Did Missing Richard Simmons flush out our favorite fitness guru? The Crime Writers give their take. Plus, Kevin reaches out to Legal Siri (AKA Colin Miller of Undisclosed) to get the latest scoop on the never-ending Adnan Syed appeal. Then, WTF was up with that three-part Investigation Discovery special Casey Anthony: An American Murder Mystery? Do *any* of the Crime Writers think this case is a mystery? And how does Toby feel about the first I.D. show he's ever been forced to watch? Much less h...
Apr 20, 2017•1 hr 12 min
The Crime Writers are taking you to church (er...not that church) as we share your love for and criticisms of S-Town (and your criticisms of our criticisms). Were we made to sympathize with racist characters? Did we miss a deeper significance in episode six? How does the horology metaphor hold up upon further review? Is CWO not intellectual enough for our listeners? Was John manipulating Brian and the other people in his life with a variety of false promises? Would any of this story have been to...
Apr 14, 2017•1 hr 14 min
The crime writers review chapters 5, 6, and 7 of S-Town, the new podcast series from Serial and This American Life. This discussion gets a little deep, covering some of the criticism S-Town has faced in recent days. Want to hear our recaps of episodes 1-4? Go back in your feed a little bit. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com....
Apr 05, 2017•1 hr 20 min
The Crime Writers jump into chapters two through four of "S-town," the new podcast series from Serial and This American Life. Watch your feed for recap shows reviewing episode 1 and episodes 5-7. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
Mar 31, 2017•1 hr 12 min
The Crime Writers review episode one of S-Town - the new podcast series from the folks behind Serial and This American Life. Watch your feed for recap shows reviewing episodes 2-4 and 5-7. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
Mar 29, 2017•37 min
After recommending people watch the documentary "Tickled," the response from our listeners was an overwhelming, "What the F did I just watch"? Then a shocker: David D'amato, a key figure in the investigation, "died suddenly" this week according to the New York Times. "Breakdown" from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution returned with a brand new, er, sound. Season three is hosted by investigative reporter Johnny Edwards and focuses on a doctor who continued to practice medicine despite a series of s...
Mar 24, 2017•1 hr 14 min
What do you do in the middle of blizzard? Record a podcast, of course. First, the trailer for the new Serial spin-off "S-town" dropped! What will the seven episode series be about? We don't know, but Sarah Koenig's crew gave us an interesting taste and OF COURSE we had to talk about it. Plus, despite taking an Alford plea last month, the Michael Peterson case is not quite over. The subject of the exceptional miniseries "The Staircase" is looking into the theory that his wife was actually killed ...
Mar 17, 2017•1 hr 4 min
The panel is at full strength now that Lara managed to talk her way out of an arrest by the railroad police (yes, there is such a thing). We begin with some voice messages from listeners wondering what the "Up and Vanished" serendipitous conclusion means for the realm of true crime podcasting. We return again to the white hot podcast "Missing Richard Simmons." Are the crime writers still committed to seeing (hearing) this journey through? Then we turn our attention to Spike TV's six-part doc "Ti...
Mar 10, 2017•1 hr 5 min
It's another paper dump in the ongoing appeals around Adnan Syed from Serial season one. Kevin takes a look at yet another news-making turn in the case, and Rebecca gives it a big old eye roll (cute the hate mail!). And, episode 3 of Missing Richard Simmons was CRAY. From witchcraft to bitchcraft, we learned Richard's closest confidants f'ing HATE each other. How can we not revisit a podcast that brings up black magic? Yeah...we're SO gonna do that. Then, the Crime Writers examine HBO's newest m...
Mar 04, 2017•1 hr 5 min
Can you feel the love tonight? The Crime Writers can. Plus, the gang dives in to the breaking news about an arrest in the Tara Grinstead case - that's the one featured in the "Up and Vanished" podcast. At the time of our recording, it was unclear what role the podcast played in Ryan Duke's arrest, but did Payne Linsey's grandmother actually know more than the cops did? Next, Rebecca interviews Missing Richard Simmons creator Dan Taberski about why he was drawn to the vanishing of everyone's favo...
Feb 25, 2017•1 hr 14 min
In a jam-packed episode, the panel drinks the hater-aid as they read some of their correspondence. Rebecca name drops her fill-in gig on Slate's "Mom & Dad Are Fighting" podcast - which, ironically, is what the Lavoie-Flynn kids call "Crime Writers On!" A figure from Serial Season 2 makes a cameo, a certain general who made the adamant assertion that any soldier wounded in Afghanistan can be linked to Bowe Bergdahl's rescue mission. And, after waiting almost 40 years for a conviction, the cr...
Feb 17, 2017•1 hr 6 min
The panel tackles a HUGE true crime update - the Alford plea taken by Michael Peterson, the novelist and suspected murder featured in The Staircase - a documentary Rebecca contends is the Citizen Kane of true crime. As a bonus, our very own Legal Siri (AKA legal professor and Undisclosed genius Colin Miller) educates us on WTH Alford pleas actually are. Then the Crime Writers argue about an alternative theory posed in the Peterson case...was his wife Kathleen actually killed by an owl? That was ...
Feb 11, 2017•1 hr 2 min
The first Serial spinoff, "S-town," will be dropping in March. And we do mean "dropping." Serial Productions says it will release all of its episodes at once...making it one of the first major podcasts to invite fans to binge listen. Will you listen? Of course you will. And so will we. Rebecca brings in reporter Jason Moon to discuss the decade's old case of four unidentified bodies found in two barrels in Allenstown NH's Bear Brook Park. A seemingly unrelated murder on the other side of the cou...
Feb 04, 2017•1 hr 19 min
Pardon us. Please. We're looking into the latest twist in the court martial of Serial season two protagonist Bowe Bergdahl. We're joined by friend-of-the-show USMC Judge Advocate James Weirick (ret), host of the Military Justice podcast. Now that former-President Obama declined to pardon Bergdahl, his lawyers say he can't get a fair trial with President Trump as Commander-in-Chief. Weirick will explain the arguments in the docket, why they submitted a video presentation, and he'll also provide s...
Jan 28, 2017•1 hr 4 min
Toby's back...just in time to weigh in on the newest true crime podcast fill our ears. But first - the state of Maryland has won the latest round in Adnan Syed's quest to get out of prison now that his conviction has been overturned. What does it mean that they've been granted a "Leave to Appeal" and how much closer are we to a new trial for the Serial season one protagonist? Then, we talk about something a little bit weird that happened during the latest episode of one of our favorite podcaster...
Jan 21, 2017•1 hr 13 min
When Toby's away, the mice will play...AND talk about all sorts of great stuff. Special guest panelist Amelia McDonnell-Parry gives us a lowdown on what she saw at Adnan Syed's PCR hearing, and why she thinks Sarah Koenig isn't doing the right thing by ignoring new evidence dug up by other podcasters. Plus, our true crime update takes on that $750 MILLION dollar lawsuit filed by Burke Ramsey after a CBS special pointed to him as the murderer of his sister, JonBenet. The panel has some strong fee...
Jan 14, 2017•1 hr 16 min
After a holiday break, we're back. And so much has happened again. In the land of true crime podcast updates, Adnan Syed has been denied bail while he awaits a new trial. The panel talks about that decision. In other Serial news, we learned Sarah Koenig & co made a big boo-boo when putting together season one. Namely: using courtroom audio that was prohibited from broadcast. This time, justice was merciful. Kevin responds to listener reaction to his criticism of "Someone Knows Something." Ag...
Dec 30, 2016•1 hr 4 min
The CBC's Someone Knows Something is back with a second season. So should you listen? That's the question the crime writers will try to answer. Spoiler: it's a split decision, with at least one of the panelists (ahem, Kevin) expressing a very passionate opinion. WILL CANADA EVER FORGIVE US? We hope so. The good news: host David Ridgen is back for his second interview with Rebecca, and he's really, really awesome. The bad news: after the interview, Kevin Flynn has a meltdown over how much he hate...
Dec 16, 2016•1 hr 4 min
This week we dive in to two format-smashing shows: one the up-ends the conventions of podcast storytelling, and one that challenges the concept of story telling itself. The panel examines "Crimetown." This podcast from Gimlet sounds like nothing we've heard before. Are they setting a new bar for the traditional first-person investigative podcast or are they creating a completely new genre? Also, the crime writers give their take on HBO's dizzying & dazzling "Westworld." Was the western-tinge...
Dec 09, 2016•1 hr 15 min
So many gifts for true crime fans this holiday season, as a new batch of podcasts are hitting the charts. Where to begin...where to begin? First, the panel drops a ton of true crime updates. These include a last-minute order keeping Brendan Dassey in prison, a verdict in Breakdown's Justin Ross Harris case, and a newspaper editorial calling for a pardon for Bowe Bergdahl. Plus, Rebecca parties-hearty with the team from Undisclosed and Addendum. The most exciting news comes from "Serial" co-creat...
Dec 03, 2016•1 hr 19 min
A Serial spinoff?! A verdict in the Breakdown / Justin Ross Harris case! Brendan Dassey can go home, and then he can't! All great topics to talk about, right? Sorry to say we're not going to get to any of those this week. That's because we pre-recorded this episode at the New England Crime Bake, a convention for crime & mystery writers, on Saturday. Who would have thought all this good stuff would happen after we wrapped? ("So you'll get to it next week, right guys? The week of Thanksgiving?...
Nov 19, 2016•1 hr 1 min
Breaking: Lara's cat has a super weird disease! For real. Some maybe-news about Serial Season 3 has us theorizing. Was Kevin super, duper wrong when he said Sarah Koenig would never do a true crime story again? Plus, we get a whole lot of listener email and tweets about what podcasts we should be listening to and talking about. One of the podcasts we’ve had pimped to us the most often lately is the hit show "Up and Vanished," an investigative podcast about the 2005 disappearance of Ocilla Georgi...
Nov 11, 2016•1 hr 19 min
What do people want to talk about? World Series? Presidential election? Nope. The world wants to know what Lara Bricker got arrested for. (Hint: it wasn't election fraud.) Looks like her accomplices left her holding the bag...literally. In our audience feedback segment, the Crime Writers respond to a heartwarming email from a cancer survivor who's ready to take on the challenge of punching one of their least-favorite attorneys. Then, when it's time for business, the panel digs into the final epi...
Nov 05, 2016•59 min
Heads up Baltimore City Court! Here comes Adnan Syed seeking a bail hearing. It's not your usual motion, written more like a campaign speech than a legal brief. The Crime Writers dig into the latest in the efforts of Serial's protagonist to get out of prison now that his conviction has been vacated. And a journalism conundrum: IF Sarah Koenig knew about Jay Wild's post-Adnan criminal history, should she have included it in Serial? Also, the panel hangs ten in Hawaii with the new podcast, "Offsho...
Oct 28, 2016•1 hr 19 min
Things get back to normal in the Crime Writers' world. They discuss the perils of doing bad accents and explain why they can't do audiobook versions of their own books. A true crime update (add your own echo): Burke Ramsey has followed through on his threat to sue over the CBS special on his sister's murder. Looks like the case will focus on one comment from one person. Then the focus shifts to the new investigative podcast from Australia, "Phoebe's Fall." We know that Phoebe Handsjuk dropped 12...
Oct 21, 2016•1 hr 16 min
Oh no! We went there! The Crime Writers discuss the controversial Netflix doc "Amanda Knox." Why are we still intrigued by the murder case? Does any of the evidence add up? Is the motive believable? Is Knox herself credible? As she says, "Either I am a psychopath in sheep's clothing or I am you." Rebecca and Kevin welcome back Dr. Elizabeth Yardley to explain why the British have such a different (and more visceral) view of the case than Americans do. Could it be they were each seeing a differen...
Oct 15, 2016•1 hr 21 min
Every couple of weeks, other podcast comes along and seems like the heir to "Serial." Few live up to the anticipation. Is it possible that the Cincinnati Enquirer's "Accused" podcast has replicated the secret sauce: a truly compelling murder mystery and the transparent, obsessive reporting which goes into the story? It sure is. Rebecca talks with Amber Hunt and Amanda Rossman about their year-long investigation into the 1978 Elizabeth Andes murder. If her acquitted boyfriend Bob Young didn't do ...
Oct 08, 2016•1 hr 26 min
The Crime Writers take on what's good - and what's not so good - about the The Case of JonBenet, the four-hour CBS special featuring profilers Jim Clemente and Laura Richards and an all-star cast of forensic investigators. We talk about the case, the show's WTF moments (THEY BUILT THE HOUSE??), and dive deep into the potential defamation of Burke Ramsey, who is (in the experts' opinions) a leading suspect in the cold case. We also chat with Ann Bartow, a law professor at UNH Law School and exper...
Sep 30, 2016•1 hr 12 min
Now that the crime writers are all back in their closet studios after their awesome live show, they tackle the newest high-quality true crime podcast, "In the Dark." It's like "Someone Knows Something"... if someone actually knew something. Rebecca begins by talking with Madeleine Baran, APM Reports journalist and host of "In The Dark." They chat about Madeleine's year-long investigation on what went wrong during the investigation into the 1989 kidnapping of Jacob Wetterling. Even though the pod...
Sep 24, 2016•1 hr 28 min
Yup, the Crime Writers went all in with a live show taping - there was even a real-life audience there to hear it! We talked about our summer book club pick, Laura Lippman's Wilde Lake. Toby also read an epic items list, we answered audience questions. A couple of notes: - Special thanks to the Hatbox Theatre in Concord, NH - Rebecca talks to author Laura Lippman from the 8:08 mark to about 21:00 - Interstitial music was by the Blue Dot Sessions - Some audience questions had to be edited out bec...
Sep 16, 2016•1 hr 13 min
