Show overview
Unrestorable has been publishing since 2023, and across the 2 years since has built a catalogue of 18 episodes, alongside 2 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 7 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a roughly quarterly cadence, with the show now in its 2nd season.
Episodes typically run twenty to thirty-five minutes — most land between 23 min and 29 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language True Crime show.
There hasn’t been a new episode in the last ninety days; the most recent episode landed 7 months ago. The busiest year was 2025, with 9 episodes published. Published by iHeartPodcasts.
From the publisher
On a January night in 1995, 18-year-old Christa Pike and two other teenagers lured 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer to a secluded area near the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. They taunted, beat, and slashed Colleen, carving a pentagram into her chest, before Christa picked up a piece of concrete and smashed Colleen’s skull, killing her. Those salacious details stood out during a national Satanic Panic over ritual abuse and suburban cults. The Knoxville News Sentinel later accused Christa of killing “for love and Satan.” She was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by electrocution—one of the youngest women ever to be sentenced to death in the United States. Thirty years later, Christa is still alive, incarcerated at a Nashville prison and the only woman on death row in Tennessee. She has spent much of her adult life in solitary confinement. In the decades since the murder, evolving understanding about brain science and trauma have cast Christa’s wildly violent act—and death sentence—in a new light. We now know that the brain of an 18-year-old remains underdeveloped and impulsive. Christa has a horrific history of abuse, violence, and family neglect; the first time she attempted suicide, she was 9 years old. That kind of trauma can arrest healthy development, leading some young adults down a disastrous path. As Christa approaches her final appeals, a team of state and federal defenders are urgently trying to save Christa’s life. Her date of execution could be set any time. If executed, she will be the first woman killed by Tennessee in almost 200 years. Should a woman who committed a violent crime as a damaged teenager be granted a chance at rehabilitation? And is justice best served through retribution or mercy?
Latest Episodes
S2 Ep 8Episode 8 – Mercy
Christa and her attorneys grapple with a recent announcement by the Tennessee Supreme Court.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2 Ep 7Episode 7 – Justice
Beth and Sarah talk to Colleen’s mother about whether justice is even possible in this case.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2 Ep 6Episode 6 – The Lawyers
Defending “the worst of the worst” can take a sizable emotional toll–but it also reinforces a sense of shared humanity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2 Ep 5Episode 5 - Christa Fights to Stay Alive
As the decades-long effort to overturn her death sentence runs out of time, Christa and her legal team try to prove that she’s a changed person.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2 Ep 4Episode 4 - In Solitary
Christa looks back on her early years on death row when she struggled with undiagnosed mental health issues and the role it played in the fight to save her life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2 Ep 3Episode 3 - The Trial
We learn what the jury and public didn’t know about Christa, her attorneys, and their trial strategy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2 Ep 2Episode 2 - Knoxville Reels
As details of the murder leak, the Knoxville community is shocked by what 18-year-old Christa allegedly did to Colleen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2 Ep 1Episode 1 - Christa and Colleen
Months after two teens enroll at Knoxville’s JobCorps program, one is dead and the other is charged with murdering her.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Introducing... Unrestorable Season 2: Proof of Life
trailerIn January 1995, 18-year-old Christa Pike killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in the woods of Knoxville, Tennessee–and 30 years later, she’s still on death row. Proof of Life explores the meaning of justice and rehabilitation, and asks how we determine whether someone deserves to live or die.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Ep 8Episode 8 – Justice
Troy ponders his next moves as he searches for broader accountability for the loss of his two children.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Ep 7Episode 7 – Lost
While Catherine’s case remains mired at the intersection of the criminal justice and mental health systems, one overarching question remains: What happened to Sarah and Jacob?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Ep 6Episode 6 – The Decision
The judge prepares to rule in Catherine’s competency hearing. Will Troy finally get the justice he’s been seeking for almost a decade?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Ep 5Episode 5 – The Ticking Clock
After years of advocacy by Troy, a judge finally decides to hear testimony from sworn witnesses about Catherine’s competency, and may even question Catherine directly. But as the clock counts down to the mandatory dismissal of charges, is it too little too late?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Ep 4Episode 4 – Faking It?
Catherine is treated in a state-run psychiatric hospital after being found incompetent to stand trial. But Troy and others raise questions about whether she’s faking it to avoid accountability.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Ep 3Episode 3 – Incompetent
Catherine is charged with the disappearance of her children, but a judge finds she is incompetent to stand trial. What does this mean for Troy’s search for his kids and pursuit of justice?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Ep 2Episode 2 – Missing
When Troy realizes his youngest children are missing, can he depend on their mother to help him find them?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Ep 1Episode 1 – Crisis
A mentally ill mother. A family in crisis. And a father’s worst nightmare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Introducing: Unrestorable
trailerESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.