‘The Last Appeal’ Marks First Original Podcast from Holt; Daily Episodes Begin Monday, October 6
Click Here to Listen to Trailer
September 29, 2025 — Dateline NBC today announced “The Last Appeal,” an original four-episode podcast series reported by Lester Holt. This marks Holt’s first original podcast for Dateline. He investigates the case of Robert Roberson in Texas, who is scheduled for execution on October 16, 2025.
The first episode premieres October 6, with new episodes released daily through Thursday, October 9.
As the execution date looms, doubts continue to grow about Roberson’s guilt for the 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki. Prosecutors argued Roberson had violently shaken, and possibly abused her. In the podcast, Holt discovers information, never revealed before, and brings listeners inside what could be Roberson’s final days. Holt speaks with Roberson’s unlikely supporters, including the lead detective on the original case who now believes Roberson is innocent, one of the jurors who voted to convict him and a bipartisan team of Texas politicians.
Click here to listen to the trailer.
Additionally, those closest to the investigation speak out exclusively to Holt, including Roberson’s original defense attorney, the nurse who first saw Roberson bring his daughter into the ER, and Nikki’s grandparents. He also speaks with Robert Roberson himself from death row. Holt has previously reported on the case extensively, and first interviewed Roberson one year ago.
The Last Appeal joins Dateline’s extensive podcast portfolio, which continued its dominance in the recent 2024-2025 season, surpassing 300 million downloads for the fourth straight year across both the showcast and original titles and with the showcast retaining its position as the #1 true crime podcast, according to Podtrac. Season 34 of Dateline’s broadcast show premiered this past Friday, September 26 with its milestone 3000th original episode.
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About Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC is the longest-running series in NBC primetime history in its 34th season. Dateline is anchored by Lester Holt and features correspondents Blayne Alexander, Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison and Dennis Murphy. Airing Fridays at 9/8c, Dateline also airs across NBC, cable and in broadcast syndication, with hundreds of hours available to stream on the global Dateline 24/7 channel. Dateline 24/7 can be viewed and/or listened to on Peacock, Roku, YouTube, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi, Pluto TV, Local Now, Xfinity, Amazon Fire TV Channels and Prime Video, TuneIn, Xumo, TCLTV+ and SiriusXM. Additionally, the newsmagazine reaches millions through its #1 podcasts and its showcast. Liz Cole is the senior executive producer and Paul Ryan is the executive producer.
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