269: Nail Bomber: Manhunt

In May 2003, 16-year-old Martha Puebla was shot in the head on the doorstep of her Los Angeles home, days after testifying in a gangland murder trial. Police arrested 24-year-old Juan Catalan at gunpoint, alleging that he’d carried out the hit for his gangster brother Mario. Not only did Catalan not commit the crime, but he had an alibi. At the time of Puebla’s cold-blooded killing, he was at Dodger Stadium with his six-year-old daughter. Frustratingly, though, Catalan’s lawyer couldn’t find clear enough TV footage to prove it. Catalan faced death row if found guilty at trial. Even worse, the prosecuting attorney was unbeaten in murder cases and nicknamed “Sniper” because she liked to pick off defendants with the death penalty. Then came the head-spinning twist. It just so happened that an episode of the HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” was also being shot at the ballpark that night. Finding Juan in the episode was the last hope this innocent man’s life.

24 Okt 201750min

Thomas Montgomery, a 47-year-old, married factory worker was playing a game online when a beautiful 18-year-old teenager named Jessi, screen name talhotblond, texted him ‘hello.’ He was instantly hooked. In order to keep her attention, he lied and pretended to be a buff, brave 18 year old soldier, screen name marinesniper. The online romance was epic, but the fantasy blew up when the teenager found out who Montgomery really was. For revenge, she started up an online affair with one of Montgomery's co-workers, 22 year-old Brian Barrett. When Jessi pits the men against each other, the levels of desire and deceit escalate and mind games result in real-life murder. But even then, the story isn’t over and the truth about talhotblond’s is revealed.

17 Okt 201747min

In 1999, writer John Krakauer stopped at a gas station in Colorado City, AZ, a place he had never been. What he found was a town frozen in time, with women in long prairie dresses and hairstyles that rang of the 1800s. The curious sight led him on a journalistic investigation into a modern day 'prophet' named Warren Jeffs and the cult-like FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). When the investigation of Warren Jeffs sends him on the run, he winds up in the number two spot on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. The number one spot being occupied by Osama Bin Laden. The manhunt for Jeffs uncovers his 'religion's most vile atrocities including the forced marriages of underage girls, rape, and polygamy.  Fun, right? But fear not, we play a LOT of "The Book of Mormon" in this one.

3 Okt 201751min

On Sunday, July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler left the campgrounds in upstate New York where she was vacationing with her family and set off towards home on Long Island. With her were five young children: her son, her daughter, and three nieces. Four hours later, she drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway for nearly two miles – eventually crashing into an oncoming SUV, killing herself and seven others. Nine days after her deadly crash, Diane’s toxicology report revealed she had a blood-alcohol content of .19% – the equivalent of ten drinks and more than twice the legal limit – as well as a high blood level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. In sharp contrast to the toxicology report, Schuler had no known history of substance abuse or psychological problems and was generally known as a loving and stable wife and mother. In the aftermath, Diane Schuler was portrayed as a reckless drunk and a mother who cracked. But was she the monster the public made her out to be? Or the perfect wife and mother described by so many who knew her?

19 Sep 201746min

Growing up on Staten Island, filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio had often heard the legend of ‘Cropsey.’ For the kids in their neighborhood, Cropsey was the escaped mental patient who lived in the old abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution, who would come out late at night and snatch children off the streets. Later as teenagers, the filmmakers assumed Cropsey was just an urban legend. That all changed in the summer of 1987 when a 12-year-old girl disappeared from their community. The police quickly connected this disappearance to several other children who'd gone missing in the area. The hunt for the abductor would lead authorities to the real-life boogeyman living in their midst.

12 Sep 201747min

When the curtain rose on the murder trial of Pamela Smart 23 years ago, the stage was set for the birth of reality TV. Accused of plotting the 1990 murder of her husband Gregory, 22-year-old Smart was subsequently convicted in the first fully televised, gavel-to-gavel court case, which has inspired TV shows, books, plays and feature films. This documentary takes another look at everything we think we know about the case. Is it possible that Pamela had nothing do to with the murder? That her teen aged lover killed her husband in a jealous rage without Pamela's knowledge? The evidence is shockingly compelling.  Join us on this bonkers romp through one of the most thought provoking true crime documentaries we've ever seen.

5 Sep 201740min

An amateur documentary filmmaker named Thierry is on a mission to track down and film the elusive and anonymous street artist named Banksy. When Thierry finds him, Banksy turns the camera on the filmmaker and hilarity, mystery, shenanigans, and some pretty frikking impressive art ensue. BUT SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS, ARE WE BEING PUNKED? Is the whole thing an elaborate piece of performance art? Is it real? And WHO is Banksy?  We have lots of thoughts and opinions. We're flipping tables and taking the bait. Join us!

29 Aug 201747min

A bunch of altruistic hot people join a cult in 1980s West Hollywood, what could possibly go wrong? Using footage shot by the cult's (known as The Buddahfield) in-house documentarian, we follow these lovable gorgeous weirdos as they slowly become disenchanted by their 'master' 'lord' 'leader' 'prophet' who claims to have a direct line to God. It all, inevitably, falls apart. Lives are ruined, faiths are shaken, and fruit salads are painstakingly made.

23 Aug 201745min