Stranger Things Season 4, Part 1

In the war on drugs, police rely heavily on confidential informants, because citing a CI empowers them to use tactics with less oversight and fewer guardrails. But the practice is rife with abuse, allowing them to skirt civil liberties on the word of snitches who might not even exist.   The problem is pronounced in the historic fishing town of New Bedford, MA. Investigative reporters have identified many instances where cops used the CI system to make dubious arrests, rip off dealers, and avoid accountability. It found that one of the biggest users of these shady tactics has long evaded culpability - and today is the city’s police chief.From The Boston Globe’s vaunted investigative unit, “Spotlight: Snitch City” uncovers the murky world of informant-based law enforcement and its history in one community. Host Dugan Arnett talks to former New Bedford officers and CIs about misuse of the system. It also uncovers evidence of questionable behavior by Paul Oliveira, who built his career using snitches and is now head of the department.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SPOTLIGHT: SNITCH CITY" IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

17 Huhti 45min

The search for a missing sex worker in 2010 led to a grizzly discovery: the bodies of several women were unearthed in the dunes along New York’s Gilgo Beach. It led investigators to the conclusion that a serial killer was targeting women on Long Island. The high profile case remained cold for years, with books, podcasts, and movies raising awareness - all while investigators were dogged by dissention and corruption. But new technology and a fresh set of eyes spotted a likely suspect, someone identified by witnesses years earlier. “Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer” recounts the long hunt for the culprit and a look at the man police say evaded detection for more than a decade. Filmmaker Liz Garbus, who directed the 2020 motion picture “Lost Girls,” returns to the topic just as Rex Heuermann prepares for trial, accused of the Gilgo Beach murders.  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GONE GIRLS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL ELEVEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Kings of hearts For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

14 Huhti 49min

Jake Haendel was a heroin user diagnosed with a rare brain disease. He soon slipped into a vegetative state and was thought to be brain dead. But Jake was fully aware of his surroundings, unable to move or communicate. It would be 18 months before doctors realized he was awake, the only known patient to survive Locked-In Syndrome. But as he returned to the world, Jake had stories about the things said to him when no one thought he could hear them.In the podcast “Blink,” host Corrine Vein and Jake Haendel tell the story of his incredible medical journey through the lens of true crime. What was going on while Jake was trapped in his own body and what caused his condition in the first place?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BLINK" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE PODCAST. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

10 Huhti 45min

Gunshots ring out at The White Lotus, just days after a new group of guests traveled to the exclusive resort in Thailand. They include Timothy Ratliff, whose entitled family is unaware the FBI has just uncovered his financial crimes. TV star Jaclyn Lemon and her two besties are enjoying a girls’ getaway, but tensions are brewing among the life-long friends. Rick Hatchett has traveled with his free-spirit girlfriend, but his interest lies with some mysterious personal business in Bangkok.  Among the staff, a shy security guard pines after a beautiful co-worker, a lothario flirts with the women, and a transplant from Maui recognizes a fugitive wanted for questioning in a high-profile death in Italy.Season three of “The White Lotus” takes viewers to a new exotic location examining privilege, sex - and this time - spirituality and death. Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, and Michelle Monaghan are part of the ensemble cast meditating on what is worth living for…and what is worth dying for.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF THE FIRST SEVEN EPISODES OF "THE WHITE LOTUS" SEASON THREE BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.TO HEAR OUR TAKES ON THE SEASON FINALE, GO TO THE CWO AFTER SHOW FOR A FREE EXCERPT FROM THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: This is nuts! For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

7 Huhti 53min

Officer Mickey Fitzpatrick attempts to balance life as a single mother and a cop patrolling Philadelphia's high crime section of Kensington. She discovers a pattern of women whose murders are made to look like overdoses, but struggles to get her supervisors interested in the deaths of addicts and sex workers. Teaming up with her ex-partner, Mickey works to find the serial killer targeting women working the streets. But she’s also looking for one in particular: her drug-addicted sister who’s gone missing.Based on the bestselling novel, “Long Bright River” on Peacock stars Amanda Seyfried and Nicholas Pinnock. The crime drama follows Mickey’s hunt to unmask the killer, while also confronting her past and navigating her complicated personal life.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LONG BRIGHT RIVER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

3 Huhti 46min

In the 1970s, Kenny “The Kid” Tekiela worked his way up from a teenage doorman at a brothel to a hitman for the Chicago mob. But he left the mafia to become a paramedic, get married, and have children. It was a life he kept from his family for decades, until Kenny’s drug addiction forced him to reveal his past deeds. Years later, his son asked him to finally open up about his past for a podcast. Mixed in with his grandiose tales of mob life, Kenny confessed to struggling with guilt and regret for the things he’d done. In the podcast “Crook County” from iHeartRadio and Tenderfoot TV, host Kyle Tekiela reconnects with his estranged father to learn about the life he never knew. Along the way, Kyle tries to reconcile the loving dad he remembered with the enforcer who committed violence for the Chicago Outfit and covered up crimes for dirty cops.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CROOK COUNTY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: family connection. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

31 Maalis 44min

The 1969 Manson Family killings gripped the nation for their sheer brutality and madness. But left unanswered is exactly how Charles Manson turned a group of hippies into assassins through mere persuasion. The book Helter Skelter says Manson convinced his followers of an impending race war, one they needed to be at the center of. But journalist Tom O’Neill uncovered loose connections between Manson and the head of the CIA’s secret program MK-Ultra. He says the Manson murders read less like a spree killing and more like the LSD-fueled mind control experiments the government had been perfecting.From Oscar-winner Errol Morris and Netflix comes “CHAOS: The Manson Murders.” The director of “The Thin Blue Line” and “Wormwood” returns to the subject of MK-Ultra, exploring whether it can be blamed for the famous crime spree. Was Manson really a failed musician-turned-cult leader, or did he get help from an infamous Cold War program?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CHAOS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

27 Maalis 44min

On a quiet morning, British police raid the home of Jamie Miller and arrest the 13-year-old for murder. The boy proclaims his innocence as he and his parents are put through the whirlwind of the arrest process and questioned about the crime. As investigators look for the weapon and a motive, a psychologist searches for clues into Jamie’s psyche, and what in the unassuming boy’s background might have driven him to kill.Netflix’s “Adolescence” features newcomer Owen Cooper as Jaime and veteran actor and co-writer Stephen Graham as his father. Each of the four hour-long episodes were filmed in one continuous shot, as the camera follows characters through various rooms, buildings, on car rides, and even across town through the air. The story explores large themes about growing up in the modern world, the effects of crime on the community and family members, and questions who - if anyone - is responsible for making a murderer.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ADOLESCENCE" IN THE LAST 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: hiss-demeanor. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

24 Maalis 51min