'FBI, This Week'' at 1,000
‘FBI, This Week’ at 1,000
On Your Radio (and iPod, Too)
12/04/09
Fascinating investigations of mobsters, terrorists, spies, and serial killers. Emerging scams. Fugitives on the run and computer viruses on the loose. Major crime-fighting innovations. Memorable moments in FBI history.
If you’re interested in all things FBI—as told straight by our case agents, senior execs, scientists, and other experts—then check out our long-running radio program, “FBI, This Week.”
This program airs every Friday on ABC Radio and various talk shows and stations across the country. If you’re not a radio regular, not to worry—you can also download it from iTunes or catch it on this website.
Neal Schiff producing the show in his office at FBI Headquarters.
The show first hit the airwaves back on September 21, 1990, tackling a hot topic of the day—the savings and loan crisis. With today’s episode—which, by the way, talks about a hot topic of our day, cyber crime—the program celebrates a remarkable milestone of its own: its 1,000th episode.
Looking back, the long list of shows reads like a walk through FBI history, a snapshot of Bureau successes and news over nearly 20 years. (See highlights in the graphic below.)
“The purpose of ‘FBI, This Week’ has always been to provide a window into the Bureau—to let people know what we’re up to and how it impacts their daily lives,” explains Neal Schiff, the veteran FBI newscaster who has produced and narrated each episode. “The fact that the program has lasted two decades proves that people care about what we’re doing to protect them and want to know about crime and security issues that impact their communities.”
Schiff gets particular satisfaction from featuring top ten fugitives and wanted child molesters. “We need to pull out the stops to find these people,” he says. He cites the case of mobster James “Whitey” Bulger—last year, audio clips of Bulger were played on back-to-back episodes of the show. “Faces change over time, but a person’s voice is very distinct, so it was great to get that on the air.”
The Bureau has had its own radio programs for more than four decades—starting with “FBI Washington,” which aired from 1965 to 1990. That show was first hosted by Fred Foy, the announcer for “The Lone Ranger” radio program, and then by ABC television booth announcer and former radio actor George Ansbro, who retired in 1990.
Today, Schiff produces three more radio programs and podcasts:
- “Gotcha,” which since the late 1990s has highlighted our closed cases;
- “Inside the FBI,” our first podcast, launched last October; and
- “Wanted by the FBI,” a second podcast that grew out of discussions with fugitive publicity coordinators as another way to enlist the public’s help in finding missing kids, fugitives, bank robbers, and more.
For Schiff, the first 19 years of “FBI, This Week” have passed quickly. “It hardly seems like a thousand episodes,” he says. “The length and breadth of the FBI’s work—and its impact on just about everyone—has always given me plenty of interesting cases and breaking news to talk about.”
Yes, and please stayed tuned to your radio dial: there are plenty more shows to come.
Resources:
- ‘FBI, This Week’ archive
- Other podcasts and radio shows