Crime Countdown

Faking your death is so extreme you must be running from something criminal to do it. Ash and Alaina call out the fakers who tried to escape liability, responsibility, and prison by “dying” or becoming someone else. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s one thing to enjoy true crime. But getting involved in real cases when you’re not a real detective is a complicated world. Ash and Alaina click through the internet sleuths who made the biggest impacts on real crimes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some places are magnets for the inexplicable… Ash and Alaina visit trippy locations where we’ve blamed unsolved and unexplained activity on serial killers, extraterrestrials, and Bigfoot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Traveling never goes exactly right. But some trips go deadly wrong. Ash and Alaina snapshot picture-perfect vacays that turned into unsolved murders, mysterious disappearances, and road trips with tragic last stops. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loyalty is usually seen as a virtue, even if it’s a problematic one. Ash and Alaina name the most devoted sidekicks to infamous cold-blooded killers, who proved that loyalty can in fact be very problematic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The great outdoors can be peaceful… or the setting of horrific crimes. Ash and Alaina set up camp in some of the most majestic state parks in the U.S. whose reputations have been tested by murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We all know “911. What’s your emergency?” But the responses to that question can send shivers down your spine. Ash and Alaina dial up killer confessions and calls for help where goosebumps are guaranteed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Being famous or a secret agent seems like two very different fantasies. But in real life, these two worlds have collided quite often. Ash and Alaina unmask the celebrities who have had a starring role in espionage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weddings are meant to be magical. But when crime crashes your big day, happiness turns to horror. Ash and Alaina cordially invite you to the most unfortunate unions between matrimony and mayhem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re all scared of what goes bump in the night. Because that noise could mean someone has just invaded your home. Ash and Alaina unlock the door to the most terrifying and deadly break-ins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Behind every successful cult is a persuasive leader convincing hordes of people to conform to their views of the world. Ash and Alaina rollcall the most charming leaders with the most devout followings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

L.A. has seen some very odd crimes that don’t quite have a Hollywood ending. Ash and Alaina head off to La La Land for the most bizarre crimes with twists and turns that seem tailor-made for the big screen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The higher you go, the further you fall. Ash and Alaina blaze through legendary crimes committed by drug smugglers, con artists and kingpins that all came at a high cost. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Their killer histories and haunting folklore leave us wondering if that was a tree we heard falling or something far more sinister. Ash and Alaina visit forests with the deadliest reputations and spookiest inhabitants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As long as there have been siblings, there’s been dysfunction. But most family drama ends in apologies or time outs. Ash and Alaina introduce us to siblings whose jealousy, power struggles, and greed turned deadly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The victims of ruthless killers, genocide, or deranged predators didn’t choose to put their lives at risk. But they did choose to survive. Ash and Alaina tell the harrowing tales of victims who got away — but just barely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boston is a proud city. But even in the best of towns, questionable things happen in the dark. And this episode is personal. Ash and Alaina reveal the most wicked baffling crimes that happened right in their hometown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spring Break is a chance to let loose and let your guard down. But no one loves a carefree teen quite like a killer. Ash and Alaina visit sunny hot spots where twisted crimes put an end to amazing vacations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether they fell from the sky, out of a window, or just in their own home, the details of these stories will have you questioning everything. Ash and Alaina dissect the most dubious drops, pitting accident against murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some nicknames, given to the world’s worst killers, conjure up images of horror, bloodshed, and demented minds. Ash and Alaina roll call the eeriest of them all, and share the spine-chilling stories behind them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ridiculous crimes from the Sunshine State helped make criminals there become an internet trend. Ash and Alaina highlight the craziest crimes where the headline started with “Florida Man...” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Valentine’s Special? Count us in! Ash and Alaina are each sharing the highlights and hardships of their real-life romances in Our Love Story, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Listen here to Alaina and John recount their relationship milestones. Then search “Our Love Story” to hear Ash and Drew — and more of your favorite Parcast hosts — do the same. New episodes every Tuesday. Listen free on Spotify! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truth or twisted fiction, these stories are so hauntingly good, they’ve lasted for generations. Ash and Alaina revisit the most terrifying urban legends that blur lines between what’s real and what's just a scary story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s the pivotal moment in any court-room drama — when evidence is presented that clinches a case. Ash and Alaina bang the gavel on the most significant pieces of murder trial evidence ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a country. It's a continent. It's a true crime capital. Ash and Alaina count down the worst killers, con artists, and creeps from down under. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two things people obsess over: music and murder conspiracy theories. And by people, we mean Ash and Alaina, as they investigate the strangest details behind ten rock stars' mysterious deaths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the trail goes cold, that's often the end of the story. But this week, Alaina and Ash look at disappearances solved over twenty years after the person went missing. After years of wondering, the families got the closure they needed, and in some cases, a rare happy ending. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everyone wants to see a criminal confess. But today's top ten may have wanted it a little too much. Ash and Alaina examine the gnarliest torture methods, the people who used them, and those who suffered before giving up information — or were killed in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just because they're made-up doesn't make these crimes less horrifying. Especially when you consider their real-life inspirations. Ash and Alaina take a nostalgia trip to find the top ten ‘80s movie killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Manson Family. Jonestown. Waco. So many cults end in tragedy. But it may be the cults you haven't heard of that are the most brutal. Ash and Alaina explore famous, infamous and lesser-known cults to determine the deadliest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy holidays, weirdos! ‘Tis the season for arson, fraud and larceny as Alaina and Ash explore the most criminal ways someone’s ever ruined Christmas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ash and Alaina count down crimes that'll make you lose your appetite — and maybe the contents of your stomach. Pro tip: Listen to this one after lunch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The only thing weirder than death row inmates’ last meal requests is that we, as a society, honor them. Ash and Alaina count down the top ten death row meals, and examine how usually, they’re more than just a meal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The murder of America's 35th president, followed by the murder of his killer, and the untimely death of his killer's killer, left the U.S. in a tailspin. Ash and Alaina tackle the ten most believable theories that surfaced in the wake of the chaos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You never know what's lurking below the surface — and that applies to criminals just as much as oceans and lakes. Ash and Alaina dive into ten awfully suspicious deaths and disappearances. Were they all watery accidents? Or was there something deeper? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've all done some light stalking: looking up a new acquaintance on Facebook, searching for a crush on Google... But there's nothing light about today's ten crimes. Ash and Alaina examine the creepiest stalkers, and their disturbing psychology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Exciting. High-profile. And usually, no one dies! Alaina and Ash dish up ten art heists, and try to figure out why this is one crime that keeps getting labeled "cool." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No one bats an eye when they see gore or dead bodies on Halloween... and some cold-blooded killers use that to their advantage. Alaina and Ash recount Halloween night's most unsettling crimes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The only thing creepier than a room where someone was murdered? That room being haunted. Ash and Alaina present the top ten murders where the victim’s death was just the beginning… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stealing a dead body? Unsettling. Stealing a single dead finger? Simply bizarre. Ash and Alaina count down the weirdest thefts of disembodied skulls, limbs, and internal organs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

25 years ago, most of our listeners were probably paying more attention to their Beanie Babies than to true crime. So Ash and Alaina dive into ten of 1995's crimes you may have missed... and the ones we'll never forget. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We all agree that Alcatraz is the world’s most infamous prison, but who are its most infamous inmates? Alaina and Ash count down the most memorable criminals to ever go into Alcatraz, and a few who got out—or died trying. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s criminals ruled with bone-crushing fists. Ash and Alaina’s top ten royal killers include a queen who protected her siblings, a king who had his wives beheaded, and vile forms of torture that could only be the result of absolute authority. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Don't Mess With Texas" never rang truer than in these ten criminal cases. Alaina and Ash dive into the Lone Star State's most notorious killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A chance of luck, a stroke of fortune, a twist to beat the odds… The lottery represents hopes and dreams—but not everyone's willing to wait for their lucky day. These criminals set out to rig the system through cons, theft, and even murder. Ash and Alaina stack up the ten most striking lottery scams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What drives a person to kill in front of witnesses? Ash and Alaina explore the tales and motives of shameless criminals who killed in broad daylight. The only thing more shocking than the brutality of these slayings is the fact that some remain unsolved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Maternal" typically means warm and loving... These moms were anything but. Alaina and Ash dive into the top ten dangerous moms, including a cheer mom gone crazy, the notorious Casey Anthony, and unthinkable baby-killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Alcatraz to the Tower of London, prisons are built to keep people in. But today's criminals dodged bullets, swam miles, changed their names—and even their faces—to gain freedom. Alaina and Ash decide which prisoner took the biggest risk… and if it paid off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is there anything creepier than finding a dead body in your hotel room? Whether you believe they're haunted or not, some hotels have stains that can't be cleaned. Alaina and Ash check into hotels linked to cases of mob hits, arson, and mysterious disappearances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are two types of serial killers: Those who never want to be known, and those who crave infamy. The second group are the letter writers: the ones who add to the horror and confusion with manifestos and threats. Alaina and Ash review the ten most chilling letters, and killers who wrote them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices