NH Public Radio podcast named Pulitzer Prize finalist

NHPR's podcast, "The 13th Step," reports on misconduct and power abuse in the addiction treatment and recovery industry

Left to right: New Hampshire Public Radio staff Alison MacAdam, Jason Moon, Lauren Chooljian and Daniel Barrick are seen at the Columbia DuPont Awards in January 2024, where they won a duPont-Columbia
Award for their podcast, “The 13th Step.” (Courtesy Lauren Chooljian)

New Hampshire Public Radio’s podcast, “The 13th Step,” was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize awarded by Columbia University, the nonprofit radio network announced in a news release Wednesday, adding that it’s a first-of-its-kind recognition for NHPR.

The podcast, hosted by lead reporter Lauren Chooljian, tells of a culture of misconduct and abuse within the Granite State’s largest addiction treatment and recovery center. Eric Spofford, the founder and former CEO of Granite Recovery Centers, is a central subject of the production.

After Chooljian began reporting work for the production, the homes of multiple NHPR journalists involved in the project and their families — including Chooljian’s — were targets of vandalism.

Subsequent investigations by state, local and federal authorities led to four New Hampshire men being indicted by a federal jury for their roles in alleged intimidation against the journalists in connection with the vandalism acts. Two of the men have pled guilty to felony charges as of Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Spofford attempted a civil lawsuit against NHPR, its journalists and several reporting sources. A Rockingham County Superior Court judge dismissed the claims earlier this year, citing a lack of “actual malice” in the news outlet’s reporting.

A board of Pulitzer Prize jurors at Columbia named “The 13th Step” a finalist for what they said was NHPR’s “gripping and extensively reported investigation of corruption and sexual abuse within the lucrative recovery industry that sought accountability despite legal pressure.”

The board recognized Chooljian — a senior reporter/producer on NHPR’s Document team of audio journalism — as well Alison MacAdam, the podcast’s lead editor; Jason Moon, senior reporter/producer; NHPR News Director Dan Barrick and Katie Colaneri, NHPR’s senior editor of podcasts.

The podcast received supported from The Fund for Investigative Journalism, and attorney Sigmund Schutz of the law firm Preti Flaherty was a core member of the production team.

“We’re very grateful to be recognized by the Pulitzer jurors, and gratified to see this reporting have an impact — both here in New Hampshire and nationally,” Barrick said.

The Pulitzer for audio journalism was ultimately awarded to Invisible Institute and USG Audio for their podcast, “You Didn’t See Nothin,” while NBC News joined NHPR as the other finalist for the prize.

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