Crimes of the Times

Latest Episodes:

Featuring: The Trials of Frank Carson, Bonus Episode 1 Jun 13, 2025

Show notes

In this special-release bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss the origins of The Trials of Frank Carson.

Featuring: The Trials of Frank Carson, Episode 2 Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

In this special-release episode, investigators confront a defiant Frank Carson about the disappearance of a scrap-metal thief with a reputation for making enemies.

Featuring: The Trials of Frank Carson, Episode 1 Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

In Season 2 of Crimes of the Times, host Christopher Goffard revisits one of the longest and most bizarre murder trials in U.S. history.

This special podcast rerelease will include fresh insights, bonus content and a new episode with the latest news on this fascinating case. The story follows the rise and subsequent downfall of one of Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorneys, Frank Carson.

In this episode, meet Frank Carson, Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorney, famous for his high-profile courtroom victories and take-no-prisoners style. A longtime nemesis of local law enforcement, he is representing homicide defendants in the very courthouse where he is on trial for murder himself.

The Arsonist in the Crowd Apr 29, 2025

Show notes

John Orr was a renowned fire investigator who was also a prolific arsonist, and whose thinly veiled novel helped to convict him. In this episode we hear from the fire captain who first suspected him—and from Orr himself.

New episodes every Tuesday.

To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com

Video episodes will be available on Spotifyand Youtube.

The Execution of Barbara Graham Apr 15, 2025

Show notes

The case of Barbara Graham, known in the 1950s as “Bloody Babs” after the murder of a Burbank widow. Former prosecutor Marcia Clark joins us to reexamine the questionable tactics that sent Graham to death row.

New episodes every Tuesday.

To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com

Video episodes will be available on

Spotify and Youtube.

The Cult, The Lawyer, and the Snake Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

The story of Synanon, the drug rehabilitation group once known as “the miracle on the beach,” and the rattlesnake attack on the crusading Los Angeles lawyer who made an enemy of the group’s leader.

New episodes every Tuesday.

To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com

Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

The Final Word on Manson: Part 2 Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Former Manson prosecutor Stephen Kay recounts the strange story of Ronald Hughes, the “hippie lawyer” who enraged the cult leader and vanished mysteriously in the middle of trial.

New episodes every Tuesday.

To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com

Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube

The Final Word on Manson: Part 1 Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

The last living prosecutor of Charles Manson gives an inside account of the trial and the cult leader’s deadly vision. Stephen Kay recalls the case that still haunts America.

New episodes every Tuesday.

To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com

Video episodes will be available on

Spotify and Youtube.