The Hall Closet Podcast

THE BLURB: Domestic violence can take unexpected forms. A former boyfriend of Donna's - Christopher George - took to abusing Donna's dog Rocky when they all lived together. It took Donna a while to catch on, but when she did - she wanted justice for Rocky. Jonathan Long, then a prosecutor in Pennsylvania, took up Donna's case when few others in authority would. How Donna - and Jonathan - got justi...

THE BLURB: A little while ago, while cleaning out a drawer, Donna found an old diary she'd kept during her childhood - a diary she feared was lost. But, the new-found diary verified still more of Donna's story. In this deeply emotional episode, Donna reads from her diary and discusses it with The Hall Closet Podcast producer Alan Katz. SHOW NOTES The Hall Closet is written by Donna Hall and A L Ka...

THE BLURB: Sandeep "Sonny" Bharadia literally laughed when Georgia police served him an arrest warrant. He was a good person leading a good life. But Georgia convicted Sonny for robbery and sexual assault, sentencing him to life without parole, despite the fact that he had a solid alibi and had never even been to the town where the crime was committed. SHOW NOTES You can read more about Sonny and...

THE BLURB: Calvin Duncan epitomizes grace. In this episode, Donna and Noah Pines talk with Calvin and hear how he became "The Most Incredible Jailhouse Lawyer". While serving a life sentence for a murder he didn't commit, Calvin helped hundreds of other inmates get the fair hearings they'd been denied. Then he got himself not just freed, but exonerated, and began a whole, satisfying life on the ou...

THE BLURB: From the moment Donna's daughter introduced her friend to Heather to Donna, Donna and Heather Bonded. Donna sensed another person with a life journey as harrowing as her own. Breaking the silence is what this podcast is all about. Wait till you hear what that sounds like coming from the mouth of Heather - a remarkable, resilient young woman with a jaw dropping story. SHOW NOTES The Hall...

THE BLURB: From the moment Donna's daughter introduced her friend Heather to Donna, Donna and Heather bonded. Donna sensed another person with a life journey as harrowing as her own. Breaking silence is what this podcast is all about. Wait till you hear what that sounds like coming from the mouth of Heather - a remarkable, resilient young woman with a jaw-dropping story. SHOW NOTES The Hall Closet...

THE BLURB: In this episode, we continue The Joey Watkins Story. Joey Watkins spent 22 years in prison on a life sentence for murder. Problem: Joey was demonstrably innocent! How Joey found justice, got out and - with a remarkable mental attitude - set about reclaiming his life. How Joey remained unbreakable and emerged from his ordeal unbroken. SHOW NOTES For more information about Joey Watkins pl...

THE BLURB: Joey Watkins spent 22 years in prison on a life sentence for murder. Problem: Joey was demonstrably innocent! How legal stories co-host Noah Pines along with the Georgia Innocence Project helped right a terrible wrong. In this episode, what made Joey unbreakable? SHOW NOTES For more information about Joey Watkins please visit The Georgia Innocence Project . For more information about No...

THE BLURB: Growing up inside my lower tier crime family was a constant challenge. Though our neighbors in Levittown never felt the full effects of my family's incredible criminality (they remained oblivious of the worst), they experienced it nonetheless. In this episode, meet Susan, one of our neighbors from back in the day. What did our criminality we look like from close proximity? SHOW NOTES Th...

In This Episode: Donna introduces one of season two's occasional cohosts, her good friend, defense attorney Noah Pines who works with the Georgia Innocence Project. In season one, we met Walter Ogrod and Herb Haak (Donna's brother), two people who served serious time (Walter especially) for murders they didn't commit. Those are the kind of people Noah defends. Noah discusses several of the people...

IN THIS EPISODE: I told the story in season one about how, when I was six, my best friend Stacie told me she wasn't allowed to play with me anymore - or even be my friend. That's because of how bonkers my family was. For the first time in 45 years, Stacie and I catch up and we talk about the impact living next door to us had on the whole neighborhood. SHOW NOTES I cannot recommend highly enough th...

IN THIS EPISODE: Season 2 begins with a testament to the healing power of storytelling and a therapeutic (therefore "the couch") conversation between Donna and The Hall Closet's other executive producer, Alan Katz. Both know from life experience how the Truth absolutely will set you free. How telling our truths - via podcast or merely via a friendly chat - sets us all free. SHOW NOTES I cannot rec...

THE BLUB: In this BONUS EPISODE of The Hall Closet, Donna talks to Kathy Sherlock who turned unspeakable tragedy into meaningful legislation that has saved many lives already. Unfortunately, KAYDEN'S LAW (which seeks to prevent violent parents from getting unsupervised visitation or custody) couldn't save three young girls from their father in Washington state. Meet Kathy before she flies out to s...

IN THIS EPISODE: John Hall was a MASTER CRIMINAL. And yet, DONNA HALL's mom, PHYLLIS managed to break him and turn him from the PHILLY PD's favorite SNITCH into a homeless dead guy. If there's really a master criminal here, it might just be PHYLLIS. How this bonkers TRUE CRIME family saga became a podcast - and what will happen in season two! SHOW NOTES In season one of The Hall Closet, I wanted t...

IN THIS EPISODE : It's TRUE CRIME served up FAMILY STYLE! You've heard DONNA HALL's side of what it was like growing up in a lower tier CRIME FAMILY. Now Donna's brother HERB tells his side of the John Hall story - and in incredible detail, too. It's a story about deep CORRUPTION in the PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT and DA's office. SHOW NOTES We've told the John Hall Story from my perspective. W...

IN THIS EPISODE: Not only did MASTER CRIMINAL John Hall change the Halls when he hooked up with DONNA HALL's mom PHYLLIS, he nearly destroyed them. But then, that's life in a lower tier TRUE CRIME family. Because Herb had ratted out my mom as "The HOME ALONE MOM Of Bucks County", John Hall went after Herb with a FALSE CONFESSION that put Herb behind bars for 18 months on a MURDER CHARGE. SHOW NOTE...

IN THIS EPISODE: The Hall's TRUE CRIME Saga continues. DONNA HALL's stepdad - MASTER CRIMIINAL John Hall - plunged the Halls into two of Philadelphia's most notorious UNSOLVED MURDERS. The Philly PD's favorite snitch, John Hall concocted his FALSE CONFESSIONS - supposedly made by other prisoners - to lessen his own considerable legal jeopardy. The first confession put an innocent man named WALTER...

IN THIS EPISODE: Every TRUE CRIME family needs a leader. The Halls had JOHN HALL, a veritable MASTER CRIMINAL. When Donna's mom PHYLLIS hooked up with John Hall, The Halls went from being petty criminals to the criminal big time. John Hall would plunge Donna's family into two of Philadelphia's most notorious UNSOLVED MURDERS. But, first, John would change Phyllis from being just a really terrible...

IN THIS EPISODE: It was hard enough that DONNA HALL grew up in a lower tier TRUE CRIME FAMILY where the adults committed one crime or another almost every day. But Donna also grew up feeling deep down inside that SHE DIDN'T BELONG. She learned when she was 40, that she was right: she didn't belong: her actual biological dad was a sperm donor and none of the various men her mom Phyllis told her was...

IN THIS EPISODE: Meet DONNA HALL's mom PHYLLIS, maybe the WORST MOM EVER. If there's a reason The Halls were a TRUE CRIME family, it's mostly because of Phyllis. Surviving one's mother is a universal experience - if one survives. But, how Donna survived growing up with a mom like Phyllis is a truly remarkable story. SHOW NOTES Being a mother, I know : parenting is hard work. Not everyone’s good at...

IN THIS EPISODE: Meet DONNA HALL and enter a world where TRUE CRIME happened nearly every single day. The Halls were a lower tier CRIME FAMILY who lived in and around PHILADELPHIA, PA in the 1980's and 90's. The Halls weren’t the CORLEONE'S, but they made national headlines just the same! Donna's mom Phyllis - went from flirting with criminality to actually sleeping with it. She spent 6 months in...