surrogacy industry enabled the couple’s plans. New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The Journey.” In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ava investigates what is going on inside the Arcadia mansion. What is the couple actually up to? And why do they want so many kids?  New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The Journey.” In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A woman in Texas agrees to carry a child for a wealthy couple in California. She thinks she’s helping a family in need. Then she becomes a whistle-blower. New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The Journey.” In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why did a mysterious couple collect babies in a Los Angeles mansion? A five-part series from In the Dark, hosted by the New Yorker staff writer Ava Kofman, investigates. New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “The Journey.” In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Heidi visits an unlikely group of detectives: the victims’ extended family. Their sleuthing upended the police’s original theory of the case.  New Yorker subscribers get full, ad-free access to “Blood Relatives” and every season of In the Dark. In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app. In the Dark has merch! Buy specially designed hats, T-shirts, and totes for yourself or a loved one at store.newyorker.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On August 7, 1985, five family members were shot dead in their English country manor, Whitehouse Farm. It looked like an open-and-shut case. But the New Yorker staff writer Heidi Blake finds that almost nothing about this story is as it seems.  New Yorker subscribers get full, ad-free access to “Blood Relatives” and every season of In the Dark. In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app. In the Dark has merch! Buy specially designed hats, T-shirts, and totes for yourself or a loved one at store.newyorker.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices