Episode 368: Zahra Baker

When a woman made the life-changing decision to anonymously donate her kidney, she did it out of pure compassion for a total stranger. But what happens when that stranger doesn’t stay anonymous? When the recipient of your organ begins threatening your safety, and turning your act of selflessness into a nightmare? In episode  358, Jac and Lex delve into the harrowing story of one woman’s gift, and how it came back to haunt her. In a legal system unprepared for a case like this, she found herself caught in a web of fear, confusion, and emotional devastation. What do you do when the lines between medical ethics, personal safety, and criminal law blur? When the very act that saved someone’s life puts your own in danger? And in the end… could she ever make it stop? 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2 Juli 202542min

You’ve been asking us to deep dive The Yellow Deli (and the Twelve Tribes cult) for months now, and the day has finally come.  We’re diving into their “communal living” and “child discipline”, bizarre Sabbath gatherings, and disgusting beliefs.  Don’t be fooled by the friendly workers and delicious sandwiches…the Yellow Deli is a CULT.  Also, we touch on Shiloh Hill and the dark web blood cowboy boots and the latest headlines of the week. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

26 Juni 202550min

On February 25, 1999, a 24-year-old environmental and Indigenous rights activist and two Native American advocates disappear from Arauca, Colombia, after meeting with local U’Wa people. The U’Wa’s lives and lands are under direct threat from multinational oil extraction, and the activists are there to help facilitate protection of the tribes’ indigenous sovereignty and environment. A week later, their bodies are found near a river, shot to death. And so the long and complicated battle begins for their loved ones to find answers and have the killers held accountable in the midst of political instability and armed conflict. In episode 357, Jac and Alexis detail the heartbreaking case of Terence Freitas, Ingrid Washinawatok, and Lahe’ena’e Gay, and Indigenous communities’ fight against the complex and nuanced geopolitical backdrop of the threat of extractive industries on both fragile ecosystems and their custodians’ very way of life. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

25 Juni 202555min

Everyone seems to be crashing out this week, and we are here to cover it all for you! R Kelly’s “alleged” murder attempt in jail, Kanye showing up at Diddy’s trial, Trace Cyrus’ wilddddd accusations against Brenda Song, Justin Bieber posting his personal conversations on IG, and of course the latest insanity with Blake vs Justin. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

19 Juni 202549min

On November 13th of 2021, two young women, aged 26 and 24, head out for a night on the town that finishes up near Beverly Hills, California. They dance the night away at a warehouse party into the wee hours. But come daybreak, the friends - one a successful model, the other an aspiring architect - haven’t made it home. By the end of the day, the women are located separately but in highly disturbing circumstances, each abandoned outside LA hospitals by unknown individuals, suffering the effects of a suspected drug overdose. In the aftermath of the young women’s tragic passing, questions turn to who they were with the night before. When the truth emerges, it’s everyone’s worst nightmare. In episode 356, Jac and Alexis speak with former L.A. prosecutor Joshua Ritter, and detail the shocking murders committed at the hands of David Pearce, and the fact he could possibly have been stopped if only women felt they would be believed in reporting violent crimes against them. Subscribe here to Joshua Ritter’s youtube series, Courtroom Confidential 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Juni 20251h 8min

There’s a lotttt that happened last week and we’re covering it all: JP Miller (the creepy abusive pastor) married his mistress just a year after his wife mysteriously took her own life, Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit was dismissed (but is it really what it seems??? We’re breaking it down for you), new info leaning towards Ocean Gate being a suicide mission, and of course the latest Diddy updates.  🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12 Juni 202546min

Over a span of 39 years, at least 14 aliases, 17 arrests, and nearly a dozen imprisonments, Robert Spears had lived a con artists' life of unparalleled adventure and intrigue. His crimes culminated in an ultimate act of evil, when he downed a crowded aircraft to fake his own death. This is a tale of one man who became obsessed with this story and the dichotomy of the man at the center of it.   Get Jerry Jamison’s new true crime book Vanishing Act: A Crashed Airliner, Faked Death, and Backroom Abortions everywhere books are sold. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 Juni 202555min

It’s part two of our Diddy trial coverage, and this week we FINALLY learn wow and why the infamous tape from The Intercontinental hotel was covered up for so long (hint: $100k). We go through the rest of the highlights from this week in trial, plus Blake drops her emotional distress claims against Justin Baldoni, and Celine Dion has a satanic children’s clothing line??? 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

5 Juni 202548min