Uncover: Calls From a Killer
CBC
What does a reporter do when they receive a cold call from one of the most horrific serial killers in Canadian history?The killer: Clifford Olson, who murdered at least eleven children in the 1980s. The reporter: Arlene Bynon, who recorded her jailhouse calls with Olson for years.Alongside legendary journalist Peter Worthington, Arlene spent hundreds of hours on the phone with Olson. It was kept secret from his prison guards; he wasn't allowed to speak to the media.In Calls From a Killer, from CBC’s Uncover, Arlene unearths secrets that have been buried for decades. Secrets about Olson's crimes, about how police failed his young victims and their families — and why law enforcement paid a psychopathic serial killer $100,000. With Nathaniel Frum — Peter's grandson — Arlene exposes hard truths about a forgotten tragedy, a bungled investigation, the loved ones left behind, and the mind of a killer. About UNCOVER: Crime. Investigation. Revelation. Uncover brings you explosive, high-caliber true crime year-round. From CIA mind control to serial abuse, mysterious disappearances to wrongful imprisonment. Each season features a new host who is deeply connected to the story, committed to tracking down the truth. With over 30 seasons to choose from, Uncover represents the best in true crime.For early access to episodes, plus ad-free listening, visit apple.co/cbctruecrime.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 1, 2023 • 51min
S20 "The Africas VS. America" E3: The Toughest Cop in America
By the 1970s, both local and federal law enforcement have perfected a system to subvert and neutralize Black liberation movements across the United States. The civil rights movement has been uprooted, and Black Power is now here. In Philadelphia, the most famous police officer in America is elected mayor. Frank Rizzo’s objective is to turn the city into centre stage in the nationwide fight against Black liberation activists. His power and influence will have deep implications for MOVE.The Africas VS. America is nominated for a Webby! Vote for the series here.
May 1, 2023 • 58min
S20 "The Africas VS. America" E4: The Commissioner’s Gambit
Complaints from neighbours about MOVE’s lifestyle lead to increasingly violent clashes with police. One confrontation turns deadly, and by 1978, relations between MOVE and city authorities have reached a crisis point. The MOVE home in residential Powelton Village becomes the scene of a two-months-long starvation blockade, and the site of a stand-off with police that will end in blood, gunfire, and the arrest of nine members of MOVE, collectively charged with murder for the death of an officer.The Africas VS. America is nominated for a Webby! Vote for the series here.
May 1, 2023 • 59min
S20 "The Africas VS. America" E5: The System on Trial
The MOVE 9 are catapulted into the international spotlight, facing more than 900 years between them for the death of Officer James Ramp — a crime for which they maintain their innocence. Central to the case is a former Black Panther and Vietnam vet named Delbert Africa, who will become a symbol of police brutality in Philadelphia. As all of this is happening, MOVE’s mysterious leader John Africa is on the run from local and federal authorities. When he’s finally found and brought up on charges, John Africa opts to represent himself in court, and an old friend takes the stand against him.The Africas VS. America is nominated for a Webby! Vote for the series here.
May 1, 2023 • 1h 6min
S20 "The Africas VS. America" E6: Hellfire
In 1983, the City of Philadelphia elects its first Black mayor as successor to Frank Rizzo. Woodrow Wilson Goode inherits Rizzo’s fight against MOVE, but he also represents a moment of hope for Black Philadelphians who believe his election could be a harbinger of progress for a city beset with racial strife. Instead, Mayor Goode’s administration unleashes a torrent of violence never before seen in American history in an effort to neutralize MOVE once and for all.The Africas VS. America is nominated for a Webby! Vote for the series here.
May 1, 2023 • 1h 5min
S20 "The Africas VS. America" E7: Elegy
After a commission finds that city officials and police were negligent in their actions on May 13, 1985, a reeling city looks to heal, and surviving members of the Africa family redouble efforts to free the MOVE 9. Two senior members are released from prison having served more than 40 years. They now have reservations about the MOVE organization. A rift in the family opens up. By the end of 2020, all remaining MOVE 9 are free. Delbert dies only months after his release, and the family now turns its focus to the future. The descendents of MOVE remind us the fight for liberation continues.The Africas VS. America is nominated for a Webby! Vote for the series here.
May 1, 2023 • 14min
S20: Why & how Matthew Amha chose to tell the story of MOVE — On stage at Hot Docs
In this live discussion from the Hot Docs festival, Africas VS. America host Matthew Amha joins Falen Johnson on stage to speak about the stories journalists choose to tell — and how they tell them. He reflects on the personal cost of infusing his own experiences into his journalism, and how he navigated the MOVE organization’s historically fraught relationship with the media.
Feb 13, 2023 • 33min
S19: "Run, Hide, Repeat" E1: Don't Tell
It’s 1971 and Ruth Dakin is going through a messy divorce and fears for the future of her young children, Pauline and Ted. She meets Stan Sears, a United Church Minister, a man who offered comfort and safe harbour. But the encounter would change her life – and the lives of her children – forever.
For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/run-hide-repeat-transcripts-listen-1.6682766
Soon, odd, unexplained things start to happen and the young family is suddenly on the run, uprooted from their cozy home in North Vancouver to Winnipeg and then eventually to New Brunswick. The children are told not to tell anyone, and there are no goodbyes — not even to their father. Also on the move? Stan and his wife Sybil.
Feb 13, 2023 • 36min
S19: "Run, Hide, Repeat" E2: On The Run
Now a teenager living in Saint John, the secrecy and unexplained moves wear Pauline down. Eventually she graduates and starts a career in journalism thinking she can start to live a normal life. That changes in February 1988 when her mother Ruth says she’s finally ready to tell Pauline everything.
For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/run-hide-repeat-transcripts-listen-1.6682766
Sitting alongside Stan, Ruth’s secret shocks Pauline. Pauline realizes her life is in danger — and she will never look at her past the same way.
Feb 13, 2023 • 55min
S19: "Run, Hide, Repeat" E3: The Weird World
Based on her mother and Stan’s stunning revelations, Pauline and her brother Ted start sifting through their childhood memories and matching them to the once unexplained events.
Stan and Ruth, now openly a couple, are going deep undercover — and they want Pauline to join them.
Pauline must choose between joining her mother in the unknown and leaving behind everyone else she loves in the world she knows.
For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/run-hide-repeat-transcripts-listen-1.6682766
Feb 13, 2023 • 42min
S19: "Run, Hide, Repeat" E4: Saving Mom
Pauline is struggling with doubts — the details of her family’s secret seem outrageous. But why would Stan and her mother lie to her?
Pauline sets up a sting to find out once and for all if Stan and Ruth are telling the truth. And what she discovers changes her relationship with Ruth forever.
Pauline, desperate to reconcile what Ruth has done to her, turns to understanding her mom’s troubled past.
For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/run-hide-repeat-transcripts-listen-1.6682766
