Wicked Words - A True Crime Talk Show with Kate Winkler Dawson

I’m so excited about this interview. It’s with Claire St. Amant. She’s a journalist and an author. And she was a TV producer for 48 Hours and 60 Minutes. Now she’s pulling back the curtain on true crime television. I learned a lot from her. She’s talking about her memoir: Killer Story.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4gF2K18  See more information on my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmore (Twitter) / @wickedwordspod (Facebook) / @tenfoldmorewicked (Instagram)  2025 All Rights Reserved See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We might have our first Pulitzer Prize winner on our show. Author Gilbert King digs into cases of wrongful conviction. Today, we’re talking about his outstanding podcast, Bone Valley Season 2. Gilbert explores the 1987 murder of Michelle Schofield in Florida. It’s a story of justice, forgiveness, and the possibility of redemption.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4gF2K18  See more information on my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmore (Twitter) / @wickedwordspod (Facebook) / @tenfoldmorewicked (Instagram)  2025 All Rights Reserved See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LA Times reporter Christopher Goffard was the voice behind the hit podcast “Dirty John.” And now he has a new podcast that covers crimes in Los Angeles that made headlines, stories like the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer at the hands of a stalker. He tells me about his show, “Crimes of the Times.”  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4gF2K18  See more information on my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmore (Twitter) / @wickedwordspod (Facebook) / @tenfoldmorewicked (Instagram)  2025 All Rights Reserved See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Wicked Words, years ago author Pagan Kennedy wondered about the history of the rape kit, a crucial tool for investigators today. Who designed it? She found out that it was Martha Goddard, a pioneer who wanted to help police catch sexual predators using forensics. But sometime after she made history, Goddard vanished. Listen to Kennedy’s story at the center of her book, The Secret History of the Rape Kit.    Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4gF2K18  See more information on my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmore (Twitter) / @wickedwordspod (Facebook) / @tenfoldmorewicked (Instagram)  2025 All Rights Reserved See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plane hijackings aren’t very common anymore. But in the late 1960s and early 1970s, armed criminals were forcing commercial airliners to divert their flights, oftentimes demanding ransom. Author Brendan Koerner tells the story of an American couple turned hijackers, whose journey ends with some surprising twists. Koerner’s book is called: The Skies Belong to Us.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4gF2K18  See more information on my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmore (Twitter) / @wickedwordspod (Facebook) / @tenfoldmorewicked (Instagram)  2025 All Rights Reserved See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, a predator preyed on gay men in Atlanta. He was known as the Handcuff Man. He attacked male sex workers, disfigured them, and then left them for dead. Journalist Hallie Lieberman wrote a fantastic piece for The Atavist Magazine called The Devil Went Down to Georgia.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4gF2K18  See more information on my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmore (Twitter) / @wickedwordspod (Facebook) / @tenfoldmorewicked (Instagram)  2025 All Rights Reserved See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2018, the FBI discovered that high level criminals around the world were using encrypted devices to plot intricate crimes. When a powerful, secure new app began courting these syndicates, members of the underworld flocked to it. One problem for the criminals: the app was created by the FBI. Joseph Cox tells us the incredible story from his book, Dark Wire.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4gF2K18  See more information on my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmore (Twitter) / @wickedwordspod (Facebook) / @tenfoldmorewicked (Instagram)  2025 All Rights Reserved See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1986, 17-year-old Keith Warren was found hanging from a tree in Silver Spring, Maryland. His sister wanted answers—how did he die? It was ruled a suicide, but there were so many suspicious things about Keith’s death. I talked to filmmaker Avril Speaks about her docuseries, “Uprooted,” which covers Keith’s case.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4gF2K18  See more information on my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmore (Twitter) / @wickedwordspod (Facebook) / @tenfoldmorewicked (Instagram)  2025 All Rights Reserved See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a story about a landmark case in Canada from just a few years ago. A teenager attacked two women in a massage parlor in Toronto in 2020. He killed one and seriously injured the other. When he told investigators why he did it, they settled on trying him for murder…and terrorism. Journalist Lana Hall tells me about her piece in Maclean’s magazine called: The Incel Terrorist.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4gF2K18  See more information on my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmore (Twitter) / @wickedwordspod (Facebook) / @tenfoldmorewicked (Instagram)  2025 All Rights Reserved See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dean Corll was a serial killer in Houston in the early 1970s. He kidnapped and murdered more than two dozen missing teenage boys before he was murdered by one of his accomplices. Decades later, a forensic anthropologist discovered a box of remains from the case. She spent years using scientific tools to identify some of the unknown victims. Journalist Lise Olsen tells me the story at the center of her book: The Scientist and the Serial Killer.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4gF2K18  See more information on my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmore (Twitter) / @wickedwordspod (Facebook) / @tenfoldmorewicked (Instagram)  2025 All Rights Reserved See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.