Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
The death of Philando Castile and the trial of Jeronimo Yanez
MPR News Staff

74 Seconds podcast: Who was Philando Castile?

Judah O'Hara holds an image of Philando Castile.
Judah O'Hara, 4, a student at J.J. Hill Montessori school, holds a sign with an image of Philando Castile's face at a rally in St. Paul 10 days after Castile's death.
Aaron Lavinsky | Star Tribune via AP

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

• Subscribe on iTunes
• Twitter | Facebook
• Full coverage

In July 2016, police officer Jeronimo Yanez shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop. Yanez has been charged with manslaughter. Reporters from MPR News will follow the case, beginning with the traffic stop, in a new podcast called "74 Seconds."

Seventy-four seconds is the amount of time that elapsed between the moment Yanez turned on his squad car lights to the moment he fired the seventh and final shot into Castile's car.

Episodes launched May 22, and our coverage continues when the trial begins: On the podcast, on the radio and on our website at mprnews.org/74seconds.

Episode 1: The Driver

It's just after 9 p.m. on a hot summer evening along Larpenteur Avenue in Falcon Heights, Minn. A black man is driving his white Oldsmobile down the suburb's main street. His girlfriend is in the passenger seat, her four-year-old daughter buckled into her carseat behind her. They've got groceries.

Philando Castile
Philando Castile in an undated photo.
Courtesy of Sam Castile

A St. Anthony police officer follows the car, he runs the plates and turns on his lights to pull the Oldsmobile over.

Within 74 seconds, the officer has fired his gun seven times, the driver is dying in the front seat and the world is watching the rest unfold on Facebook Live.

That driver was Philando Castile.

On that July night, his name joined those of other black men and boys killed by police. Their names became chants and their faces became emblems.

But what's different about Castile's case is that the officer who shot him, Jeronimo Yanez, has been charged in his death.

In "74 Seconds," we follow the paths of these two men until they meet on the side of Larpenteur Avenue in Falcon Heights.

First: Meet Philando Castile, the elementary school cafeteria worker whose death was watched by millions.