Hi frontline listeners, I'm Rainy Aronson, executive producer of Frontline.

Today we're sharing episode two of Frontline's first ever multi-part investigative podcast series.

It's called, I'm not a monster. We made this show with our partners at BBC Sounds in BBC

Panorama. I'm not a monster as the story of an American family's journey from Indiana to the heart

of the self-declared ISIS Caliphate and back. We'll be publishing the first few episodes of the story

here. To listen to the rest of the series, subscribe to I'm not a monster wherever you get your

podcast and now episode two.

Before we go any further, there are some descriptions of violence and some upsetting moments involving

children in this episode.

My story, oh yeah, absolutely. It is very difficult to believe. It is very hard to believe.

I had a feeling that she was in some sort of trouble and then she sent me the email telling me

that they were in Raka with the kids and she didn't know how much longer she could last.

Whatever I've done, anything I've ever done is only with the intention of something good to

have it. I'm not a bad person. I'm not a monster.

I'm looking at a video of a young boy sitting on a motorbike. It's twice as big as him,

but he's got a huge grin as he revs the engine. That's Sam cheering.

The boy is her son, Matthew. It was filmed before they left the US and ended up in the ISIS

caliphate in Syria. Matthew looks happy, relaxed, like he's living an ordinary life in a loving family.

I'm searching online, trying to find out anything I can about them. There are pictures of Sam,

tall, blonde hair and tattoos and photos of sports cars and motorbikes and even a helicopter ride.

In another video Matthew dances while watching a cartoon.

But there's one in particular that stands out more than all the others. It's filmed on a driveway

...