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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Facing federal charges that included establishing a sex cult and branding his female followers, NXIVM leader Keith Raniere prepares for trial. Meanwhile his second-in-command, Nancy Salzman, breaks her silence to say she didn’t know the darker things happening within the organization. Prosecutors lay out a strong case of racketeering and trafficking against Raniere. His attorney and his remaining followers proclaim Raniere’s innocence, saying life in NXIVM is not the cult portrayed in the media.
HBO’s “The Vow, Part Two” picks up the story as Raniere’s trial begins. The focus moves away from his disaffected followers and reveals new details about the crimes and victims of the DOS program. Its sweeping access includes a comprehensive profile of Salzman as she awaited sentencing for racketeering.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE VOW, PART TWO" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 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.
After a childhood of secrecy and sudden relocations, reporter Pauline Dakin’s mother finally revealed the reasons behind their family’s chaotic upbringing. Unbeknownst to the children, they’d been living in hiding from their father, a powerful figure in organized crime. The Dakins had been protected for years by Stan, a family friend and federal agent posing as a preacher. Now an adult, Pauline is made aware of the ever-present dangers posed by the gangsters. But as the situation grew increasingly complex, she learns the truth is darker than she thought.
The CBC podcast “Run, Hide, Repeat” is based on Dakin’s memoir of her fugitive childhood. In the five-part series, she confronts the family secrets and deceptions that followed her her whole life. She attempts to answer the question “what was our time in witness protection really about”?
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "RUN, HIDE, REPEAT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: big cheese.
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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.
Between 1986 and 1991, the remains of four missing women were discovered in the same field in League City, Texas. Authorities couldn’t rule out the deaths were connected to a string of 30 murders outside of Houston since the 70s. Then another string of disappearances began in the mid-90s. Were all of these crimes linked in some way? And what is their connection to that secluded plot of land on Calder Road?
Season three of “Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields” looks at the long history of murder along the interstate 45 corridor. The Netflix series introduces us to those closely affected by the unsolved crimes and zeroes-in on the main suspects.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE TEXAS KILLING FIELDS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 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.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva won office in 2018 campaigning as a reformer who’ll clean up the scandal-plagued L.A. County Sheriff's Department. After criticism he was doing the opposite, Villanueva doubled down on his efforts to abuse his power, vilify the press, and investigate his rivals.
“Imperfect Paradise: The Sheriff” from LAist Studios examines the controversial head of one of the nation’s largest law enforcement agencies. Host Frank Stoltze interviews Villanueva and talks to his critics to learn how he wields his power, going from a progressive sheriff’s candidate to a right-wing media darling.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "IMPERFECT PARADISE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: beef hot dog beef.
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.
Jonelle Matthews vanished after her school Christmas recital in 1984. Colorado investigators had no leads, until a detective homed in on Jonelle’s neighbor, a man said to have a fixation on young girls. The case remained cold for decades until Jonelle’s body was discovered. Then police got a tip about another man in the girl’s orbit: a true crime fan who for years said he had information…but was continually ignored by police.
Season two of Campside Media’s “Suspect: Vanished in the Snow'' is currently on Amazon Music and is scheduled for broad release next year. Host Ashley Fantz examines the case and several of those suspected of the crime. The six-part series also covers the murder trial of the man police say did it.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SUSPECT" SEASON TWO BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE SHOW.
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.
Giancarlo Granda was the pool boy at a Miami hotel when he was propositioned by Becki Falwell and her husband, the president of evangelical Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr. The couple lavished attention and money on Granda to keep the love triangle going and to keep it secret. Like his father before him, Falwell fancied himself a political kingmaker, influencing millions of evangelical voters. But if word of their arrangement with Granda came out it could damage Falwell's 2016 endorsement of candidate Donald Trump.
In the Hulu documentary “God Forbid: The Sex Scandal that Brought Down a Dynasty,” Granda tells his side of the story. It also makes the case that keeping the couple’s kink under wraps changed the course of history.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GOD FORBID" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: Wish I could be part of that world.
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.
After breaking up with longtime girlfriend Olivia Newton-John, Patrick McDermott set sail on an overnight fishing trip in June of 2005. When he didn’t get off the boat the next morning, officials presumed he fell overboard. But then the tabloids speculated whether McDermott had faked his death. Potential sightings of McDermott fueled the story. Journalists and private investigators scoured Mexico on tips he was living a new life. But were they reshaping the facts of an accident at sea for their own purposes - regardless of the cost to McDermott’s loved ones?
“Pseudocide'' is the term for faking one’s death. It’s also the name of the Spotify exclusive podcast hosted by Alice Fiennes and Poppy Damon. The team explores McDermott’s upbringing, his relationship with a superstar, and his fatal voyage at sea. They also question those who advanced stories about his secret whereabouts - often based on flimsy accounts.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "PSEUDOCIDE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 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 1983, 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi disappeared after her music lesson. Her family were citizens of the Vatican. Men claiming to be her abductors promised her return if authorities would release the man held for shooting Pope John Paul II. Other theories of the crime emerged. Did the Soviet Union take her to blunt the Pope’s political influence in Poland? Were mobsters using her as leverage to recover money laundered by the Vatican Bank? Or was she spirited away by the Church to prevent the exposure of some secret?
“Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi” explores one of Italy’s most infamous cases. With interviews in both English and Italian, family members and journalists recount the many theories surrounding the disappearance and question a man who claimed to be one of her kidnappers.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "VATICAN GIRL" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: it is what it is.
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.
Grace Williams has just lost her husband, John Paul. But her four sisters are not unhappy to see the man they called “The Prick” meet his demise. For months the Garvey girls had been plotting to kill the cruel and controlling spouse and get Grace out from under his thumb. Now that the deed is done, no one is suspicious - except for the life insurance agent with family secrets of his own.
The Apple Original dark comedy series “Bad Sisters” features an Irish ensemble cast led by Sharon Horgan and Sarah Greene. Just how did John Paul die? How did he make an enemy of each of his in-laws? And will the nearly-broke insurance agents avoid paying on the policy by cracking the mystery?
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BAD SISTERS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 7 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 1982, authorities were baffled when seemingly healthy people were suddenly dying. They concluded the Tylenol they’d recently bought in Chicago-area stores had been laced with cyanide. In the past forty years, the culprit has not been identified. Investigators had two strong suspects but could not pin the crimes on either one of them.
In the podcast “Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders” from the Chicago Tribune and At Will Media, reporters Christy Gutowski and Stacy St. Clair dig through the files of the famous cold case. They also examine the two main suspects hoping to solve the mystery before it’s too late.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNSEALED: THE TYLENOL MURDERS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: sneaky snake.
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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