The True Crime Reader

You’re listening to The True Crime Reader . I’m Kristen, and today we’re opening a case that has haunted families, investigators, and readers for more than a decade. It’s the story of a young woman who vanished in plain sight. A summer night in Bloomington, Indiana. A walk that should have taken minutes. And a mystery that has lasted fourteen years. This is the disappearance of Lauren Spierer .

Pull up a seat and shuffle the deck—this is The True Crime Reader, where we deal out the secrets behind the world’s most audacious, intricate true crime stories. Today’s episode dives into Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich, the book that inspired a major motion picture and introduced millions to a heist like none before. But ho...

A school where children disappear may seem like a fantasy novel, but it was real life for the boys at the Dozier School...

Sally Horner's kidnapping inspired one of the most well-known books ever. Is this ethical journalism?

The legendary life of Dr. Ann Burgess and the Mindhunters she inspired.

Why do we slow down at a car accident? Why are horror movies so engaging? Why are we down another true crime rabbit hole?

Join us in this discussion of the Turner-Stompanato affair and Casey Sherman's "A Murder in Hollywood".

Welcome back to The True Crime Reader , where we explore the stories that haunt us—and the people who live through them. I’m Kristen, and today’s episode is one of survival, resilience, and the long, painful journey of reclaiming a life once stolen. We’re talking about A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard—a memoir that doesn’t just recount a crime, but reclaims a voice. https://www.thejaycfoundation.org

Today we’re stepping into the uneasy intersection of personal history, racial injustice, and one of the most infamous crime sprees in American memory. Sebastian Junger’s A Death in Belmont is a work of creative nonfiction published in 2006, and it revisits a murder that occurred in the quiet suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts in 1963. The killing of Bessie Goldberg took place during the terrifying p...

Welcome back to The True Crime Reader , the podcast where the past meets the macabre, and every story is more than just a headline—it’s a window into human darkness, complex motivations, and the societies that shaped these stories. I’m your host, and today we're immersing ourselves in the chilling world created by Tori Telfer in her acclaimed book, Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History...

Welcome to The True Crime Reader , where we explore crime through the lens of history and storytelling. Today, we’re stepping into Jazz Age New York—a city alive with speakeasies, smoky backrooms, and a dangerous secret weapon: poison. Our guide is Deborah Blum’s The Poisoner’s Handbook , a gripping account of how two men—Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler—changed the course of forensic science...

Prescription for Pain: How a Once-Promising Doctor Became the “Pill Mill Killer” by Philip Eil delivers a haunting narrative that grips both true crime aficionados and those concerned with America’s opioid crisis. The saga of Dr. Paul Volkman, a once-brilliant physician whose career trajectory led him from the highest echelons of medical achievement to four consecutive life sentences in a federal...

Welcome listeners to another episode of The True Crime Reader . Tonight, we peel back the velvet curtain of New York’s elite to reveal one of the city’s most audacious deceptions: the saga of Anna Sorokin, who reinvented herself as “Anna Delvey”—a mysterious German heiress, Soho party fixture, and master con artist. Our story dives into the true events chronicled in Rachel DeLoache Williams’ gripp...

Tonight, we descend into the shadows of early twentieth-century America — to a quiet farmhouse on the outskirts of La Porte, Indiana. Here, beneath the unassuming soil of cornfields and hog pens, a hidden horror festered and grew. I'm your host for The True Crime Reader, and in this episode, we unearth one of the most mystifying and gruesome chapters in American true crime: the life and unsolv...

Welcome back, true crime aficionados, to another deep-dive with The True Crime Reader. I’m your host, and today we’re unwrapping an unusual new entry in the world of true crime literature: “50 States of Murder: An Atlas of American Crime” by Harold Schechter. If you ever wondered how geography—yes, the physical, cultural, even psychological landscapes of each state—can shape the crimes and crimina...

On a November afternoon in Oakland, California, a single reckless act aboard the 57 bus changed two lives forever. In this episode of  The True Crime Reader , we dive into Dashka Slater’s acclaimed narrative nonfiction,  The 57 Bus . The book traces the story of Sasha, a teenager who identifies as agender, and Richard, a Black teen from Oakland, whose impulsive decision to set fire to Sasha’s skir...

In this episode of  The True Crime Reader , we dive into Wayne Miller’s explosive account of the largest arson case in American history.  Burn Boston Burn  chronicles the terrifying string of fires that swept through Boston and its suburbs in the early 1980s, set by a group of men whose motives ranged from greed to revenge. With more than 260 fires ignited, the city was gripped by fear as investig...

Join me on this deep-dive into the lasting impact of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. We'll look into the crime and why this problematic piece of literature is still hailed as a the first great true crime novel.

📖🔍 The first file is about to open. Some crime stories you read once and forget. Others? They pull you into the evidence, keep you circling the timeline, and whisper their loose ends long after the last page. 🎙 The True Crime Reader is your safehouse for those books. Each episode: one case‑worthy read, one deep dive, and a trail we’ll follow together. ☕ Grab your coffee. Bring your curiosity. T...