The Puppet Master

The Cliftons have not seen their mother in years. She ran off with David, the boyfriend who controlled her money and her life. What’s his connection to Rob, a supposed MI-5 agent who in 1996 took a trio of college kids into hiding, claiming they’d been targeted by IRA assassins?

From Netflix, “The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Con Man” looks back at the exploits of Robert Freegard - accused of controlling, conning, and fleecing several women. Told largely by his victims, the docuseries also looks at the present day and asks whether he’s up to his old tricks.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE PUPPET MASTER," GO TO MINUTE 34:00

In Crime of the Week: a clean getaway.

Dig Deeper: The Disappearance of Birgit Meier

In 1989, as she was preparing to divorce her husband, Birgit Meier vanished from her home in Lüneburg, Germany.  Detectives began to focus on the neighbor’s gardener, a man with a violent past and a secret room filled with instruments of torture and kidnapping. The Netflix German import “Dig Deeper: The Disappearance of Birgit Meier” follows a group of experts as they attempt to do what police have refused to - name the killer and find Birgit's body.  

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "DIG DEEPER" GO TO MINUTE 46:00

Families Who Kill: The Donut Shop Murders

In 1971, Sherman McCrary and his son-in-law Carl Taylor went on a multistate spree of robberies, killing and raping doughnut shop employees along the way. “Families Who Kill: The Donut Shop Murders" examines their murderous run. Featuring commentary from police, professors, and other podcasters, the show also profiles a felonious family from the 1800s.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "FAMILIES WHO KILL: THE DONUT SHOP MURDERS" GO TO MINUTE 37:00

In Crime of the Week: ...and the Joker got away, hey!

Strangeland

In 2003, Charis Song was killed execution-style in her Koreatown apartment, along with her nanny and two-year-old son. Years later, a DNA sample from a former neighbor matched a latex glove from the crime scene. The podcast "Strangeland" from Western Sound revisits the Miracle Mile Murders and asks how much of the investigation was colored by cultural misunderstandings.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "STRANGELAND" GO TO MINUTE 42:00

Yellowjackets 🐝

In 1996, an airplane carrying a high school girls soccer team crashed in the wilderness. The few who returned home kept quiet about how they survived 19 months alone in the woods. In Showtime's feminist-powered horror-mystery series "Yellowjackets," an aspiring politician, a bored housewife, a recovering drug addict, and an unstable nurse find themselves being blackmailed for their untold story of strange symbols, supernatural premonitions, tribal warfare, and teenage drama.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "YELLOWJACKETS," GO TO MINUTE 36.

In Crime of the Week: hot dogg.

The Slow Hustle

After Baltimore homicide detective Sean Suiter was shot with his own gun in an alley, it was revealed he was about to testify before a grand jury about a group of dirty cops. The department determined the evidence pointed to the headshot being self-inflicted…but was it actually a hit to keep Suiter quiet?  The HBO Max documentary “The Slow Hustle” examines the controversial investigation. 

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE SLOW HUSTLE" GO TO 35:00

In True Crime Update: a court settlement against a Baltimore homicide detective may have an impact on the Adnan Syed case. 

Hooked

Tony Hathoway pulled off 30 hold-ups in the Seattle area in one year. But how did he go from being a successful aviation engineer to a prolific bank robber? His addiction to oxycontin. The Campside Media podcast “Hooked” is part crime memoir - part case study into the opioid crisis.

FOR OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF "HOOKED" GO TO MINUTE 35:30

In True Crime Update: a lawsuit in the case of Emanuel Fair from "Suspect."

In Crime of the Week: Barbie Crime House.

Lost Hills: Dead in the Water

In 1981, Fred Roehler’s family was anchored on their luxury yacht when he convinced his wife and stepson to venture on a dory to nearby Bird Rock. Roehler said the family dog lunged and swamped the boat, sending the trio into the water. At first the deaths of Verna and Doug were ruled accidental. Police wanted to know more about the strange incident at sea…and more about what happened to Roehler’s first wife.

In season two of “Lost Hills: Dead in the Water,” host Dana Goodyear tells a story of swingers, money, and the Malibu vibe of the 1970s. It also re-examines the question of whether the deaths were a cold-water accident or a cold-blooded murder. 

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "LOST HILLS: DEAD IN THE WATER" GO TO MINUTE 48:00

We dig into "Landscapers"

On the first episode of CWO's new release schedule, the panel looks at HBO Max series "Landscapers." A mild-mannered British couple come to the attention of police after a pair of bodies are found buried in a garden. Oscar-winner Olivia Colman and David Thewlis star in this dramatized version of the domestic crime that shocked England.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LANDSCAPERS" GO TO MINUTE 41:00

In Crime of the Week: shocking developments.

Best of 2021 review!

It's an all thumbs-up way-up episode! The crime writers each give their top 10 lists for the best podcasts of 2021. 

In Crime of the Week: prattle royale.

Toby’s top 10 list

1. Fault Line: Dying for a Fight

2. I’m Not a Monster

3. Carrie Low VS

4. 9/12

5. Suspect

6. Do You Know Mordecai?

7. Believe her

8. Stolen: The Search for Jermain

9. Through the Cracks

10. The Apology Line

Lara’s top 10 list

1. I Am Not a Monster

2. Suspect

3. 9/12

4. Carrie Low VS

5. Believe Her

6. Murdaugh Murders

7. Do You Know Mordechai?

8. Welcome to Your Fantasy

9. Mississippi Goddam

10. The Line

Kevin’s top 10 list

1. Believe Her

2. Suspect

3. I'm Not a Monster

4. The Trials of Frank Carson

5. Do you know Mordechai?

6. Carrie Low VS

7. The Line

8. The Apology Line

9. 9 / 12

10. Welcome to your Fantasy

Rebecca’s top 10 list

1. Suspect

2. Believe Her

3. Do You Know Mordechai?

4. Through the Cracks

5. Carrie Low VS

6. I’m Not A Monster

7. The Line

8. Suave

9. 9/12

10. Stolen: The Search for Jermain

Black and Missing & Hemingway's Picasso

 An aging drug runner passes his most prized possession to his son: a work created by an immortal artist owned by an immortal author. But is it real?  In “Hemingway’s Picasso” from Somethin’ Else, host Leah Carroll takes us through Steve Kough’s swashbuckling life and its effects on his family. It also attempts to learn once and for all if the painted ceramic is a masterpiece…or the work of someone else.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "HEMINGWAY'S PISCASSO" GO TO MINUTE 24:00

The HBO Max four-part series “Black and Missing” takes a deep dive into the particular challenges to finding victims of color who’ve vanished - focusing on societal issues, policing, and publicity. It also tells riveting stories of missing persons cases - some with satisfying resolutions and some unsolved.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BLACK AND MISSING" GO TO MINUTE 1:04:00

In Crime of the Week: in cold blood.

Sweet Bobby and Fruitcake Fraud

A British DJ spent years in an online romance with a man she never met - but who was he? The podcast "Sweet Bobby" from Tortoise Media explores a complicated catfishing scheme and the motivations behind it.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "SWEET BOBBY" GO TO THE 34th MINUTE.

Collins Street Bakery was the most successful fruitcake baker in the world. So why was the company losing millions of dollars? "Fruitcake Fraud" from Discovery+ digs into a holiday-themed white collar crime.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "FRUITCAKE FRAUD" GO TO THE 61st MINUTE.

In Crime of the Week: psy-cat-pathic.

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The Thing About Helen & Olga and The Curse of Von Dutch

Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt were two seniors who helped the homeless in Los Angeles, but authorities became suspicious of their philanthropy after one of the men had been run over in an alley. Host Keith Morrison brings his unique style of self-aware cheesiness to “The Thing About Helen & Olga,” mined from the archives of Dateline NBC.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE THING ABOUT HELEN & OLGA" GO TO MINUTE 27:26

A collaboration between street toughs and a pop artist created Von Dutch, a clothing brand of rough denim, tight t-shirts, and trucker hats. As new business-savvy managers worked to force out the streetwise founders, bad feelings emerged. Hulu's three part "The Curse of Von Dutch: A Brand to Die For" shows in the world of high-priced fashion, things can get cutthroat.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE CURSE OF VON DUTCH" GO TO MINUTE 1:03:00

In Crime of the Week: I'll be home for Christmas. 

Believe Her and The Shrink Next Door

In True Crime Update: the latest on the murder of the rape defendant from "Carrie Low VS."

In 2017 Nikki Addimando shot her partner after a violent confrontation. Officials viewed her years of abuse not as a self-defense justification, but as her plan to commit murder. In Lemonada's podcast “Believe Her” host Justine van der Leun sheds light on a part of our justice system in which survival is criminalized.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BELIEVE HER" GO TO MINUTE 34:30

A man seeks out a psychiatrist to help him with his life...so the doctor takes over every aspect of it. Will Farrell and Paul Rudd star in the dramedy “The Shrink Next Door,” adapted by Apple TV+ from the hit podcast.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE SHRINK NEXT DOOR" GO TO MINUTE 1:06:00

In Crime of the Week: all you can't eat.

Carrie Low VS and The Raincoat Killer

The panel starts with a True Crime Update about those bones found in the NH mountains that are not associated with a famous cold case.

In 2003, police in Seoul were stumped by a serial killer who targeted elderly wealthy victims in their homes, then pivoted to dismembering sex workers. In the Netflix documentary “The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea,” detectives, profilers, and crime techs recall the case that shocked a nation which believed serial killers were limited to the West.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "THE RAINCOAT KILLER" GO TO MINUTE 29:30

After being drugged and raped, Carrie Low sought help from police in Halifax, but officers failed to retrieve evidence, examine the crime scene, or follow many of their own procedures. She believed police had not just bungled her case; she suspected they were willfully ignoring it.  The CBC podcast “Carrie Low VS” follows her search for justice against her assailants and the police department.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CARRIE LOW VS" GO TO MINUTE 1:09:30

In Crime of the Week: tracks of my tears. 

Found and American Vigilante

In the podcast "American Vigilante" a British journalist interviews a mercenary who travels the world to rescue children, capture fugitives, and avenge the innocent. But are his testosterone-fueled tales true? 

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "AMERICAN VIGILANTE" GO TO MINUTE 27:55

Using DNA tests, three girls adopted from China learn they're cousins. In "Found" from Netflix, they enlist the help of a Beijing researcher to find the birth parents who abandoned them because of the country's one-child Policy.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "FOUND" GO TO MINUTE 1:02:00

In Crime of the Week: the fish are biting. 

Mississippi Goddam and What Happened, Brittney Murphy?

In 2008, high school football star Billey Joe Johnson was pulled over for speeding in Lucedale, Mississippi. Moments later, the officer radioed that the Black teen had killed himself with a shotgun. “Mississippi Goddam: The Ballad of Billey Joe” is an eight-part series of PRX's "Reveal" podcast. Host Al Letson pokes at the conclusion the teen’s death was an accident.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MISSISSIPPI GODDAM" GO TO MINUTE 27.

The sudden death in 2009 of a rising star shocked Hollywood. The HBO Max two-part series “What Happened, Brittney Murphy?” recalls the actor’s Hollywood climb and subsequent fatal backslide during her marriage to a gold-digging Svengali.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WHAT HAPPENED, BRITTNEY MURPHY?" GO TO MINUTE 61.

In Crime of the Week: Don't be cruel.

Dr. Death 3 and Wild Crime

In season 3 of "Dr. Death," a news producer falls in love with a surgeon on the cutting edge of regenerative medicine. But dogged by questions about his research and his promises of a romantic life together, his con soon unravels. 

FOR OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF "DR. DEATH: MEDICINE MAN," GO TO 30:00

In "Wild Crime," National Park Service investigators look at the death of a woman who plunged from a mountain side. Did Toni Henthorn fall...or was she pushed by her husband, Harold?

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WILD CRIME," GO TO 1:01:52

In Crime of the Week: seeing Red (number 3).

Murdaugh Murders and The Way Down

Gwen Shamblin earned fame and fortune with a diet program heavy on religious devotion. The HBO Max series "The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin" shows when her religious dogma veered away from mainstream Christianity, her church took on the trappings of a cult.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE WAY DOWN" GO TO 34:30

They were a powerful name in South Carolina’s legal community. But after the double slaying of two family members, new scrutiny was paid to the Murdaughs’ past involvement in a series of deaths. "Murdaugh Murders" explores in real time the fast breaking story of homicide, obstruction, fraud, and influence in the Lowcountry. 

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDAUGH MURDERS" GO TO 1:11:40

In Crime of the Week: tough day at The Office.

Britney Vs Spears and Fault Line

For years one of the world’s biggest pop stars was held captive to a conservatorship which controlled her money and her life. The Netflix documentary “Britney Vs Spears” reveals the undisclosed legal documents which trace how the singer’s father and a gaggle of lawyers leveraged the system to restrict her agency and make themselves rich.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BRITNEY VS SPEARS" GO TO 29:00

In October 2019, two men in a car ran over antifa protestor Sean Kealiher in Portland before fleeing. The podcast “Fault Line: Dying for a Fight” asks whether police won't solve the case because of the victim's left-wing, anti-law enforcement views.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "FAULT LINE" GO TO 1:07:00

In crime of the week: captivating review.