Outside/In Presents: The Underdogs
2024 Edward R. Murrow Award submission: News Series
Note - episode one of the series is the official submission for this award. Supplemental episode audio is embedded below the description, as well a the link to the original series as it was originally published.
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Description:
When Outside/In host Nate Hegyi got a tip from the highest levels of the dog sledding community, he wasn’t expecting it to lead him to one of the coldest inhabited places on the planet.
The tip was about the first team from New Zealand to complete the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile race across some of Alaska’s harshest terrain. Over the past decade, this pair of professional mushers have transformed their success on the trail into a flourishing mushing tourism business in their home country’s south island. Some of their dogs have even appeared in a Marvel movie and a Taylor Swift music video.
But behind the scenes, in the usually-guarded world of competitive dog sledding, they’ve burned bridges, destroyed friendships, and left a trail of debt totaling tens of thousands of dollars.
In this special three-part series, Nate investigates a story one musher describes as “one dead body away from Tiger King,” and exposes the singular culture within the world of elite mushing.
This story was reported and produced by Nate Hegyi. It was edited and mixed by Executive Producer Taylor Quimby, with editing help from Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Rebecca Lavoie.
Additional series audio: