Ignorance Was Bliss

In case my efforts at staying on topic, kind of, on Episode 37 were just not your cup of tea, fear not! Emily joined me for a remix on the ADHD/anxiety discussion (Now! With More Depression!), and things get both goofier and more intense.  Disclaimer: Cambo from True Crime Island  Promos: Irrationally Exuberant and True Crime Finland  Sponsor: Bath By Bex (code CBDkate at checkout for 15% off)

One bad night. One series of bad decisions. One wrong turn. And suddenly you're in prison, for decades.  What's that like? What do you miss about the outside world? What is surprising? What should change? What is loaf, anyway??  Listen in on a conversation with Chris Roy, author, PR rep, and inmate at Parchman in Mississippi.   Disclaimer: Bethan at Seeing Red Podcast  Promos: Swindled and Status...

So you're in a cult... or are you? How do you know? When do you know it's time to get out, and how on earth do you do that, anyway?  I don't have the answers to really any of these questions, but I found someone who knows what it's like firsthand...    Disclaimer: Roseanne from Killafornia Dreaming  Promos: The Outlines and the Old Still Radio Show  Sponsor: Bath By Bex (code CBDkate for 15% off a...

What makes a murderer? Who would possibly sign up to fight for a different country in a war with no personal significance? Just how immature is your host, anyway?  These and more are addressed in a crossover involving three different countries, a 70-year-old murder and a botched (but maybe not so botched) execution in Canada.   Bonnie's regular podcast is Wining About Crime, and Minna's is True Cr...

Some of the strongest, smartest, amazingest people I know are women with a history of addiction, two of whom I've never met in person, all of whom stubbornly refuse to see themselves as brave, admirable or beautiful.    Whatever.    They are, and I know it. Now you can, too, because I was joined by Kim (People Are Wild), Karla (Go Postal) and Danielle (Hoosier Homicide), to check in a month after...

"I don't want to seem pushy... but you're wrong."  One might imagine that two female podcasters, one in the crime/psychology genre and the other a horror fiction writer, would have a lot in common. One would be both correct and incorrect.    A big thanks for Augie Peterson for talking through some complicated stuff with me today.  Promos by Canadian True Crime and Out of the Shadows.  Sponsored by...

Recently, I was joined by Jason Eric Ross, psychotherapist, actor and writer, to answer the age-old question: What happens when two psychologists come at topics from different backgrounds but similar goals?  ...guess you'll just have to tune in to find out.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------  Podcasts covering Keith Hunter Jesperson: Dark Poutine True Crime All...

If you haven't already checked out our shared episode on Chris' excellent show, Killer Jobs, please head over there and listen to that, first. It's not strictly necessary, in order to enjoy this one, but it will fill in a lot of blanks and maybe you'll pick up on a few more of the goofy references. Regardless, whether you wanted it or not, here you go: my concerns about sentencing and incarceratio...

A quick-and-dirty sort of episode, to give you an update on the case that we talked about on Episode 32...  Scott Reeder from Suspect Convictions called to talk about jury selection, the experience of being a court reporter, and why paper books still matter.   Book: https://www.amazon.com/Short-Strange-Life-Herschel-Grynszpan/dp/087140740X  

This episode is different for me, in several ways.    For one, it has not one, but two disclaimers. The first is done by Allyson from Dumb and Busted, and she did a lovely job. The second was my own compulsion, because the episode goes into much more graphic and specific details of a serial rapist and murderer's crimes than I typically include.    For another, about half of it is scripted, and I n...

How do you know the difference between fear and anxiety? ...between specific and generalized anxiety? ...between distractibility and ADHD? ...between inattentive and hyperactive forms of ADHD?   How about the difference between anxiety and ADHD?     The lines might be both clearer, and fuzzier, than you'd expect.   There are diagnostic websites all over the place, including Wikipedia, but I genera...

Some tattoos have more meaning than others.    Don't believe this middle-aged soccer mom? Listen to Mark Bullen, who is about to release a book about Russian prison tattoos and what they mean. It can help you think twice before randomly picking a symbol out of a tattoo parlor album just because it looks neat.    Mark's book can be pre-ordered on Amazon, though because I'm extra-cool I've already r...

AA is considered by many to be the ideal treatment approach for alcoholism, of all types, and really for substance abuse, in all forms.    If you've put up with me for this long, you may not be shocked to learn that I don't believe there are many catch-alls in the world. Whether it's treatment methodology, blanket statements, or mindsets. Or pants.    I was #blessed to be joined by Kim (from Peopl...

There are facts all around us, all the time. Things that happened. Things that exist. Things that are missing. And then there are the stories we tell about those facts, the way we connect different facts in order to tell a story .And if you're very lucky, you can meet someone who is willing and able to discuss this phenomenon, in depth, in a fun and engaging way. This was my fact: I got to speak w...

The first part of my conversation with Scott Reeder (Suspect Convictions) remains focused and topical. The second part tends to ...stray... a bit, but maybe it needs to in order to make it clear that whenever people talk about a single case, they're actually speaking about dozens of individuals, potentially hundreds of family members, and really the entire society in which the case exists.    They...

What's the difference between obsession and determination? I think maybe it's research and journalism.     I got the chance to sit down with Scott Reeder, of Suspect Convictions, and he managed to boil a book and a full season of a podcast down into a half an hour. He has such an intense and important story to tell.    Promos from Hoosier Homicide and Mysteries and Urban Legends (MAUL). They are m...

Hard on the heels of an episode about stalking, I bring you... another episode about stalking.      But never fear, this one taps into a very different form, often and easily overlooked: female stalkers. Hear the brave and unexpected story of a listener, as well as more details of my personal life than are probably strictly necessary.      A huge thank you to Ursula, as well as to N and J, who hav...

Sometimes we laugh at the things that hurt the most. And sometimes we laugh at the impressive stupidity of the things that hurt the most.    Sometimes we rage at the patriarchy. And sometimes we understand that it's not necessarily the fault of the patriarchy, but we rage at it nonetheless.    Sometimes we end a relationship before it ends us.    Visit http://victimsofcrime.org/our-programs/stalki...

I was so lucky, recently, to be able to go on a two-week adventure around the British Isles with my husband and two older kids.   I was extra-lucky to be able to stay a night in Dublin, during which Sinead, from the Mens Rea podcast, was gracious enough to show us a glimpse of the city, take us to dinner and a show, and spend a few hours with me... first recording this conversation, then hanging o...

This is a hodgepodge of silliness, weirdness and outright giddiness, captured one morning midway through our family vacation.  We talk about the ways jet lag can appear in different teenagers, why Emily is now haunted, and what we mean when we say "MURDERBIRD."    You probably should just skip this one, it's really random and I'm still not entirely sure why I hit "record," except it was fun and we...

Most of the time, we can rely on the people around us -- family, friends, coworkers -- to help remind us what "normal" mostly looks like. But what about the times when we're allowed to believe our own hype? ...especially when our hype is more than a little off-kilter from the start? Check out the Voice of the Victim podcast for the first two parts of this story, when we lay out a more detailed tim...

I'm heading out on a family vacation, but first, a few things... 

What can you do when a faraway friend is struggling? What about when your kid defines Jesus for you? How about when you're not 100% certain that your loved ones actually know they're loved?    Settle in for another meandering conversation -- but maybe not so meandering after all -- with published author and podcaster extraordinaire, Jesse Pollack.    Promos by Mens Rea and Mypoia.  Check out bathb...

Sometimes the most structured and predictable situations can suddenly go unpredictably off-script, in the very best ways.  Laura and I started off this episode by following a literal script about Frederick Baer, who committed a truly horrible pair of murders while coming off a meth binge, and we ended up immersed in a very real conversation about what that could possibly have to do with a mother a...

Is it really that important to acknowledge the humanity of those who break the law, as well as those who are broken?   Yes. Yes, it is.    Listen in while Laura, from the Behind the Crime blog, and I try to convince you.    Promos from Let's Talk About Sects and The Voice of the Victim...sponsors Sudio (code BLISS15) and bathbybex.com (code CBDkate) for 15% off at each.  Art, as always and amazing...