When we last saw them, Charles, Oliver, and Mabel were hauled off for the murder of Bunny, the Arconia building president. But their newfound infamy and the success of their true crime podcast has given the trio the opportunities they’ve dreamed of. Mabel is recognized for her artwork, Charles’s classic TV show is revived, and Oliver may finally solve his money problems. But true crime rival Cinda Canning’s new podcast focuses on them and whether they killed Bunny. The only way to clear their na...
Jul 18, 2022•48 min
Having eluded authorities for 17 years, the criminal known as the Unabomber is ready to make a deal. If newspapers will print his manifesto, he’ll stop killing people. But his anti-technology rants sound familiar to the family of Ted Kaczynski. When the disheveled cabin dweller is arrested, it confirms everyone’s suspicion the culprit was a mad man. But how did he go from mathematics professor to serial bomber? And were there other ways the story could have gone? Produced by Pineapple Street Stu...
Jul 11, 2022•49 min
Homicide detectives respond to the shooting of a woman in a car on a dark North Hollywood street. The killing does not appear to be random and the lead suspect is the victim’s husband, actor Robert Blake. Complicating the investigation are the revelations about the victim’s past. Before her marriage, Bonny Lee Bakley spent decades as a con artist, cavorting with criminals and celebrities alike, leaving a long trail of enemies. From Wondery comes the latest series from the podcast “Hollywood &...
Jul 04, 2022•43 min
Pet store owners tell buyers their puppies come from reputable breeders and humane kennels. But verifying that is challenging, because the dogs are often supplied by brokers who act as middlemen between the shops and shady puppy mills. Jolyn Noethe is a broker who allegedly engineered a multi-million dollar scheme to launder puppies and deceive buyers throughout the country about where their new pets actually came from. In the new season of “Smoke Screen” from Neon Hum, “Puppy Kingpin” pulls apa...
Jun 30, 2022•40 min
The ubiquity of the Web means people can be whomever they want, wherever they want. That cloak of anonymity makes it easy to steal identities, spread hate speech, and make threats against the unsuspecting. But beyond the criminal acts, the nefarious use of the Internet opens the doors for more pernicious problems - like the erosion of truth or the overreach of a government attempting to strike back. The Netflix documentary series “Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet” shows a series...
Jun 27, 2022•43 min
After a 24 hour standoff at a bank robbery, two armed men and their two hostages flee through West Germany. Later, they hold up a city bus and take more hostages. While the police stay back, the criminals instead open a dialogue with the press, calmly taking questions while brandishing weapons. With reporters following the bus through the country, conducting interviews at every stop, the hostage takers are growing more anxious about the situation. With no clear-cut path for a peaceful conclusion...
Jun 23, 2022•40 min
An unexplained cancer is moving through New York’s gay community. Throughout the early 1980s, as more men die, its origins remain a mystery. Meanwhile battlelines form among activists, scientists, politicians, and the public at large. “Slow Burn” creator Leon Neyfakh is out with “Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis” on Audible. The podcast looks into the forgotten twists and turns of the epidemic’s early days, when a diagnosis was a death sentence. Neyfakh brings us those who struggled to keep the infected ...
Jun 20, 2022•52 min
Authorities were stumped by the untimely deaths of people who had been taking a little-known diet drug. Known as DNP, the chemical helped users shed pounds, all while cooking them alive from the inside. But the compound which was developed as a World War One explosive had long been banned for human consumption. How was it turning up on the Internet? Why did those with body dysmorphia want it? And why were authorities slow to take action despite the pleas from families of the victims? The C13Orig...
Jun 16, 2022•45 min
As the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS, a fundamentalist offshoot of the Mormon church, Warren Jeffs used the lure of eternal salvation to manipulate his followers. He arranged polygamous marriages and coerced families to offer their girls as child brides within the secretive sect, while authorities did little to stop him. The Netflix series “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey'' paints a disturbing picture of the modern subjugation of women and the effects of tyrannical control dressed up as religiou...
Jun 13, 2022•50 min
The gang of friends in Hawkins is slowly growing apart. Mike, Dustin, Max and Lucas are in different high school cliques. Having moved to California with Joyce's family, Eleven is finding it hard navigating a new school without her supernatural powers. Though wanted by the KGB, Joyce and Murray pursue a tip that Hopper is alive and in a Soviet prison camp. Steve, Nancy, and Robin join their friends to defeat a dark wizard who’s targeting troubled teens in Hawkins. Meanwhile a team of scientists ...
Jun 09, 2022•49 min
Michael Peterson said he found his wife at the bottom of the staircase after a fatal fall. But authorities believed when Kathleen Peterson learned of her husband’s double life, he beat her skull with a blow poke in a fit of rage. With the support of his family, a top-notch defense attorney, and a French film crew documenting his every move, Peterson stood trial in a case filled with twists and revelations. Despite holes in the evidence, the jury convicted him of murder. The MAX Original 8-part d...
Jun 06, 2022•46 min
On a routine traffic stop in Saskatchewan, a Mountie recognized the driver as the priest who abused him as a child. The officer beat him up, but the priest never reported the attack and the Mountie kept the incident to himself for decades. That officer was the late father of reporter Connie Walker. She wanted to know more about her Cree family’s experiences with Canadian residential schools. St. Michael’s school not only tried to expunge the children’s indigenous culture, but also subjected them...
Jun 02, 2022•47 min
Before it was known on the big screen as a house of horror, the Dutch Colonial at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island belonged to the family of Ron DeFeo. In November 1974, Ron Junior found his parents and four siblings shot to death in their beds. His trial captivated the community, but his grisly crimes would be overshadowed by the new homeowners' claims the house was possessed. The new podcast “Very Scary People” from HLN revisits the crime which was the prologue to “The Amityville Ho...
May 30, 2022•42 min
The Capitol insurrection seemed to catch most of the country off guard. But many people believed January 6th would be a violent day in Washington. They included conspiracy theorists, as well as security analysts…even one Texas teenager who tipped off the FBI after hearing his father’s plans to overturn the election. But who are these people who would take up arms against a nation they say they want to save? What’s been the fallout for the insurrectionists, their families, and officers wounded th...
May 26, 2022•50 min
After the 1984 murder of Brenda Lafferty and her baby, Detective Jeb Pyre learns the woman married into a prominent and devout Mormon family. But her modern outlook soon clashed with her five brother-in-laws’ views on marriage, religion, and the government. As conflicts arose among their wives, their community, and their church - the Lafferty brothers explored Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints teachings about polygamy, taxation and atonement. Now Detective Pyre must question his own faith as he p...
May 23, 2022•51 min
In 2014, authorities discovered the bodies of political consultant John Sheridan and his wife Joyce in the bedroom of their New Jersey home. A barricaded door, an intentionally set fire, and the discovery of two knives near the bodies led investigators to believe John killed Joyce in a murder/suicide. The couple’s family noticed detectives ignored odd things about the evidence, such as the blood patterns and type of knife that made the fatal blow. In a state known for its graft and shoddy police...
May 19, 2022•44 min
Candy 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 initiates an affair with Betty’s husband, Allen. After the affair runs its course Betty and Allen are closer than ever. But while away on a business trip, Allen becomes concerned when his wife won’t answer the home telephone. The five-night Hulu event “Candy” stars Jessica Biel, Melanie Lynskey, Pablo Schreiber, and Raúl Esparza. Based o...
May 16, 2022•45 min
Since financial advisor Melissa Caddick walked out of her house in 2020, authorities have been unable to determine whether she vanished with the millions from her Ponzi scheme, was snatched by a ripped-off investor, or threw herself into the sea from the high cliffs near her luxury home. The podcast “Liar, Liar: Melissa Caddick and the Missing Millions” is a joint investigation between the Sydney Morning Journal and 60 Minutes Australia. Journalists Kate McClymont and Tom Steinfort seek to final...
May 12, 2022•44 min
With drug lord Omar Navarro in prison and his hot-head nephew Javi in charge, Marty and Wendy Byrde’s plan to get out from under the drug cartel’s control is in freefall. Meanwhile, Ruth makes a play for the casino - key to the money laundering operation Marty needs to fulfill his debt and secure a deal with the FBI. Jason Bateman and Julia Garner return for the final season of Netflix’s award-winning “Ozark.” OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "OZARK" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 44:00 In Crime of the Week: wh...
May 09, 2022•51 min
In 1972, seven-year-old Steven Stayner was kidnapped and raised by his abductor under an assumed name. At age 14 he made his escape and returned home. Reporters couldn’t get enough of the miraculous story, and a TV miniseries captivated the nation. But there was no storybook ending for the Stayners. The following years brought conflict, tragedy, and an unthinkable crime. The Hulu documentary “Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story” follows the ordeals of Steven and Cory Stayner. It suppl...
May 05, 2022•46 min
Complaints about harsh punishments, sexual abuse, and a fatal field trip surfaced about a Utah teen treatment center. State regulators did little about it - even when its director was accused of rape and using residents as workers in his home. The new podcast “Sent Away” is a joint investigation among The Salt Lake Tribune , KUER, and APM Reports. It looks at the troubling history of Integrity House, as well as Utah’s lax oversight which has allowed the teen treatment industry in the state to ex...
May 02, 2022•46 min
In 1990 Laurie Bembenek escaped from a Wisconsin prison through an open window. When the former Playboy bunny went on the lam, she became a media sensation and a folk hero. But did the former cop and calendar girl known as Bambi actually commit the crime she was in prison for - the murder of her husband’s ex-wife? The new show “Run, Bambi, Run” from Apple Podcasts looks back at the sexy-and-sexist case against Bembenek. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "RUN, BAMBI, RUN" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 38:00 For ...
Apr 28, 2022•44 min
After walking away from Villanelle at the end of last season, security analyst Eve Palastri is immersed in her new obsession. With the help of friends new-and-old, she’s closing in on the mysterious yet powerful cabal known as The Twelve. Elsewhere, Villanelle is having an identity crisis. Can she leave behind her life as an assassin and prove to herself - and to Eve - that she’s not a monster? Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh and Emmy winner Jodie Comer star in the fourth-and-final season of “Kill...
Apr 25, 2022•49 min
Officials say prisons protect the public from lawlessness, but often they’re the most lawless places in the country. And the security used to keep detainees IN , also keeps OUT transparency and accountability. In season 4 of “Motive” from WBEZ-Chicago, host Shannon Heffernan explores the Illinois prison system. She finds their rural locations, protective culture, and hostility toward inmates creates opportunities for systemic misconduct. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS FOR SEASON 4 OF "MOTIVE" BEGIN AR...
Apr 21, 2022•45 min
When Betsy Faria was murdered in 2011, police aggressively pursued her husband, Russ. But the evidence pointed to her BFF Pam Hupp. And while bad things continued to befall people around her, TV news magazines homed in on Pam and her web of lies. Renée Zellweger stars in “The Thing About Pam,” the NBC dramatization based on the NBC podcast based on the NBC news magazine Dateline. OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF "THE THING ABOUT PAM" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 37:00 In Crime of the Week: tall tale . For exc...
Apr 18, 2022•43 min
In February 1978, the car of five men with either mental health or intellectual disabilities was discovered on a high mountain road, far away from their anticipated destination. By the summer it became clear where the group had gone, but what happened to them in those months remains a troubling mystery. The seven-episode podcast “Yuba County Five” from Mopac Audio recalls the missing persons case that still haunts Northern California. It asks the question of why the men took the detour and wheth...
Apr 14, 2022•42 min
After his suicide shocks his family, Conrad Roy’s mother learns he’d been having a virtual relationship with a girl in another town. But investigators combing their text messages discover instead of stopping him, Michelle Carter may have instructed him to take his own life. Elle Fanning and Chloë Sevigny star in the Hulu docudrama “The Girl from Plainville.” The series captures the sadness of two teens who don’t fit in, their path to tragedy, and the agony of the adults piecing together why it h...
Apr 11, 2022•44 min
Teenage actress Evan Rachel Wood turned heads with her unlikely relationship with much-older shock-rocker Marilyn Manson. Behind the scenes, the musician’s love bombing morphed into physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. The two-part HBO documentary "Phoenix Rising" lets Wood tell her complete story for the first time. She recounts the evolution of a classically abusive relationship, elevated by a world of rock’n’roll excess and violence as an artform. It also shows in real-time her struggle wit...
Apr 07, 2022•46 min
In 2017, two people set to sea in a homemade submarine. Only one returned. The two-part HBO documentary “Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall” recounts the famous Nordic murder case, including its complicated investigation and motives around snuff-film sex fantasies. It also explores the life stories of a rising journalist and an eccentric inventor. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNDERCURRENT" BEGINS AROUND MINUTE 37:00 In Crime of the Week : smashed at the pub. For exclusive podcasts and m...
Apr 04, 2022•42 min
This week, we rewind to our September 16, 2019 review of "Over My Dead Body: Joe Exotic." Wondery’s “Over My Dead Body” returns for a second season with the story of Joe Exotic. Host Rob Moor introduces us to the charismatic and controversial exotic animal collector who claims to be a target for ruin at the hands of a woman whose husband vanished under mysterious circumstances. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "OVER MY DEAD BODY: JOE EXOTIC" GO TO THE 23rd MINUTE. For exclusive podcasts and more,...
Mar 28, 2022•27 min
