Atlanta Monster gets our review! And Dirty John gets the prime time treatment!

It’s 2019 and the Crime Writers resolve to bring it in the new year.The panel clicks its way through "Bandersnatch," Netflix’s hot interactive TV show. Toby thinks it meshes gimmick with good story, Kevin likes its meta themes, and Lara is still trying to figure out her Roku. Meanwhile, Rebecca finally finishes her summer reading.The Crime Writers catch the 4:20 to “Murder Mountain,” the new Netflix doc about the outlaw California region where black market marijuana is cultivated. Does the six-part series effectively weave the story of an unsolved(?) murder with its look at the past and future of the region now that legalization has uprooted the industry?TO HEAR THE SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "MURDER MOUNTAIN" GO TO 59:22.Then in Crime of the Week: And to all a good fight. 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 Jan 20191h 11min

Is it an early Christmas present, or a justified lawsuit? We weigh in on the news that one of the maybe-corrupt law enforcement officers featured in Making A Murderer has filed suit against Netflix and the filmmakers. Plus, one of the Bundy clan is walking away from the movement we heard about in the excellent podcast Bundyville. Why? The answer might surprise you.And yes, a much-maligned podcast gets a follow up as we break down what we heard in the new trailer for Monster: The Zodiac Killer.Then, in our main event review, we break down and review the latest entry from Netflix in the true crime documentary genre. It’s called The Innocent Man, and it’s based on a book from an author better known for campy courtroom novels. Do we love it? Find out!TO HEAR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF THE INNOCENT MAN, FAST-FORWARD TO 1:01:33.  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.

24 Des 20181h 14min

OH SNAP! Rebecca describes her misadventure in the woods. We make an announcement about PodX. In true crime update, Curtis Flowers's defense hopes to turn the tables on Doug Evans.We review Cold, the new podcast from KSL examining the Susan Powell case. A thorough examination of the lives of the Powells through recovered computer files, audio diaries, videotape, and dramatic readings, we ask how much is too much?TO HEAR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF COLD, FAST-FORWARD TO 32:58.We look back 2018 with our recommendations of the best things to watch, read, and listen to. What's everyone's pick for the best podcast of the year?Rebecca's picks:The Word is Murder by Anthony HorowitzTom Bouman’s Dry Bones In The ValleyTV series Scott and BaileyThe CB Strike series by Robert Galbraith AKA the unknown author JK rowlingThe Faroe Island series by Chris OuldThis crazy ass season of Law and Order SVUThe Logan McRae series by Stuart McBrideGetting Curious podcast by Jonathan Van NessThe Will Trent series by Karin Slaughter Kevin's picksThe documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor?The Marvelous Mrs Maisel on Amazon PrimeCrazy Ex-Girlfriend on the CWThe Most Perfect Album from the More Perfect podcastThe podcast Bag Man from MSNBCThe Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler Lara's picksThe Marvelous Ms. Maisel Season 2 is now available!Wild Thing, podcast about Big Foot BelieversFrom Katherine Howe, the upcoming The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs.Bear Brook from NHPRJack Ryan on Amazon Prime Toby's picksFever Dream by Samanta SchweblinThe Wake by Paul KingsnorthDecoder Ring episode The Incunabula PapersThe TV show Babylon BerlinA Legacy of Spies by John LeCarreThe movie The Witch Then in Crime of the Week: Viva Nun Vegas! 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.

17 Des 20181h 22min

IRL Rebecca renders a verdict...and gets to check something off her bucket list. There's a true crime update out of Australia with an arrest in the Teacher's Pet case. Should we reconsider the quality of a podcast story poorly told, yet effective at solving the crime?HBO brings us to tears with The Sentence, a look at one woman's 15-year mandatory-minimum sentence and its effects on her young children. Can a documentary about a single family speak to a larger institutional issue?TO HERE OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "THE SENTENCE" GO TO 33:01.Then Dan Taberski returns with Headlong: Surviving Y2K. This look at global disaster averted weaves stories about eager doomsday preppers, bank robbers, dissident journalists, mothers in labor, and Taberski's own story of coming out to his wife. Let's party like it's 1999.TO HEAR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "SURVIVING Y2K" GO TO 1:11:53.Then in Crime of the Week: there arose such a clatter. 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.

10 Des 20181h 28min

Good news/bad news in our true crime podcast updates. He’s podcasting’s second most-famous inmate. Now someone is leaving Ear Hustle…for a great reason. Also, a return trip to Winona by Madeline Baron and In the Dark gins up more CWO anger. Was that recent fire a coincidence or payback for supporting Curtis Flowers?A microchip has solved the mystery of the stray cat taken in by Lara. Seems she soon after had an awkward conversation with a neighbor.Bravo’s Dirty John is the first true crime podcast to get a scripted TV adaptation. How well is the Connie Britton/Eric Bana-led show telling the story? And does it matter if we already know how it ends?Then we take a longer look at USA Today’s ten-part series The City. It’s a giant heap of garbage…we mean, the story is about a giant heap of garbage which turns up overnight in a depressed Chicago neighborhood. Does the examination of city politics, corruption, and environmental racism adequately fill the time the podcast’s been given?FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "THE CITY," FAST-FORWARD TO 57:34.Then in crime of the week: that didn’t last long. 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.

3 Des 20181h 11min

Serial wraps up season 3 with more from Joshua behind bars (should the whole season have been him?). We leave some notes in the suggestion box for Sarah Koenig about how S3 could have pulled together the many themes touched on: overcharging, racial inequality, police misconduct, and the indifference to improving the system.Then we binge Amazon Prime's "Homecoming," the first major TV adaptation of a hit podcast. It has its own visual and musical style and a plot that suddenly veers from the source material. Is there enough different about the TV series to keep fans of the podcast engaged?TO HEAR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "HOMECOMING" FAST-FORWARD TO 1:09:34.Then in crime of the week: doughnut make my brown eyes blue?  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.

19 Nov 20181h 24min

Sarah Koenig talking to a man behind bars who got done-wrong by the system. Wait, what season of Serial is this? We're talking about "A Madman's Vacation" with its revealing look at the Cleveland juvenile justice system.Then we talk about the powerful series from Michigan Radio and NPR, "Believed." This podcast takes a hard look at the crimes of gymnastics trainer Larry Nassar who was convicted of sexually assaulting more than 200 girls. Believed tells the tale through the stories of his victims and tries to examine how Nassar got away with it for so long. And our CWO discussion gets personal.NOTE: THIS PART OF OUR DISCUSSION MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME LISTENERS. TO SKIP PAST IT, OR JUST STAY SPOILER-FREE, FAST-FORWARD TO THE 1:06:11 MARK.Then in crime of the week: the spirit within her. 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.

12 Nov 20181h 22min

Killers or conspiracy? Justice or just desserts?We dedicate our entire episode to the much-awaited sequel to 2016's breakout hit and cultural phenomenon: Netflix's Making a Murderer 2. Our review takes two paths. First the panel discusses the Brendan Dassey story line. Did it capture the drama of his reversed reversal of fortune? Then on to the tale of Steven Avery's attorney Kathrine Zellner. Does her investigation create more doubt about Avery's conviction? Or is it more of (a different kind of) the same.WE ARE DOING ALL THE SPOILERS, SO TO STAY SPOILER-FREE JUMP TO 1:07:26.In crime of the week: pooper star! 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.

5 Nov 20181h 22min