Crime Writers On...

It's a breakfast-hour recording for the panel after a basement flooding emergency threw off the schedule (not to fear...Studio C is undamaged). Also, the dog's weird behavior has a medical explanation. The Crime Writers do a quick take on the new installment of " Done Disappeared ." After a shaky sophomore season, the podcast parody seems to be back to peak form. Then the team gives their thoughts...

The crime writers discuss the finer points of hate mail. Toby gives a shout out to a little-known but important local podcast called 2nd Read , Rebecca and Kevin plug their appearance on Netflix's " You Can't Make This Up " podcast, and Lara has wine come out her nose. The panel reviews Monster , which explores the sinister ciphers and random slayings of the Zodiac Killer that gripped California i...

Two true crime updates this week. The "hot sheriff" from Murder Mountain issues a rebuttal of-sorts to the Netflix doc. Meantime, based on a recent court decision favorable to his case, Adnan Syed's legal team has submitted a supplemental filing in his appeal. Then there's a special cameo from this month's guest on Toby Ball's Deep Dive podcast. Next the crime writers talk about the hit podcast "...

It’s 2019 and the Crime Writers resolve to bring it in the new year. The panel clicks its way through " Bandersnatch ," Netflix’s hot interactive TV show. Toby thinks it meshes gimmick with good story, Kevin likes its meta themes, and Lara is still trying to figure out her Roku. Meanwhile, Rebecca finally finishes her summer reading. The Crime Writers catch the 4:20 to “ Murder Mountain ,” the new...

Is it an early Christmas present, or a justified lawsuit? We weigh in on the news that one of the maybe-corrupt law enforcement officers featured in Making A Murderer has filed suit against Netflix and the filmmakers. Plus, one of the Bundy clan is walking away from the movement we heard about in the excellent podcast Bundyville . Why? The answer might surprise you. And yes, a much-maligned podcas...

OH SNAP! Rebecca describes her misadventure in the woods. We make an announcement about PodX . In true crime update , Curtis Flowers's defense hopes to turn the tables on Doug Evans. We review Cold , the new podcast from KSL examining the Susan Powell case. A thorough examination of the lives of the Powells through recovered computer files, audio diaries, videotape, and dramatic readings, we ask h...

IRL Rebecca renders a verdict...and gets to check something off her bucket list. There's a true crime update out of Australia with an arrest in the Teacher's Pet case. Should we reconsider the quality of a podcast story poorly told, yet effective at solving the crime? HBO brings us to tears with The Sentence , a look at one woman's 15-year mandatory-minimum sentence and its effects on her young ch...

Good news/bad news in our true crime podcast updates. He’s podcasting’s second most-famous inmate. Now someone is leaving Ear Hustle …for a great reason. Also, a return trip to Winona by Madeline Baron and In the Dark gins up more CWO anger. Was that recent fire a coincidence or payback for supporting Curtis Flowers? A microchip has solved the mystery of the stray cat taken in by Lara. Seems she s...

Serial wraps up season 3 with more from Joshua behind bars (should the whole season have been him?). We leave some notes in the suggestion box for Sarah Koenig about how S3 could have pulled together the many themes touched on: overcharging, racial inequality, police misconduct, and the indifference to improving the system. Then we binge Amazon Prime's " Homecoming ," the first major TV adaptation...

Sarah Koenig talking to a man behind bars who got done-wrong by the system. Wait, what season of Serial is this? We're talking about "A Madman's Vacation" with its revealing look at the Cleveland juvenile justice system. Then we talk about the powerful series from Michigan Radio and NPR, " Believed ." This podcast takes a hard look at the crimes of gymnastics trainer Larry Nassar who was convicted...

Killers or conspiracy? Justice or just desserts? We dedicate our entire episode to the much-awaited sequel to 2016's breakout hit and cultural phenomenon: Netflix's Making a Murderer 2 . Our review takes two paths. First the panel discusses the Brendan Dassey story line. Did it capture the drama of his reversed reversal of fortune? Then on to the tale of Steven Avery's attorney Kathrine Zellner. D...

In Serial episode 7, "Snowball Effect," we see the negative after-effects of Erimius's and Jesse's cases. What were once two men with the moral high ground against police misconduct are now spiraling into self-sabotage. Then we look at Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football, Inc . This podcast from the Boston Globe Spotlight team examines how football and his environment contributed to Hernandez...

It's the return for the Brickter Scale. In Serial episode 6, "You in the Red Shirt," Sarah and Emmanuel get into the story of a man beaten by East Cleveland police who seems to get justice in the court but continues to pay for it on the street. Then we talk about "Happy Face" AKA "My dad, the serial killer." This podcast of a daughter's take on her secretly-homicidal father has everything: trucker...

In Serial episode 5, Pleas Baby Pleas, Sarah brings us inside the prosecutor’s office, giving us a view of what it’s like to be one of too-few prosecutors in a system with too many felonies to prosecute, with some decisions made for justice and some for expediency. But does this episode live up to Serial's promise? The panel is split 3-1. Then, we review The Dream, a new podcast from Stitcher that...

For Serial season 3 episode 4, " A Bird in Jail is Worth Two on the Street ," Sarah introduces us to man charged with shooting of an infant in a car before the state dropped the charges. Could this have been avoided? We learn that a snitch in time could have saved him a year in jail. Then... American Vandal is back with number two. Netflix's smart, Peabody Award winning, true crime satire returns...

In Serial episode 3 , "Misdemeanor, Meet Mr. Lawsuit," Sarah looks into the issue of how the police interact with the African-American population in their communities. A large topic writ small through the story of one arrest in a hallway. Which one of the crime writers says this is the best single episode of Serial ever? Then the panel discuss the new CBC podcast Uncover: Escaping NXIVM . The dist...

Get ready for the best discussion and analysis of the Serial podcast . Sarah Koenig is back for season 3 (finally!) - Along with Emmanuel Dzotsi, Sarah gives us a year in the life of the Cleveland Justice Center. For episode one, "A Bar Fight Walks into the Justice Center," the crime writers discuss whether the lesson is about prosecutorial discretion...or about race? In episode two, "You've Got S...

Weekly episodes of "Crime Writers On" have returned! And so has " Serial !" For season 3, Sarah K and Co. will look at the justice system from the inside: embedding themselves in a criminal courthouse in Cleveland. Note: for the duration of Serial's run, episodes of CWO will drop on Mondays instead of Fridays. Netflix’s hit crime show " Ozark " is back with a second season. The drama starring Jaso...

Wow, we've got more true crime than you can shake a stick at! This time out we talk about Kim Kardashian's new-found love of "Serial," the latest court filings in Adnan Syed's appeal, and the Facebook meltdown over " My Favorite Murder ." The panel give first takes and final thoughts on shows like " Sharp Objects ," " Up and Vanished ," and " Fatal Voyage ." And there's cool stuff to look forward...

In the world of true crime updates, Irish authorities have issued a new report on police conduct in the West Cork case. Speaking of podcasts from Audible, what's happened to their podcast division? Rebecca gives a plug for her new project, Bear Brook , which will be debuting from NHPR next month. Also, has horror author Joe Hill solved the 1974 mystery of the "Woman in the Dunes" by watching "Jaws...

On our off week, the Crime Writers got together face-to-face for the first time in ages. We're back with lots to talk about. This includes the latest " In the Dark "-related court filings in the Curtis Flowers case, the passing of a troubled ex-prosecutor featured in "The Staircase," and one of the panelists gets called for jury duty. We go globetrotting on the new Netflix series, " Dark Tourist ....

While Toby broadcasts from a beautiful island lake house, the rest of the panel sweats it out to bring you another episode of Crime Writers On with a brand new logo! There are true crime updates galore: We talk about the MD Court of Appeals granting cert in the continuing post-conviction struggles of Serial's Adnan Syed. Curtis Flower's mother passed away and we reflect on the meaning of injustice...

Kevin is recording in his underwear and Stephen King has come to live at Lara's house. It must be time for the summer edition of Crime Writers On. In the first part of the podcast we'll review The RFK Tapes from the team behind Crimetown. Robert Kennedy was assassinated at point blank range in a room full of people...so why do some believe there was another shooter? We're not buying the conspiracy...

Is In The Dark a better podcast than Serial season one? Or would it not even exist were it not for Serial? The Crime Writers take on that debate as we check in with the latest installment of In The Dark's investigation into the investigation that left Curtiss Flowers stranded on death row. Plus, Adnan Syed gets a new timeline for a legal decision, Brendan Dassey's case maybe gets a SCOTUS look, an...

What a bad week for Lara. First she loses the chowder contest, then she had to listen to that enraging interview with DA Doug Evans from " In the Dark " (of which Rebecca genuinely worried for Lara's health). Everyone has thoughts about a proposed "S-town" movie . And Kevin makes some Canadian friends. The panel runs up and down " The Staircase 's" three new episodes. The original true crime doc a...