National Geographic Premieres In Their Own Words Featuring Ripped-from-the-Headlines Events

From Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Filmmaker Tom Jennings, In Their Own Words Shares Intimate, First-Person Accounts Using Never-Before-Broadcast Audio and Video Recordings, Archival Images And Cinematic Re-creations

Back-to-Back Episodes Premiere Sunday, February 17:

8/7c - Narco Wars: In Their Own Words

9/8c - Bernie Madoff: In His Own Words

10/9c - Deepwater Horizon: In Their Own Words

WASHINGTON -- On February 17, from 8-11 PM ET, National Geographic premieres its three-part series In Their Own Words from Emmy and Peabody- Award winner Tom Jennings ("Diana: In Her Own Words," "Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes"). The series recounts the inside stories of three true headline-making stories that sent shockwaves across the world: the DEA Agents who brought down Pablo Escobar's Narco empire; Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme and the Deepwater Horizon oil-rig disaster.

A groundbreaking documentary series with a unique format, In Their Own Words recounts incredible headline-making stories that are told moment by moment and in first person without using any narrators nor talking heads. Combining never-before-broadcast audio and video recordings with meticulously researched archival images and cinematic recreations, the series allows viewers to experience these incredible events as intimately as the people involved lived them.

"There's no better way to tell a story than to hear it from the people who lived it, and with In Their Own Words, we hear directly from those involved, getting a detailed, moment-by-moment account of what actually happened," says executive producer Tom Jennings. "In Narco Wars, DEA Agents Steve Murphy and Javier Pena candidly speak about how they brought down the world's most notorious drug kingpin. The surviving crew members of the tragic Deepwater Horizon oil-rig disaster vividly recount what is was like to be at the center of a fiery hell on Earth, and the infamous Wall Street pariah Bernie Madoff openly discusses how he pulled off the financial crime of the century."

Each hour of the three-night event features a captivating true story that's told with a completely fresh perspective:

Narco Wars: In Their Own Words

February 17, 8/7c

Narco Wars: In Their Own Words presents the inside story of how DEA agents and the Colombian National Police brought down the most vicious drug cartel in the world. This program combines never-before-broadcast recordings with rare archival footage, photos and interpretive re-enactments to tell the story of how Pablo Escobar's massive billion-dollar drug empire was taken out.

Bernie Madoff: In His Own Words

February 17, 9/8c

Ten years after Bernie Madoff's arrest, Bernie Madoff: In His Own Words presents the story of the largest financial fraud in history as told by those who were there: victims, employees, family members, FBI agents and Madoff himself. This program pairs exclusive audio recordings, rare photographs and a never-before-broadcast of Bernie Madoff's deposition interview in prison to tell the story of Madoff's massive $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Deepwater Horizon: In Their Own Words

February 17, 10/9c

Deepwater Horizon: In Their Own Words presents the harrowing story of how a crew of workers escaped a massive oil-rig explosion and inferno in the Gulf of Mexico. This program combines never-before-broadcast recordings with rare archival footage and photos to tell a gripping moment- by-moment story of survival against the odds.

In Their Own Words is produced by 1895 Films for National Geographic. For 1895 Films, Tom Jennings is executive producer and director. For National Geographic, Bernadette McDaid is executive producer and commissioning editor.

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