Crime Writers On...True Crime Review

A therapist discovers the mysterious clinic where she works is treating war vets by erasing their memories. We’ll go back to our December 2016 review of the groundbreaking audio drama “Homecoming.”

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2024

A group of teen girls all come down with strange tics and convulsions. Is the contagion in the environment…or in their heads? We’ll talk about the new podcast “Hysterical” with host Dan Taberski.

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2024

It was a water park focused on crazy rides and little concern for safety...and Rebecca has the scars to prove it. We’ll return to our 2020 review of “Class Action Park.”

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2024

It was a high school rumor: two skinheads shot a random Black man. Can investigators solve a murder when they don’t even know who the victim is? We’ll talk about the podcast “Deep Cover: The Nameless Man.”

Transcribed - Published: 15 July 2024

A pair of FBI agents teams with a researcher to interview the most dangerous serial killers to create a new investigative tool: criminal profiling. We’ll revisit our 2017 review of Netflix’s “Mindhunter”

Transcribed - Published: 11 July 2024

A man is ambushed on country music’s most famous boulevard. Was he killed because he wanted to clean up the industry? We’ll talk about the podcast “Murder on Music Row” from The Tennessean.

Transcribed - Published: 8 July 2024

She said she and the disabled man she helped communicate through a keyboard fell in love. Was their romance real - or was she just typing what she wanted to hear? We’ll talk about the documentary “Tell Them You Love Me” from Netflix.

Transcribed - Published: 4 July 2024

A killer turns his life around in prison. Will the family of his victims grant him forgiveness and find their own internal peace? We’ll look at season two of “The Letter: Ripple Effect.”

Transcribed - Published: 1 July 2024

In 1978, a California conservative put a question on the statewide ballot: should gay teachers be banned from the classroom? We’ll close out Pride Month with a review of “Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs.”

Transcribed - Published: 27 June 2024

A socialite is charged with shooting a police officer in Belize. Is her boyfriend and his billionaire father exerting their influence to save her - or ensure her conviction? We’ll review the podcast “White Devil” from Campside Media.

Transcribed - Published: 24 June 2024

A Scottish tourist appears to drown off California. Did he fake his death to avoid criminal charges in the UK? We’ll talk about the podcast series “Dead Man Running” from BBC Sounds.

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2024

The king seeks an heir to his vast kingdom. No, it’s not Shakespeare…It’s a renaissance fair in Texas. We’ll talk about HBO’s “Ren Faire.”

Transcribed - Published: 17 June 2024

A new type of broom revolutionizes the sport of curling. But it’s SO good, it threatens to destroy the sport. We’ll talk about the human drama of athletic competition in “Broomgate,” the podcast from USG Audio and CBC.

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2024

An LA Times reporter traces a hotel overdose to the powerful dean of a medical school. But his investigation is stonewalled by the university - and his own newspaper. We’ll talk about “Fallen Angels” from iHeart Podcasts.

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2024

They use their Indigenous heritage to obtain influence, benefits, and political power. But they’re not Indians. They’re racial identity thieves. We’ll talk about the podcast “Pretendians” from Canadaland.

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2024

An author returns home to find inspiration in the murder of a local teen. We’ll review the Hulu drama series “Under the Bridge.”

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2024

A reporter receives a phone call from a nephew she didn’t know she had. Together, they look for answers to her sister’s disappearance. We’ll review this season of “Truth Be Told Presents: She Has a Name.”

Transcribed - Published: 30 May 2024

After a hot mic confession and going on the lam, Robert Durst finally faces a jury. But is justice served? We’ll discuss the sequel to the true crime classic “The Jinx - Part Two.”

Transcribed - Published: 27 May 2024

What were the historical factors that turned slave patrols and societal enforcers into an unaccountable police force in America? We’ll review “Power,” the new documentary from Netflix.

Transcribed - Published: 23 May 2024

Why is everyone so obsessed with the Karen Read case? The Boston Globe's Say More podcast wanted to know, and so did we!

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2024

A trio of true crime podcasters descend on a remote Irish village. The story they uncover is bigger than they first thought. We’ll discuss the Netflix series “Bodkin.”

Transcribed - Published: 20 May 2024

The life of a down-on-his-luck comedian is turned upside down by a stalker. The chaos forces him to confront his own past trauma. We’ll talk about the Netflix hit series “Baby Reindeer.”

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2024

Police in Austin race the clock to solve a string of mail bombings. How did they find the perpetrator? We’ll review the season of “Witnessed: 19 Days.”

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2024

His assignment was to retrieve a wealthy playboy from Europe. Instead, he hatched a scheme to trade places and live a life of luxury. We’ll discuss the Netflix thriller “Ripley.”

Transcribed - Published: 9 May 2024

Who’s responsible for the murder of two Texas teens? Drug dealers, the cops, or the local satanic cult? We’ll explore the cold case in “Shane and Sally” from Texas Monthly True Crime.

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2024

A sleuth who identifies John Doe’s gets a call from a man presumed dead for years. Is he the baby who disappeared in the 1970s, and what is his connection to a death row inmate and his own nephew who vanished decades later? We’ll review the podcast “Hello, John Doe.”

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2024

A decade ago, she failed to get soldiers and detainees to go on the record about Guantánamo Bay. Now, those same people are ready to share their stories about the infamous military prison. Sarah Koenig breaks into Gitmo in season four of “Serial."

Transcribed - Published: 29 April 2024

What happens to adults and children once they’ve been arrested in Nashville? Their paths to justice are as varied as their stories. We’ll discuss the Max Original documentary series JUSTICE, USA.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2024

Deliveries of anthrax through the mail gripped post-9/11 America. Was the perpetrator the expert who was helping solve the crime? We’ll review the podcast “Cover Up: The Anthrax Threat.”

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2024

He said the murders of their children were a hoax. The parents of those slain at Sandy Hook ask a court to finally hold him accountable for his lies. We’ll discuss the HBO Original “The Truth vs. Alex Jones.”

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2024

Two high-profile disappearances put the spotlight on missing indigenous women in the Navajo Nation. Connie Walker is back with a new investigation in the Spotify Original podcast “Stolen: Trouble in Sweetwater.”

Transcribed - Published: 15 April 2024

Did a high school class project about some local cold cases lead to the identification of a serial killer? We’ll talk about the podcast “Murder 101.”

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2024

A murder on an ocean liner. A ship full of rich suspects with secrets to hide. Is the crime connected to the world’s greatest detective and the old case he could never solve? We’ll review the Hulu mysteries series “Death and Other Details.”

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2024

It was the scandal that took down a President…but it didn’t happen all at once. We’ll revisit our 2017 review of the classic podcast “Slow Burn.”

Transcribed - Published: 4 April 2024

A man says his sister was accused of killing her mother-in-law, but did his brother set her up to take the fall? Host Amory Sivertson searches for the truth in the podcast “Beyond All Repair” from WBUR.

Transcribed - Published: 1 April 2024

We'll revisit our 2018 review of Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc.

Transcribed - Published: 28 March 2024

He went from being a celebrated human rights activist shining a light on oppression in China to being in Washington on January 6th. How did he get there? We’ll discuss the podcast “Dissident at the Doorstep” from Crooked Media.

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2024

Did a Columbian drug lord buy off an entire North Carolina town to get cocaine into the United States? A journalist and a famous actor explore that story in the podcast “Varnamtown.”

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2024

Years after she left a brutal school for troubled teens, a filmmaker returns to the facility to confront its ghosts and its previous operators. We’ll discuss the Netflix documentary series “The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping.”

Transcribed - Published: 18 March 2024

A journalist flips the script by allowing her subjects to shape their stories. Does it create documentaries that are elevated...or just watered down? We’ll talk about the podcast “Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative” from Radiotopia Presents.

Transcribed - Published: 14 March 2024

A woman digs into the past of a late family member…was he responsible for a string of unsolved murders from the 1970s? We’ll talk about the Max Original “The Truth About Jim.”

Transcribed - Published: 11 March 2024

A young filmmaker sets off to find his mother’s killer. What he uncovers shocks him. In this CWO Classic Rewind we talk about HBO’s “Murder on Middle Beach.”

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2024

Residents now know why the local funeral home offered deep discounts on cremations. The director was secretly selling body parts for profit. We’ll talk about the podcast “Cover Up: Body Brokers.”

Transcribed - Published: 4 March 2024

An aging detective with a failing memory struggles to solve the kidnapping case that has haunted him his whole career. In this CWO Classic Rewind we’ll look back on our many discussions on season three of HBO’s “True Detective.”

Transcribed - Published: 29 February 2024

How are the strange deaths of a team of scientists and an indigenous woman in the Alaskan arctic connected? A pair of cops must put aside their differences to solve the mystery in season four of HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country.”

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2024

A man accused of murdering his wife escapes custody and flees to Ireland. After being captured years later, he escapes again. We’re talking about the podcast “Runaway Joe” from RTÉ.

Transcribed - Published: 22 February 2024

A group of online sleuths work to identify a mysterious dead hiker. Will they be shocked by who they’re looking for? We’ll talk about the Max Original “They Called Him Mostly Harmless.”

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2024

Was the death of a corrections officer linked to his investigation into abuse and corruption inside California’s most violent prison? We’ll discuss the podcast “On Our Watch: New Folsom” from KQED.

Transcribed - Published: 15 February 2024

He said his cutting-edge treatments could cure cancer and HIV, but it was all an illusion…one that may have ended in murder. We’ll discuss season four of “Dr. Death: Bad Magic.”

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2024

Who crashed into whom on that Utah ski slope: the optometrist or the rich movie star? We’ll talk about “Gwyneth vs. Terry: The Ski Crash Trial.”

Transcribed - Published: 8 February 2024