Liar Liar

Since financial advisor Melissa Caddick walked out of her house in 2020, authorities have been unable to determine whether she vanished with the millions from her Ponzi scheme, was snatched by a ripped-off investor, or threw herself into the sea from the high cliffs near her luxury home. The podcast “Liar, Liar: Melissa Caddick and the Missing Millions” is a joint investigation between the Sydney Morning Journal and 60 Minutes Australia. Journalists Kate McClymont and Tom Steinfort seek to finally answer what happened to Caddick and the con artist’s ill-gotten fortune.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "LIAR LIAR" BEGINS AROUND MINUTE 37:00

Ozark series finale

With drug lord Omar Navarro in prison and his hot-head nephew Javi in charge, Marty and Wendy Byrde’s plan to get out from under the drug cartel’s control is in freefall. Meanwhile, Ruth makes a play for the casino - key to the money laundering operation Marty needs to fulfill his debt and secure a deal with the FBI. Jason Bateman and Julia Garner return for the final season of Netflix’s award-winning “Ozark.”

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "OZARK" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 44:00

In Crime of the Week: why don't you grow a pair?

Captive Audience

In 1972, seven-year-old Steven Stayner was kidnapped and raised by his abductor under an assumed name. At age 14 he made his escape and returned home. Reporters couldn’t get enough of the miraculous story, and a TV miniseries captivated the nation. But there was no storybook ending for the Stayners. The following years brought conflict, tragedy, and an unthinkable crime.

The Hulu documentary “Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story” follows the ordeals of Steven and Cory Stayner. It supplements its historical footage with clips from the 1989 TV miniseries and with research interviews from its screenwriter. It shows how a story can be manipulated and how the media can treat you like heroes one day - and villains the next.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CAPTIVE AUDIENCE" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 38:00

Sent Away

Complaints about harsh punishments, sexual abuse, and a fatal field trip surfaced about a Utah teen treatment center. State regulators did little about it - even when its director was accused of rape and using residents as workers in his home. The new podcast “Sent Away” is a joint investigation among The Salt Lake Tribune, KUER, and APM Reports. It looks at the troubling history of Integrity House, as well as Utah’s lax oversight which has allowed the teen treatment industry in the state to explode.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SENT AWAY" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 42:00

In Crime of the Week: silly bear.

Run, Bambi, Run

In 1990 Laurie Bembenek escaped from a Wisconsin prison through an open window. When the former Playboy bunny went on the lam, she became a media sensation and a folk hero. But did the former cop and calendar girl known as Bambi actually commit the crime she was in prison for - the murder of her husband’s ex-wife? The new show “Run, Bambi, Run” from Apple Podcasts looks back at the sexy-and-sexist case against Bembenek.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "RUN, BAMBI, RUN" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 38:00

Killing Eve season 4

After walking away from Villanelle at the end of last season, security analyst Eve Palastri is immersed in her new obsession. With the help of friends new-and-old, she’s closing in on the mysterious yet powerful cabal known as The Twelve. Elsewhere, Villanelle is having an identity crisis. Can she leave behind her life as an assassin and prove to herself - and to Eve - that she’s not a monster?

Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh and Emmy winner Jodie Comer star in the fourth-and-final season of “Killing Eve” from AMC and BBC America. Our heroes seek to complete very personal missions all while continuing their obsessive cat-and-mouse game with each other’s emotions.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF SEASON 4 OF "KILLING EVE" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 43:00

In Crime of the Week: whoever smelt it.

Motive season 4

Officials say prisons protect the public from lawlessness, but often they’re the most lawless places in the country. And the security used to keep detainees IN, also keeps OUT transparency and accountability. In season 4 of “Motive” from WBEZ-Chicago, host Shannon Heffernan explores the Illinois prison system. She finds their rural locations, protective culture, and hostility toward inmates creates opportunities for systemic misconduct.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS FOR SEASON 4 OF "MOTIVE" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 41:00

NBC's The Thing About Pam

When Betsy Faria was murdered in 2011, police aggressively pursued her husband, Russ. But the evidence pointed to her BFF Pam Hupp. And while bad things continued to befall people around her, TV news magazines homed in on Pam and her web of lies. Renée Zellweger stars in “The Thing About Pam,” the NBC dramatization based on the NBC podcast based on the NBC news magazine Dateline.

OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF "THE THING ABOUT PAM" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 37:00

In Crime of the Week: tall tale.

Yuba County Five

In February 1978, the car of five men with either mental health or intellectual disabilities was discovered on a high mountain road, far away from their anticipated destination. By the summer it became clear where the group had gone, but what happened to them in those months remains a troubling mystery. 

The seven-episode podcast “Yuba County Five” from Mopac Audio recalls the missing persons case that still haunts Northern California. It asks the question of why the men took the detour and whether someone with bad intentions sent them into the wilderness to meet their fate.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "YUBA COUNTY FIVE" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 19:00

The Girl from Plainville

After his suicide shocks his family, Conrad Roy’s mother learns he’d been having a virtual relationship with a girl in another town. But investigators combing their text messages discover instead of stopping him, Michelle Carter may have instructed him to take his own life. 

Elle Fanning and Chloë Sevigny star in the Hulu docudrama “The Girl from Plainville.” The series captures the sadness of two teens who don’t fit in, their path to tragedy, and the agony of the adults piecing together why it happened.  

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE GIRL FROM PLAINVILLE" BEGINS AROUND MINUTE 38:00

In Crime of the Week: dirty talk.

Phoenix Rising

Teenage actress Evan Rachel Wood turned heads with her unlikely relationship with much-older shock-rocker Marilyn Manson. Behind the scenes, the musician’s love bombing morphed into physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. The two-part HBO documentary "Phoenix Rising" lets Wood tell her complete story for the first time. She recounts the evolution of a classically abusive relationship, elevated by a world of rock’n’roll excess and violence as an artform. It also shows in real-time her struggle with the legal system and threats from Marilyn Manson fans.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "PHOENIX RISING " BEGINS AROUND MINUTE 40:00

Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall

In 2017, two people set to sea in a homemade submarine. Only one returned.  The two-part HBO documentary “Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall” recounts the famous Nordic murder case, including its complicated investigation and motives around snuff-film sex fantasies. It also explores the life stories of a rising journalist and an eccentric inventor. 

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNDERCURRENT" BEGINS AROUND MINUTE 37:00

In Crime of the Week: smashed at the pub.

Joe vs. Carole 🐯

Carole Baskin runs a Florida sanctuary for tigers with her doting husband. Her efforts to stop a traveling cub-petting operation sends her on a collision course with mercurial zookeeper Joe Exotic, who sees Carole as an existential threat to his livelihood.

Based on season two of the podcast “Over My Dead Body,” the eight-part Peacock series “Joe vs. Carole” stars Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell. While played for laughs in sections, the dramatized retelling regards its lead characters with more sympathy and depth than either "Tiger King" figure have previously received in popular culture.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "JOE VS. CAROLE" TO GO MINUTE 41:00

In Crime of the Week: fowl play.

The Dropout on Hulu

The crime writers welcome Ronald Young Jr. from the HBO Docs Club podcast to fill in for the vacationing Toby Ball!

In True Crime Update: MD prosecutors agree with Serial's Adnan Syed to test DNA on crime scene evidence not previously tested. What does it mean that the state supports re-testing and how might it affect Adnan's effort to win his release.

Then: high-achiever Elizabeth Holmes went to college with a vague dream to invent something that would change the face of medicine. She dropped out of school to start a company even though the experts told her the science behind her idea wouldn’t work. The eight-episode Hulu drama “The Dropout,” based on the ABC News podcast of the same name, stars Amanda Seyfried. She plays Elizabeth Holmes as an awkward yet driven idealist, so blinded by her vision she’d do anything - even faking results, lying to investors, and mistreating her workers.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE DROPOUT" GO TO MINUTE [round number 42:00

In Crime of the Week: dispirited.

Fireboys

Juvenile detainees in the Golden State are given an opportunity for service: fighting wildfires in California. The documentary “Fireboys” on HBO Max is a coming-of-age tale of incarcerated youth given a chance to earn money, reduce their sentence, help their community, and build their self-esteem. But will the lessons learned on the fire line give them hope for the future or set them up for more disappointment?

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "FIREBOYS" GO TO MINUTE 37:00

Note: Here’s a link to that Teen Vogue article Rebecca kept going on about!

The Pink Moon Murders

In April 2016, eight members of the Rhoden family were murdered in their Appalachian homes.  Investigators were puzzled at why an entire family would be annihilated. Was it because of their illegal marijuana operation? Or was it a more personal motive?  In “The Pink Moon Murders” from Cavalry Audio and iHeart, host David Raterman explores the Pike County shootings. 

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE PINK MOON MURDERS" GO TO MINUTE 42:00

Plus: an update on the Campside Media podcast "Wild Boys."

In Crime of the Week: your shit don't stink.

Accused: The Impending Execution of Elwood Jones

Since his conviction for murdering Rhoda Nathen in her hotel room, Elwood Jones has maintained his innocence. To believe him means to accept his argument that he was framed by the police.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer and USA Today comes season 4 of “Accused: The Impending Execution of Elwood Jones.” Host Amber Hunt looks at alternative suspects, shaky evidence, and investigators who spent a year resubmitting forensics until they finally found an expert to build their case. 

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ACCUSED: THE IMPENDING EXECUTION OF ELWOOD JONES," GO TO MINUTE 42:00

We Need to Talk About Cosby

For decades, he was an A-list entertainer who projected an image of wholesomeness. But the public was shocked to learn of Bill Cosby’s dark double life - one in which the so-called “America’s Dad” was drugging and raping women for years.

The four-part Showtime series “We Need to Talk About Cosby” examines all aspects of Cosby’s life - both as a trailblazer and beloved entertainer and as a felon. W. Kamau Bell provides a platform for some of his many victims. He also turns the mirror on the Black community and those who grew up watching Cosby to ask why they have conflicted feelings about his legacy.

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT COSBY," GO TO MINUTE 42.

In Crime of the Week: prison break.

Inventing Anna

Anna Delvey was a twenty-something who posed as a young German heiress while living on the amenities of New York’s super rich. Magazine writer Viviant Kent sees Anna’s story as her shot at professional redemption. She struggles with her editors and with her subject to retell Anna’s path from Instagram darling to high society to incarceration.

Anna Chlumsky and Julia Garner star in “Inventing Anna,” a nine-episode, partly-fictionalized look at the Anna Delvey case. The docudrama recounts her long con as a poser who talked her way through big banks and luxury hotels, framed around a journalist’s efforts to untangle the web of deception.  

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "INVENTING ANNA" GO TO MINUTE 39:00

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window

Anna is drowning the loss of her daughter and the end of her marriage in bottles of red wine. She’s taken by the kindness of the handsome widower and his daughter who’ve moved in across the street. Then one night, Anna peers across the way to see the man’s girlfriend get her throat slashed. When police say the girlfriend is safe in Seattle Anna sets off to confirm she’s not crazy, prove a murder happened, and discover who the killer in her quiet neighborhood is.

Kristen Bell stars in the mystery-spoof “The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window.” The Netflix series is a dry-but-cutting satire on domestic thrillers and cozy mysteries. Will Anna solve the case - one chicken casserole and bottle of cabernet at a time?

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE WOMAN IN THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW" GO TO MINUTE 36:00

In crime of the week: drilling in the ice.