American Criminal

This Halloween, American Criminal is bringing you three tales of real crimes with a spooky twist. A masked trick or treat slayer, a real-life killer Candyman, and a house so haunted it caused the brutal murders of an entire family. Don’t miss the latest season of American Criminal – Halloween Horrors, beginning October 2nd. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to...

In May, 1924, Leopold and Loeb set out to commit their carefully planned "perfect crime." First they had to choose a victim, then kidnap and kill him, hide his body, and collect a substantial ransom. They were certain they could pull it off, but nothing went quite accordingly to plan, leaving the teenage killers dangerously close to being found out. To listen to all four episodes of 'Leopold and L...

Once they're reunited in Michigan, Leopold and Loeb carried on their downward spiral into criminality. Their schemes got progressively more daring until the little things wouldn't do anymore. Now they wanted to carry out the perfect crime. And that crime would start with murder. To listen to all four episodes of 'Leopold and Loeb' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at...

A frank conversation with our host Jeremy Schwartz about his favorite cases we've covered, his career as an actor on and off the stage, and what he's listening to when he's not behind the mic. Thank you for being a listener. Please be sure to rate, review, and follow American Criminal wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe in Apple, Spotify, or at ⁠americancriminal.com⁠ Learn more about your ad...

Growing up in Chicago, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb both seemed destined for greatness. They each performed well in school, and advanced to university long before their peers. But once they met at college, Leopold and Loeb began a dance that would lead them to one of the most infamous crimes of the 20th century: the murder of Bobby Franks. To listen to all four episodes of 'Leopold and Loeb' ri...

In this special bonus episode, we're bringing you pieces of our favorite stories that didn't make it to the final episodes. Thank you for being a listener. Please be sure to rate, review, and follow American Criminal wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe in Apple, Spotify, or at ⁠americancriminal.com⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of our next series on Leopold and Loeb, Lindsay Graham (American Scandal, American History Tellers, & History Daily) joins the show to talk about a key figure in the Leopold and Loeb story, and one of the 20th century's most famous trial lawyers: Clarence Darrow. Thank you for being a listener. Please be sure to rate, review, and follow American Criminal wherever you get your podcasts. Subsc...

There have been a lot of developments in the Menendez case since our last update. Recently, Lyle and Erik Menendez appeared before the parole board for the first time. Here's everything you need to know about what happened. Thank you for being a listener. Please be sure to rate, review, and follow American Criminal wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe in Apple, Spotify, or at americancriminal...

This season on American Criminal we’re taking you inside the minds of the killers who committed one of the most infamous crimes of the 20th century: Leopold and Loeb. In 1924, two teenagers abducted and murdered Bobby Franks in broad daylight because they were convinced they could get away with it. But what made them think that? Why were they obsessed with committing the perfect crime? And how did...

With their confessions piling up, Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole earn infamy as two of history’s most prolific serial killers. But while not everything about their stories add up, some refuse to believe they’ve been conned. To listen to all four episodes of 'Lucas, Toole, and the Murder of Adam Walsh' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com...

After abandoning Ottis Toole once again, Henry Lee Lucas finds himself in Texas. There he commits a pair of horrifying murders that will open a Pandora’s Box of trouble for law enforcement around the country. To listen to all four episodes of 'Lucas, Toole, and the Murder of Adam Walsh' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We'd lik...

When Ottis Toole meets Henry Lee Lucas outside of a homeless shelter in Florida, he’s overjoyed to have found a soulmate. But when one friend abandons the other, it leads to a crime that changes America. To listen to all four episodes of 'Lucas, Toole, and the Murder of Adam Walsh' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We'd like to...

Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole are two of history’s most prolific serial killers. Or they’re liars who aren’t to be trusted. Either way, they’ve both got red in their ledger – all stemming from their twisted beginnings. To listen to all four episodes of 'Lucas, Toole, and the Murder of Adam Walsh' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Mattie Lasiter and Ashleigh Teeter's father led a doomsday cult in Arkansas. Now they're sharing their stories and educating others about how to recognize a cult when you see one -- even from the inside. To listen to all four episodes of 'NXIVM' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ We'd like to hear from you! Take a short survey about the...

On July 27, 1981, six-year-old Adam Walsh was kidnapped from a Sears parking lot in Florida. Just days later his remains were found in a drainage canal over 100 miles away. The case captivated America, and started a national conversation about how to respond to cases of missing children. But investigators had no leads and the case eventually went cold. Then, in 1983, drifter Ottis Toole confesses...

When Keith Raniere felt the women in his cult slipping out of his control, he came up with a way to keep them under his thumb. The secret group known as Dominus Obsequius Sororium, or DOS, was designed to turn women into his literal sex slaves. But it would also be his undoing. To listen to all four episodes of 'NXIVM' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Americ...

As Keith Raniere's company hits its stride, he lures billionaire heiresses and hollywood actresses into the fold. But not everyone is content to stay under his thumb, and when people speak out against him, Keith goes scorched earth. To listen to all four episodes of 'NXIVM' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We'd like to hear from you!...

By the turn of the century, Keith Raniere had launched a new company that would not only bring him vast sums of money, it would also give him access to vulnerable people in search of ways to improve themselves. They’d willingly share their deepest secrets, their insecurities, and Keith would use that insight to control them all. To listen to all four episodes of 'NXIVM' right now and ad-free, subs...

In 2017, a little-known consulting firm called NXIVM became the center of an international scandal. One day, no one had heard of the group at all. The next, people were calling it a cult. But this wasn’t your typical religious fringe group. Then again, a little digging definitely made things sound more cult-like: there were accusations of a secret society, psychological manipulation, imprisonment,...

Obviously, most of us don’t use the internet as a search engine for murder. But there are bad apples in every bunch. Richard Beasley was one of those bad apples. When he decided he wanted to kill people, he sought the desperate, the lonely, and the forgotten. And thanks to modern technology, there was one place he could go to cast as wide a net as possible: Craigslist. On her show, The God Hook, j...

After her daughter Shanna was disqualified from the cheerleading tryouts, Wanda Holloway was seeing red. In her mind, there were two people responsible for Shanna not being a cheerleader: Verna Heath and her daughter Amber. And there was only one thing she could do. Both of them had to go, so it was time for Wanda to find a hitman. To listen to all three episodes of 'To Kill A Cheerleader' right n...

In 2017, a little-known consulting firm called NXIVM became the center of an international scandal. One day, no one had heard of the group at all. The next, people were calling it a cult. There were accusations of a secret society, psychological manipulation, imprisonment, occult sexual abuse. Then there was the group’s founder, Keith Raniere – a self-styled genius whose followers worshipped him a...

As Wanda Holloway married, divorced, and remarried, one thing in her life remained constant: her obsession with making her daughter a cheerleader. But when it came time for tryouts, Wanda discovered that the path to glory would be rockier than she expected. To listen to all three episodes of 'To Kill a Cheerleader' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠AmericanCrimin...

It was a case that made headlines around the world: Texas mother hires hitman to kill her neighbor -- over cheerleading. But how did it get to that point? What was it that drove Wanda Holloway to believe that killing the mother of her daughter's rival would get her what she wanted? To listen to all three episodes of 'To Kill A Cheerleader' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotif...

It's hard to remember that we're all living through history every day, and that some of the people who lived through the turbulent periods we learn about through books and podcasts are still alive to tell the story. Now that you've heard about the Weather Underground, listen to the tale from one of its founding members. This is an interview with Bill Ayers from Parthenon Podcast Network's 'Eyewitn...