Criminal

We speak with a man who has given thousands of people new names, told them where they would live, and warned them they could never go back home. For more, check out Gerald Shur's book, WITSEC. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts. Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scene...

A story about Steve Hutton, a police constable in England, who decided to do things a little differently. For a transcript of this episode, send an email to transcripts@thisiscriminal.com with the episode name and number. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Criminal is a proud...

On a hot summer day in 1978, a group of friends started renovating an old house in a neighborhood in Atlanta called Little Five Points. The home belonged to Carmela Aliffi and her then-husband, Bear. Carmela and her friends were steaming wallpaper off of the walls when two strangers just walked in. One of them had a gun. Thanks to listener Jenna Alstad for writing in with her mother’s story. For a...

Our second podcast, This is Love, is back. We’re sharing this first episode with Criminal listeners - we hope you like it. If you want to hear more, subscribe to This is Love in Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Learn more at www.thisislovepodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We spend the day in a police car in Austin, Texas. For a transcript of this episode, send an email to transcripts@thisiscriminal.com with the episode name and number. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Criminal is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Please review us on App...

This episode picks up where Episode 100 left off. We suggest you listen to them in order. When Martin McNally met another plane hijacker in prison, they started coming up with a plan to escape...using the very thing that got them there in the first place. For a transcript of this episode, send an email to transcripts@thisiscriminal.com with the episode name and number. Say hello on Twitter, Facebo...

Thanks for helping us celebrate 100 episodes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the afternoon of June 23rd, 1972, Martin McNally walked into the St. Louis airport with a wig, a sawed-off rifle, and a plan. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts. Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal, ad-free listening of all of our sh...

There is nothing Richard "Racehorse" Haynes of Houston, Texas wouldn't do to win a case. He’s widely considered to be one of the most exceptional criminal defense attorneys America has ever seen. He was notorious for pulling stunts in the courtroom. We speak with his son, Slade Haynes, and attorneys Charla Aldous and Chris Tritico about how Racehorse Haynes changed how they approach a jury. Say he...

Three of America's most experienced trauma surgeons speak with us about what happens when someone is shot. Special thanks to Dr. Amy Goldberg, Dr. David Spain, and Dr. Ronald Stewart. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts. Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scenes bonus e...

When Benjamin Ferencz was 27 years old, he prosecuted his very first trial. There were 22 defendants, each of them high-ranking members of Nazi Germany's death squad. The entire world was watching. Today, we take a look at the Nuremberg trials and their role in defining international law after World War II. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Ac...

When Tyler Wetherall was a kid, her mother and father packed up the family car and drove through the night. They were on the run from the FBI. And by the time she was 9, Tyler had learned how to communicate in codes, adapt to new countries, and to never reveal who or where her father was. Tyler Wetherall wrote about her time on the run in her book, No Way Home. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and I...

Not long into his job as prison superintendent, Frank Thompson was asked to write the manual on lethal injection for the state of Oregon. Capital punishment had not been implemented in more than 30 years, and no one knew how to do it. Frank had to travel around the country learning how other states do it, and he asked his staff to practice. They simulated every step, including seating witnesses in...

Mark Roberts has attended almost every major sporting event in the world. And he's been escorted off the field almost every time. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: iTunes.com/CriminalShow. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out...

Helen James grew up in a military family — her great-great-grandfather fought in the Civil War, her father in WWI, and her uncles in WWII. So when she enlisted in 1952, she felt like she belonged. Shortly after, she realized she was being watched. Today we talk to one of the members of the U.S. Air Force impacted by a campaign to remove LGBTQI+ employees of the U.S. government in the 1950s. Say he...

This episode picks up where Episode 91 left off. We suggest you listen to them in order. The early 20th century's biggest murder trial, and a particular brand of "madness." Visit thisiscriminal.com to see rare photographs from Harry Thaw's trial. Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom, but Boston Globe photographer E.E. Bond snuck in a special camera, hidden in his vest and operated with a watc...

The story behind the face of New York's Gilded Age. For more information, check out Paula Uruburu's book, American Eve. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: iTunes.com/CriminalShow. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online...

The U.S. Navy attempted to develop a shark attack repellant after many sailors were attacked during WWII. The first step was the formation of a "Shark Research Panel," which led to what we have today: the International Shark Attack File. When someone is attacked by a shark, anywhere in the world, the investigation closely resembles police work. "We're not reinventing the wheel. There's been no sho...

SPOILER WARNING: Please listen to our first episode about Sheila, Episode 88: Cold Case, before you listen to this one.  This episode contains descriptions of violence and may not be suitable for everyone. Sheila Wysocki became a private investigator to try to help solve the murder of her college roommate, Angela Samota. She wasn't planning on taking any other cases, but then the letters started c...

In 1984, Sheila Wysocki found herself helping the police investigate the murder of her college roommate, Angela Samota. Detectives asked her to help gather information, and even sent her out to dinner with the main suspect, a man named Russell Buchanan. But the case remained unsolved. 20 years later, Sheila Wysocki decided to investigate it herself. This episode contains descriptions of sexual ass...

David Dovala has lived in Casper, Wyoming since he was 19. He’s worked all kinds of cases, first as a detective and later as sheriff, but a 1973 murder stays with him. This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault and may not be suitable for everyone. For more information, check out Ron Franscell's book, The Darkest Night. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasi...

Before he was 10 years old, Willie Bosket had skipped school, started fires, picked pockets, and stolen a car. A psychiatrist at Bellevue called him the "saddest little boy she’d ever seen.” By the time he was 16 years old, he was known all over New York City as the “Baby-Faced Butcher." His crimes led to the passing of the Juvenile Offender Act of 1978 and changed how juvenile offenders are punis...

In 1993, Mildred and Trevor Horn, along with their live-in nurse Janice, were found murdered in their Montgomery County home. A Maryland police spokesperson described the homicide investigation as the most "exhaustive and labor intensive" in the department's history. And then homicide investigators found a strange manual titled Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors published by P...

In 1971, David Alexander went for a run in Central Park and started talking to a stranger. For our first episode of This Is Love, a story about what's possible when we bet everything on each other. We speak with David, Jody, and Julienne Alexander. Listen to other episodes of This is Love at https://thisislovepodcast.com/. If you haven't already, please follow the show and review us on iTunes! htt...

In the 1950s poodles were all the rage — one tabloid even reported that when a girl “makes the big time she traditionally acquires 3 things — minks, gems, and a poodle.” But one poodle in particular put the breed on the map. His name was Masterpiece...and police in 13 states knew exactly what he looked like. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The A...