Crime Writers On...True Crime Review
539 episodes - English - Latest episode: 17 days ago - ★★★★ - 3.1K ratingsThe original true crime review podcast that looks at other podcasts, TV, and pop culture. True crime authors and real-life couple Rebecca Lavoie and Kevin Flynn hold a pop-culture round table with noir novelist Toby Ball and journalist-turned-investigator Lara Bricker. The panel chats about other podcasts (including 'Serial') as well as journalism, storytelling, TV shows and films, and the special segment, 'Crime of the Week.' Show website: crimewriterson.com. Follow the show on X @crimewriterson. Find us on Facebook facebook.com/crimewritersonpodcast. Email the show at [email protected].
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Episodes
Savior Complex
October 16, 2023 08:00 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBIn 2009, nineteen-year-old Renee Bach said the Lord called her to go to Uganda and establish a charity to feed the hungry. But the Serving His Children clinic morphed into an intensive care unit for gravely malnourished babies and toddlers. Her work attracted Christian donors and filled her social media feed. But Bach became the target of Ugandan activists opposed to white missionaries using African children as props for their own agendas. And observers noted why starving babies continued to...
The Dream season 3
October 12, 2023 08:00 - 46 minutes - 43.1 MBPeople are spending thousands of dollars to get the guidance of life coaches, so-called experts who promise to motivate clients, provide clarity to their problems, and set them on the path to financial reward. But often these gurus recruit new coaches, ensnaring them and their downstream clients in a multi-level marketing cycle. But who gets to say they’re an expert in giving life advice or promising prosperity to clients for the right fee? And why do people think these self-styled gurus can...
Who Killed Jill Dando?
October 09, 2023 08:00 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBIn 1999, Great Britain was shaken when popular BBC news presenter Jill Dando was gunned down at her front door. In their search for the shooter, police examined loved ones, fans, assassins, political extremists, and connections to her popular TV show “Crimewatch.” After months of false leads, a neighbor caught the attention of authorities. Would a single particle of gunpowder be enough to convict a suspect of killing the nation’s most beloved television star…or put the wrong man in jail? Th...
Only Murders in The Building s3
October 04, 2023 08:05 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBWhen last we saw our heroes, temperamental actor Ben Gilroy had died on stage at the premier of Oliver’s new Broadway show. But a very-much alive Ben returns from the hospital, only to plummet to his death in the Arconia’s elevator shaft. Who among the cast and crew would want Ben dead? Oliver fears the show will tank if it’s a cast member - like the alluring Loretta Durkin whom he’s crushing on. Charles is struggling with both his love life and the musical’s patter song. Meanwhile Mabel is...
Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University
October 02, 2023 08:00 - 47 minutes - 43.1 MBAfter a patient reported Dr Robert Hadden assaulted her in the exam room, many women came forward with similar accusations. But aggressive tactics by lawyers for the OB-GYN stymied the prosecution, ultimately resulting in a slap on the wrist. Survivors learned behind the hardball maneuvers was Hadden’s employer. For years, Columbia University ignored the complaints against the doctor, choosing to protect its brand instead of its patients. In the Wondery podcast “Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbi...
Scouts Honor
September 28, 2023 08:00 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBThough thought of as a leading youth group for skills and character building, the Boy Scouts often attracted adults who preyed on children. For decades, the national headquarters cataloged these incidents in confidential files, but publicly they denied there was a problem. It wasn’t until a former scout sued that the files were disclosed, revealing leaders knew about, but never acted on, hundreds and hundreds of cases of abuse. And even today, after a multi-billion dollar settlement with vic...
Over My Dead Body: Gone Hunting
September 25, 2023 08:00 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBIn December 2000, Florida’s Mike Williams disappeared in alligator-infested waters while duck hunting. His loss seemed to crush his wife Denise and his best friend Brian Winchester. While authorities ruled his presumed-death an accident, his mother Cheryl believed it was foul play. For years, she begged police and reporters to look into Denise’s involvement. It wasn’t until years later, when Denise got an insurance payout and married Brian, did investigators reopen Mike’s case. From Wondery...
Dear Alana,
September 21, 2023 08:00 - 47 minutes - 43.1 MBIn 2019, Boulder, Colorado residents were shocked by the death by suicide of 24-year-old Alana Chen. The woman who once dreamed of being a nun had struggled with her sexual identity and was left scarred by conversion therapy. The reports intrigued Simon Kent Fung, who interviewed her mother and friends to learn more about Alana’s story. Exploring her inner life through the journals she left behind, Alana’s journey made Simon reflect on the parallels of his own struggles to reconcile his fait...
BS High
September 18, 2023 08:00 - 44 minutes - 40.7 MBAmerica was introduced to Ohio’s Bishop Sycamore High School during a nationally televised football game. When they lost 58-0, people first questioned how a team so clearly bad made it on to ESPN. But there was a bigger twist: the high school they played for didn’t exist! Coach Ray Johnson had dreamed up Bishop Sycamore just so he could put together a football team. Along the way, he flouted safety rules and sporting codes, while taking financial advantage of the players, creditors, and the ...
The Girlfriends
September 14, 2023 08:00 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBIn the 1990s, Carole Fisher started dating Doctor Bob Bierenbaum, but she broke it off with the charming physician after seeing his dark side. Carole created a kind of support group among Bob’s ex-girlfriends and talk soon turned to a strange part of his past: the doctor’s first wife disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Gail Katz vanished from New York City in 1985, around the time she told friends she was going to leave Bob. The case stayed cold for years, until detectives turned to ...
Telemarketers
September 11, 2023 08:00 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBTeenager Sam Lipman-Stern started videotaping his eccentric co-workers at a chaotic New Jersey call center which raised money for police organizations. When his friend Pat Pespas discovered Civil Development Group was keeping most of the donations, the pair hoped to expose the fraud. Though the feds took down CDG, Sam and Pat wondered why the police organizations were never held accountable for their role in the scheme. A decade later, the pair resumed their investigation, only to meet resis...
CWO Classic: Wild Wild Country
September 07, 2023 08:00 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBA cult takes over an Oregon town, then resorts to violence to keep their community…built on love. We'll return to our March 28, 2018 review of Netflix's "Wild Wild Country." For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com
Fiasco: Vigilante
September 04, 2023 08:00 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MBIn 1984, a man shot four Black teens who approached him in a subway car, then vanished into the station. Reflecting New Yorkers’ growing anxiety about crime, the shooter was hailed by residents and the media as “The Subway Vigilante.” The unknown suspect was Bernie Goetz, who told investigators his unrelenting fear of city life fueled his actions. But as a more accurate portrait of the events emerged, a heated debate began whether his use of force was appropriate. And the case became a Rorsc...
CWO Classic: Abducted in Plain Sight
August 31, 2023 08:00 - 45 minutes - 41.2 MBHow did a man get away with kidnapping his neighbors’ daughter not once - but twice? We'll revisit our January 28, 2019 review of the unforgettable true crime documentary "Abducted in Plain Sight." For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com
Demons & Saviors
August 28, 2023 08:00 - 52 minutes - 48.2 MBTeenager Tina Resch made news in the 1980s with stories of supernatural disturbances in her Ohio home. The so-called “Poltergeist Girl” was the focus of academics who wanted to research her powers and skeptics who believed the whole thing was an act. As an adult now going by Christina Boyer, the young mother returned from work to find her three year old Amber fatally injured while in the care of her boyfriend. Though she maintained her innocence, Boyer accepted a life plea to avoid the death...
CWO Classic: Accused season 2
August 24, 2023 08:00 - 35 minutes - 32.4 MBOn this CWO Classic, we revisit our October 20, 2017 split-decision review of Accused season 2. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com
Stephenville
August 21, 2023 08:00 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MBAfter Susan Woods’s killer died from cancer, his diary about the 1987 case was discovered. The 30 year old woman was murdered in her Stephenville, Texas home. Family and friends were convinced the killer was her estranged husband, Michael. Had Stephenville police taken the story of a teenage rape victim more seriously, they might have spotted a big clue to the killer’s identity. But it would take decades and advances in technology to finally solve the cold case. “Stephenville” from Texas M...
CWO Classic: Catch and Kill
August 17, 2023 08:00 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBOn this CWO Classic, we revisit the panel's December 16, 2019 review of Ronan Farrow's "Catch and Kill." For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com
Last Call
August 14, 2023 08:00 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBIn 1992, authorities were slow to make connections between separate murders. A pair of affluent, but closeted men disappeared after leaving New York City gay bars, their dismembered bodies later discovered in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. As more men were killed, gay activists tried to sound the alarm that someone was stalking club-goers. But New York police were indifferent to the crimes and hostile to the queer community. The culprit known as The Last Call Killer escaped detection for a dec...
CWO Classic: Missing Richard Simmons
August 10, 2023 08:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBOn this CWO Classic, we revisit our February 24, 2017 review of "Missing Richard Simmons," the first of six episodes dedicated to the groundbreaking podcast series. The panel heralded the arrival of Dan Taberski as a fresh, new voice in the industry. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com
Where is Baby Gabriel?
August 07, 2023 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.2 MBNo one has seen Gabriel Johnson since 2009, when his mother took the eight month old from her home in Arizona to Texas. In the middle of a custody dispute with her ex, Elizabeth Johnson told him she smothered the baby and threw his body in the garbage. When she returned home, Elizabeth had a different story. She said she gave Gabriel up in a black market adoption in San Antonio - a transaction facilitated by a couple who’d been trying to adopt the child themselves. The Peacock series “Wher...
CWO Classic: Beware the Slenderman
August 03, 2023 08:00 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBOn this CWO Classic, we revisit of February 3, 2017 review of the scary, provocative HBO documentary, "Beware the Slenderman." It looks at the case of two young girls who stabbed their friend to appease a modern-day internet boogeyman. The panel is split but agrees on one thing: don't watch this one in the dark. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com
The Retrievals
July 31, 2023 08:00 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBPatients at a Yale fertility clinic complained of severe pain during common egg retrieval procedures. Despite nurses’ insistence they’ve received the maximum dosage of fentanyl, the women continued to suffer, unaware they were actually receiving a simple saline solution. After a tampered vial was discovered, authorities arrested an addicted nurse who’d been swapping out the opioid. But the many patients had more questions. Why were their complaints ignored? Could the clinic have done more? A...
CWO Classic: Crimetown
July 27, 2023 08:00 - 23 minutes - 21.7 MBOn this CWO Classic, we look back at our December 9, 2016 review of "Crimetown." Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier take us to Providence, Rhode Island, a city where organized crime corrupted every aspect of public life. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com
Suspect: Five Shots in the Dark
July 24, 2023 08:00 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBLeon Benson says he’s innocent of the 1998 murder of Kasey Schoen, who was shot in his truck in Indianapolis. Despite his alibi, no motive, and a lack of physical evidence, Leon was convicted based on a cross-racial identification from 150 feet at night. Attorney Lara Bazelon looks for clues to winning Leon’s exoneration. Was evidence about alternative suspects withheld? And should Bazelon’s team approach the man they believe actually pulled the trigger? “Suspect: Five Shots in the Dark” is...
CWO Classic: Lost Girls
July 20, 2023 08:00 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBFresh off the news of an arrest in the Long Island serial killer case, we go back to March 23, 2020 for the panel's review of Netflix's film adaptation of "Lost Girls" staring Amy Ryan. Does this two-hour dramatization of Bob Kolker's excellent book live up to the expansive source material? For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com
Dark Valley
July 17, 2023 08:00 - 43 minutes - 39.7 MBIn 1988, twenty-two year old Jane Boroski was attacked at a soda vending machine. The seven-month-pregnant New Hampshire woman was stabbed 27 times and left for dead. Boroski is believed to be the last victim and only survivor of the Connecticut River Valley Killer, a suspect who murdered at least seven women between 1978 and ‘88. Decades later, the question remains why did he kill and where did he go? In the podcast “Dark Valley'' from Crawlspace Media and Glassbox Media, Jennifer Amell lo...
Shiny Happy People
July 10, 2023 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.2 MBAmerica was fascinated with the lives of the Duggars, a devout Christian family with 19 children and their own reality TV show. While they projected an image of wholesomeness on screen, off screen the Duggars tried to cover up allegations their son Josh had molested his sisters. The Duggars’ views on marriage, education, and childrearing were formed by the Institute of Basic Life Principles, a radical religious organization that espoused obedient children and subservient wives. Its practice...
Jared from Subway
July 03, 2023 08:00 - 53 minutes - 48.9 MBJared Fogle became the pitchman for Subway after his unconventional sandwich diet helped him lose 245 pounds. While on a promotional tour, Fogle shocked a local radio host with a sexual comment about children. Rochelle Herman began taping their phone calls, hoping to record the celebrity’s fascination with pedophilia. While Herman helped an FBI investigation, Fogle’s business associate Russell Taylor was creating explicit images of children. The two paths would cross, exposing the pop cul...
Smoke Screen: Just Say You're Sorry
June 29, 2023 08:00 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBWhen 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”...
How to Create a Sex Scandal
June 26, 2023 08:00 - 45 minutes - 41.9 MBWhile 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 car...
Under Cover of Knight
June 22, 2023 08:00 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBAfter 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.” T...
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace
June 19, 2023 08:00 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBMichael 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 ch...
Blind Plea
June 15, 2023 08:00 - 46 minutes - 42.4 MBIn 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 boyfrien...
Burden of Proof
June 12, 2023 08:00 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBIn 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. Eig...
Scamanda
June 08, 2023 08:00 - 44 minutes - 41.2 MBAmanda 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 ...
Reality
June 05, 2023 08:00 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBOn 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 fel...
Victim/Suspect
June 01, 2023 08:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBEmma 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 ...
Yellowjackets Season 2
May 29, 2023 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBTeenage 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....
Love and Death
May 25, 2023 08:00 - 46 minutes - 42.2 MBCandy 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 differen...
Brokers, Bagmen, & Moles
May 22, 2023 08:00 - 44 minutes - 41 MBIn 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 invest...
Think Twice: Michael Jackson
May 18, 2023 08:00 - 45 minutes - 42.1 MBJust 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 innoce...
Jury Duty, plus a Bone Valley update
May 15, 2023 08:00 - 52 minutes - 47.6 MBLeading 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 unf...
Catching Lightning
May 11, 2023 08:00 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBIn 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...
The Diplomat
May 08, 2023 08:00 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBCareer 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 12th Victim
May 04, 2023 08:00 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBIn 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 ...
Unreformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children
May 01, 2023 08:00 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBA 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 “...
Witnessed: Devil in the Ditch
April 27, 2023 08:00 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBFor 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 ...
Perry Mason Season 2
April 24, 2023 08:00 - 53 minutes - 48.6 MBAfter 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 Pau...
Overlooked
April 20, 2023 08:00 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBLamonte 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 w...