The Knife: A True Crime Podcast - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

The Knife: A True Crime Podcast — True Crime
The Knife: A True Crime Podcast

The Knife: A True Crime Podcast is a weekly true crime podcast from journalist/producers Hannah Smith and Patia Eaton.
It’s a show about people who’ve been dropped into a story they didn’t start, but are left to finish. In-depth interviews take the listener behind the punchy headlines to hear what really happened from the people who lived it. The Knife reveals the ripple effect of crime.
Through empathetic, solution-oriented journalism, Hannah and Patia find the untold stories of people who’ve been touched by crime. They’re not breaking news or solving cases, they’re cutting to the heart of the experience through gripping, first-person storytelling.
Follow The Knife on Instagram @theknifepodcast and on Bluesky @theknifepodcast.bsky.social.
The Knife is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including true crime, comedic interviews, news, science, pop culture and more. The network is home to My Favorite Murder hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, This Podcast Will Kill You, That’s Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, Buried Bones and more.

Copyright: 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia

Latest Episodes:

My Body Is The Crime Scene Aug 07, 2025

Show notes

Patia and Hannah speak with Cassie, who attended a Halloween party at an Oregon State University fraternity in 2008. The night started with costumes, loud music and a crowded basement full of college students.

By the end of the night, Cassie was in the ER, holding a bag that contained her bloodstained costume. She soon found herself in a police interview recounting what happened. The state brought charges, and the case went to trial.

Cassie’s story is a personal account of navigating the legal system after reporting a rape. She did everything “right" but still faced a long, painful process. Her experience echoes the questions we’ve wrestled with in high-profile campus sexual assault cases: What does justice actually look like?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Knife: Off Record – 118 Jul 31, 2025

Show notes

This week we bring you two crime stories in collaboration with Mandy and Melissa from Moms and Mysteries. Hannah and Patia discuss the killing of Richard Challen by his wife, Sally Challen. Then, Mandy and Melissa share the wild true story of the teenage serial thief known as the “Barefoot Bandit.” Plus, Patia and Hannah have recommendations.

Links:

Moms and Mysteries podcast: https://www.momsandmysteries.com/

David Challen’s book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93021229-the-unthinkable

Recommendations:

There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane

Love Has Won

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rent-A-Hitman: Murder, Interrupted Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

Bob Innes never set out to stop murders. But when his satirical website, RentAHitman.com, started attracting real requests for contract killings, he found himself in an unusual predicament. What, if anything, should he do about it? Now, he spends most of his spare time trying to intercept murder-for-hire plots, including an entire family wanted dead over an inheritance. But it turns out trying to stop a murder before it happens is tricky, especially when you aren’t in law enforcement.

www.rentahitman.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Knife: Off Record – 116 Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

Hannah and Patia sit down with Anna Sinfield, the producer and writer behind the first two hit seasons of The Girlfriends, to talk about why the world needs more stories of women winning. Stepping into the host seat for The Girlfriends: Spotlight, Anna shares what it’s like to dive headfirst into a story, the emotional toll of true crime, and what to expect from the highly anticipated new season, The Girlfriends: Jailhouse Lawyer. Also, Hannah shares an update on the Brenda Andrew case, including a U.S. Supreme Court opinion issued in Jan 2025.

Recommendations

Netflix Documentary: The Twister: Caught in the Storm

Podcast: Big Time (Apple/Campside Media)

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-girlfriends-spotlight/id1695875823

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Only Woman on Oklahoma Death Row: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-only-woman-on-oklahoma-death-row-confirming-admission-of-prejudicial-gendered-evidence-can-violate-due-process-rights

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mother’s Day Attack Jul 10, 2025

Show notes

Tennyson and Kyle felt safe in their quiet, rural community—until their lives were shaken by not one, but two violent home invasions. It wasn’t random. The attacks were targeted, and Tennyson was the focus. Even more chilling: it all happened on her very first Mother’s Day as a new mom. We speak with Tennyson about the events of that day and the long road of healing that followed.

The Mother of All Days: https://www.amazon.com/Mother-All-Days-Break-Unexpected/dp/0997692375?ref_=ast_author_mpb

Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/north-bend-intruder-may-have-planned-sexual-assault-deputies-say/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Knife: Off Record – 114 Jun 26, 2025

Show notes

Patia shares a conversation she had with Shileshia and Eric Milligan, a couple who became victims of adoption fraud in 2019 after self-matching through a Facebook group. What began with hope quickly turned to fear when the teen birth mother claimed she was in danger. Then, Hannah unpacks the story of Tara Lee, the woman behind a multi-million dollar adoption scam that operated out of Michigan.

National Council for Adoption: How to Avoid Adoption Scams: https://adoptioncouncil.org/article/howtoavoidadoptionscams/

Recommendations: “Couples Therapy” documentary series

Adoption Scam Artist Sentenced to Federal Prison: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2020/02/26/macomb-co-adoption-scam-artist-tara-lee-sentenced-federal-prison/4879858002/

Couples Therapy Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmmIoCQ40hs

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hijacked Jun 19, 2025

Show notes

On November 23, 1985, Jackie Pflug took her seat aboard EgyptAir Flight 648. When the plane reached flying altitude, several men forcefully took control of the plane. Jackie’s flight was being hijacked. Jackie miraculously survived, but many others did not. Decades later, she tells a story of bravery, profound loss and hope.

Sydney Morning Herald –

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/from-the-archives-1985-massacre-on-hijacked-egyptair-flight-648-20191122-p53d4w.html

Miles to Go Before I Sleep, by Jackie Pflug –

https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Before-Sleep-Survivors-Terrorist/dp/1568388373

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Knife: Off Record – 112 Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

A listener sends in a tip about an international conman, Chadwick Hauser – who is still on the run. Through an interview with his ex-wife, Hannah tells Patia the story of a man whose scams have ruined lives across the world and whose victim list is still growing. For Chad’s ex-wife, Jordana, the end of their marriage was just the beginning. When the man she thought she loved vanished with her children, she would stop at nothing to get them back.

Victims of Chadwick Peel Hauser Facebook Page –

https://www.facebook.com/groups/505870920516958/

Associate for the Recovery of Children –

https://www.recoveryofchildren.org/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kill List Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

Susan was going about a normal day at work when an FBI Agent showed up with terrifying news. She was on a hit list. A notorious terrorist organization wanted her dead. Susan tries to find out why she of all people would be targeted. As she tries to answer this question, she must also work to protect herself.

Articles referenced in the episode:

The Seattle Times:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/man-suspected-of-killing-3-in-king-county-will-not-face-the-death-penalty/

Department of Justice:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/maryland-man-charged-interstate-transportation-stolen-vehicle

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Knife: Off Record – 110 May 29, 2025

Show notes

Hannah and Patia discuss the 1996 murder at Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy, where 16-year-old William Futrelle—new to the school—was killed by fellow students. They unpack the trial of Joseph Burris, who was charged with Futrelle’s murder, and examine the disturbing environment that enabled the crime. We also cover what happened with Bethesda Home for Girls, Bob and Betty Wills’ earlier “troubled teen” program in Mississippi, which was eventually shut down by the state.

LA Times - https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-04-me-39141-story.html

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-05-mn-39651-story.html

Bethesda Home for Girls: https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/bethesda-home-girls-stolen-babies/

Cult Education Institute: https://www.culteducation.com/group/1059-mountain-park-baptist-church-and-boarding-academy/14571-insiders-tell-of-boarding-school-past-and-present.html

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Related Podcasts