LEAD how this story ends is up to us
Tuesday October 27th, 7:00 PM
Written and Produced by Shannon Burkett

Directed by Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones, Sopranos)
Co-Produced by Jenny Maguire
Associate Produced by Amanda Joshi
Music by Peter Salett
Edited by Shannon Burkett, Jenny Maguire, Andy Kris
Sound Mix by Andy Kris
CAST:
Stars Merritt Wever (Unbelievable, Severance)
Alessandro Nivola (The Brutalist, The Many Saints of Newark)
Cooper Burkett (Health Advocate, High School Student)
Alysia Reiner (The Diplomat, Better Things)
Cynthia Nixon (The Gilded Age, Sex and the City)
Featuring:
Amy Acker, Carolyn Baeumler, Eboni Booth, Tom Butler,
Dennis T. Carnegie, James Carpinello, Geneva Carr, Daphne
Gaines, Sasha Eden, Dann Fink, Michael Gaston, Kevin
Kane, Alice Kris, Adriane Lenox, Jenny Maguire, April
Matthis, JD Mollison, Laith Nakli, Keith Nobbs, Deirdre
O’Connell, Katie O’Sullivan, Zak Orth, Greg Pirenti, Armando
Riesco, Shirley Rumierk, Mandy Siegfried, Thom Sesma,
Zach Shaffer, Frank Wood, and Lana Young.
LEAD is “a gripping scripted podcast that blends raw storytelling with political urgency” (Production HUB), featuring an Emmy and Tony award-winning ensemble starring Merritt Wever (Severance, Unbelievable), Alessandro Nivola (The Brutalist, The Many Saints of Newark), and Cynthia Nixon (The Gilded Age, Sex and The City). Based on the creator’s personal experience with lead poisoning, this narrative drama, directed by Emmy-winner Alan Taylor (The Sopranos, Game of Thrones), has won four Signal Awards, an Anthem Award for Health Awareness, was a Shorty Award Finalist, and nominated for a Webby and Ambie Award.

The creator of the Tribeca Film Festival Official Podcast Selection LEAD: How This Story Ends Is Up to Us, is teaming up with Clean+Healthy’s coalition Lead Free Kids NY for a listening tour during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (October 25-31, 2026). The tour will bring powerful storytelling and urgent conversation about ending childhood lead poisoning to communities across New York State and Pennsylvania, including Reading, Buffalo, Albany, and New York City.

At this unique listening experience - think “Silent Disco” meets Podcast - the audience will wear headphones to immerse themselves in the riveting true story of a New York City child mysteriously poisoned by lead and his mother’s unwavering fight to restore his health. The listening portion will be followed by a live discussion with the show’s creators, cast, affected community members, medical experts, and policymakers.

Clean+Healthy’s Lead Free Kids NY coalition unites more than 60 organizations — from health departments and doctors to scientists, lawyers, and advocates — all working toward one goal: ending childhood lead poisoning in New York State. Despite being entirely preventable, New York has the highest number of children poisoned by lead in the nation.
Content Warning: Story elements regarding the poisoning of a child