SACRAMENTO, Calif.,
July 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Miami Herald and McClatchy Studios announced today that "Smoked," a
six-part podcast and multimedia series chronicling the
extraordinary life of South
Florida's Randy Lanier will
launch July 16. Lanier was a racing
prodigy who rose to stardom at the Indy 500 while living a secret
double life as one of the biggest pot kingpins in American
history.
"Smoked" is based on dozens of interviews, some with people
who've never spoken publicly before; archival research stretching
back 40 years; and exclusive reporting by Miami Herald editor
Amy Driscoll and reporter
Alex Harris, who co-host the
six-part narrative series.
"The Miami Herald was known for its comprehensive and
groundbreaking coverage of smuggling and the South Florida drug trade throughout the 1970s
and '80s," said Aminda Marqués González, editor and publisher of
the Miami Herald. "This tale of weed, speed and the road ahead
follows in those footsteps. 'Smoked' is a gripping human interest
story with an important underlying message that will engage
audiences across the country."
"'Smoked' represents the best of local reporting with national
impact," said Davin Coburn,
executive producer of audio for McClatchy Studios, which previously
collaborated with The Charlotte Observer on the acclaimed 2018
podcast, "Carruth." "Lanier aspired to greatness—and risked
destruction—in everything he did. It's a sensational story that our
combined teams were uniquely positioned to tell."
The podcast produced by the Miami Herald and McClatchy Studios
is the central component of a multimedia package about
Lanier's scandalous and sensational life, and changing attitudes
about marijuana nationwide. All six episodes of the podcast will be
available on Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms
July 16. Stories and videos will
appear that day online at miamiherald.com/smoked. Listen to the
first two episodes here.
A South Florida hippie who came
of age on the beaches of the Sunshine State, Lanier took the fast
lane to fame. He won a championship in the International Motor
Sport Association, then was named Rookie of the Year at the 1986
Indy 500. Lanier courted the spotlight on the track, living a
jet-setter's life of international luxury. But off the track, the
record-breaking driver's secret life as a marijuana kingpin brought
Lanier's lavish lifestyle to an abrupt halt.
Investigators traced a $300
million pot trafficking operation — at the time, the largest
ever prosecuted in the U.S. — directly to Lanier. Amid President
Ronald Reagan's "war on drugs," a
two-year federal investigation led to Lanier's conviction on an
array of smuggling charges, and landed him a life sentence
without the possibility of parole. Lanier ultimately served 27
years in maximum-security prisons around the country, but was
released in 2014, as marijuana legalization efforts dominated daily
headlines in Florida and across
the country.
Lanier's release and post-prison life offers a modern lens
through which "Smoked" also examines society's changing
relationship with marijuana, and the legacy of those already
incarcerated for it. Today, Lanier works with recovering addicts at
a substance abuse treatment center in Florida. He can also still be found at a
racetrack—but now mostly as a teacher at a high-performance driving
school at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Each "Smoked" podcast episode runs roughly 30 minutes in
length:
Part 1: Blue Thunder
By the early-1980s, Randy Lanier
is a star on the rise with his racing team, Blue Thunder. But amid
the booming drug trade in Lanier's home of South Florida, his growing celebrity hides an
equally remarkable double life.
Part 2: Santa Marta
Gold
A teenager of the '70s, growing up near Miami with peace, love, and plenty of pot,
Lanier first discovers a dime-bag-sized entrepreneurial streak—then
the riches in store for Florida's
daring drug smugglers.
Part 3: Collision Course
As feds aggressively target South
Florida drug syndicates, Lanier's audacious racing and
drug-smuggling careers both come to a head. How long can Lanier
continue tempting fate, on the track and off it?
Part 4: Domino Effect
Florida's pot business falls
apart, and for Lanier everything comes crashing down. He's
arrested, and ultimately given a "natural death sentence" for drug
smuggling: Lanier will go to prison in handcuffs and leave in a
coffin.
Part 5: Two Finish Lines
Lanier ultimately seeks rehabilitation behind bars, inspired by
what his reimagined life could be. Outside, pot goes through its
own rebranding, and Florida's path
to legal weed takes shape.
Part 6: Smoke Clears
In late 2014, Lanier becomes a free man. It's now a new day for
pot in Florida and nationwide—and
for Lanier, who seeks out ways to help others by drawing on his
experiences from his old life.
About Miami Herald
The Miami Herald Media Company (MHMC) publishes two daily
newspapers: the Miami Herald, winner of 22 Pulitzer Prizes, and el
Nuevo Herald, an award-winning
Spanish-language publication. Together, the company's products
reach more than 1.3 million people each week in South Florida. In addition to the Miami Herald
and el Nuevo Herald, MHMC products
include its news websites, MiamiHerald.com and elNuevoHerald.com
with a combined monthly traffic of 69.5 million page views and 18.5
million unique visitors over the past 12 months; the popular local
entertainment website Miami.com; and INDULGE luxury magazine. The
company produces content for video, mobile and radio in association
with WLRN/Herald News; as well as custom publications for hotels,
airlines and other luxury clients through its subsidiary, HCP
Media. MHMC is owned by McClatchy.
About McClatchy Studios
McClatchy Studios is the
documentary production arm of McClatchy and is dedicated to
revelatory nonfiction storytelling driven by local figures with
national appeal. It taps into the rich, on-the-ground reporting by
its newsrooms in local communities across the U.S. and packages it
in formats that engage audiences on a variety of platforms.
McClatchy Studios finds compelling ways to embrace everything
storytelling can be — inspiring, motivating and entertaining.
About McClatchy
McClatchy operates 30 media companies
in 14 states, providing each of its communities with strong
independent local journalism in the public interest and advertising
services in a wide array of digital and print formats. McClatchy
publishes iconic local brands including the Miami Herald, The
Kansas City Star, The Sacramento Bee, The Charlotte Observer, The
(Raleigh) News & Observer, and
the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram.
McClatchy is headquartered in Sacramento,
Calif., and listed on the New York Stock Exchange American
under the symbol MNI. #ReadLocal
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SOURCE McClatchy Company