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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Copyright: © 2024 Partners in Crime Media
The Easterdays drew a lot of water in southeast Washington. Cody Easterday was a titan of agriculture who provided Tyson food with two percent of its beef. But a series of bad investments and commodities speculation put the rancher in a desperate financial position.
Easterday engineered a quarter-billion dollar hoax: tricking Tyson into paying for the upkeep of cattle that only existed on paper. When the hoax was discovered it disrupted the food supply and threatened the farming empire the community depended on.
KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio and Northwest Public Broadcasting present “Ghost Herd.” Host Anna King plows into the livestock swindle, as well as shines a light on the precarious nature of farming and the food supply in modern America.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GHOST HERD" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
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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.
A wave of gunfire in a parking lot. A man hogtied and beaten to death. A grandfather with dementia shot in his driveway while holding a crucifix. The many families of victims in Bakersfield and Kern County, California search for justice in the county with the highest death rate by police violence in America.
In a system where police brutality is investigated by the police, few cops here are held accountable for even the most egregious uses of deadly force. And its police chief is more interested in giving taxpayer money to settle lawsuits than improving public safety.
From producer Colin Kaepernick, the ABC News Studio Hulu’s “Killing County” explores one community’s cops known to shoot first and ask questions later. It provides video and witness accounts of police brutality, and introduces us to several families affected by law enforcement violence. In an era where police murders are prevalent, “Killing County” asks why is it so bad here?
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "KILLING COUNTY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: Naked justice.
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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 2010, a group of students at Sarah Lawrence College was surprised when a co-ed’s father began sleeping on the couch in their dorm. One by one, Larry Ray became a confidant and mentor to the young men and women, eager for his worldly knowledge.
After Ray and the students moved into a Manhattan apartment, his paternal guidance morphed into coercive control - complete with corporal punishment, sex trafficking, and group paranoia that evil forces were targeting them. For ten years, Ray exerted his influence over them, until authorities broke up what they labeled “a cult.”
The three-part Hulu documentary “Stolen Youth” brings us inside the so-called Sarah Lawrence College cult, with exclusive interviews from the former students and homemade video from inside their psychological prison. It then jumps to the present day to chronicle the remaining cult members’ struggle with the consequences of their pasts.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "STOLEN YOUTH" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 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.
Kansas resident Dan Day discovers his new friends belong to a militia group fixated on the Somali refugees in their community. That’s when he’s approached by the FBI, asking him to join the right-wing group and report on whether they’re planning violence. When the informant learns the extremists are drawing up an attack on Muslims, the investigation takes on a new urgency. Dan finds himself in the middle of a plot in which the lives of many hang in the balance…including his own.
ABC Audio’s five-part podcast, “Truth and Lies: The Informant,” takes us inside the probe of extremists in the heartland and the ordinary guy thrust into the middle of the investigation. Host Dick Lehr supplements interviews with residents, agents, and prosecutors with undercover audio tapes documenting the plans of a domestic terror attack.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "TRUTH AND LIES: THE INFORMANT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: wingin' it.
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.
When a German countess died in 1992, she left her fortune to the only family she had: her dog Gunther. The world’s richest pooch enjoyed private jets, personal chefs, and a dedicated staff led by Gunther’s caretaker, Maurizio Mian.
The will also decreed that Gunther would form a pop band. The dog bought Madonna’s mansion where the group’s attractive members were directed to have sex with one another, while researchers studied their levels of happiness. But few questions were asked about the origins of the fortune or how Maurizio came to control Gunther’s financial empire.
The Netflix documentary series “Gunther’s Millions” turns the feel-good story of a rich dog into an investigation of media manipulation, tax fraud, sex cults and the man at the center of it all. Is this a story about one lucky dog or is it the ultimate test to see if money can buy happiness?
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GUNTHER'S MILLIONS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 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 the 1960s, Ronald Pellar performed as nightclub hypnotist “Dr. Dante.” He thrilled crowds, mixed with celebrities, and even married a movie star. But Dante was a prolific con man, accused of stealing and attempting to have a rival hypnotist murdered.
After prison, Dante expanded his stage act to include seminars, self-help tapes, tattooed makeup, and a collegiate diploma-mill. He made millions of dollars on false claims and was comfortable telling reporters all about them. When it seemed an elderly Dante was ready to retire from his life of deception, he planned a comeback.
Campside Media is out with season five of “Chameleon: Dr. Dante.” “Wild Boys” host Sam Mullens recounts the many lives of the hypnotist who used his powers of persuasion to be one of the greatest con men in history.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DR. DANTE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: stuffing sausages.
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.
A racially-motivated attack on pedestrians was thwarted by the driver’s passenger: a man he picked up hitchhiking. He went simply by “Kai,” and the colorful way he described the incident became a viral sensation. Kai’s quirky personality and unlikely story made him Internet-famous. He declined TV offers in favor of going back off the grid. But months later, the carefree drifter the world thought was so charming when he struck a criminal with a hatchet would be implicated in a murder.
The Netflix film “The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker” recounts Kai’s rocky journey from meme to murderer, propelled by Hollywood and social media. Was the world so taken by the dude in the “smash smash smash” video they overlooked his violent tendencies which were in plain sight?
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE HATCHET WIELDING HITCHHIKER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN 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.
When journalist Sam Anderson learned a high school friend was wanted for the murder of a Northern California pot farmer, he set off to prove his friend’s innocence. He discovered the infamous Emerald Triangle was not the hippie Shangri-la it was made out to be. Anderson tries to reconcile the friend of his youth with the man implicated in a fatal ripoff. He seeks answers as to what happened in the hills that drove Zach Wuester to violence.
In “Crooked City: The Emerald Triangle,” Anderson makes his way through California’s strange and dangerous marijuana harvesting culture. Did Zach lead seven others to kill the farmer who ripped them off, or was he just an unwitting accomplice?
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE EMERALD TRIANGLE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE
Crime of the Week: hotel parking.
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.
Ex-preacher and musician Abe Partridge went on a journey to discover songs never recorded, but passed down for generations in Appalachia. He discovered the largest repository of undocumented music were in Pentecostal churches where preachers employed the controversial practice of handling snakes. But once getting over the customs of their unconventional worship, Partridge developed a true appreciation for the people, their beliefs, and their music. He’d eventually convince a snake-handling preacher/musician and his wife to record the songs of their faith.
In the podcast “Alabama Astronaut,” host Ferrill Gibbs relays Partridge’s odyssey through an often ridiculed subculture and his hunt for the folk art long hidden. It focuses less on the spectacle of handling snakes and drinking poison and more on how it informs their little-known musical expressions.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ALABAMA ASTRONAUT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 14 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.
As head of La Luz del Mundo, third generation church leader Naasón Joaquín García promised eternal salvation. All the while, he used his position as Apostle to groom children and young women for sexual abuse for years. When García’s victims in the US and Mexico meet on Reddit and compare stories, they ban together to expose the church’s secret. Once seeming untouchable, they convince authorities to go after García and hold him accountable.
The HBO Original “Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo” is the latest documentary exploring the sins of religious leaders using their position as God’s messenger to coerce followers into sexual exploitation. It provides plenty of space for American and Mexican victims to tell their truth and covers García’s fall from grace.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNVEILED" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: doggie style.
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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