Swan Songs: Gerald Friend/"Polly"

On January 29, 1979, sixteen-year-old Brenda Spencer opened fire on ClevelandElementary School in San Diego, California, killing two school employees and woundingeight children and a police officer. W...

3 Nov 42min

Can a serial killer truly be rehabilitated, or can a clever murderer simply convince the world that he's changed?In this special episode of Once Upon a Crime, Esther welcomes back Jack Luna, host and ...

26 Okt 1h 15min

How does a free-spirited hippie become the authoritarian leader of a religious cult? And why do ordinary people remain loyal to dangerous leaders, even when faced with abuse, isolation, and fear?This ...

19 Okt 46min

Before he became the legendary—and notoriously volatile—frontman of Guns N’ Roses, Axl Rose was a troubled kid from Lafayette, Indiana, with a childhood marked by family secrets, abuse, and rebellion....

12 Okt 38min

Axl Rose, American Cults & Mexico’s ‘Reformed’ Serial Killer - Welcome to Spooky Season on Once Upon a Crime! Spooky Season has arrived on Once Upon a Crime! October is Esther’s favorite month, and t...

5 Okt 4min

Taylor Parker presented herself as a hardworking Texas country girl, a devoted girlfriend, an heiress to a family fortune—and soon, an excited mother-to-be.There was just one problem.Much of it wasn't...

28 Sep 37min

In July 2022, 17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla was behind the wheel of a car that slammed into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio, at nearly 100 miles per hour. Her boyfriend, 20-year-old Dominic “D...

21 Sep 41min

In this bonus episode, Esther shares the complete interview with journalist Annette McGivney, author of Plastic Shaman: The True Story of a Deadly Self-Help Retreat and America’s Misguided Quest for W...

18 Sep 1h