In 2008, high school football star Billey Joe Johnson was pulled over for speeding in Lucedale, Mississippi. Moments later, the officer radioed that the Black teen had killed himself with a shotgun. “ Mississippi Goddam: The Ballad of Billey Joe ” is an eight-part series of PRX's "Reveal" podcast. Host Al Letson pokes at the conclusion the teen’s death was an accident. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MISSISSIPPI GODDAM" GO TO MINUTE 27. The sudden death in 2009 of a rising star shocked Hollywoo...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 7 min
In season 3 of "Dr. Death," a news producer falls in love with a surgeon on the cutting edge of regenerative medicine. But dogged by questions about his research and his promises of a romantic life together, his con soon unravels. FOR OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF " DR. DEATH: MEDICINE MAN ," GO TO 30:00 In "Wild Crime," National Park Service investigators look at the death of a woman who plunged from a mountain side. Did Toni Henthorn fall...or was she pushed by her husband, Harold? FOR OUR SPOIL...
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Gwen Shamblin earned fame and fortune with a diet program heavy on religious devotion. The HBO Max series " The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin " shows when her religious dogma veered away from mainstream Christianity, her church took on the trappings of a cult. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE WAY DOWN" GO TO 34:30 They were a powerful name in South Carolina’s legal community. But after the double slaying of two family members, new scrutiny was paid to the Murdaughs’ pas...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 22 min
For years one of the world’s biggest pop stars was held captive to a conservatorship which controlled her money and her life. The Netflix documentary “ Britney Vs Spears ” reveals the undisclosed legal documents which trace how the singer’s father and a gaggle of lawyers leveraged the system to restrict her agency and make themselves rich. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BRITNEY VS SPEARS" GO TO 29:00 In October 2019, two men in a car ran over antifa protestor Sean Kealiher in Portland before f...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr 14 min
In the new podcast series “ Witnessed: Borderlands ” from Campside Media, host Rob D’Amico recalls the story of a drug runner and a crooked lawman who moved pot and cocaine through West Texas and how their alliance culminated in a botched billion dollar coke deal. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "WITNESSED: BORDERLANDS" GO TO 20:50 The Netflix French import “ The Women and the Murderer ” recalls the manhunt for a serial killer who terrorized Paris. It's told from the point of view of the female d...
Oct 04, 2021•1 hr 3 min
For years, the Brazilian faithful sought out psychic healer John of God, but the religious leader told young women their miracles were to be performed through other techniques. The Netflix import “ John of God: The Crimes of a Spiritual Healer ,” explores the case of a man who used his position to assault hundreds of women. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "JOHN OF GOD" GO TO 22:30 A murder in an apartment building left cops with two viable suspects, but not enough evidence for an arrest. Did they...
Sep 27, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Southern California officials were dealing with a string of seemingly unrelated arsons. Then a manuscript turned up with a fictional account of the fire setter. Is the book a veiled confession by the author whose identity stuns investigators? The podcast " Firebug " explores that question. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "FIREBUG" GO TO 26:00 When a teenager's scooter is found abandoned in the road, police begin a desperate search. The six-part French language series “ Laëtitia ,” now on HBO, foc...
Sep 20, 2021•1 hr 3 min
The memories of what happened on September 11th are burned clearly into our minds, but what happened afterward is often fuzzy. In " 9/12 ," from Pineapple Street Studios, Wondery, and Amazon Music, host Dan Taberski goes beyond the usual retrospectives, and looks at how 9/11 stopped being a day and became an idea. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "9/12" GO TO 35:00 While leggings company LuLaRoe earned billions, the money came not from consumers - but from the tens of thousands of sales women pur...
Sep 13, 2021•1 hr 14 min
In 1989, daycare provider Effie Entezari was shot in the parking lot of her Vancouver, Washington apartment complex. KGW and VAULT Studio's " The Yellow Car " follows Pooneh Gray's quest to clear her father’s name, questioning the ballistics, and struggling to test DNA from an alternative suspect. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "THE YELLOW CAR" GO TO 26:19 When a resident in their expensive New York apartment dies under suspicious circumstances, a former TV cop, a washed-up Broadway producer, an...
Sep 06, 2021•1 hr 6 min
For the final CWO Classic rewind of the summer, we look back at the panel's May 2017 review of the HBO documentary about the case of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard, "Mommy Dead and Dearest." For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
Aug 30, 2021•39 min
With Toby away on vacation, the crime writers welcome actress and podcaster Janet Varney to the panel. The Netflix documentary “ Pray Away ” looks back at the early-adopters of conversion therapy and the advocates who believed in its efficacy...until they didn’t. The film also follows an evangelical who renounced his trans identity and is organizing a political movement for those who identify as “ex-gay.” FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "PRAY AWAY" GO TO 35:00 Who was killed during their stay at...
Aug 23, 2021•1 hr 19 min
With the crime writers taking some more summer R&R, enjoy this classic rewind. Every once in a while, 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. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at cr...
Aug 16, 2021•40 min
In Oz, everyone wanted to get their hands on the ruby slippers. In Grand Rapids, someone did! The C13 Originals podcast “ No Place Like Home ” looks at the 2005 movie memorabilia heist and the hunt for the thieves. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "NO PLACE LIKE HOME" GO TO MINUTE 27:15 A pair of Dallas surgeons are alarmed by their new colleague. Dr. Christopher Duntsch leaves a trail of maimed, paralyzed, and dead patients - while hospital administrators look the other way. The Peacock Originals...
Aug 09, 2021•1 hr 14 min
With the crime writers taking another week off, enjoy this rewind of a classic podcast review. From September 2018, the panel digs into the hit " Dr. Death " from Wondery. Billed as the successor to "Dirty John," reporter Laura Beil recalls the case of a doctor who performed a string of botched surgeries while the system was unable - or unwilling - to stop him. TO JUMP TO OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF DR. DEATH, FAST-FORWARD TO THE 25th MINUTE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . ...
Aug 02, 2021•25 min
In season two of Campside Media’s “ Chameleon: High Rollers ,” host Trevor Aaronson takes listeners inside the FBI’s ill-fated Operation Botox. The podcast promises a tale of love triangles, gun runners, exotic dancers, wrongful prosecutions, and a pair of agents having too much fun undercover in Sin City. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CHAMELEON: HIGH ROLLERS" GO TO MINUTE 32. The Netflix series “ Heist ” looks at three colorful crimes perpetrated by somewhat ordinary people. Employing styliz...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 15 min
As the team moves to its biweekly summer schedule, enjoy this rewind of a classic CWO review. In season two of CBC’s Missing and Murdered: Finding Cleo , Connie Walker searches for a Cree girl who vanished after being adopted into an American family. Will she skillfully tie the tale to the heartbreaking story of Canada's "Sixties Scoop"? What did the crime writers think of it? TO SKIP TO OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF FINDING CLEO, JUMP TO THE 34th MINUTE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at...
Jul 19, 2021•39 min
Christopher Vaughn was convicted for the 2007 killings of his wife and children in the family minivan. The iHeart podcast " Murder in Illinois " looks into whether someone else was responsible and an innocent man is in prison. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "MURDER IN ILLINOIS" GO TO MINUTE 29:00 The killing of a teen in a Spanish seaside village and the prosecution of a family friend for the slaying gripped the country. Netflix's " Murder By the Coast " describes how a subsequent crime would ro...
Jul 12, 2021•1 hr 9 min
It took an act of Congress to compel the FBI to reinvestigate more than 100 civil rights-era murders. From FRONTLINE PBS comes the podcast “ Un(re)solved ,” a look at the attempt to close open cases of racially-motivated killings from five decades ago. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "UN(RE)SOLVED" GO TO MINUTE 28:00 In 1996, a French tourist was murdered outside her Irish vacation home. Suspicion in the death of Sophie Toscan du Plantier turned to a man already publicly involved in the investiga...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 14 min
When journalist David Kushner was four-years-old, his older brother biked off to buy him his favorite gum. In " Alligator Candy " from UCP Audio, Kushner struggles to come to terms with the loss and the thought that his request led to tragedy. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "ALLIGATOR CANDY" GO TO MINUTE 28:15 The discovery of a handgun at an airport led authorities to a German soldier posing as a Syrian refugee and the possibility right-wing extremists had infiltrated the nation’s military. The...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 9 min
A stranger knocks on a woman's door and asks if she knows her ex-boyfriend, whom she learns was not who he said he was. In “ Do You Know Mordechai ” from UCP Audio and Antica Productions, host Kathleen Goldhar works on behalf of the bamboozled and brokenhearted to find a romantic con artist. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "DO YOU KNOW MORDECHAI" GO TO MINUTE 27:00 France’s favorite gentleman burglar is back in season two of Netflix's “ Lupin .” Assane Diop employs disguises, high tech trickery, ...
Jun 21, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Defense attorney Frank Carson was a rough courtroom brawler, unafraid to accuse police and prosecutors of corruption to win cases. But the disappearance of a small-time thief led investigators to focus on Carson. Was the criminal attorney as violent as his clients...or was it a vendetta by cops and lawyers to bring down their pugnacious foe? FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF " THE TRIALS OF FRANK CARSON " GO TO 30:00MINUTE. Two Stanford students proposed a safer way to give smokers their hit of nic...
Jun 14, 2021•1 hr 15 min
After her reclaimed fame in "Wild Wild Country," former cult leader Ma Anand Sheela went on a book tour of India. Netflix's follow-up "Searching for Sheela" shows her greeted by fans and reporters, projecting an image of a woman both enlightened by her experience and unrepentant of her past. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "SEARCHING FOR SHEELA" GO TO THE 27:00 MINUTE MARK. An agoraphobic woman witnesses a crime across the street, but investigators believe the attack was a product of her medicate...
Jun 07, 2021•1 hr 5 min
The sudden death of Gerald Cotten left Bitcoin owners in the lurch, because no one else had the password that controlled the hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. In the “ Exit Scam ,” host Aaron Lammer asks did this missing Crypto-King take a fortune to his grave...or take it on the run? FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "EXIT SCAM" GO TO 35:30 A series of 1999 bombings rocked London’s Black and gay neighborhoods. Can a regular chap-turned-spy find the neo-Nazi behind the attacks? We’...
May 31, 2021•1 hr 16 min
A North Korean cyber group made headlines when it hacked Sony Pictures, then stole a billion dollars from a Bangkok bank. The BBC World Service podcast “ The Lazarus Heist ” explains how the communist regime unleashed a gang of cybercriminals on the world. Are they in it for the thrill, for the politics, or for the money? FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE LAZARUS HEIST" GO TO 30:00 In 2017, Larry Krasner was swept into the Philadelphia DA’s Office on a platform of systemic criminal justice re...
May 24, 2021•1 hr 18 min
It was founded on a curriculum of hard work, discipline, and emotional counseling for out-of-control adolescents. The iHeartRadio podcast “ Camp Hell: Anneewakee ” explores the sordid history of the Anneewakee Treatment Center, sold to parents as a solution for their children's problems, but was actually a breeding ground for sexual abuse. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "CAMP HELL: ANNEEWAKEE" GO TO 34:51 When a young mother is murdered, a small town detective's investigation threatens to upend ...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Wondery’s new series, “ In God We Lust ,” looks at the origins of the Jerry Falwell Jr pool boy scandal. It’s a tale of a famous Evangelical couple who preached against the sins of the flesh while all along indulging in them. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "IN GOD WE LUST" GO TO 29:20 A Swedish woman says she murdered her lover's wife after getting divine text messages. HBO's " Pray Obey Kill " looks at this religion/sex/murder case as a pair of journalists search for new evidence in the crime....
May 10, 2021•1 hr 7 min
A journalist investigates a 1993 murder in California’s marijuana country. Did it actually happen...and was Bigfoot the killer? We’ll talk about the Hulu true crime series “ Sasquatch .” FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "SASQUATCH" GO TO 21:00 He murdered nearly three dozen teens and buried most in the crawlspace beneath his house. In “ John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise ” from Peacock, we hear from the killer himself, as well as those who think there's still more to the story. FOR OUR SPOILER-FRE...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 3 min
His follow SEALS said while in Mosul, Eddie Gallagher stabbed to death a wounded, teenage ISIS prisoner, then posed with his corpse. In " The Line " host Dan Taberski brings his unique voice to a controversial tale of how the lines between duty and dishonor are blurred in Iraq’s Forever War. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "THE LINE" GO TO 31:35 “ The Improvement Association ,” from Serial Productions and The New York Times , looks into the effects of voter fraud allegations on a small community....
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 17 min
In March 1990, two men dressed as Boston police officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, bound the guards, and made off with millions in fine art. Netflix’s “ This Is A Robbery ” takes an in-depth look at how the heist went down, the many colorful characters who could have pulled it off, and the likelihood these masterpieces will ever be recovered. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THIS IS A ROBBERY" GO TO 28:25 A woman is murdered in the west of Ireland and a local man flaunts his r...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 8 min
A charming jeweler and party host traveled through Southeast Asia in the 1970s trading gems and killing tourists. Can a lone Dutch diplomat capture him? We’ll talk about the docudrama “ The Serpent ” from Netflix and BBC One. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "THE SERPENT" GO TO 29:30 In 1970, a Wisconsin lawman was shot to death in his bedroom. In Wondery's " MANslaughter ," his niece explores whether the confessed shooter really pulled the trigger and whether there were other victims. FOR OUR SPO...
Apr 12, 2021•1 hr 15 min
