Crime Writers On...True Crime Review

When a Texas Ranger asked Larry Driskill if he could help solve a cold case, he agreed to talk to him. But Ranger James Holland accused him of killing Bobbie Sue Hill in 2005. After two days of intense interrogation, Driskill wondered if maybe he did do it and walked into a confession. Holland is revered for his talent at getting confessions, even though he uses questionable techniques like deception, suggestion, and forensic hypnosis. Did the detective known as the “serial killer whisperer” ensnare an innocent man?In the latest season of “Smoke Screen: Just Say You’re Sorry,” host Maurice Chammah asks what happens when suspects are convinced they can’t trust their own memories to defend themselves. It does a deep dive into Holland’s interrogation of Driskill, as well as those of other suspects subjected to his unorthodox questioning style. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SMOKE SCREEN: JUST SAY YOU'RE SORRY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

While touring a building that had been a defunct swingers club, Margie Cantrell’s foster children said they’d been there before. As Margie helped police with questioning, the children said adults made them dance and have sex with each other. Seven people were charged with grooming and exploiting them for money. But there was no evidence nor adult witnesses who could corroborate the claims. Did the abuse actually happen - or were the allegations planted in the impressionable children by a caretaker with ulterior motives?The Max series “How to Create a Sex Scandal” examines the 2008 Mineola Swingers Club case. Did innocent people go to prison based solely on the word of children coaxed into making the allegations? And if so, why would somebody put them up to it?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "HOW TO CREATE A SEX SCANDAL" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: scam of the cloth. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After Sue Knight’s body was found in her home, a past acquaintance was stunned she named him executor of her estate. While Steve Barksdale was settling her affairs, the Texas man received a mysterious phone call from the CIA. The Barksdales tried to set aside suspicions that the unassuming British ex-pat and pistol marksman was a spy. But a warning from a local sheriff made him think he should stop asking questions.From Apple TV+ and Spoke Media comes the podcast “Under Cover of Knight.” The hosts lay back and let the interviewees tell Sue’s story. Was her death a personal tragedy or the work of clandestine operatives? And is it possible Sue is still alive?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNDER COVER OF KNIGHT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael and Kristine Barnett thought they were adopting a six-year-old little person with a disability from Ukraine. But Natalia had the physical traits of an adult, including pubic hair and a period. Soon the family lived in fear as the girl was threatening to harm them. The Barnetts petitioned a court to declare her an adult and they moved Natalia to her own apartment to live on her own. But police were not convinced Michael and Kristine hadn’t used the system to abandon a special needs child.From Investigation Discovery and available to stream on Max comes “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.” With extensive interviews from Michael Barnett, the docuseries explores Natalia’s identity and true age, the family dynamics, and the legal fallout that resulted. Viewers are left to decide whether the Barnetts or Natalia are the actual victims.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE CURIOUS CASE OF NATALIA GRACE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: date crashers. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 2017, Deven Grey claimed self-defense when she shot and killed her abusive partner in a remote trailer in rural Alabama. Instead of freedom, she was handed a “blind plea” – an option to take an unknown sentence in exchange for pleading guilty. Deven’s 15-year sentence became the final link in a chain of generational trauma, coercive control, and a broken justice system. How did this academic star from Baltimore wind up in Alabama, living under a false name, trapped with a violent boyfriend, and no way outFrom the makers of “Believe Her” comes the ten-part podcast “Blind Plea” from Lemonada. Host Liz Flock asks who do we believe, and why? And in America, who has the right to self-defense and a fair trial?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BLIND PLEA" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1987, Jennifer Pandos vanished from her Virginia home after a quarrel with her father. Her mother discovered a suspicious note from someone claiming Jennifer had willingly left with her, though she never returned.After odd behavior, flunked polygraphs, and accusatory handwriting analysis, Stephen Pandos believed his parents were involved in her disappearance and had covered up the crime for years. But his mother insisted she knew nothing and now only wants her son back in her life.Eight years in the making, the HBO series “Burden of Proof” follows Stephen’s journey to solve his sister’s cold case by getting his parents to confess. With a team of cops, private eyes and other experts in tow, can the answers to Jennifer’s disappearance be found within his family - or somewhere else?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BURDEN OF PROOF" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: bathroom break. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Amanda Riley was known as a loving stepmother, devoted church member and an inspiration to an online community that followed her cancer journey. Her upbeat attitude in the face of a terminal diagnosis won her emotional and financial support from admirers far and wide. But despite her intricate medical details and convincing photos, a reporter became suspicious of Amanda’s back and forth stories of illness and remission. Soon investigators wanted to know if social media’s most popular cancer survivor was a phony.“Scamanda” from Lionsgate Sound recounts how Amanda Riley ripped off friends, celebrities, and online supporters by faking a terminal illness. Host Charlie Webster dissects her blog and interviews family and friends about a six-figure scheme that took advantage of people’s kindness. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SCAMANDA" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On June 3, 2017, two FBI agents arrived at the home of Reality Winner, an Arabic language translator with a top secret security clearance. While a team executed a search warrant, the pair gently quizzed the 25-year-old about documents she viewed and whether she may have mishandled classified material. The agents asked Reality whether she sent secret military documents to online journalists who published the leak. As she revealed more and more about her actions, the whistleblower said she felt the government was lying to the American people.The script for the HBO film “Reality” is made entirely from the interrogation during the espionage case. Sydney Sweeney portrays Reality Winner as smoldering with fear and sadness, as Josh Hamilton and Marchánt Davis softly tug the thread on how and why she’d risk everything.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "REALITY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL [ ] MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Bad license photo. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Emma Mannion told police she was raped in a car by a fellow University of Alabama student. When investigators said her story wasn’t credible, she reluctantly recanted her claim. That’s when cops arrested and prosecuted her for filing a false report.Journalist Rachel De Leon discovered a nationwide pattern of law enforcement using deceptive interview techniques to break the victim’s resolve, then turning the tables on them and accusing them of their own crimes. De Leon traveled the country to explore the story of Emma and others like her who were treated less like victims and more like suspects.The Netflix documentary “Victim/Suspect” follows De Leon as she exposes why women who sought justice for their assaults were falsely arrested and imprisoned because police didn’t believe them. It also recounts the case of several victims who’ve lived with the personal and public pain of false recantations. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "VICTIM/SUSPECT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Teenage Shauna and her stranded soccer teammates face death during the brutal winter after their plane crash in the wilderness. As the birth of Shauna’s baby approaches, the Yellowjackets are desperate for food. Meanwhile, Lottie emerges as a spiritual leader, getting the team to connect to the supernatural powers of the forest. Back in present day, the police home in on Shauna and her family for the murder of her lover Adam, as Misty attempts to throw an internet detective off the track. A troubled Taissa reunites with Van as they join Natalie and the others at the cult-like self-help commune run by Lottie. With the world closing in on them, are the surviving Yellowjackets ready to confront their long-held secrets?Showtime’s Emmy-nominated “Yellowjackets” returns for a second season. We see the teenage survivors take their first steps toward the foreshadowed nature-worshiping, antler-wearing, cannibalistic tribe they’ll become - while their adult selves are drawn to their one-time woodland priestess for answers. Did the Yellowjackets escape the malevolent force of the wilderness, or did they bring it back with them?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "YELLOWJACKETS" SEASON TWO BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: long, long overdue. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Candy Montgomery seems to have it all: loving husband, adorable kids…and friends from church like Betty Gore. But to fight the mundanity of suburban life, Candy propositions Betty’s husband, Allen. After the affair runs its course, Candy and her husband Pat are closer than ever. But a visit to Betty’s house turns deadly when the women fight over an ax.Elizabeth Olsen stars in the Max Originals “Love and Death,” chronicling the 1980 murder that captivated the nation - and spawned a different miniseries about the case on Hulu less than a year ago. Why would Candy kill Betty with 41 blows from a three-foot ax? Was it the affair…or did she just snap? OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LOVE AND DEATH" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the 1980s, brokers at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were not Ivy League financial-types. They were mostly blue-collar workers with on-the-job training in commodities exchanges. And they were making more money than most knew what to do with. All that cash caught the interest of the FBI, who suspected financial fraud at the Merc. But after undercover agents spent thousands of hours on the floor losing millions of dollars in taxpayer money, their investigation turned out to be a bad investment.In “Brokers, Bagmen, and Moles” host Anjay Nagpal takes listeners into the pits of Chicago’s exchanges to detail one of the costliest FBI investigations ever. Were authorities really going after the handful of small fish they caught - or did they actually have their sights on some blue chip executives?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BROKERS, BAGMEN, AND MOLES" BEGIN IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: booze cruise. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Just as his commercial success began to wane, Michael Jackson faced career-ending criminal charges he molested a child - not the first time such allegations surfaced. It was the most serious item on the list of problematic conduct and idiosyncratic behavior which defined his public persona. But his journey from fame to infamy was not simple, nor is there consensus on its effects on his legacy. Even a decade after his death, there remains one camp of fans dedicated to his influence and innocence - and another that’s come to terms with the veracity of his deplorable actions.From Audible Originals, Wondery, and Prologue Productions comes “Think Twice: Michael Jackson.” Hosts Leon Neyfakh and Jay Smooth present original interviews seeking new ways to examine Jackson’s staying power in pop culture despite years of disturbing allegations.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THINK TWICE: MICHAEL JACKSON" BEGIN IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Leading off: After all of his appeals options have been exhausted, Leo Schofield has one last path to freedom. A Florida parole board agrees to consider his application for release. Setting aside his claims of innocence and focusing on his conduct during 35 years of incarceration, the board offers some hope. In the bonus episode of “Bone Valley,” Gilbert King and Kelsey Decker examine the board’s nuanced ruling and talk to Leo about what lies ahead.Moving on: Documentarians are granted unfettered access to a civil trial and the deliberations of its jury. The panel includes Ronald Gladden, who takes his role earnestly. What he doesn’t know is that the judge, the lawyers, and his eleven fellow jurors are all actors. When alternate juror James Marsden - played by the real James Marsden - gets the jury sequestered, Ronald remains unaware of the elaborate charade as he interacts with quirky characters, ridiculous situations, and bizarre testimony.“Jury Duty,” available on Amazon’s Freevee, wraps its scripted trial in a real life comedy of manners featuring an unsuspecting everyman. But Ronald surprises both the audience and the producers with his heartwarming tolerance to the idiosyncratic jurors, the oddball defendant, and the nutty set pieces engineered for his benefit. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "JURY DUTY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Days of wine and lollipops. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 2006, a group of armed and masked men used kidnapping and precision to enter a money counting center, making off with £53 million in cash. The media buzzed over who was behind the largest heist in history. The trail led to “Lightning” Lee Murray, a champion contender in the world of mixed martial arts. But Murray didn’t just make money as an ultimate fighting star. The middleweight remained connected to the street gang he grew up in...and now he’s on the run.Showtime Sports Documentary Films presents “Catching Lightning,” looking at Murray’s rise in extreme sports and his role in the Securitas depot robbery. The four-part series uses jailhouse recordings of Murray, plus interviews with athletes and investigators to dissect why “Lightning Lee” turned to crime and how he was caught.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CATCHING LIGHTNING" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE SHOW. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Career staffer Kate Wyler gets a surprise appointment to be US ambassador to the UK during a moment of crisis. A sneak attack on a British ship has left dozens of sailors dead, but Kate is unconvinced Iran is behind the assault. She is unable to rein in her husband, a former ambassador known for his diplomatic connections and for going rogue. While she works to temper the Prime Minister’s belligerent rhetoric, Kate learns the real reason she’s been given the post. It’s an audition to replace the politically disgraced Vice President.Keri Russell stars in Netflix’s trending drama series “The Diplomat.” Kate must employ her skills as a former foreign service staffer to work with her British counterparts and avert a war. She also must negotiate her own domestic relations with a sexy Foreign Secretary and the meddling husband who remains devoted to her.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE DIPLOMAT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: standing on your principals. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1958, the nation was horrified by a random murder spree across the Midwest by teenager Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate. Authorities said Starkweather was responsible for 11 deaths - including those of Fugate’s parents and sister - but they didn’t believe the 14-year-old’s claims she was an unwitting accomplice. When he shifted blame for the crimes on Caril, she said she was the last of Starkweather’s victims. She received little sympathy from the courts or the public. Even after her parole in 1976, her infamy followed her everywhere, threatening her dreams of an ordinary life. The Showtime series “The 12th Victim” reexamines Caril Ann Fugate’s actions and the criminal trial that made her the youngest woman convicted for first-degree murder. It also discusses the murders’ influence on movies, music, and pop culture.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE 12TH VICTIM BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A hundred years ago, Alabama took over a reform school that served Black children who were "wayward" or broke the law. But survivors say the facility at Mount Meigs was run more like a slave plantation, complete with forced labor and physical and sexual abuse. For decades segregationist politicians gave administrators a free hand in running the school. Then in the 1960s a whistleblower led a lawsuit to improve conditions - with qualified success. School of Humans and iHeartMedia present “Unreformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children.” Host Josie Duffy Rice talks to former residents to recount the institutional cruelty and intergenerational trauma inflicted by the school at Mount Meigs. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNREFORMED: THE STORY OF THE ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR NEGRO CHILDREN" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: speedy delivery. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For twenty years journalist Larrison Campbell has been haunted by the murder of her grandmother in her Mississippi home. Known affectionately as “Presh,” the victim was found bludgeoned in her parlor, a towel over her face, and her purse dumped out. Despite a full-scale investigation, the case soon went cold.Campbell returned to her hometown to re-investigate the 2003 murder. While it could have been a simple robbery-gone-wrong, police believed Presh knew her killer. For years, the family has suspected Richard - an oddball cousin who viciously quarreled with Presh over money days before her death - but has never been arrested.In season four of Campside Media’s “Witnessed: Devil in the Ditch,” Campbell explores her story of loss and the unsubstantiated suspicions of the family outcast. The host mines the social and political impact of a small Southern town society murder and asks if not Richard, then who?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WITNESSED: DEVIL IN THE DITCH" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After a self-imposed exile, Perry Mason returns to criminal defense work, charged with defending two young Mexican men accused of murdering the son of a powerful businessman in 1930s Los Angeles. With the help of sidekicks Della Street and Paul Drake, Perry seeks justice for the defendants he fears will be railroaded. But victim Brooks McCutcheon was into some shady business: casino boats, oil drilling, and a new baseball stadium - not to mention his dangerous sexual predilections. While Paul seeks clues in LA’s mean streets, Perry and Della navigate the high society players who’d be happy to see the Gallardo brothers take the fall.Matthew Rhys and an all-star cast return for the second season of the Emmy-nominated “Perry Mason.” Once again, the famous defense attorney must find how all the disparate players and opaque clues fit together hoping to reveal the real culprit and get a dramatic confession.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "PERRY MASON" SEASON TWO BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Justice is delivered. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lamonte McIntyre was imprisoned for a 1994 murder he didn’t commit, based largely on evidence provided by detective Roger Golubski. After his exoneration, attention in Kansas City, Kansas turned to the retired cop with a reputation for racism and corruption.Residents said Golubski preyed on Black women and sex workers, abusing and forcing sex from them. Several of these women were murdered, their cases investigated by Golubski and left to go cold. Years later, federal authorities finally went after the cop many thought was untouchable.Winner of the Investigative Reporters and Editors national award for best audio project, “Overlooked" is a six part series from KCUR and the NPR Midwest Newsroom. Host Peggy Lowe examines Golubski’s years of misdeeds, his connections to unsolved crimes, and the present-day effort to hold a dirty cop accountable.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "OVERLOOKED" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Juries often take as gospel forensics based on expert opinions and not peer-reviewed findings. There’s now a growing scrutiny of techniques like blood spatter, footwear analysis, bite marks, and arson detection - long accepted as reliable, yet responsible for many wrongful convictions. And efforts to establish meaningful standards to the disciplines are met with resistance from the prosecutors who rely on them.“CSI on Trial” from iHeart and School of Humans examines the veracity of the most common forensic techniques, like ballistics and pattern analysis, as well as misapplied findings of arson and shaken baby syndrome. Host Molly Hermann uses the stories of those freed after wrongful convictions and those still behind bars because of shaky science.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CSI ON TRIAL" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: old crime. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A teenager found in a field, another in a yard, another near a highway rest stop. They were the latest in the long line of deaths of Native women from Montana’s Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations. Despite their suspicious nature, investigators failed to call the deaths crimes.The incidents drew attention to the larger issue of Native American and First Nation women missing and murdered in the US and Canada. The cases have been largely ignored by the media, met with law enforcement indifference, and inflicted pain on a marginalized community.Showtime’s “Murder in Big Horn” asks questions about the deaths of Henny Scott, Kaysera Stops Pretty Places, and Selena Not Afraid, as well as the pattern of missing and murdered Indigenous women. It explores the many issues contributing to the problem, like historical colonization, economic inequities, sex trafficking, and the lack of consequences for violence against women by Native and white men alike.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDER IN BIG HORN" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Wrongful conviction lawyers looking for pre-DNA era evidence to test found a trove of samples where they shouldn’t have been: taped to a lab technician’s paperwork. That material would exonerate 13 men in Virginia. Advocates praised forensic scientist Mary Jane Burton for keeping the samples and foreseeing the arrival of DNA testing.But few were asking why Burton broke the chain of custody rules or why so many of her cases resulted in wrongful convictions. Whistleblowers said Burton would skip scientific steps and record her blood test results in pencil, so she could change her findings to benefit the police.Virginia Public Radio and Story Mechanics present “Admissible: Shreds of Evidence.” Host Tessa Kramer examines Burton’s work to answer whether those smuggled samples revealed more than just the wrong guy did it. Were the scientist’s unconventional methods responsible for getting innocent men out of prison…or for putting them there in the first place?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ADMISSIBLE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: rock of the church. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny emerged as Vladimir Putin’s strongest rival for the presidency. But while on a flight to Moscow, Navalny became gravely ill. After getting treatment in Germany, it was determined he’d been poisoned with a nerve agent - likely by Russian special forces.Using telecom data, investigative journalists working with Navalny identified the scientists and operatives who executed the attack. The politician then used the press and social media to expose his would-be assassins in an act of defiance against Putin’s regime.The Academy Award winning documentary feature film “Navalny” from HBO Max and CNN Films brings us inside the activist’s effort to solve his own assassination attempt and score political points against an autocrat. We also see in real time the fallout as Navalny returns to Russian to continue his campaign to change the nation.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "NAVALNY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The 2017 murders of Canadian pharmaceutical executive Barry Sherman and his wife Honey shook the nation. The Sherman’s were seen as pillars of Toronto’s Jewish community. But the billionaire CEO also had a reputation for being a savage businessman, even among those in the cutthroat world of generic drug manufacturing. Meanwhile, Sherman’s cousins claimed they’d been swindled out of their share of the company. Kerry Winters claimed Barry once asked him to murder Honey, then drew suspicion when he told the press he wanted to kill his uncle himself.From Lionsgate Sound and CBC Podcasts comes “The No Good, Terribly Kind, Wonderful Lives and Tragic Deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman.” Five years after the unsolved crime, host Kathleen Goldhar explores the business rivals, disgruntled relatives and far-out conspiracy theories around the brutal society murders. While the culprit is unknown, Goldhar says the motive is surely money.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE NO GOOD, TERRIBLY KIND, WONDERFUL LIVES AND TRAGIC DEATHS OF BARRY AND HONEY SHERMAN" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THIS EPISODE. In Crime of the Week: Shawshank-style. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Thousands of love-struck men around the world were fooled by untold scammers whose cons all had the same thing in common. They all used stolen images of the same woman: a one-time camgirl and adult entertainer known as Janessa Brazil.Heartbroken men and serious journalists all searched for the real Janessa, only to be fooled by more imposters. But where is the woman whose face drew the victims in? Was she just the unwitting bait used by others for their crimes, or was she part of the swindle?From CBC Podcasts and the BBC World Service comes “Love, Janessa.” Host Hannah Ajala tracks down con artists in West Africa, victims in Europe, and a woman in the US believed to be the face that launched a thousand scams.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LOVE, JANESSA" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Loretta McLaughlin struggles for respect in the 1960s male-dominated newsroom at the Record-American. But she finds a pattern in different Boston-area murders: women choked in their homes, their stockings tied around their necks in a bow. Teamed with reporter Jean Cole, the women lead the hunt for the killer they dub the Boston Strangler. The pair find their safety threatened as suspects move in and out of the frame, and the cops unable to make an arrest.Oscar nominee Keira Knightley stars in “Boston Strangler” from 20th Century Studios and streaming on Hulu. McLaughlin fights the sexism of the police and fellow reporters, all while seeking the culprit. Was the man arrested for the crimes responsible for all 13 deaths? Or do the changing methods and victims indicate more than one man was the Boston Strangler?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BOSTON STRANGLER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: late for school. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welsh police sergeant Jill Evans thinks she’s found the man of her dreams. Dean Jenkins is attentive and a bit mysterious. What she doesn’t know is that Dean has been supplementing his income as an armed robber. After his arrest, Jill's colleagues are suspicious of her claims she didn’t know Dean was a bandit. Now it’s more than just her career on the line.From Wondery and Novel, comes “Stolen Hearts.” Host Kerry Godliman mixes true crime and rom-com for a breezy look at a very British scandal. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "STOLEN HEARTS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1997, 13-year-old Lenard Clark rode his bike into a white Chicago neighborhood, only to be jumped and beaten into a coma by a group of teens. One of them was the son of Frank Caruso, a union boss with reputed mob ties. The crime shook the Black community and shocked the city.As a young man, Yohance Lacour was puzzled why some Black community leaders rallied around Frank junior, who was trying to mend his public image before trial. Now an investigative reporter, Lacour revisits the crime and its aftermath…and reflects on how the incident affected his own life.From USG Audio and Invisible Institute comes the podcast “You Didn’t See Nothin.” Through the lens of his lived experience, Lacour probes the actions of those in power who stood behind a white assailant instead of his young Black victim. And he asks why calls for racial reconciliation are not a two-way street.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "YOU DIDN'T SEE NOTHIN" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: no bones about it. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

He's not a podcaster. He's a filmmaker. He's never made a podcast...but he's also never made a film. Who else can find Clara Pockets and the Goose Ganker but John David Booter? We look back at our 2017 and 2018 discussions of the first two seasons of "Done Disappeared, with me, John David Booter." For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Believing they’ve found the cure to aches and pains and serious diseases, Jim Humble and Mark Grenon create a church espousing the use of the Miracle Mineral Solution. But what people are consuming isn’t medicine - it’s diluted bleach. MMS is sold around the world, promoted by the church as a panacea for malaria, autism, cancer and all common ailments. Activists urge the FDA to take action to prevent further injuries and deaths associated with MMS. Just as the media begins to expose the scam, the bleach regimen gets an unexpected endorsement as a treatment for COVID-19.From Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & Sony Music Entertainment, “Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure” follows the rise and fall of a family who pushed a dangerous product on people looking for alternative medicine. Host Kristen V. Brown also spotlights the armchair detectives who tracked the Grenons and their allies. Did they believe MMS was a religious sacrament or was it just a cover to sell poison?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SMOKE SCREEN: DEADLY CURE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 15 MINUTES OF THE SHOW.In Crime of the Week: auto drive. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this bonus episode of Crime Writers On, we'll take a look back at our October 1, 2018 review of the CBC's "Uncover: Escaping NXIVM.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ESCAPING NXIVM" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 3 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In one of LA’s fanciest neighborhoods, homeless military veterans erect a tent city. While some volunteer to help the vets, others want to see the encampment demolished and its occupants moved along. The camp sits along a fence to the local VA hospital, the place where services for them are offered. But some don’t qualify or can’t get into their programs. Others choose to remain on the street. But if the vets don’t find another place to live, the sheriff will ensure the tents come down.From KCRW comes “City of Tents: Veterans Row.” Reporter Anna Scott brings us into a world where the desires of activists, officials, neighbors, and vets themselves are often at cross purposes. It examines the larger issue of homelessness and the half-measures employed to solve the problem.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CITY OF TENTS: VETERANS ROW" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: mummy issues. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A fatal drunken boating accident turned the spotlight on a powerful South Carolina family. Survivors claimed Alex Murdaugh used his considerable influence to steer the investigation away from his son who caused the crash. Then Murdaugh returned home to find his wife and son murdered in the family dog kennel.The high profile case renewed interest in other suspicious deaths connected to the Murdaughs - including the roadside beating of a high school student and the fatal fall of the housekeeper in their home. But the story has a final plot twist. Alex Murdaugh was shot while changing a flat tire - in what police say was a set-up.Netflix’s “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” is a timely look at the nation’s biggest crime case. With new interviews from the accident survivors, the three-part series focuses on everything leading up to the current murder trial. OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDAUGH MURDERS: A SOUTHERN SCANDAL" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1985, when Kim Barker was a teen in Laramie, Wyoming, Shelli Wiley was murdered in her apartment. Now a New York Times reporter, Barker discovered there’d been a break in the long-unsolved case. Investigators arrested a former cop with what seemed like overwhelming evidence.So how did a case that seemed open-and-shut go cold again? The Pulitzer Prize winner returned to Wyoming to find out why it took 30 years to identify Fred Lamb and why the charges against him were dropped. “The Coldest Case in Laramie” is the new 8-part series from Serial Productions. Barker digs into the investigation of Lamb and other suspects in the homicide. Was he let go as part of a cover-up or did the cops just get it wrong?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE COLDEST CASE IN LARAMIE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: broken arrow. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Steve Glew was a part-time flea market vendor when he was introduced to the world of PEZ dispensers. Learning collectors would pay big money for rare versions of the popular candy holders, Glew hatched a plan to visit Eastern Europe and get dispensers not available in the US.Connoisseurs marveled at Glew’s collection of rare dispensers and paid top dollar for them. But the president of the company’s US subsidiary flipped his lid…and vowed to shut down the bootleg operation any way he could.The documentary “The PEZ Outlaw” profiles Steve Glew and his attempt to outsmart the candy maker and corner the collectibles market. Glew plays himself in light-hearted recreations of his smuggling operation and features diehard collectors and corporate antagonists to recount how the operation flourished and eventually collapsed. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE PEZ OUTLAW" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 7 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 2015, a 15-year-old East London girl left for Syria with two of her friends to live in the so-called Caliphate. After Shamima Begum was captured in a refugee camp in 2019, the British public was enraged by her attitude that she’d done nothing wrong and for downplaying the violence committed by ISIS.Journalist Josh Baker traveled to Syria to interview the evasive prisoner, then retraced her steps to fact check her story - that she went to the Caliphate to practice fundamentalism, not to become an ISIS soldier. BBC Sounds and Radio 5 Live present season two of “I’m Not a Monster: The Shamima Begum Story.” Josh Baker explores war ravaged Syria to discover the network which smuggled her into ISIS territory, examine her life as a soldier's bride in the Caliphate, and confirm whether or not the British teen was an active combatant against Coalition forces. The host repeatedly risks his safety to answer the simple question: should Shamima be believed?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "I'M NOT A MONSTER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: shitty review For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Easterdays drew a lot of water in southeast Washington. Cody Easterday was a titan of agriculture who provided Tyson food with two percent of its beef. But a series of bad investments and commodities speculation put the rancher in a desperate financial position. Easterday engineered a quarter-billion dollar hoax: tricking Tyson into paying for the upkeep of cattle that only existed on paper. When the hoax was discovered it disrupted the food supply and threatened the farming empire the community depended on.KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio and Northwest Public Broadcasting present “Ghost Herd.” Host Anna King plows into the livestock swindle, as well as shines a light on the precarious nature of farming and the food supply in modern America.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GHOST HERD" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A wave of gunfire in a parking lot. A man hogtied and beaten to death. A grandfather with dementia shot in his driveway while holding a crucifix. The many families of victims in Bakersfield and Kern County, California search for justice in the county with the highest death rate by police violence in America.In a system where police brutality is investigated by the police, few cops here are held accountable for even the most egregious uses of deadly force. And its police chief is more interested in giving taxpayer money to settle lawsuits than improving public safety.From producer Colin Kaepernick, the ABC News Studio Hulu’s “Killing County” explores one community’s cops known to shoot first and ask questions later. It provides video and witness accounts of police brutality, and introduces us to several families affected by law enforcement violence. In an era where police murders are prevalent, “Killing County” asks why is it so bad here? OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "KILLING COUNTY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Naked justice. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 2010, a group of students at Sarah Lawrence College was surprised when a co-ed’s father began sleeping on the couch in their dorm. One by one, Larry Ray became a confidant and mentor to the young men and women, eager for his worldly knowledge. After Ray and the students moved into a Manhattan apartment, his paternal guidance morphed into coercive control - complete with corporal punishment, sex trafficking, and group paranoia that evil forces were targeting them. For ten years, Ray exerted his influence over them, until authorities broke up what they labeled “a cult.”The three-part Hulu documentary “Stolen Youth” brings us inside the so-called Sarah Lawrence College cult, with exclusive interviews from the former students and homemade video from inside their psychological prison. It then jumps to the present day to chronicle the remaining cult members’ struggle with the consequences of their pasts.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "STOLEN YOUTH" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kansas resident Dan Day discovers his new friends belong to a militia group fixated on the Somali refugees in their community. That’s when he’s approached by the FBI, asking him to join the right-wing group and report on whether they’re planning violence. When the informant learns the extremists are drawing up an attack on Muslims, the investigation takes on a new urgency. Dan finds himself in the middle of a plot in which the lives of many hang in the balance…including his own.ABC Audio’s five-part podcast, “Truth and Lies: The Informant,” takes us inside the probe of extremists in the heartland and the ordinary guy thrust into the middle of the investigation. Host Dick Lehr supplements interviews with residents, agents, and prosecutors with undercover audio tapes documenting the plans of a domestic terror attack.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "TRUTH AND LIES: THE INFORMANT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: wingin' it. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When a German countess died in 1992, she left her fortune to the only family she had: her dog Gunther. The world’s richest pooch enjoyed private jets, personal chefs, and a dedicated staff led by Gunther’s caretaker, Maurizio Mian.The will also decreed that Gunther would form a pop band. The dog bought Madonna’s mansion where the group’s attractive members were directed to have sex with one another, while researchers studied their levels of happiness. But few questions were asked about the origins of the fortune or how Maurizio came to control Gunther’s financial empire.The Netflix documentary series “Gunther’s Millions” turns the feel-good story of a rich dog into an investigation of media manipulation, tax fraud, sex cults and the man at the center of it all. Is this a story about one lucky dog or is it the ultimate test to see if money can buy happiness?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GUNTHER'S MILLIONS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the 1960s, Ronald Pellar performed as nightclub hypnotist “Dr. Dante.” He thrilled crowds, mixed with celebrities, and even married a movie star. But Dante was a prolific con man, accused of stealing and attempting to have a rival hypnotist murdered. After prison, Dante expanded his stage act to include seminars, self-help tapes, tattooed makeup, and a collegiate diploma-mill. He made millions of dollars on false claims and was comfortable telling reporters all about them. When it seemed an elderly Dante was ready to retire from his life of deception, he planned a comeback.Campside Media is out with season five of “Chameleon: Dr. Dante.” “Wild Boys” host Sam Mullens recounts the many lives of the hypnotist who used his powers of persuasion to be one of the greatest con men in history. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DR. DANTE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: stuffing sausages. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A racially-motivated attack on pedestrians was thwarted by the driver’s passenger: a man he picked up hitchhiking. He went simply by “Kai,” and the colorful way he described the incident became a viral sensation. Kai’s quirky personality and unlikely story made him Internet-famous. He declined TV offers in favor of going back off the grid. But months later, the carefree drifter the world thought was so charming when he struck a criminal with a hatchet would be implicated in a murder. The Netflix film “The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker” recounts Kai’s rocky journey from meme to murderer, propelled by Hollywood and social media. Was the world so taken by the dude in the “smash smash smash” video they overlooked his violent tendencies which were in plain sight? OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE HATCHET WIELDING HITCHHIKER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When journalist Sam Anderson learned a high school friend was wanted for the murder of a Northern California pot farmer, he set off to prove his friend’s innocence. He discovered the infamous Emerald Triangle was not the hippie Shangri-la it was made out to be. Anderson tries to reconcile the friend of his youth with the man implicated in a fatal ripoff. He seeks answers as to what happened in the hills that drove Zach Wuester to violence. In “Crooked City: The Emerald Triangle,” Anderson makes his way through California’s strange and dangerous marijuana harvesting culture. Did Zach lead seven others to kill the farmer who ripped them off, or was he just an unwitting accomplice? OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE EMERALD TRIANGLE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODECrime of the Week: hotel parking. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ex-preacher and musician Abe Partridge went on a journey to discover songs never recorded, but passed down for generations in Appalachia. He discovered the largest repository of undocumented music were in Pentecostal churches where preachers employed the controversial practice of handling snakes. But once getting over the customs of their unconventional worship, Partridge developed a true appreciation for the people, their beliefs, and their music. He’d eventually convince a snake-handling preacher/musician and his wife to record the songs of their faith.In the podcast “Alabama Astronaut,” host Ferrill Gibbs relays Partridge’s odyssey through an often ridiculed subculture and his hunt for the folk art long hidden. It focuses less on the spectacle of handling snakes and drinking poison and more on how it informs their little-known musical expressions.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ALABAMA ASTRONAUT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 14 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As head of La Luz del Mundo, third generation church leader Naasón Joaquín García promised eternal salvation. All the while, he used his position as Apostle to groom children and young women for sexual abuse for years. When García’s victims in the US and Mexico meet on Reddit and compare stories, they ban together to expose the church’s secret. Once seeming untouchable, they convince authorities to go after García and hold him accountable.The HBO Original “Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo” is the latest documentary exploring the sins of religious leaders using their position as God’s messenger to coerce followers into sexual exploitation. It provides plenty of space for American and Mexican victims to tell their truth and covers García’s fall from grace.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNVEILED" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: doggie style. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A group of uber-successful professionals are invited on a weekend trip to their billionaire friend’s island to play a game: solve his own murder. But one stranger is also tagging along: the famed detective Benoit Blanc, who fears a more sinister game is afoot. The lights go out. A body is sprawled on the floor. Who’s the killer? The politician? The fashion model? The scientist? The video gamer? Or the former business partner the host swindled?Daniel Craig leads an all-star cast in “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” A modern take on the parlor mystery, the audience follows Blanc as he attempts to solve the case before the killer can strike again.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GLASS ONION" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In August 2019, her friend reported Jessica Easterly Durning missing. When family members got little response from New Orleans police, they conducted their own search and found Jessica’s body in a field a short distance from her home. Several forensic factors made it impossible for authorities to definitively say whether Jessica’s death was homicide, accidental or some other manner. Meanwhile suspicion has fallen on her husband Justin whose story about her last night at home kept changing.Jessica Noll hosts “Undetermined” from Tenderfoot TV & Resonate Recordings. The podcast dives into the mystery around the death, including her volatile marriage and secret hustle as a cam girl. The series asks whether Jessica’s untimely death was murder - and if so - who was responsible.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNDETERMINED" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: bug in the restaurant. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.