In 1980, Allan Bridge created a phone line for New Yorkers to leave messages to friends or strangers apologizing for the wrongs they’ve done. Wondery's " The Apology Line " looks at the confessional forum for both the contrite and the criminal - and its effects on its creator. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE APOLOGY LINE" GO TO 29:00 A Florida woman contacts a cold case detective with information about the cult-like church she grew up in. “ The Followers: House of Prayer ” from UCP Audio te...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Authorities in Malibu arrest a drifter for a campsite murder and a spree of sniper shootings, but right away questions emerge whether the evidence actually points to Anthony Rauda. The podcast " Lost Hills " offers investigators, families, as well as some of Malibu’s colorful locals in an attempt to pull back the curtain on the embattled L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and the city’s sunshine façade. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LOST CITY" GO TO 38:00 Wealthy parents whose kids could not ge...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 19 min
In Netflix's " Murder Among the Mormons ," a pair of deadly bombs in Salt Lake City appear connected to unearthed historical documents that could rock the Mormon church and make collectors rich...but only if they're authentic. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDER AMONG THE MORMONS" GO TO 28:10. An NPR reporter finds a source in a prisoner serving a life sentence. Their 20+ year relationship changes when he's unexpectedly released. In " Suave " from Futuro Media, the ex-con must navigate the c...
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Wealthy Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard threw lavish parties in the Bahamas that were just a pretext to lure and rape women. The CBC spent years trying to land the story of his decades of sexual assaults and intimidation in four countries. The podcast " Evil by Design " tells the stories of victims, advocates, and journalists in the Nygard case. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "EVIL BY DESIGN" GO TO 37:30 Despite Mia Farrow's claims Woody Allen molested their adopted daughter, the filmmak...
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr 27 min
Jermain Charlo left a Missoula, Montana bar, walked down an alleyway, and vanished. In Gimlet’s new podcast “ Stolen: The Search for Jermain ,” host Connie Walker continues her work documenting crimes against Indigenous women. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "STOLEN: THE SEARCH FOR JERMAIN" GO TO 29:00 Eight-year-old Relisha Rudd had been missing from a Washington DC family shelter more than two weeks before anyone noticed. Police would find the shelter’s janitor and his wife dead, but never loca...
Mar 08, 2021•1 hr 8 min
00In Dateline NBC’s newest podcast “ Mommy Doomsday, ” Keith Morrison picks up where he left off with “The Thing About Pam,” applying his unique reporting style to a true crime mystery. Where are Lori Vallow’s missing children? Why have so many people around her suddenly died? And does her religious cult focused on the apocalypse have anything to do with it? FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MOMMY DOOMSDAY" GO TO 27:00 In 2017, a Swedish journalist was last scene departing with a man in his homem...
Mar 01, 2021•1 hr 3 min
When we left off with “I’m Not a Monster” from BBC Panorama and PBS Frontline, Samantha Elhassani was wanted by the FBI. In the final episodes, Josh Baker returns to Syria to fact-check her claims she was an ISIS prisoner, not an ISIS soldier. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF THE FINALE OF "I'M NOT A MONSTER" GO TO 37:30. When a Canadian tourist disappeared from her downtown LA hotel, video of her on an elevator seem to show her hiding from someone. It was a critical clue for police and a source o...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 20 min
They were the famous male exotic dancers that made the ladies scream. But behind the scenes the story of Chippendales is filled with drugs, backstabbing, and even murder. We'll preview the new podcast "Welcome to Your Fantasy." FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WELCOME TO YOUR FANTASY" GO TO 34:40 In 1974 a new three-wheeled car promised to change the automotive industry. But both the car - and the high-profile businesswoman running the company - were not what they seemed. We’ll review the HBO do...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 15 min
In 1980, California cops found themselves outgunned at a deadly bank robbery firefight. “ Norco 80 ” from LAist Studios revisits the heist and chase which set law enforcement down the path to the modern militarized police force. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "NORCO 80" GO TO 30:00 In the new film " The Little Things ," Deputy Sheriff John Deacon returns to his old homicide squad during a string of high-profile killings. Is their case related to the unsolved murders which derailed his career and...
Feb 08, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Rebecca returns to the host's chair in time to talk about “ Chicano Squad ” from Frequency Machine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. To deal with a crime spree in a Latino community that no longer trusts them, Houston police create a special unit of Spanish-speaking officers to solve its toughest cases. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "CHICANO SQUAD" GO TO 34:00 Then, the Netflix documentary “ Crack: Cocaine, Corruption, and Conspiracy ” shows the falling dominos from a burgeoning drug economy a...
Feb 01, 2021•1 hr 9 min
After Rebecca calls in sick at the last minute, Kevin is pressed into hosting duties. He, Lara, and Toby talk about Netflix's new documentary, " Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer ." The series largely removes the killer from the frame, focusing instead on the crimes and those affected by the case. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "NIGHT STALKER" GO TO 28:00 A lowly janitor at the Louvre concocts a plan to steal Marie Antoinette’s necklace, but this janitor is more than he seems. In Netf...
Jan 25, 2021•1 hr 1 min
The HBO Max documentary “ Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults ” traces the group’s founding in the 1970s through the Internet age to explain the origins of the largest mass suicide in US history. The four-part series takes a serious look at a religious group dismissed as space cadets. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "HEAVEN'S GATE: CULT OF CULTS" GO TO 30:00 When New York City police arrested Dominique Straus-Kahn for raping her in his hotel room, the story shook two continents. The Netflix series “...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 5 min
A foreign correspondent is pulled into the story of a Westerner whose account of joining ISIS is suspect. No, it’s not "Caliphate" - we’ll discuss “ I'm Not a Monster ” from BBC Panorama and Frontline PBS. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "I'M NOT A MONSTER" GO TO 37:00 Their father was a fertility doctor who used his own sperm for insemination. “ Baby God ” from HBO Documentaries follows some of his offspring as they come to terms with the truth of their conception and contemplate who they really...
Jan 11, 2021•1 hr 13 min
In this episode, Kevin begins with a thank you to the listeners. THANK YOU. We love you a lot. In 1975, West Yorkshire police discovered the body of a woman who’d been brutally murdered, the first in a series of killings that rocked Northern England. The British press could not resist the similarities between this criminal and London’s most famous killer. Netflix’s “ The Ripper ” explores the killing spree of Peter Sutcliff, dubbed “The Yorkshire Ripper.” FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "THE RIPP...
Jan 04, 2021•1 hr 11 min
While the team enjoys the holiday vacation, here's a classic rewind of their original discussion from January 2016 of "Making a Murderer." Lara loses her mind over the ethics of Dassey's defense, Toby is skeptical but sympathetic, Rebecca goes out on a limb, and Kevin gives his wife a terrible anniversary card. Plus, the Crime of the Week! Click here to get the Crime Writers On After Show, plus more exclusive content, on Patreon.: https://patreon.com/partnersincrimemedia For exclusive podcasts a...
Dec 28, 2020•1 hr 12 min
A string of femicides in a Mexican border town dating back to the 1990s has claimed the lives of hundreds of women. Were the women snatched by a serial killer...or by a network of people who knew they could get away with it? We review the podcast, “ Forgotten: Women of Juárez .” FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "FORGOTTEN: WOMEN OF JUÁREZ," GO TO 32:00 In 1991, a woman claimed her jealous husband tried to kill her with the rattlesnakes he used in his Pentecostal church services. In the HBO Max do...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 15 min
With such a fantastic finale, the crime writers dig into episode four of " Murder on Middle Beach ." Taken as a whole, this documentary exceeded expectations...by a lot! After being arrested in 1983 for a petty theft in London, a homeless Irishman killed his cellmate for snoring too much. When grilled by detectives, Kieran Patrick Kelly unexpectedly confessed to a series of unsolved murders. The RTÉ podcast " The Nobody Zone " separates fact from fiction. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "THE NOBO...
Dec 14, 2020•1 hr 7 min
In 2010, Barbara Beach Hamburg was bludgeoned to death outside her Connecticut home. In HBO’s four-part “ Murder on Middle Beach ,” Madison Hamburg offers an intimate look at his mother's killing, his troubled family, and his own painful search for answers. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "MURDER ON MIDDLE BEACH," GO TO 36:00 Grace Fraser’s life is upended when the mother of a student at her son’s Manhattan private school is brutally murdered. Is it possible the man she married is a cold-blooded ...
Dec 07, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Though we took last week off for Thanksgiving, we didn't feel right about not putting anything in the feed this week. So we're offering up this classic rewind of our 2015 discussion of "The Jinx" and "The Staircase." For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
Nov 30, 2020•48 min
As Lara gets closer to her pet detective graduation, the panel's got some great things from Netflix to talk about. Sean Ellis won a new trial decades after being convicted of murdering a Boston policeman. What he didn’t know then was Detective John Mulligan was a dirty cop and his partners steered the investigation away from their own illegal activity. In “ Trial 4 ,” Ellis prepares to go back to court and prove he was railroaded to close a case that would expose police corruption. FOR OUR SPOIL...
Nov 23, 2020•1 hr 18 min
Doctor Farid Fata was Michigan’s go-to oncologist, but clinicians who got a closer look at the medicines he was administering became suspicious. Wondery's out with season two of the hit podcast "Dr. Death." FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "DR. DEATH" GO TO 22:00 Then, from famed documentarian Alex Gibney comes “Crazy Not Insane,” a look at Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis’s career and the controversy around violent offenders with dissociative identity disorders. Is it a breakthrough or junk science? FOR O...
Nov 16, 2020•1 hr 9 min
WHAT A WEEK! Can you believe we had time to listen or watch anything ? It was considered a crime against the game. When the Houston Astros went from worst-to-first, the baseball world loved the story. Then it came out they’d been stealing the other team’s pitching signs. What does it all mean? We review the new podcast, " The Edge ." FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "THE EDGE," GO TO 32:00 In 1969 the government charged some anti-war activists with inciting a riot outside the Democratic convention...
Nov 09, 2020•1 hr 11 min
Guys! Lara is getting close to being a certified pet detective now that she's learned cat forensics. Can't get enough of the election? Luminary has re-released for free “ Fiasco: Bush v Gore .” Leon Neyfakh brings his signature style to butterfly ballots, hanging chads, and the Brooks Brothers Riot. Was the 2000 Florida recount a political anomaly or a blueprint for future electoral triumph? FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "FIASCO" GO TO 39:00 A lady’s companion falls in love with rich widower Ma...
Nov 02, 2020•1 hr 11 min
The newspaper story of a woman who crusaded against her attacker's light sentence unveiled a secret about a different person in the courtroom. In “ Canary ” from the Washington Post, we follow a three-year effort to flesh out the long-ago accusation and its effect on those directly and indirectly involved. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "CANARY" GO TO 34:00 An English village was rocked in 1985 when a woman murdered her parents and twin sons before turning the gun on herself. Authorities are eag...
Oct 26, 2020•1 hr 5 min
Stop, what's that sound? CWO reveals its new theme music (listen for the typewriter). The 2016 disappearance of the senior class president divided a small Texas town. And when he turned up dead two years later it only added to the mystery. In the Texas Monthly podcast “ Tom Brown’s Body ” award winning journalist Skip Hollandsworth explores this unsolved case featuring a defensive sheriff, an offensive private eye, and a Panhandle town pointing fingers in every direction. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE RE...
Oct 19, 2020•1 hr 4 min
It was a scam that tricked film crew members to fly halfway around the world for a fake movie. But what was this con job really about? We’ll talk about the new podcast, " Chameleon: The Hollywood Con Queen ." FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "CHAMELEON" GO TO 24:00 Netflix’s new documentary “ American Murder: The Family Next Door ” is told exclusively through texts, Facebook posts, police body cams and surveillance video. What results is an inside look at Shanann Watts family’s slow roll to traged...
Oct 12, 2020•1 hr 3 min
It's the feel bad episode of the season! First, the Oklahoma City bombing opened America’s eyes to anti-government groups. In “ Two Minutes Past Nine ” from BBC Sounds, host Leah Sottile ("Bundyville") provides a primer on American extremism and draws a straight line between Timothy McVeigh and today's extremists. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "TWO MINUTES PAST NINE," GO TO 26:00 Then, in season 3 of “ Motive ” from WBEZ, host Odette Yousef explores how the White Supremacist movement recruited ...
Oct 05, 2020•1 hr 7 min
He was a troubled teen who fell into a gang before being gunned down in an East London park. Was CJ the actual target? Are his killers taunting his family in rap videos? We’ll review “ Who Killed CJ Davis ?” FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "WHO KILLED CJ DAVIS?" GO TO 33:00 It's the story of a womanizing real estate developer whose unconventional political movement propelled him to the highest elected office - in Italy! We’ll talk about Wondery’s Silvio Berlusconi podcast, “ Bunga Bunga .” FOR OU...
Sep 28, 2020•1 hr 3 min
His parishioners didn't learn Father Ryan Scott wasn't a priest until he'd already made off with their money. The crime writers share their thoughts on " Smoke Screen: Fake Priest ." FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "SMOKE SCREEN: FAKE PRIEST," GO TO MINUTE 24:00 Then HBO Max's " Class Action Park " plays for laughs with its look back at a NJ water park with rides so ridiculously hazardous that no insurance company would cover it. Then things take a hard turn when we hear from the family one of th...
Sep 21, 2020•59 min
Lara announces she's combining her love of cats and investigative skills into a new career. Who knew you could? Was the 1954 lynching of prominent Black businessman Isadore Banks solely an act of racism, or was there also a financial motive? We're discussing " Unfinished: Deep South ” from Witness Docs. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "UNFINISHED" GO TO MINUTE 29:00 Then the panel gets a real-time inside look at the multilevel marketing/sex cult NXIVM with the people who were there. We’re talking...
Sep 14, 2020•1 hr 7 min
