I'm Your Venus

In 2015, after being given a date rape drug, Isabel Eriksson awoke in a locked bunker in Sweeden, held captive by a mysterious doctor. Martin Trenneborg wanted to keep her as his girlfriend, subjected her to abuse, and refused to let her go. Though years have passed, Isabel has never dealt with the PTSD of the incident. But now she’s willing to confront it - on camera. The Swedish language documentary series “The Bunker” is available on the Nordic streaming service Viaplay, which is available through Amazon Prime, Roku, Xfinity X1 and other platforms. Isabel recounts her ordeal for filmmakers, goes to counseling for the first time, and experiments with exposure therapy. That includes a visit to a reconstruction of the bunker where she was held in order to process the pain she’s repressed for all these years.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE BUNKER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TWELVE MINUTES OF THE EPISODEIn Crime of the Week: hired muscle. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

3 Helmi 48min

On a cold North Dakota night in February 1999, Robbie Rahrich’s friends and fiancée waited for him to come home from his shift at a Bismarck liquor store. When they went to the House of Bottles, they discovered Robbie’s body in the backroom and money missing from the cash register. Investigators looked into who might want to target the store and have the opportunity to hold it up. They turned their attention to Shawn Helmenstein, who’d been in Bismarck at the time, but fled to Montana. From Dakota Spotlight and PorchLight Podcast Network comes “Homicide at House of Bottles.” Host James Wolner tells the story through longform narrative, observations from investigators, and an interview with the man convicted of killing Robbie Rahrich.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DAKOTA SPOTLIGHT: HOMICIDE AT HOUSE OF BOTTLES" 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.

30 Tammi 50min

In the 1940s and 50s, Dr. John Bodkin Adams grew a large practice in East Sussex caring for the elderly. But few knew that Adams was administering heroin to his wealthy patients before they slipped into comas. Many listed the doctor as executor of their estates or left him a sizable inheritance in their wills. Officials later determined the deaths of over 160 of Adams’s patients were suspicious. His 1957 prosecution for murder was dubbed the “Trial of the Century.” But was Adams killing his elderly patients for money or was he simply easing the pain of their dying days?Broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster and distributed by BBC Sounds, “Assume Nothing: A Deadly Diagnosis” is the latest installment in the investigative podcast series. Host Vinny Hurrell revisits the historical true crime case of the Northern Irish GP suspected of being a serial killer. Was Adams an angel of mercy or an angel of death?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ASSUME NOTHING: A DEADLY DIAGNOSIS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL ELEVEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Souper Bowl-less. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

27 Tammi 42min

In 1979, a teenage girl drowned while vacationing in Hawai’i. Months later, her distraught mother drove her car off a cliff with her nanny in the passenger seat. In each case, the beneficiary in their wills was Terri Lee Hoffman, the leader of a Dallas-based spiritual group. Over the next ten years, a dozen people in her orbit died by suicide or accident, including two who believed they had terminal illnesses but did not. Several left Terri their assets, and for years, family members have suspected the spiritual leader may have used her power of persuasion to cause the deaths.From Sony Music Entertainment comes “Scary Terri.” Host Jonathan Hirsch revisits the deaths and attempts to answer whether she manipulated her devotees into taking deadly action. He also tries to follow the money that disappeared when Terri claimed she was bankrupt.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SCARY TERRI" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

23 Tammi 40min

After ratting out John Gotti and leaving witness protection, Sammy “The Bull” Gravano joins his adult children in Phoenix to start over. Despite trying to go legit, his son, Gerald, is making extra money selling ecstasy at underground raves. Gerald finds himself in a turf war with English Shaun, a former British stockbroker who’s now Arizona’s biggest E dealer. As police look to disrupt the party drug trade, they’re stunned to learn the famous New York hitman is in the middle of it all.The Max Original documentary “Sons of Ecstasy” features Sammy the Bull and the whole Gravano family, plus members of the rival crew locked in a lucrative turf war over Molly. The show lets its subjects do the talking about their crimes, their beefs, and their ideas of what “loyalty” means.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SONS OF ECSTASY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: ballin'. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

20 Tammi 40min

Audiences were charmed by “Free Willy,” the 1993 movie about a captive orca returning to the wild. But when the world learned the real whale was wasting away in a Mexican amusement park, scientists and activists united in a project to re-introduce Keiko to the open ocean, just like his on-screen counterpart.NOTE: We are reviewing the entirety of The Good Whale, although some of it is still behind a payway via The New York Times. (It is being released weekly on public platforms)But learning the skills to fend for himself in the sea proved difficult for an orca who grew up in an aquarium, not in a killer whale pod. Meanwhile, as the public waited for a cinematic conclusion, disagreement grew about how best to help Keiko and whether his lifelong reliance on humans made it impossible for him to return to the ocean.From Serial Productions and The New York Times comes “The Good Whale.” Host Daniel Alarcón recounts the ambitious, multinational experiment to rewild the famous orca, as well as the scientific and ethical struggles around the effort. The series also includes a controversial creative choice: presenting Keiko’s unseen journey through the ocean in the form of a musical number.OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF "THE GOOD WHALE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

16 Tammi 44min

The Garvey sisters gather to celebrate Grace’s wedding to Ian, a man far more loving than her dead first husband, John Paul. But Roger is struggling with his guilt of helping Grace get rid of The Prick and making it look like an accident. After an unexpected turn, Eva and her sisters struggle with a pushy neighbor, an unexplained absence, and a possible blackmail scheme. As the Garveys dig themselves deeper into a hole, the Garda re-examine John Paul’s untimely death and the sisters’ connection to it.The second season of the Emmy-nominated “Bad Sisters” from Apple TV+ finds Eva, Bibi, Becka, and Ursula trying to cover up more crimes and confront their own family turmoil. The dark comedy explores how far people will go to protect the ones they love.OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF "BAD SISTERS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Can do it with my eyes closed. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

13 Tammi 44min

Jared Akron seemed to be living the perfect life: a newlywed with a new house and twins on the way. But as the due date approached, that life started to unravel. Their home was destroyed in a fire. Then, kept from the delivery room by COVID protocols, his wife Kristy texted that the babies were gravely ill. As he tried to put their lives back together, Jared realized he overlooked some red flags about the pregnancy and his social media-obsessed wife. Were the calamities  around them caused by bad luck - or by someone close to him?From iHeartMedia, Audio Up, and Just Sweep Press Productions comes the podcast “The Unborn.” Host Trisha LaFache talks with Jared and his loved ones about his tale of illusion, deception, and psychosis.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE UNBORN" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

9 Tammi 48min