Stay ConnectedCrime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast hosted by Rebecca Lavoie and featuring Kevin Flynn, Lara Bricker and Toby Ball. Each week the panel reviews true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV shows, and films, diving into journalism, storytelling, pop culture, and the biggest crime stories in media. Plus: the Crime of the Week.
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As a child, Tracyrachel Bern’s father would beat her if she asked about the 1971 death of her baby brother Matthew. Her parents would later tell her what they told police: that the two-year-old girl threw the infant from his crib. After living years with the guilt, Tracyrachel came to question details of the accident and whether her abusive father, Jan Barry Sandlin, may have killed the baby and blamed it on her. She set off on a four decades long journey to learn the truth and get justice for Matthew.
From Glass Podcasts comes “Burden of Guilt.” Host Nancy Glass interviews Tracyrachel about her efforts to clear her name and hold Matthew’s killer responsible. Did a toddler really dash a baby’s head or was she scapegoated to hide someone else’s fatal act of violence?
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BURDEN OF GUILT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.
About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.
From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.
Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
It was a crime story that shook Boston. The survivor of a fatal carjacking said his pregnant wife was murdered by an unknown Black man - triggering an unprecedented police crackdown in Black neighborhoods still dealing with the racial legacy of bussing. The city’s spotty track record on civil rights fueled police, politicians, and the media too eager to believe a fiction wrapped in racism. But even after it was revealed to be a hoax - and that Charles Stuart staged the death of his wife - the damage to the community could not be undone.
The “Murder in Boston Podcast” by The Boston Globe is a companion to, but separately produced from, the HBO series of the same name. Hosted by editor Adrian Walker, the podcast digs into the Charles Stuart case from a local point of view, going deeper into its many threads. It takes a critical look at the city’s racial backstory, flaws in the investigation, and the indiscriminate targeting of Black men - as well as the failures of its own newspaper. It even uncovers new information about who knew ahead of time that Stuart was the culprit.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDER IN BOSTON PODCAST" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: pothole committed.
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Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.
About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.
From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.
Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In 1989, Boston was stunned by a dramatic carjacking. Charles Stuart said his wife Carol was shot in the head and he was gravely wounded by a Black man who robbed them. While the media fought each other for the latest details, police launched an aggressive and prolonged manhunt in the adjacent Black neighborhoods. Within the Black community, the harassment and heavy handed arrests opened fresh wounds in a city with a checkered past on race relations. But police were so willing to believe Stuart’s account of the bizarre attack, few suspected he was behind it all along.
From HBO Documentary Films in association with The Boston Globe comes “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning. The three-part series retraces the investigation into who killed Carol Stuart against the backdrop of a liberal city unable to reconcile its racist history. We also hear from reporters, activists, and local residents affected by the manhunt and an unapologetic cop who helped run it.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDER IN BOSTON: ROOTS, RAMPAGE & RECKONING" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.
Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.
About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.
From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.
Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In 2018, Micah Holsonbake’s family said the 34-year-old banker went missing from Bakersfield, California. Two weeks later, a friend of Micah’s reported his 20-year-old girlfriend Baylee Despot also vanished. Just weeks after that, another friend, 38-year-old entrepreneur James Kulstad, was gunned down in a quiet neighborhood. Their families believed the fates of the three were more than a coincidence.
The three were loosely connected in a world filled with drug addiction, sex trafficking, and illegal weapons. The mothers of the so-called Bakersfield 3 banded together to alert the public, keep pressure on investigators, and support each other, all while Baylee’s boyfriend publicly taunted her mom. But as new evidence turned up, the answer to what happened threatened to tear their alliance apart.
From Casefile Presents comes the 15-part podcast “The Bakersfield Three.” Host Olivia LaVoice draws upon her years of covering the case as a TV reporter. Using her police sources, intimate relationships with the families, and her own story, LaVoice walks us through a mystery filled with shocking twists.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE BAKERSFIELD THREE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: gold brick.
For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.
Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.
About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.
From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.
Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
There was something for everyone on the TV in 2023. We saw documentaries that dug deep into issues of crime and punishment. There were several true stories told in real time by the people in the middle of them. But there were also shows that made us laugh…and sometimes sing.
But which TV shows and documentaries truly stood out? The crime writers will reveal their lists for the Best TV of 2023.
Lara's Top Ten
Toby's Top Ten
Kevin's Top Ten
Rebecca's Top Ten
For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.
Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.
About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.
From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.
Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This year brought us podcasts that examined interesting characters - from the super famous to the terribly infamous. There were the meticulously investigated stories of people caught in a system stacked against them. And it provided us with many series told by hosts with very personal connections to the crimes they covered.
But which titles truly stood out? All four crime writers present their top 10 podcasts for 2023.
In Crime of the Week: A lot of nerve swerve.
Lara's Top Ten
Toby's Top Ten
Kevin's Top Ten
Rebecca's Top Ten
For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.
Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.
About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.
From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.
Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
International photojournalist Amanda Mustard returns home to pursue an open family secret. As her grandfather Bill Flickinger nears the end of his life, Amanda investigates the decades of sexual abuse he inflicted on his young chiropractic patients. Mustard looks at how Flickinger avoided accountability for decades and reaches out to her grandfather’s many victims. They include her mother and sister, but the effort to find forgiveness between them threatens to tear the family apart.
In the raw HBO Original “Great Photo, Lovely Life,” Mustard chronicles her family’s story, seeks to empower survivors, and confronts the fallout that facing family trauma head-on can bring. Viewers are presented with home movies, boxes of mementos, and intimate conversations aimed at disrupting a cycle of abuse, blame, and anger.
OUR-SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF "GREAT PHOTO, LOVELY LIFE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.
Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.
About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.
From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.
Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Troubled Teen Industry comprises the wilderness programs, therapeutic boarding schools, and group programs desperate parents turn to when their kids are struggling with mental health, substance misuse, and behavioral issues - whether real or perceived. Often, kids are escorted to these programs by so-called Goons - transport agencies hired to take kids away from home, often against their will in the dark hours before dawn. But are these Goons a last-resort tactic for families at the end of their rope or a high-ticket, legal kidnapping operation?
In the podcast “Gooned,” journalist Emma Lehman details many facets of the Troubled Teen Industry, interviewing survivors, former employees, and even impersonating the parent of a teen in crisis in order to dig up dirt on what she asserts is ground zero for the emotional, physical, and psychological abuse that leads to lasting trauma for those the industry is claiming to help.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GOONED" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: ghost in the machine.
For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.
Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.
About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.
From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.
Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Amina Arraf grew a following for her blog recounting her life as an openly gay woman in Syria, a nation where homosexuality is illegal. She was revered by the queer community internationally, started an online romance, and drew attention from journalists covering the Arab Spring. Her legions of fans were shocked when Amina was arrested by the government and disappeared. But Amina’s descriptions of life under the Syrian regime didn't ring true to those in the small gay community of Damascus. As international efforts to locate and rescue Amina were underway, cracks in her story appeared.
From the CBC comes the podcast “Gay Girl Gone.” Journalist Samira Mohyeddin investigates what happened to the famed blogger. The show also explores the impact on the people and political causes damaged by the whole affair.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GAY GIRL GONE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.
Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.
About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.
From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.
Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In 2021, police in Oregon discovered the mummified corpse of Amy Carlson. Her body had been transported and adorned by the members of her small cult “Love Has Won.” The woman they called Mother God had been emaciated and her skin had turned blue. Her followers believed Carlson was the reincarnation of Joan of Arc and Marilyn Monroe, and communed with a group of Galactics led by dead celebrities like Robin Williams and John Lennon. The cult sustained itself through online donations and selling miracle cures as new leaders annointed by Mother God sewed internal strife. Was it her very practices and beliefs that led to her failing health and eventual death?
From HBO Documentary Films, the series “Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God” examines Carlson’s rise as spiritual guru and her conspiracy-laced convictions. It features interviews with her followers in the immediate days after her death, still enthralled with her dogma.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LOVE HAS WON: THE CULT OF MOTHER GOD" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: A Santa Claus bites the dust.
For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.
Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.
This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.
About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.
From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.
Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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