Terror Talk: True Crime, Serial Killers and Horror

Who gets called a psychopath and who just refused to perform grief the right way? Part 4 of Shannon and Cathy's decade-by-decade Female Psychopath Series lands in the 2010s; a decade that gave us some of the most psychologically complex and culturally fascinating dangerous women in both true crime history and popular culture. This episode covers: True crime: Jodi Arias — the courtroom theatric...

In Part 1 we followed the investigation. Now Shannon and Cathy go somewhere far more unsettling, inside Gary Ridgway's head. What does it actually take to live a double life for nearly two decades? To hold down a job, get married, attend church, and kill without remorse? In Part 2, our two therapists unpack the psychological machinery behind one of the most prolific serial killers in American...

How does a predator this prolific go undetected for so long? He held the same job for 30 years, married three times, and attended church on Sundays. Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, was hiding in plain sight for nearly two decades while methodically strangling scores of women across King County, Washington. In Part 1 of this two-part true crime deep dive, therapists Shannon and Cathy apply th...

Why are people so spectacularly bad at being people? Shannon and Cathy take a break from profiling serial killers to profile something arguably more baffling — the sheer, staggering stupidity of ordinary human behavior. From dumb criminals to absurd laws still on the books, this episode is pure chaos with a psychological twist. Because even ridiculous behavior tells you something about the human m...

What do a centuries-old vampire, a polio-era nightmare and a monster's bride have in common? Shannon and Cathy have opinions. Shrink Chat is where two psychologists get gloriously off-script. This episode Shannon and Cathy dig into their latest horror movie, series and book reviews, including Dracula, Iron Lung and The Bride, plus trivia, highlight games and the general jackassery you come her...

Who gets called a psychopath — and who just failed to cry the right way at the right time? Part 3 of Shannon and Cathy's decade-by-decade Female Psychopath Series lands in the 2000s — a decade obsessed with dangerous women, media trials, and the question of what female violence is actually supposed to look like. This episode covers: True crime: Casey Anthony — the trial that divided a nation a...

What does it actually take to make a horror film fail? Not just bore you, but actively betray everything the genre promises? Two licensed therapists who have spent years analyzing the psychology of fear, dread, and what makes horror work turned their clinical lens on the worst rated horror films of 2025. The result is Titties & Tonic, Terror Talk's annual autopsy of the year's most spe...

What made horror worth watching in 2025? Two therapists with strong opinions, honest reactions, and no patience for hype without substance have your year-end guide. This is Terror Talk's annual Best of Horror episode - a curated, spoiler-free breakdown of the movies, series, and surprises that defined horror in 2025, with the clinical lens and dark humor you come here for. This episode covers:...

How did anyone think this was a good idea? Every year the true crime world delivers darkness, tragedy, and genuine horror. And then there are the other cases the ones that make you stop mid-sentence, turn to the person next to you, and say: what. the. hell. This is Terror Talk's annual roundup of the most ridiculous, unbelievable, and spectacularly misguided criminal behavior of 2025. All new...

⚠️ Trigger warning: This episode includes discussions of violence, murder, abuse, and sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised. What does it do to a person to discover their father is a serial killer? What happens when a documentary gets a case catastrophically wrong? And what does the comments section look like when people review true crime docs with one star? Shannon and Cathy dive deep in...

Welcome back to Shrink Chat , where two therapists break down horror, TV, books, and the wonderfully bizarre corners of pop culture—one laugh, one eyeball twitch, and one One-Star Review at a time. In this episode, we’re diving into a massive wave of new and upcoming horror releases across film, TV, and documentary storytelling. From rebooted classics to brand-new nightmare fuel, we’re reviewing e...

In this episode of Terror Talk Podcast , Shannon and Cathy unpack the Amanda Knox Netflix documentary through the lens of criminal psychology, media influence, and cultural bias . We’re not lawyers or investigators — just two mental health professionals exploring human behavior and how it’s portrayed in the media. We discuss: Amanda Knox’s behavioral patterns and emotional responses as seen in the...

In this special interview episode of Terror Talk – True Crime • Serial Killers • Horror Movies , we sit down with one of the most influential figures in modern forensic psychology: Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess , trauma researcher, pioneer of the FBI Behavioral Science Unit, expert witness, and author of the new book Expert Witness . This conversation is aimed at listeners who want more than true crime...

Welcome back to Shrink Chat , where horror, humor, and psychology collide! In this episode of Terror Talk Podcast , Shannon and Cathy dive headfirst into the latest in horror and true crime-inspired media — with their signature mix of sharp insight and dark humor. 🎬 This Week’s Reviews: We’re unpacking the brand-new I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) , the chilling thriller The Woman in Cabin...

What does a psychopath look like when she's standing right next to you — and you never see it coming? Part 2 of Shannon and Cathy's decade-by-decade Female Psychopath Series lands in the 1990s — a decade that turned the femme fatale into both a cultural warning and a horror icon, and gave us some of the most chilling real cases in the history of female violence. This episode covers: True c...

In this episode of Terror Talk – Killer Minds and Creepy Stuff, hosts Shannon and Cathy ask the big question: Is the Devil still scary? From The Devil’s Advocate to The Witcher and beyond, we explore how modern horror and pop culture have reimagined Satan — not just as a monster, but as a mirror of human fear, power, and faith. Join us as we discuss the remnants of Satanic Panic and unpack why bel...

In this Unsolved Crimes episode of Terror Talk – Killer Minds and Creepy Stuff , Shannon and Cathy dig into three of America’s most haunting unsolved mysteries. From Hollywood’s glittering shores to 19th-century New York and the shadowed aisles of 1980s Chicago, these cases reveal how beauty, mystery, and tragedy intertwine. We begin with the death of Natalie Wood , whose drowning off the coast of...

Welcome back to Terror Talk Podcast: Killer Minds and Creepy Stuff, where criminal psychology meets the weird, wonderful world of horror pop culture — with a side of dark humor. In this Shrink Chat episode, Shannon and Cathy are back with a spoiler-free round of horror movie, TV, and book reviews, trivia, and ridiculous one-star critiques that’ll make every horror fan laugh out loud. We’re diving...

Hold on to your sanity (and your helmets), because this week on Terror Talk we dive into the weirdest true crime stories that make us all shout, What the Hell?! From a criminal butt sniffer and an emotional support alligator to high school catfishing and model imposters, these bizarre tales will have you laughing, gasping, and questioning humanity. We also cover a truly head-scratching experiment:...

When you think about 1980s killers, names like Bundy, Ramirez, and Dahmer come to mind. But what about the women? Part 1 of Shannon and Cathy's decade-by-decade Female Psychopath Series pulls back the curtain on the women who terrorized the 1980s — both the ones who made headlines and the ones who terrified us on screen. Because in a decade defined by lipstick, motherhood, and obsession, the m...

⚠️ Trigger warning: This episode includes discussions of murder, assault, and disturbing case details. Listener discretion is advised. A brutal unsolved murder. America's most infamous serial killer. A missing TV anchor whose case has never been closed. And two more documentaries that prove real life is consistently stranger and darker than fiction. Shannon and Cathy dive into five true crime...

The 28 Days Later franchise is complete. Two therapists who have been waiting for this trilogy to close have thoughts - and they're not all positive. Season 8's first Shrink Chat is here and it's packed. Horror film reviews, a folk horror book recommendation, TV series, one star review roasts, horror trivia, and the casual chaos you come here for. Horror Facts with Cath returns. Nothin...

Three of the biggest true crime cases of 2025 reached major turning points at the same time. Two therapists with strong opinions, clinical expertise, and no patience for gaslighting have thoughts. Shannon and Cathy dive into the psychological underpinnings, the verdicts, the cultural fallout, and the unfiltered reactions that these three landmark cases demand. This episode covers: P. Diddy Sentenc...

Welcome to the season finale of our Influential Horror Director Series ! In this episode, we’re diving deep into the strange, squishy, and utterly unforgettable world of David Cronenberg — one of the most influential horror film directors of all time. From Videodrome to The Fly , Scanners to Crash , Cronenberg carved out an entirely new subgenre: body horror . We’ll talk about the way his films ex...

In this week’s What the Hell? episode of Terror Talk Podcast , we dive into the wildest, weirdest, and most head-scratching crimes you’ll hear all year. From fungi gone fatal to dinner parties turned deadly, we’re serving up a menu of chaos and comedy with a side of true crime absurdity. Here’s a taste of the madness we cover: 🍄 A dinner party in Australia takes a deadly turn thanks to toxic mush...