098: Two on Rebecca Zahau and Two American Experiences

Recording on Memorial Day, I went guestless to talk about two takes on the contested death of Rebecca Zahau: ID's Murder Mystery version, and a limited series from Oxygen called Death At The Mansion featuring Loni Coombs, Paul Holes, and Billy Jensen. Is either one worth your time? Does the nature of the case mean no TV show about it can maintain any momentum? And what is with the lingering shots of the courtroom death mannequin?

Later, I bail out my sinking DVR one teaspoon at a time by reviewing two American Experiences from Season 30, "The Bombing Of Wall Street" and "The Island Murder." One gives good context on post-World War I revolutionary "action," the tension between security and privacy, and the rise of J. Edgar Hoover. The other one is bizarrely flip about Thalia Massie's mental illness. Should you watch either? And will you feel for the narrators? Overlooked victims, colonial injustice, and a reading from Bill James in The Blotter Presents, Episode 098.

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SHOW NOTES

• Rebecca Zahau: An ID Murder Mystery
• Death At The Mansion: Rebecca Zahau
• American Experience, "The Bombing Of Wall Street"
• American Experience, "The Island Murder"
• Popular Crime by Bill James