Podcast Summary: Dateline NBC — Talking Dateline: Dateline Confidential

Date: January 7, 2026
Host: NBC News
Guests: Lester Holt, Keith Morrison, Josh Mankiewicz, Blaine Alexander, Andrea Canning, Dennis Murphy
Special Guests: Holly Robinson Peete (Moderator), Kimberly Arnold & Katie Mitchell (A Date with Dateline Podcast Hosts)

Overview

This special episode of Talking Dateline offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the making of Dateline through a lively, candid panel discussion recorded live at their Nashville DATELINE Live event. Hosted by actress and longtime Dateline fan Holly Robinson Peete, the segment “Dateline Confidential” features the all-star Dateline team answering questions from both Peete and the super-fan hosts of the A Date with Dateline podcast. Correspondents share insight into their reporting process, memorable moments from the field, and reflections on what keeps the show unique over decades, while the audience and podcast hosts contribute rapid-fire and personal questions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Story Selection and Development Process

[01:53 - 04:42]

• Origin of Stories:

  • Lester Holt explains that story ideas start organically, often through casual conversations with producers.

    “A producer will come by and say, I heard about this story. We start talking through how we could develop it...” – Lester Holt [02:37]

  • Stories are sourced from law enforcement, attorneys, social media, and even tipsters across the country.

    “Cops, private eyes, attorneys, prosecutors, local TV stations, social media, they'll call us and they'll say, this looks like a great story.” – Josh Mankiewicz [03:13]

• Team Collaboration:

  • The Dateline staff work cooperatively, but playfully compete for ‘vacation’ locations.

    “Everybody's collegial until a story hits in the Caribbean or Hawaii. That's right.” – Keith Morrison [02:57]
    “Then it has to be Josh or me.” – Blaine Alexander [03:08]

• Approach to Family Stories:

  • New correspondent Blaine Alexander emphasizes Dateline’s “secret sauce” as the heartfelt focus on victims and their families, not just the crime.

    “It's not just about this terrible thing that happened, but it's about this person, the gifts they left, the people they left behind.” – Blaine Alexander [04:05]

2. Building Trust with Interview Subjects

[04:42 - 06:58]

• Trust and Empathy:

  • Lester Holt and Keith Morrison reflect on the importance of trustworthiness and empathy in securing sensitive interviews with families and victims.

    “It's really critical to our success of having people trust us... they don't want to tell it just anybody.” – Lester Holt [04:42]
    “We have this sort of unwritten rule at the dateline that the no jerks rule...people are all wonderful...with tremendous empathy.” – Keith Morrison [05:05]

• Interview Strategy:

  • Interviews are a collaborative effort between correspondents and producers—thoroughly prepared, yet conversational in style.
  • Josh Mankiewicz notes that many interviewees are eager to communicate their planned statements; correspondents listen, then probe deeper for compelling perspectives.

3. Crafting a Dateline Interview

[06:58 - 07:26]

• Depth Over Speed:

  • Lester Holt shares the shift from short newscast interviews to Dateline’s more expansive interviews, sometimes lasting over an hour to get the “sound bite.”

    “You'd come back around maybe the third pass at the big question, and suddenly there it was.” – Lester Holt [07:25]

• Interviewing Suspects:

  • Keith Morrison dispels the myth of sinister criminal interviews, describing most suspects as “kind of dull schmoes” who repeat their claims of innocence.

    “It's not a Hannibal Lecter, Lex Luthor master criminal experience. They're kind of dull schmoes.” – Keith Morrison [07:26]

4. Memorable Reporting Moments

[07:51 - 13:40]

• “After the Dance” Allegations:

  • Josh Mankiewicz recounts a case where a suspect was haunted for years by a police misinterpretation of his statements but was ultimately never charged.

    “He was under suspicion for a long time. And he was never charged with anything...” – Josh Mankiewicz [08:16]

• Reporting Known Cases Anew:

  • Holly Robinson Peete discusses her personal connection to the Jim Jones story, praising Dateline’s ability to tell familiar stories from fresh perspectives.

    “I want to see how you unfold it. What are we going to see that's different?” – Holly Robinson Peete [08:44]

• Adventures in the Field:

  • Andrea Canning shares an episode chasing an alleged killer by boat in the Virgin Islands.

    “So we got a guy to take us on the dinghy... and we all real stealth, went around the catamaran got him, just started yelling, did you kill her? Did you kill Sarm?” – Andrea Canning [13:23]

• Emotional Connections:

  • Blaine Alexander reflects on the story “Justice for Joy,” and how interviewing the victim’s now-adult son as a new mother herself affected her deeply.

    “It was such an emotional interview because I could feel that coming out as a child. At the time I was pregnant with my second daughter.” – Blaine Alexander [11:49]

5. Iconic Voices, Persona, and On-Air Presence

[09:57 - 11:47]

• Voice Recognition:

  • Holly jokes about Lester Holt’s recognizable voice:

    "If you called right now to American Airlines...what kind of reaction do you get now?" [09:57]

  • Keith Morrison reveals that both on and off camera, “Yes, he does” talk the same way—though it sometimes annoys even his interview subjects.

    “Will you quit talking like that?” – Keith Morrison imitating an interviewee [11:04]

• Camaraderie:

  • The correspondents deep-dive into their off-camera friendships:

    “The people behind the camera... are the big stars of Dateline. They are what make that program.” – Josh Mankiewicz [05:31]

6. Superfan Questions with ‘A Date with Dateline’

[16:17 - 20:37]

• Rapid Fire & Personal Sharing:
  • Fans Kimberly Arnold and Katie Mitchell (from A Date with Dateline) pose playful and personal “rapid fire” questions.
    • Who would you call for help if wrongly imprisoned?

      “I'd do whatever it takes to get you off Mank.” – Blaine Alexander [17:15]

    • Lester Holt's travel must-haves:

      “Toilet paper...Also bring peanut butter. I can live on peanut butter for sure, you know, for a long period of time.” – Lester Holt [17:48]

    • Blaine Alexander’s B-roll idea:

      "Staring wistfully out a window, holding a cup of coffee...it's definitely not swimming..." – Blaine Alexander [18:08]

    • Dream actor to play Dennis Murphy in a movie:

      “Gary Oldman.” – Keith Morrison, with Clooney as an alternate [20:26]

7. Audience Q&A: Fun & Sincere Reflections

[22:49 - 26:27]

• Keith Morrison’s Sneakers:

  • He has so many pairs of Chucks (Converse), he’s lost count, and some are custom-branded with “Dateline.”

    “I lost track about 25 years ago.” – Keith Morrison [23:02]

• Desert Island Pick:

  • Josh chooses Blaine Alexander for survival:

    “I'm gonna go with Blaine this time.” – Josh Mankiewicz [23:30]

• Honoring the Show’s Legacy:

  • Blaine shares what it’s like to step into a beloved fixture of American TV.

    “It's been an honor to be so welcomed and so embraced...It's been very fun to one stretch journalistically, but also to really kind of take this peek inside the human mind...I've learned so much.” – Blaine Alexander [23:57]

  • Keith Morrison praises Blaine as a “quick learner” of Dateline’s unique, complex storytelling style.

    “She's fast. She's a quick learner and has mastered it almost instantly. It's amazing.” – Keith Morrison [24:36]

• Avoiding Sensationalism:

  • Addressing the million-dollar question, Keith Morrison insists their focus is on quality reporting, not hype or profit.

    “We do a story because we do a story. We want to do the best we possibly can. If it makes money, well, you know, lucky for NBC. If it doesn't, lucky for me.” – Keith Morrison [25:47]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On empathy in journalism:

  “The people who work at our program are all wonderful people... with tremendous empathy and they're very kind people.” – Keith Morrison [05:05]

• On Dateline’s unique style:

  “I've always felt that there's a secret sauce about Dateline…that's what each correspondent is able to bring...It’s the connection that we’re able to have specifically to the families.” – Blaine Alexander [04:05]

• On retelling famous crimes:

  “I already know the story, but I want to see how they tell it...that’s what I think is so special about your show.” – Holly Robinson Peete [08:44]

• On correspondent relationships:

  “I lean on Josh.” – Keith Morrison on his signature move and camaraderie with Mankiewicz [19:23]

• On sticking to sincere storytelling:

  “We don’t have to think about that...We want to do the best we possibly can.” – Keith Morrison [25:47]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• How stories are found: [01:53 – 04:42]
• Building trust with families: [04:42 – 06:58]
• Interviewing method/style: [06:58 – 07:26]
• Memorable casework and reporting stories: [07:51 – 13:40]
• Rapid fire questions (A Date with Dateline): [16:17 – 20:37]
• Audience Q&A (sneakers, legacy, avoiding sensationalism): [22:49 – 26:27]

Summary Tone

Throughout, the conversation is candid, warm, frequently humorous, and brimming with mutual respect among the correspondents. They openly share trade secrets and anecdotes, but also pay tribute to the show’s heart: telling true stories with care, compassion, and a determination to avoid sensationalism.
For both die-hard fans and newcomers, this episode serves as a lively introduction to the real people and ethos behind Dateline’s true-crime legacy.

Recommended for:

• Anyone curious about how major true crime documentaries are made
• Dateline super-fans seeking insider stories
• Aspiring journalists or producers
• Listeners interested in ethical storytelling in media