Every Thursday at 9:00 p.m. EST on The Real News Network, journalists Stephen Janis and Taya Graham premiere a new episode of the acclaimed Police Accountability Report, a show that investigates police corruption around the U.S., as well as the grassroots movement to hold police accountable.

This week, in lieu of a new episode of PAR, we have a special interview with Janis and Graham about their new full-length documentary, “The Friendliest Town,” which tells the story of Kelvin Sewell, the first African-American police chief of Pocomoke City, MD. When Sewell, a former Baltimore City homicide investigator and narcotics officer, instituted radical changes to Pocomoke City’s policing system, focusing on community policing over aggressive law enforcement, the results were stunning. Then, the local white establishment fought back.

Tune in every Thursday at 9:00 p.m. EST for new episodes of the Police Accountability Report.

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Senior Investigative Reporter & Capitol Hill Correspondent

Taya Graham is an award-winning investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker, and Capitol Hill Correspondent whose work bridges rigorous reporting with deep community impact. As the host of The Police Accountability Report at The Real News Network, she has become a trusted voice for transparency in policing and governance, using a mix of field reporting, data analysis, and citizen storytelling to expose systemic injustices. The show has garnered more than 50 million views across platforms, drawing a national audience to issues of accountability and reform.

Her work spans platforms and audiences, from producing Truth and Reconciliation, the acclaimed WYPR podcast exploring race and justice, to co-directing the award-winning documentaries The Friendliest Town and Tax Broke. Her five-year investigation into Baltimore’s tax incentive system (TIFs and PILOTs) revealed how corporate subsidies perpetuate inequality, sparking legislative action and community advocacy.

In addition to her reporting, Taya played a key role in shaping The Real News Network’s internal policies and labor framework, including helping draft the language around the organization’s AI policy in its collective bargaining agreement. Her work ensured that innovation and worker protections coexist, setting a model for how newsrooms can adopt technology responsibly.

Taya’s career began at The Afro-American Newspaper and Historic Black University Morgan State Radio, where she honed her craft in public service storytelling. She continues to lead with the belief that journalism should not only inform but empower—meeting new audiences where they are and inspiring them to engage in the democratic process.

Senior Investigative Reporter & Capitol Hill Correspondent
Stephen Janis is an award-winning investigative journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker whose work has shaped accountability journalism in Baltimore and beyond. As a Capitol Hill Correspondent and senior reporter at The Real News Network, he continues to uncover the systems behind inequality, corruption, and power while turning complex investigations into stories that inspire reform and public engagement.

His first feature documentary, The Friendliest Town, was distributed by Gravitas Ventures and received an Award of Distinction from The Impact Doc Film Festival and a Humanitarian Award from The Indie Film Fest. He co-created and co-hosts The Police Accountability Report, which has reached more than fifty million viewers on YouTube and helped spark national conversations on policing and transparency. His work has also appeared on Unsolved Mysteries (Netflix), Dead of Night (Investigation Discovery), Relentless (NBC), and Sins of the City (TV One).

Stephen has co-authored several books on policing, corruption, and the roots of violence, including Why Do We Kill: The Pathology of Murder in Baltimore and You Can’t Stop Murder: Truths About Policing in Baltimore and Beyond. He also co-hosts the true crime podcast Land of the Unsolved, which investigates cold cases through a lens of justice and accountability.

Before joining The Real News Network, Stephen worked as an investigative producer for WBFF Fox 45, where his reporting earned three Capital Emmys. Known for embracing technology as a tool for social awareness, he uses data analysis, digital production, and emerging storytelling platforms to connect investigative journalism with younger audiences while maintaining its integrity and depth.

Stephen’s work is grounded in clarity, empathy, and a belief that journalism should not only expose the truth but empower people to act on it.

Maximillian Alvarez is an Izzy-Award-winning journalist and the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Executive Director of The Real News Network. He is the founder and host of Working People, "a podcast about the lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles of the working class today," which he started after his family lost their home and life savings during the Financial Crash of 2008 and the ensuing Great Recession. Alvarez is the author of The Work of Living: Working People Talk About Their Lives and the Year the World Broke, a collection of interviews with US workers recorded during Year One of of the Covid-19 pandemic. His forthcoming book—tentatively titled “American Sacrifice: Working People Fight for The Lives (and Our Future) in America’s ‘Sacrifice Zones’”—is under contract with Haymarket Books. From April 2022 to March 2024, Alvarez hosted and produced The Art of Class War series on Breaking Points. From September 2016 to January 2019, he was a regular contributor and then a columnist for The Baffler magazine. Prior to joining TRNN, Alvarez was an Associate Editor at the Chronicle Review at The Chronicle of Higher Education. Prior to that, he was a graduate student-worker and rank-and-file member of the Graduate Employees’ Organization (AFT Local 3550) at the University of Michigan, where he earned a dual-PhD in History and Comparative Literature, taught undergraduates, and published academic articles in Media Theory and La Deleuziana: An Online Journal of Philosophy. Prior to that, he worked a litany of low-wage jobs in different restaurants, warehouses, factories, retail stores, etc. Alvarez’s writing has been featured in outlets like The Nation, Poynter, In These Times, Boston Review, The Baffler, Current Affairs, Dissent, Protean Magazine, The New Republic, Truthout, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. As an analyst and commentator, he has appeared on programs like PBS NewsHour, Breaking Points, Democracy Now!, The Laura Flanders Show, NPR’s 1A, The Hill’s Rising, This Is Hell!, Krystal Kyle & Friends, The Michael Brooks Show, The Jacobin Show, CounterPunch Radio, Citations Needed, Bad Faith with Briahna Joy Gray, Know Your Enemy, Srsly Wrong, Left Anchor, Revolutionary Left Radio, The End of Sport Podcast, Pod Damn America, The David Pakman Show, The Megyn Kelly Show, The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow, The David Feldman Show, and The Marianne Williamson Podcast.