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

Ex-spy Matt Marshall makes a stunning accusation: billionaire Mike Goguen has been trafficking women to his Montana safehouse, paying them for sex, and bribing law enforcement to get away with it. Matt said he knew this because he’d been Mike’s right-hand man for years. The rich philanthropist had a secret life of paying millions of dollars to strippers and harboring his own fantasies of saving the world. Was the billionaire with a superhero complex actually a super villain? And could the former CIA operative be trusted?In season two of “Cover Story: Seed Money” from New York magazine and Vox, host Hanna Rosin and investigator Ken Silverstein interview both Mike and Matt and try to make sense of the accusations, lawsuits, and criminal charges in the case. How did two best friends find themselves in a world of sex, money and international intrigue…and what can the reporters believe of a story in which they know everyone has lied to them?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "COVER STORY: SEED MONEY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 7 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.

22 Dec 202243min

Steve Banerjee kept failing in his bid to create an upscale club in Los Angeles. His luck changed when he turned the strip club model on its head, creating the all-male dance review for women known as Chippendales. His new choreographer Nick De Noia elevated Chippendales with polished showmanship. But as the dance troupe attracted national attention, Nick vied for credit and control of the operation. Filled with resentment and jealousy, Steve set in motion a plan to get rid of his rival.Hulu’s “Welcome to Chippendales” stars Oscar nominee Kumail Nanjiani and Emmy winner Murray Bartlett. The drama shows how one man’s American dream turned into a murderous nightmare. The limited series tells the behind-the-scenes tale of greed, murder…and lots of sex.  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: hot dog. 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 Dec 202241min

Joe Francis made a fortune on a simple concept: get drunken women to flash the camera for his direct-to-DVD series “Girls Gone Wild.” When the filming stopped the debauchery continued, as Francis allegedly coerced sex from the women…some of whom were underaged.  Local authorities wanted to protect the victims and put a stop to the filming. Francis remained defiant, until the night an armed man broke into his Bel-Air home to give him a taste of his own medicine.In the five-part podcast “Infamous: Boy Gone Wild,”* host Vanessa Grigoriadis recounts her early days covering the show for Rolling Stone and the legal troubles Francis would later find himself in. It’s part profile of a vile libertine and part commentary on what constitutes exploitation.*Note: The title of this series has also been listed as "Infamous: Girls Gone Wild."OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "INFAMOUS: GIRLS GONE WILD" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 7 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.

15 Dec 202238min

A new set of wealthy guests have checked into The White Lotus in Sicily, each with their own kind of baggage. They include Dominic Di Grasso, with his father Bert and son Albie, who’ve come to seek their Italian relatives. Cameron & Daphne and Ethan & Harper are on a couples vacation. But recently having come into money, Harper is suspicious of her husband’s old college roommate. And returning is quirky heiress Tanya McQuoid, accompanied by her husband and her new assistant he’s not supposed to know she dragged along.Winner of ten Emmy awards, “The White Lotus” returns to HBO for a second season. Set in a Mediterranean paradise, the hotel staff attempts to cater to the needs of their guests who are slowly coming undone. This character study asks the questions whose relationships will survive, what it means to be a modern man, what happiness can money buy, and which of those guests was found dead in the water at the end of their vacation?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE WHITE LOTUS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: kick in the pants.  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 Dec 202246min

Facing federal charges that included establishing a sex cult and branding his female followers, NXIVM leader Keith Raniere prepares for trial. Meanwhile his second-in-command, Nancy Salzman, breaks her silence to say she didn’t know the darker things happening within the organization. Prosecutors lay out a strong case of racketeering and trafficking against Raniere. His attorney and his remaining followers proclaim Raniere’s innocence, saying life in NXIVM is not the cult portrayed in the media.HBO’s “The Vow, Part Two” picks up the story as Raniere’s trial begins. The focus moves away from his disaffected followers and reveals new details about the crimes and victims of the DOS program. Its sweeping access includes a comprehensive profile of Salzman as she awaited sentencing for racketeering.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE VOW, PART TWO" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 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.

8 Dec 202240min

After a childhood of secrecy and sudden relocations, reporter Pauline Dakin’s mother finally revealed the reasons behind their family’s chaotic upbringing. Unbeknownst to the children, they’d been living in hiding from their father, a powerful figure in organized crime. The Dakins had been protected for years by Stan, a family friend and federal agent posing as a preacher. Now an adult, Pauline is made aware of the ever-present dangers posed by the gangsters. But as the situation grew increasingly complex, she learns the truth is darker than she thought.The CBC podcast “Run, Hide, Repeat” is based on Dakin’s memoir of her fugitive childhood. In the five-part series, she confronts the family secrets and deceptions that followed her her whole life. She attempts to answer the question “what was our time in witness protection really about”?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "RUN, HIDE, REPEAT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: big cheese.   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 Dec 202239min

Between 1986 and 1991, the remains of four missing women were discovered in the same field in League City, Texas. Authorities couldn’t rule out the deaths were connected to a string of 30 murders outside of Houston since the 70s. Then another string of disappearances began in the mid-90s. Were all of these crimes linked in some way? And what is their connection to that secluded plot of land on Calder Road?Season three of “Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields” looks at the long history of murder along the interstate 45 corridor. The Netflix series introduces us to those closely affected by the unsolved crimes and zeroes-in on the main suspects.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE TEXAS KILLING FIELDS" 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.

1 Dec 202244min

Sheriff Alex Villanueva won office in 2018 campaigning as a reformer who’ll clean up the scandal-plagued L.A. County Sheriff's Department. After criticism he was doing the opposite, Villanueva doubled down on his efforts to abuse his power, vilify the press, and investigate his rivals.“Imperfect Paradise: The Sheriff” from LAist Studios examines the controversial head of one of the nation’s largest law enforcement agencies. Host Frank Stoltze interviews Villanueva and talks to his critics to learn how he wields his power, going from a progressive sheriff’s candidate to a right-wing media darling.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "IMPERFECT PARADISE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: beef hot dog beef. 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 Nov 202244min