The BBC and NPR have commissioned a nine-part audio series titled Where is Austin Tice?. The production debuts on 8 September across BBC Sounds, Radio 4, and NPR's Embedded. It will also be distributed via RSS through the I'm Not A Monster Presents feed.
The series is created by Josh Baker, who previously produced I'm Not a Monster and The Shamima Begum Story for the BBC. Baker and investigative journalist Sara Obeidat track the disappearance of journalist Austin Tice, who vanished in Syria over ten years ago. The investigation involves interviews with intelligence officers and alleged war criminals, and includes travel to Damascus with Tice's mother, Debra Tice.
The production follows the investigation as it unfolds, incorporating new evidence and secret testimony. The reporting began prior to the collapse of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Following the regime's fall, the production team accessed intelligence facilities and secret records to obtain survivor testimony regarding the security state.
The series examines the disappearance of Tice within the context of the wider Syrian conflict. The regime of Bashar al-Assad forcibly disappeared more than 100,000 people during its tenure.