The new series launches today as part of Focus, a dedicated podcast channel for immersive audio documentaries.
Adults in the Room retraces a harrowing series of events that took place at Garfield High School during the 1999-2000 school year. The series is hosted by Isolde Raftery, an investigative journalist, KUOW’s managing editor, and a central character in the story.
When Raftery was a student at Garfield High School during the late 1990s, Tom Hudson was a legend. He taught biology and led a renowned student outdoors program. But when Raftery and her best friend Ella—both editors at the school paper—started looking into a rumor that he had abused students, things began to unravel. Adults closed ranks to protect the beloved teacher, and schoolmates turned on the young journalists making them into pariahs. Before there could be a full investigation, Mr. Hudson took his own life…