Crime Writers On...

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 “...

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...

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, pa...

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 O...

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 serie...

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 SPOIL...

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 slay...

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...

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...

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 burgl...

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 CAR...

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 wit...

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...

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, Lar...

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...

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 " l...

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...

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 Producti...

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 "THI...

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 wheth...

In 1980, Allan Bridge created a phone line for New Yorkers to leave messages to friends or strangers apologizing for the wrongs they’ve done. Wondery's " The Apology Line " looks at the confessional forum for both the contrite and the criminal - and its effects on its creator. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE APOLOGY LINE" GO TO 29:00 A Florida woman contacts a cold case detective with informa...

Authorities in Malibu arrest a drifter for a campsite murder and a spree of sniper shootings, but right away questions emerge whether the evidence actually points to Anthony Rauda. The podcast " Lost Hills " offers investigators, families, as well as some of Malibu’s colorful locals in an attempt to pull back the curtain on the embattled L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and the city’s sunshine faç...

In Netflix's " Murder Among the Mormons ," a pair of deadly bombs in Salt Lake City appear connected to unearthed historical documents that could rock the Mormon church and make collectors rich...but only if they're authentic. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDER AMONG THE MORMONS" GO TO 28:10. An NPR reporter finds a source in a prisoner serving a life sentence. Their 20+ year relationship cha...

Wealthy Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard threw lavish parties in the Bahamas that were just a pretext to lure and rape women. The CBC spent years trying to land the story of his decades of sexual assaults and intimidation in four countries. The podcast " Evil by Design " tells the stories of victims, advocates, and journalists in the Nygard case. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "EVIL BY DESI...

Jermain Charlo left a Missoula, Montana bar, walked down an alleyway, and vanished. In Gimlet’s new podcast “ Stolen: The Search for Jermain ,” host Connie Walker continues her work documenting crimes against Indigenous women. FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "STOLEN: THE SEARCH FOR JERMAIN" GO TO 29:00 Eight-year-old Relisha Rudd had been missing from a Washington DC family shelter more than two we...