Lester Holt is keeping his promise of expanding on his work with Dateline. The NBC mainstay promised he'd be doing as much when he announced his departure from Nightly News earlier this year after ten years, a role that has since been occupied by Tom Llamas. At the time, he maintained he would remain with NBC and do more work with Dateline, which he is now doing through a new podcast.
On Monday, October 6, Lester, who started his career working in radio, is launching The Last Appeal, an original Dateline podcast series that will run for four episodes, and examine the case of Robert Roberson, a Texas father set to be executed on October 16th for the 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter, after he was accused of shaking his daughter so hard that she died from a brain injury.
A logline from NBC News reads: "In this four-episode podcast, Lester is on the ground in Texas, where he examines the evidence against Roberson and talks to the people closest to the case, including the lead detective, who now believes he helped put an innocent man behind bars. Lester's exclusive interviews reveal critical information the jury never heard. The series will confront listeners with questions about justice and truth, and perhaps the most haunting question of all: Is an innocent man about to be put to death?"
Speaking with Variety about the forthcoming podcast, and its grim subject, Lester said: "A shaken baby might seem to be a tell-tale sign, but not necessarily," and noted that "shaken baby syndrome" is a theory "that has been widely discredited" in recent years. Per the Mayo Clinic: "Shaken baby syndrome is a serious brain injury that results from forcefully shaking an infant or a toddler. It also is known as abusive head trauma, shaken impact syndrome, inflicted head injury or whiplash shaken infant syndrome. Shaken baby syndrome can damage or destroy a child's brain cells. This form of child abuse can cause permanent brain damage or death."
About returning to the medium of sound after spending years in front of the camera, Lester shared: "I'm using different muscles and learning a lot. I'm still a TV guy, but like a lot of TV guys, I can see the future" referring to podcasts and audio work.
Lester further argues that the absence of cameras can lead to a more candid, deeper conversation as interviewees are less intimated. "This is audio, but it is a very effective way of storytelling," he emphasized, adding that the narrative "is a great way to take people into the heart of a story."
Lester announced his departure from Nightly News in February, and officially left the post on May 30. He shared in a statement at the time: "After 10 years, 17 if you include my years on the weekends, the time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of Nightly News. It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to work with each of you every day, keeping journalism as our true north and our viewers at the center of everything we do."
He then shared that "before we play the walk off music, I have another announcement," before revealing his forthcoming plans for Dateline. "I'm excited to report I will be continuing as anchor of Dateline NBC, but for the first time in a full time capacity whereby I will be expanding my footprint on the broadcast and crafting Dateline hours on subjects I care deeply about. I am thrilled to be able to work more closely with my enormously talented friends at Dateline as the broadcast continues to grow and attract new viewers in new places."