The Philosophy of Crime cover image

The Philosophy of Crime

Latest episodes

undefined
May 11, 2022 • 19min

504: School Shooters and Toxic Masculinity

What is the connection between school shootings in the United States and toxic masculinity? Is there a way to end school shootings?Covered Topics: School shootings; Toxic masculinity, Sandy Hook, Adam Lanza, Douglas Kellner, Seung-Hui ChoFurther Reading:https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/marriage-equals/202008/masculinity-is-there-really-crisishttps://www.fastcompany.com/90696368/i-guess-we-have-to-talk-about-the-masculinity-crisis-in-america-againhttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/conversation-with-philoso_b_95530https://www.edweek.org/leadership/school-shootings-this-year-how-many-and-where/2021/03https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhtfQqKh7dEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvnZBVe4950https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2466582/Sandy-Hook-school-shooting-Jesse-Lewis-6-killed-telling-classmates-run.htmlhttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/03/17/the-reckoning Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
undefined
May 4, 2022 • 17min

503: The Alford Plea – Pleading Guilty When You’re Innocent

The Alford Plea provides a way for a defended to plead guilty while maintaining their innocence. Should this be allowed in criminal court? Where did it come from? Who benefits?Covered Topics: The West Memphis 3, Henry Alford, Act Utilitarianism, Jeremy BenthemFurther Reading:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alford_pleahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three#Releasehttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-crime-westmemphis3-arkansas/after-18-years-west-memphis-3-go-free-on-plea-deal-idUSTRE77I54A20110819https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism#Utility_ignores_justicehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVltykvceWwhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Benthamhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_utilitarianismhttps://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/1970/70-14_10-14-1970.pdfhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG3zGzY2hskhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_v._Alfordhttps://www.delgazette.com/opinion/24467/david-hejmanowski-the-lasting-legacy-of-henry-alfordhttps://www.oxygen.com/crime-time/then-now-the-west-memphis-three Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
undefined
Apr 27, 2022 • 18min

502: Does Reward Money Ever Help Solve Cold Cases?

Does reward money help solve cold cases? When did we start offering money for tips? Is there a better way?Cover topics: Whitey Bulger, F.B.I. Top Ten, Little Crow, Action Theory, Donald Davidson, Maura MurrayFurther Reading:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2047126/Anna-Bjornsdottir--2m-Whitey-Bulger-FBI-tipster-Miss-Iceland.htmlhttps://www.quora.com/What-was-the-highest-reward-ever-paid-to-a-person-by-the-United-States-government-for-a-wanted-criminalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitey_Bulger#Capturehttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-27763842https://law.jrank.org/pages/9869/Reward.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/2019/09/17/761183202/do-cash-rewards-for-crime-tips-workhttps://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/13/you-just-dont-know-whos-going-to-come-forward-why-do-police-offer-rewardshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounty_(reward)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI_Ten_Most_Wanted_Fugitiveshttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-history-of-the-most-wanted-poster_b_5851ba70e4b0865ab9d4e8d7https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRaVnn0vxEYhttps://plato.stanford.edu/entries/action/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Davidson_(philosopher)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_theory_(philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/davidson/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-27763842https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/13/you-just-dont-know-whos-going-to-come-forward-why-do-police-offer-rewards Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
undefined
Apr 20, 2022 • 21min

501: How Can Lawyers Defend Guilty People?

Explore the defense strategies of lawyers like Judy Clarke in the trial of Susan Smith and the ethical dilemma of defending guilty clients. Learn about trial by ordeal and the case of Juan Catalan, highlighting the difference between legal guilt and actual guilt. Reflect on the moral implications of choosing to save a guilty person to protect the rule of law.
undefined
Sep 14, 2021 • 38min

Bonus: Little Liars Everywhere - Four murders, two false confessions, one meddling cop.

This is a special, bonus episode of The Philosophy of Crime. It's a piece of long-form journalism I wrote about a man named Donny Soke, who I met while researching the unsolved murder of Lisa Pruett. Donny is serving a 888-year prison sentence for murders he did not commit. Please listen to his story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
undefined
Jun 8, 2021 • 20min

406: Killer Art, Or How to Love Thriller While Still Hating Michael Jackson

What happens to the art when an artist becomes a criminal? Can we still enjoy a good song written by a maniac? Or does that make us enablers?Covered Topics: Michael Jackson, John Landis, Thriller, David Foster Wallace, Roland Barthes, Death of the Author, Hitler, John Wayne GacyFurther Reading:https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/21/michael-jackson-thriller-changed-music-videoshttps://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-michael-jackson-louis-ckhttps://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/05/the-world-still-spins-around-male-genius/559925/https://www.grunge.com/115638/respected-writers-actually-terrible-people/https://www.grunge.com/115638/respected-writers-actually-terrible-people/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeF6O6E9RQ8https://observer.com/2018/10/serial-killer-art-lucrative-charles-manson-richard-ramirez/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/apr/29/hitler-painting-arthttps://www.dailyartmagazine.com/art-hitler/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
undefined
Jun 1, 2021 • 23min

405: Renner's 2nd Law of True Crime Dynamics

For every tragedy, there exists an equal an opposite moment of grace. What is going on here? And what does it say about humanity?Covered Topics: Harvey Weinstein, Woody Allen, Ronan Farrow, Karma, Ka Like a Wheel, Amber Hagerman, Rae-Leigh Bradbury, Amber Alert, Karen Perez, Tim Miller, Texas EquuSearch, Adam Walsh, America’s Most Wanted, Otis Toole, Werhner von Braun, Martin Bryant, DJ Grandmaster Caz, Mr. RogersFurther Reading:https://www.insider.com/good-things-because-of-bad-things-2018-3#the-outcome-amber-alerts-were-born-14https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/my-father-woody-allen-danger-892572https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-storieshttps://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2021/01/13/25-years-after-amber-hagermans-kidnapping-heres-why-detectives-stay-hopeful-for-a-breakthrough-in-her-case/https://amber-ic.org/news/amber-alerts-1000th-successful-recovery/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/college-game-plan/first-child-rescued-amber-alert-heading-college-n759736https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_alert#Namesakehttps://www.missingkids.org/content/dam/missingkids/pdfs/amber/2019%20Annual%20AMBER%20Report%20and%20Map%20Final.pdfhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/03/i-dont-want-to-die-cellphone-audio-captures-teens-sexual-assault-and-murder-prosecutors-say/https://texasequusearch.org/category/cases/located/found-by-txeq/https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/seeking-information-in-unsolved-killing-fields-murders-091819 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
undefined
May 25, 2021 • 28min

404: Should We Defund the Police?

What do we mean when we say we want to defund the police? Also, who came up with the idea of police originally, and how are they supposed to act?Covered topics: George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, Robert Peel, Peelian Principles, Rover’s Morning Glory, Steven Kinas, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Social Contract, Mariame KabaFurther Reading:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnxlq5XQMkghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peelian_principleshttps://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2014/04/23/anger-managed-the-copy-who-arrested-rover-has-a-history-of-violence-and-plenty-to-say-about-that-july-fourth-nighthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_contracthttps://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/police-abolitionist-lessons-for-america.htmlhttps://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/defund-the-police-1007254/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/opinion/sunday/floyd-abolish-defund-police.htmlhttp://aworldwithoutpolice.org/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/10/opinion/defund-police-floyd-protests.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
undefined
May 18, 2021 • 19min

403: Tried As an Adult, Still a Kid

The United States is one of only a few countries that has executed children in modern times. In some states, teens are still regularly tried as adults for serious crimes. But should we actually be raising the age of culpability? Covered Topics: Sean Sellers, Age of Culpability, Lionel Tate, Christopher Pittman, Juvenile Court, Aristotle, Gideon Yaffe, Raise the Age, Mark WahlbergFurther Reading:http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/sellers512.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Sellers#cite_note-Devil-4https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_for_juveniles_in_the_United_Stateshttps://eji.org/news/13-states-lack-minimum-age-for-trying-kids-as-adults/https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/juvenile-age-of-jurisdiction-and-transfer-to-adult-court-laws.aspxhttps://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_interest/child_law/resources/child_law_practiceonline/child_law_practice/vol-34/august-2015/understanding-the-adolescent-brain-and-legal-culpability/https://humanimpact.org/hipprojects/juvenile-injustice-charging-youth-as-adults-is-ineffective-biased-and-harmful/http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Ar-Bo/Aristotle-384-322-B-C-E.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5kBQb-QftQhttps://newrepublic.com/article/138133/25-year-olds-tried-juveniles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
undefined
May 11, 2021 • 25min

402: What Are Grand Juries and Why Do They Need To Go?

It's 2021 and we still have secret courts in the United States. What are Grand Juries anyway? How do they work? What are they for? And why are they the worst?Covered Topics: Breonna Taylor, Grand Juries, Sol Wachtler, Karl Popper, Plato, George Schwartz, Social Contract, George Soros, Tamir RiceFurther Reading:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/20/us/breonna-taylor-grand-jury.htmlhttps://www.cnn.com/2020/10/29/us/breonna-taylor-grand-jurors/index.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDaNU7yDnschttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7thxae0AFMhttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/us/breonna-taylor-police-killing.htmlhttp://www.ephemerajournal.org/contribution/open-source-open-government-critique-open-politics-0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDrTkvFB6Zkhttps://www.businessinsider.com/ohio-prosecutor-tamir-rice-said-to-be-trying-to-lose-2015-12https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-30220700https://abcnews.go.com/US/tamir-rice-case-prosecutor-abused-manipulated-grand-jury/story?id=35979452https://www.cbsnews.com/news/breonna-taylor-grand-juror-homicide-charges-police-mistakes/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode