Alligator Candy and Day X

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

Mommy-influencer Katie Sorensen went viral with a story of a couple who attempted to kidnap her kids in a craft store. When Sadie and Eddie Martinez saw their photos in the news, they knew they’d been racially profiled and falsely accused in the latest so-called “Karen” incident.As it became clear Katie had exaggerated the event, police charged her with filing false reports. The criminal case turned into a litmus test on the online phenomenon of white women accusing people of color of criminal behavior for innocuous things. Did she make up the story to get clicks, or did other factors contribute to her allegation?In a short series from LAist Studios, “Imperfect Paradise: People vs. Karen” looks into the backlash against one white woman’s incrimination and the people who fought back against the racism and social media shaming. Reporter Emily Guerin also examines other things in the zeitgeist that may have led to her thinking her children were at risk.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "IMPERFECT PARADISE: PEOPLE VS. KAREN" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Airing of the Grievances. 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.

4 Des 202344min

Screenwriter Gary DeVore vanished in 1997 driving through the Mojave Desert. He’d been writing an action film with input from CIA agent Chase Brandon. His wife Wendy wondered whether Gary's disappearance and his missing script were linked to the CIA and whether authorities were trying to scuttle the case. And even when his body and SUV were discovered a year later in the California Aqueduct, she still was convinced things didn’t add up.The newest season of “Witnessed: Fade to Black” looks into the conspiracy theories around the famous case and explores the CIA’s very real Hollywood influence efforts. Host Josh Dean tries to pull apart fact from fiction, with new reporting on whether Gary’s death was a high-stakes assassination or a simple accident.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WITNESSED: FADE TO BLACK" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: flying horses couldn't drag me away. 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.

27 Nov 202350min

A fight among children caught on video led to the arrest of eleven Black students, charged for not stopping the fight. Kids as young as 8 were cuffed and booked into jail, even though Tennessee law says juveniles can’t be detained for minor infractions. Two attorneys were shocked to learn that over a decade officials in Rutherford County arrested hundreds of children for small violations and left them in jail cells for days. The police, the prosecutors, and the detention center all ignored the case law for one reason: the juvenile court judge told them to.From Serial Productions and The New York Times comes “The Kids of Rutherford County.” Host Meribah Knight looks at a massive civil rights violation, reveals how it came to be, and follows the two juvenile delinquents-turned-lawyers who try to do something about it.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE KIDS OF RUTHERFORD COUNTY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: faked Alaska. 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.

20 Nov 202351min

In 2014, Catherine Hoggle returned home without her three- and two-year old children. Though their bodies have never been recovered, Hoggle was placed in a psychiatric facility to treat her mental illness and restore her competency for trial. But Maryland law states if a defendant is still deemed incompetent after five years, their charges will be dropped. With the deadline approaching, both prosecutors and the children’s father accuse Hoggle of faking it, trying to run out the clock and avoid prison.In the podcast “Unrestorable,” journalists Sarah Treleaven and Beth Karas examine the balance between a father’s quest for justice and the rights of the mentally ill in the justice system. Meanwhile, one key question that overshadows this case: Can you really fake being incompetent and get away with murder? OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNRESTORABLE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTE 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.

16 Nov 202345min

In 1995, Deputy Sheriff William Hardy was shot while moonlighting at a Birmingham hotel. An informant told police the shooter was Toforest Johnson. Even though ten people saw him in a nightclub at the time of the crime, detectives believed they had their man. But after Yolanda Chambers’s statements were discredited, prosecutors turned to Violet Ellison who said she overheard Johnson confess on a three-way phone call. Years later, even the prosecutor has doubts about the so-called “earwitness” and whether Johnson should be on Alabama’s death row.From the producers of “Bone Valley” comes “Earwitness.” Host Beth Shelburne picks apart the original investigation, police conduct, and the credibility of the key witness. What does it say when even the people who put an innocent man on death row can’t get the justice system to right a wrong?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "EARWITNESS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: It's a small turd after all. 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.

13 Nov 202345min

In 2005, Kevin Jones discovered his girlfriend bludgeoned to death in her Russellville, Arkansas apartment. Police zeroed in on Jones, thinking the murder of former beauty queen Nona Dirksmeyer was an open-and-shut case. Despite a strong alibi and critical evidence pointing to an unknown assailant, prosecutors would not alter their theory of the case. And years after a jury would decide Jones’s fate - and DNA from the scene was linked to Nona’s violent neighbor - many would not change their minds about what happened in apartment 12.From Dateline NBC comes their latest podcast, “Murder in Apartment 12.” Host Keith Morrison looks back at his two decades of covering the case. While still employing his famous droll delivery style, this Dateline mystery does not get wrapped up in a bow at the end.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDER IN APARTMENT 12" 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.

9 Nov 202345min