Crime Writers On...

OMG - We can't get enough of Done Disappeared, the amazing parody true crime podcast by the unparalleled talent that IS John David Booter. We review that show and try to figure out the mystery of just what happened to missing 1987 woman Clara Pockets. Then, a more earnest review of the Netflix series Alias Grace. Based on a Margaret Atwood novel, does this show resonate? Or does it's less-than-Han...

It's our 100th episode and we're celebrating by...doing what we always do. We'll look at the times and crimes of the late Charles Manson . The panel offers holiday travelers some recommendations of podcasts and TV shows that will make Thanksgiving bearable. The crime writers dig into " Long Shot ," the new Netflix documentary. It tells the story of how an innocent man stayed off of death row becau...

Watch out - this episode is punchy! The Crime Writers settle a beef, play a couple of games, and yes, talk about Payne Lindsey's new TV deal AND his YouTube music video alter ego. Then, a look at the Elizabeth Smart case through the lens of the new A&E 2-part documentary, the super confusingly named Biography Presents: Elizabeth Smart Autobiography . Plus, our Crime of the Week cuts the cheese!  ...

The Crime Writers complain about Rebecca's jet lag and a certain crappy airline, and Lara is LITERALLY about to become a crazy cat lady. Plus, Toby's book is classy AF. Then, a trio of True Crime Updates: Bowe Bergdahl's been sentenced! That Maura Murray TV show made a crazy claim! And Making a Murderer's Steven Avery still has a filing-happy lawyer who seems to love accusing every single one of h...

No more Amazon list??? Yup, the behemoth site kicked us out of their affiliate program, so we'll have to find something else for Toby to do... The Crime Writers open up the hit podcast Heaven's Gate, and, KNOWLEDGE ALERT, one of the panel is kind of an expert on the cult phenomenon. Plus, the panel will dive into Stranger Things 2 in full next week, but isn't shy about sharing first impressions. A...

The Crime Writers dive in to Mindhunter - a series from Netflix about FBI profilers that even Rebecca can get behind. Plus, Stampy died! Lara does a little PSA every pet lover should listen to. DONATE TO CATS 1ST , THE RESCUE ORGANIZATION THAT GAVE STAMPY A CHANCE And, yet another filing in the never-ending paper trail for Making a Murderer's Steven Avery. Is his lawyer Kathleen Zellner a genius?...

The Crime Writers review the second season of Rebecca's favorite true crime podcast from last year, Accused by the Cincinnati Enquirer. Will the story of the unsolved murder of Retha Welch stand up to the success of season one? (Spoiler alert: one of us has issues!) In a pair of true crime podcast updates, we talk about the surprising plea deal made by S-Town subject Tyler Goodson, as well as the...

Rebecca met Sarah Koenig!! She fills us in on that awkward encounter. What's the latest with Serial season two subject Bowe Bergdahl? Seems he's made some kind of deal with the government. We invite back retired USMC Lt Col James Weirick of the Military Justice podcast to explain why he thinks some of the early media reports are wrong and what a plea for a lighter sentence might look like. Then th...

The Crime Writers review the totally not Law & Order take on a famous case: Law & Order: The Menendez murders. Plus, a big setback for Stephen Avery has the panel revisiting our opinions on the Making a Murderer protagonist's guilt. Also in question...the guilt of Scott Peterson. Yeah, we know. In the Crime of the Week, things go wrong when a school administrator tries to pull a silly prank For ex...

Did Brendan Dassey's dubious confession on "Making a Murderer" make your skin crawl? The Chief Circuit Judge in his ongoing appeal said it did. But the other two federal judges may be leaning the other way. In podcast news: " Accused " will roll out a new season next month. Also, the teams behind HowStuffWorks and Up & Vanished are getting together to re-investigate a series of child murders in At...

The Crime Writers change the way we do business because someone told us to. We dive into a bunch of updates on cases surrounding the S-Town podcast and the super-creepy stabbing at the center of the HBO documentary "Beware the Slenderman," plus Kevin holds Rebecca hostage and forces her to watch the rest of that ridiculous Unabomber show. Speaking of being held hostage, will the team force Kevin t...

Weekly episodes have returned (no more goldbricking for Bricker - no more laying about for Lavoie)! The Crime Writers revisit some of the content they've recently discussed and give final verdicts on Homecoming , The Murder of Laci Peterson , and updates in the Slenderman case. Toby offers a preview of next week's topic: HBO's The Deuce. And the blowback about the Payne Lyndsey - Up and Vanished c...

Red-eyed and jet-lagged, Rebecca and Kevin are back from Podcast Movement in Anaheim with stories of their exploits with your (and their) favorite podcasters. They'll spill some tea over what caused some controversy a big name - "NOT a podcaster" Payne Lindsey from Up & Vanished - made an audacious, self-congratulatory presentation...and how some even bigger names in the room reacted. Plus, a true...

We're ready for our close ups! Our listeners asked and answered the hypothetical question, "If there were a movie about the Crime Writers, who would be cast to play them?" The results are in from #crimewriterscasting. Let's say three out of the four of us are satisfied with the picks. We grapple with " Black Hands " (see the play on words there?) - a true crime podcast about New Zealand's Bain fam...

The Crime Writers tackle a pair of hot media properties this week with a look at the Discovery Channel's latest foray into crime with Manhunt: The Unabomber. This leads to a heated debate about how FBI profilers are portrayed in crime drama...and Rebecca joins #TeamToby for the first time! Then, a review of the second season of Homecoming, the dramatized podcast with a stellar cast from Gimlet Med...

So that happened...OJ Simpson got early release for his 2007 Las Vegas robbery conviction. After watching the "Parole Hearing of the Century," what do the Crime Writers think? Should the parole board have considered his past arrest in that infamous double murder case when making their decision? Since every other podcast is talking about Game of Thrones this week, we ask Toby to give his take on HB...

As David Lee Roth said, "I heard you missed us. We're back." A one-week break gives us plenty of time to listen to stuff. And catch up on the latest news from the world of true crime. We circle back for a listen to the sophomore installment of "Ear Hustle." Thank you again to Lt. Sam Robinson for approving this story. Lara reports on the whirling dervish that is the Brendan Dassey appeal. He wins....

Love mail galore as listeners weigh in on Ear Hustle, Toby's dog-like voice, and listening to our show during the most important moments of their lives (really!). Then, our take on the not-so surprising (but still upsetting) verdicts in the trials of Bill Cosby and Jeronimo Yanez, the cop that killed Philando Castille. In the back half, we look at a documentary that even Lara Bricker's fire chief...

What should Toby's standard karaoke song be? THE WORLD IS WEIGHING IN. Rebecca heard something in this week's Undisclosed episode on Adnan Syed's cross appeal proceeding that she REALLY wants you to hear. The judges really seem to get it...we think? S-Town is making SO much news as the trial of Tyler Goodson will now incorporate his part in the podcast as evidence. Should Brian Reed have used tape...

The State of Maryland got its bite at the apple, asking a three judge panel to reinstate Adnan Syed's conviction. The hour-long hearing dove more into Asia McClain and not-so-much into fax cover sheets. What's next for the "Serial" season one subject? We also talk about the latest epic filing in the Steven Avery case. Will "brain fingerprinting" save the day for the man at the middle of Making a M...

We start with a pat on the back for Kevin, as our spin-off podcast "...These Are Their Stories" has been nominated for Best TV/Film Podcast by the Academy of Podcasting. No one know how or why the show was picked, but they needed 10 to fill out the category, so... Thanks to the many listeners who helped fill in some of the narrative holes left by "Mommy Dead and Dearest." Among the questions answe...

The crime writers take on the super weird and (sort of) satisfying HBO film Mommy Dead and Dearest. Plus, we explain why we talk about some podcasts and not others, Rebecca asks our listeners for a HUGE favor, and a listener schools the panel on how to pronounce a certain city in Maine. Then, in the crime of the week, we make a BIG decision about doody.   For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up a...

First: More listener-driven shenanigans Next: The panel makes recommendations for podcasts you should be downloading.  Further: Undisclosed just dropped a special pre-appeal episode about the Adnan Syed case. In it, Rabia poses the question of whether justice is served when the appellate judges know less about the case than the general public.  The main event: The crime writers discuss Hulu's adap...

We open up the mail bag and let you weigh in on our discussions about "13 Reasons Why" and the former-profiler-turned-podcaster who's caused a bit of a dust-up among our fans. Richard Simmons may have lost touch with many people, but his lawyers aren't among them. The now-reclusive fitness guru is suing the National Enquirer for a story saying he's had a sex change operation. He also says he's bei...

We needed that week off. Seems like everyone's got a podcast side gig now. Toby's hosting Radio Free Dystopia, Kevin's making an appearance on Jed Bartlet is My President, and Rebecca is a new permanent panelist on Slate's Mom and Dad Are Fighting. Rebecca didn't get verified on Twitter and she's PISSED! In a true crime podcast update podcast update, we'll give our take on how the experts from Rea...