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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When Massachusetts State Police discover a chemist has been tampering with evidence at the drug lab, it opens a legal Pandora's box. Netflix’s four-part “How to Fix a Drug Scandal” follows the lawyers seeking answers, the prosecutors who tried to cover it up, and the troubled life of one of the chemists whose personal addiction up-ended the scales of justice.
FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF “HOW TO FIX A DRUG SCANDAL,” GO TO 29:00
In season three of Netflix’s “Ozark,” a drug war in Mexico has put additional pressure on Marty and Wendy Byrde to launder money in their new casino. But complications ensue with new arrivals, like cartel lawyer Helen Pierce and Wendy’s brother, Ben.
FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF “OZARK” SEASON THREE, GO TO 58:00
In crime of the week, back end data.
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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.
Our first review is “Cool Mules” from Canadaland. Vice Canada music editor Slava Pastukhov believed the only way to advance at the gonzo news outlet was through more extreme journalism. A mix of greed and ambition led him to orchestrate a drug trafficking ring to Australia.
OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF “COOL MULES” BEGINS IN MINUTE 34
Next is a look at Netflix’s foreign-language series, “The Valhalla Murders.” This police procedural is the latest in the growing number of shows set in Iceland which try to capture their own version of Scandinavian noir. But does the story capture either that dark Scandi style...or the interest of streaming mystery lovers?
OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF “THE VALHALLA MURDERS” BEGINS IN MINUTE 1:03
In Crime of the Week: please don’t rollover.
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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.
The panel discusses the much-buzzed about documentary, "Tiger King." Expanding on the characters and themes of the recent "Joe Exotic" podcast, this Netflix doc dives even deeper into the world of big cats and the shady people who love them. No doubt it's entertaining, but does it handle the people and issues in a responsible way?
FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "TIGER KING" GO TO 1:03
PLUS: A big announcement from Toby! His new 10-part podcast, "Strange Arrivals," is out March 31. Subscribe now!
In crime of the week, it makes my eyes burn.
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 crime writers check in with updates on how they're dealing with self-isolation and ponder the world confronted by the coronavirus.
In the first review, the panel discusses "The Dating Game Killer" from Wondery and Hollywood & Crime. The docu-drama recalls the tale of serial killer/game show contestant Rodney Alcala. How will the team react to the podcast's style and substance?
FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "THE DATING GAME KILLER," GO TO 29:00
Then the group gets into Netflix's film adaptation of "Lost Girls" staring Amy Ryan. Does this two-hour dramatization of Bob Kolker's excellent book live up to the expansive source material?
FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "LOST GIRLS," GO TO 54:00
Then in crime of the week: Cheese-us Christ.
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 week, Lara's son takes a very bad fall and Kevin has some professional news.
Leading off, the crime writers discuss the new podcast from HLN, “Down the Hill: The Delphi Murders.” The reporters attempt to shed light on a double killing with few publicly known facts. Can they advance the story?
OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF “DOWN THE HILL” BEGINS IN MINUTE 33
Then, they jet to Italy for “Verified” from Witness Docs and Stitcher. This ten-part series looks at a group of women and their search for justice against the man who raped them when they answered his ad on couchsurfer.com. Is there blame to share?
OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF “VERIFIED” BEGINS IN MINUTE 1:03
In crime of the week, who run the 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 a week of reeling in the years, the Crime Writers are back discussing the hard-hitting Netflix documentary, “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez.” Viewers learn the long trail of physical and emotional abuse suffered by Gabriel and the many missed opportunities to save his life. And it dives into the issues around the failings of law enforcement, social services, elected officials, and the System’s desire to protect itself at the expense of the children it’s supposed to help.
OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF “THE TRIALS OF GABRIEL FERNANDEZ” BEGINS IN MINUTE 37.
Then, on a lighter note, the team offers their recommendations for content you should be consuming this spring.
Toby:
Lara:
- The Long Call by Ann Cleeves-
- Locke and Key
- Outlander
- Dublin Murders
Kevin:
Rebecca:
Joe Ide’s IQ book series
Matt Goldman’s Nils Shapiro series
Deep Water
Reply All – “The Case of the Missing Hit”
In Crime of the Week: Tinder mercies.
For exclusive podcasts and more, go to patreon.com/partnersincrimemedia
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 is our 200th episode, and to mark the occasion we’re going to look back at some of our favorite moments from Crime Writers On. We’ll revisit reviews from classic podcasts, games, milestones, things that made us cry with laughter, and shed other kinds of tears.
For exclusive podcasts and more, go to patreon.com/partnersincrimemedia.
This week's special episode cover art:
Top row
Millie Bobby Brown from “Stranger Things”
David Rudolf from “The Staircase”
Bowe Bergdahl from “Serial”
Michael Peterson from “The Staircase”
Madeleine McCann from “The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann”
Richard Simmons from “Missing Richard Simmons”
Dan Taberski from “Headlong”
Bill Cosby from “Chasing Cosby”
Keith Morrison from “Dateline NBC”
Andy from “The Legend of Cocaine Island”
Adnan Syed from “Serial”
Jonathan Groff from “Mindhunter”
Merritt Weaver from “Unbelievable”
Tyler Alvarez from “American Vandal”
Bikram Choudhury from “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator”
Ian Bailey from “West Cork”
Holt McCallany from “Mindhunter”
Ear Hustle
Sister Cathy Cesnik from “The Keepers”
Second row
Jharrel Jerome from “When They See Us”
Sarah Paulson from “The People vs OJ Simpson”
Sterling K. Brown from “The People vs OJ Simpson”
Eric Bana from “Dirty John”
Payne Lindsey from “Up and Vanished”
Matthew McConaughey from “True Detective”
Woody Harrelson from “True Detective”
Bob Broberg from “Abducted in Plain Sight”
Charles Manson from “Young Charlie”
Patrick Hines from “True Crime Obsessed”
Colin Miller from “Undisclosed”
Rabia Chaudry from “Undisclosed”
Susan Simpson from “Undisclosed”
Casey Anthony from “Casey Anthony: An American Murder Mystery”
David Ridgen from “Someone Knowns Something”
Third row
Doug Evans from “In the Dark”
Steven Avery from “Making a Murderer”
John Meehan from “Dirty John”
John McLemore from “S-town”
Brendan Dassey from “Making a Murderer”
Ted Bundy from “The Bundy Tapes”
Cleo Semaganis Nicotine from “Missing and Murdered”
Ma Anand Sheela from “Wild Wild Country”
Joseph Maldonado-Passage from “Joe Exotic”
Amber Hunt from “Accused”
Front row
Curtis Flowers from “In the Dark”
Bill Rankin from “Breakdown”
Ronan Farrow from “Catch and Kill”
Madeline Baron from “In the Dark”
Sarah Keonig from “Serial”
Kevin Flynn
Lara Bricker
Rebeca Lavoie
Toby Ball
Debra Newell from “Dirty John”
Rocksteady Freddie from the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble
Foreground
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 the crime writers prepare for their 200th episode special, Rebecca and Kevin have an invitation to London-based listeners.
First off, in “The Other Latif,” Latif Nasser learns a Moroccan native who shares his name has been held for years at Guantanamo accused of being a top military adviser to Osama bin Laden. This miniseries from RadioLab explores whether his namesake is as dangerous as the US says he is.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF “RADIOLAB: THE OTHER LATIF” BEGINS IN THE 31st MINUTE.
Then: It’s the biggest fraud case you’ve never heard about. In HBO’s “McMillions,” a bored FBI agent stumbles on to a tip that McDonald’s million-dollar Monopoly game is fixed. This whodunnit, howdaydoit is lighthearted, intriguing, and – at times – moving.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF “McMILLIONS” BEGINS IN THE 59th MINUTE.
In Crime of the Week: jack shit.
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 casting their votes in the New Hampshire Primary, the panel is ready to vote on two new true crime titles.
First, the crime writers discuss the new season of Uncover: Satanic Panic. Host Lisa Rundle brings us to a Saskatchewan town rocked in the 90s by an alleged pedophilia ring run by devil worshipers. The podcast recalls the mass hysteria and the lives forever changed by the charges.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF “UNCOVER: SATANIC PANIC” STARTS IN THE 28 MINUTE OF THE SHOW.
Then, Netflix’s “The Pharmacist” tells the story of a mild-mannered Louisiana druggist whose life is turned upside down by the murder of his son. While working through his grief, Dan Schneider notices a pattern of healthy-looking people filling OxyContin prescriptions from a particular doctor.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF “THE PHARMACIST” STARTS IN THE 55 MINUTE MARK OF THE SHOW.
Then in Crime of the Week, that’s nuts.
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.
Greetings from New Hampshire, where the Crime Writers will be among those casting their First in the Nation primary ballots. Hear them discuss the new text technology campaigns will be using to get your vote.
Leading off, USAToday Sports and For the Win is out with a podcast covering an unusual bank Heist. “The Sneak” tells us of a bizarre armored car holdup where a man disguised as a landscaper escaped down river on an inner tube. Host Nate Scott says there’s much more to the story.
OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF “THE SNEAK” BEGINS IN THE 26 MINUTE MARK OF THE SHOW.
The LA Times’s new podcast looks into the events that took down one of America’s most beloved figures. In “Chasing Cosby”, host Nikki Weisensee Egan uses archival tape and new witness interviews to show the long, difficult road to justice against a rich, powerful celebrity and the unlikely events - and incredibly brave victims - that led to Bill Cosby’s arrest and conviction.
OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF “CHASING COSBY” BEGINS IN THE 59 MINUTE MARK OF THE SHOW.
In Crime of the Week: drug reading dog.
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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