Serial Season 3: Episode 1 and 2 - Our breakdown and review!

In 2018, Micah Holsonbake’s family said the 34-year-old banker went missing from Bakersfield, California. Two weeks later, a friend of Micah’s reported his 20-year-old girlfriend Baylee Despot also vanished. Just weeks after that, another friend, 38-year-old entrepreneur James Kulstad, was gunned down in a quiet neighborhood. Their families believed the fates of the three were more than a coincidence.The three were loosely connected in a world filled with drug addiction, sex trafficking, and illegal weapons. The mothers of the so-called Bakersfield 3 banded together to alert the public, keep pressure on investigators, and support each other, all while Baylee’s boyfriend publicly taunted her mom. But as new evidence turned up, the answer to what happened threatened to tear their alliance apart.From Casefile Presents comes the 15-part podcast “The Bakersfield Three.” Host Olivia LaVoice draws upon her years of covering the case as a TV reporter. Using her police sources, intimate relationships with the families, and her own story, LaVoice walks us through a mystery filled with shocking twists.  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE BAKERSFIELD THREE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: gold brick.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1 Jan 202448min

There was something for everyone on the TV in 2023. We saw documentaries that dug deep into issues of crime and punishment. There were several true stories told in real time by the people in the middle of them. But there were also shows that made us laugh…and sometimes sing.But which TV shows and documentaries truly stood out? The crime writers will reveal their lists for the Best TV of 2023. Lara's Top TenGreat Photo, Lovely LifeNavajo Police: Class 57Victim/ suspectRealityOnly Murders in the Building season 3NavalnyTelemarketersHow to Create a Sex ScandalJury dutyLast Call Toby's Top TenGreat Photo, Lovely LifeRealityShiny Happy PeopleTelemarketersLast CallSavior ComplexMurder in Big HornOnly Murders in the Building  season 3NavalnyThe Diplomat Kevin's Top TenJury DutyVictim/SuspectGreat Photo, Lovely LifeOnly Murders in the Building season 3BS HighScouts HonorStolen YouthBurden of ProofTelemarketersMurder in Big Horn Rebecca's Top TenGreat Photo, Lovely LifeJury DutyThe DiplomatShiny Happy PeopleOnly Murders in the Building season 3TelemarketersNetflix's Murdaugh Murders: A Southern ScandalNavalnyNavajo Police: Class 57Last Call For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

28 Des 20231h 3min

This year brought us podcasts that examined interesting characters - from the super famous to the terribly infamous. There were the meticulously investigated stories of people caught in a system stacked against them. And it provided us with many series told by hosts with very personal connections to the crimes they covered. But which titles truly stood out? All four crime writers present their top 10 podcasts for 2023.In Crime of the Week: A lot of nerve swerve. Lara's Top TenEarwitnessSuspect: Five Shots in the DarkThe RetrievalsBlind PleaGhost StoryThe Kids of Rutherford CountyFiasco: VigilanteVerified: Full DisclosureOverlookedAdmissible Sheds of Evidence Toby's Top TenFiasco: VigilanteYou Didn’t See Nothin’Blind PleaEarwitnessI’m Not a Monster season 2Alabama AstronautWitnessed: Devil in the DitchGhost StoryChameleon: Dr. DanteThe Retrievals Kevin's Top TenYou Didn't See NothinEarwitnessI Am Not a Monster season 2Fiasco: VigilanteWitnessed: Devil in the DitchCity of Tents: Veterans RowSuspect: Five Shots in the DarkBlind PleaThe RetrievalsOverlooked Rebecca's Top TenYou Didn't See NothinEarwitnessWitnessed: Devil in the DitchThe RetrievalsThink Twice: Michael JacksonFiasco: VigilanteGhost StoryBlind PleaDear Alana,The Dream season 3  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

25 Des 20231h 4min

International photojournalist Amanda Mustard returns home to pursue an open family secret. As her grandfather Bill Flickinger nears the end of his life, Amanda investigates the decades of sexual abuse he inflicted on his young chiropractic patients. Mustard looks at how Flickinger avoided accountability for decades and reaches out to her grandfather’s many victims. They include her mother and sister, but the effort to find forgiveness between them threatens to tear the family apart.In the raw HBO Original “Great Photo, Lovely Life,”  Mustard chronicles her family’s story, seeks to empower survivors, and confronts the fallout that facing family trauma head-on can bring. Viewers are presented with home movies, boxes of mementos, and intimate conversations aimed at disrupting a cycle of abuse, blame, and anger.OUR-SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF "GREAT PHOTO, LOVELY LIFE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

21 Des 202349min

The Troubled Teen Industry comprises the wilderness programs, therapeutic boarding schools, and group programs desperate parents turn to when their kids are struggling with mental health, substance misuse, and behavioral issues - whether real or perceived. Often, kids are escorted to these programs by so-called Goons - transport agencies hired to take kids away from home, often against their will in the dark hours before dawn. But are these Goons a last-resort tactic for families at the end of their rope or a high-ticket, legal kidnapping operation?In the podcast “Gooned,” journalist Emma Lehman details many facets of the Troubled Teen Industry, interviewing survivors, former employees, and even impersonating the parent of a teen in crisis in order to dig up dirt on what she asserts is ground zero for the emotional, physical, and psychological abuse that leads to lasting trauma for those the industry is claiming to help.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GOONED" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: ghost in the machine. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

18 Des 202347min

Amina Arraf grew a following for her blog recounting her life as an openly gay woman in Syria, a nation where homosexuality is illegal. She was revered by the queer community internationally, started an online romance, and drew attention from journalists covering the Arab Spring. Her legions of fans were shocked when Amina was arrested by the government and disappeared. But Amina’s descriptions of life under the Syrian regime didn't ring true to those in the small gay community of Damascus. As international efforts to locate and rescue Amina were underway, cracks in her story appeared.From the CBC comes the podcast “Gay Girl Gone.” Journalist Samira Mohyeddin investigates what happened to the famed blogger. The show also explores the impact on the people and political causes damaged by the whole affair. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GAY GIRL GONE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

14 Des 202340min

In 2021, police in Oregon discovered the mummified corpse of Amy Carlson. Her body had been transported and adorned by the members of her small cult “Love Has Won.” The woman they called Mother God had been emaciated and her skin had turned blue. Her followers believed Carlson was the reincarnation of Joan of Arc and Marilyn Monroe, and communed with a group of Galactics led by dead celebrities like Robin Williams and John Lennon. The cult sustained itself through online donations and selling miracle cures as new leaders annointed by Mother God sewed internal strife. Was it her very practices and beliefs that led to her failing health and eventual death?From HBO Documentary Films, the series “Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God” examines Carlson’s rise as spiritual guru and her conspiracy-laced convictions. It features interviews with her followers in the immediate days after her death, still enthralled with her dogma.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LOVE HAS WON: THE CULT OF MOTHER GOD" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: A Santa Claus bites the dust. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

11 Des 202345min

Journalist Tristan Redman had no idea his wife's great-grandmother Naomi Dancy had been shot in the eyes by her brother in a 1937 murder-suicide that happened in the house next door. He wondered if it was connected to the spooky incidents in his bedroom or claims from the new owners that it was haunted by a ghost with no face. Naomi’s husband had narrowly escaped a bullet during the crime, but modern researchers questioned whether it was he who might have killed his wife and brother-in-law. Redman wondered if the apparition was Naomi asking him to prove John “Feyther” Dancy was the real killer…an inquiry that wouldn’t sit well with Redman's in-laws.In the podcast “Ghost Story” from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios, Redman explores the life of the accomplished-yet-problematic patriarch while managing his in-laws’ misgivings. He employs historians, cold case detectives, and spiritual mediums to determine whether his long-dead neighbor was killed by her troubled war veteran brother or her braggadocious husband.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GHOST STORY" 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.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

7 Des 202349min