Criminal

Latest Episodes:

For the Sake of American Youth Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

“Children nowadays, they make maps. And say, this is the street where the store is that we're going to rob, and this is where we're going to hide, and this is how we get away.” In the 1950s, U.S. senators were worrying about “the fifth horseman of doom.” And they started an unusual investigation.

The recordings of the Senate hearings in this episode are courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives.

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Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons Nov 15, 2024

Show notes

In 1993, Gary Settle was sentenced to 177 years in prison. Twenty-six years into his sentence, he started helping other inmates get out of prison through something called compassionate release - a policy that allows people in prison to petition to be let out for “extraordinary and compelling” reasons.

You can learn more about Gary Settle in Anna Altman’s piece, "The Quality of Mercy," in The Atavist Magazine.

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The Reverend Nov 08, 2024

Show notes

In 1977, a man named Robert Burns went to a funeral and shot someone, in the head, in front of 300 people. He didn’t deny it, and his lawyer didn’t deny it. Burns told a police officer: “I had to do it. And if I had to do it over, I’d do it again.”

Casey Cep’s book is The Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee.

This episode was originally released in 2019.

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The Family Land, Part 2 Nov 01, 2024

Show notes

This week, part two of the Reels family story – how two brothers went to jail in an attempt to save their family land, and were held there for eight years without being charged with a crime. “I’m not going to give up. I don’t think I’m wrong, and I’m willing to fight for it.”

For more on the Reels family’s story, you can read Lizzie Presser’s article, “Their Family Bought Land One Generation After Slavery. The Reels Brothers Spent Eight Years in Jail for Refusing to Leave It.”

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The Family Land, Part 1 Oct 25, 2024

Show notes

Melvin Davis and Licurtis Reels refused to leave the land that had been in their family for generations – so they were sent to jail. They expected to be in jail for 90 days. They were there for 8 years. This week, part 1 of their story.

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Valentine Oct 18, 2024

Show notes

Today, a personal story from Phoebe about her mother, Valentine, who died this spring.

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Under the Wall Oct 11, 2024

Show notes

Soon after the Berlin Wall went up, a group of students knocked on Joachim Rudolph’s door. They told him they were trying to get people out of East Germany - and they wanted his help.

Helena Merriman’s book and BBC podcast are called Tunnel 29. You can hear the episode of AirSpace with Günter Wetzel here.

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A Land Without Law Oct 04, 2024

Show notes

Before Guantánamo Bay became the prison we know today, Marie Genard spent more than a year of her life there. She was 14.

Brandt Goldstein’s book is Storming the Court: How a Band of Law Students Fought the President—and Won.

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The Mirage Sep 27, 2024

Show notes

In 1977, a new bar opened on North Wells Street in Chicago. Things weren’t as they seemed at the aptly named “Mirage Tavern.”

This story is from our friends at Snap Judgment.

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A Murder in the Forest Sep 20, 2024

Show notes

One morning, two men got in a boat and sailed down a river in the Amazon rainforest. They were never heard from again.

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Episode transcripts are posted on our website.

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