The Knife: A True Crime Podcast
Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
The Knife: A True Crime Podcast is a weekly true crime podcast from journalist/producers Hannah Smith and Patia Eaton.It's a show about people who’ve been dropped into a story they didn't start, but are left to finish. In-depth interviews take the listener behind the punchy headlines to hear what really happened from the people who lived it. The Knife reveals the ripple effect of crime.Through empathetic, solution-oriented journalism, Hannah and Patia find the untold stories of people who’ve been touched by crime. They’re not breaking news or solving cases, they’re cutting to the heart of the experience through gripping, first-person storytelling.Follow The Knife on Instagram @theknifepodcast and on Bluesky @theknifepodcast.bsky.social.The Knife is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including true crime, comedic interviews, news, science, pop culture and more. The network is home to My Favorite Murder hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, This Podcast Will Kill You, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, Buried Bones and more.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 18, 2025 • 57min
Decades in the Dark
Burt Rosen searched for his missing son, Matthew, for over twenty years. Matthew had been struggling with mental illness when he vanished in 2001. Burt spent day-after-day making phone calls, scouring the internet, searching for any sign of his son. And then, 23 years later, a tip came in that changed everything. Hold On To Hope: https://hold2hope.org/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 11, 2025 • 1h 10min
The Knife: Off Record – 124
Patia shares a story she’s followed for years and has a personal connection to: the disappearance of Samantha Sayers, who vanished after hiking Vesper Peak in August 2018. Patia grew close with Samantha’s mother, who has never stopped searching for her daughter. Then, Hannah tells the extraordinary survival story of Robert Schock, who set out for a trail run in 2024 and survived 30 harrowing days lost in the wilderness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 4, 2025 • 1h 18min
Queen of the Con: Johnathan Walton’s Story
This week we speak with Johnathan Walton, creator of Queen of the Con and author of Anatomy of a Con Artist. Johnathan shares how he met “Mair Smyth,” grew to love her as a sister, and then was brutally betrayed when she conned him out of $100,000. Johnathan has since spoken with hundreds of other victims and built a handbook to expose the tricks con artists use to destroy lives. Links: Anatomy of a Con Artist: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/745592/anatomy-of-a-con-artist-by-johnathan-walton/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 28, 2025 • 51min
The Knife: Off Record – 122
This week we’re talking scams. Hannah shares the story of a man whose photo was used to con thousands of women, and Patia takes us inside an unsettling case of identity theft. Alex Couros’ Website: https://educationaltechnology.ca/information-for-romance-scam-victims/ Recommendations: The Binge Cases: Catch Me If You Ken Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 21, 2025 • 49min
Denton Family Murder
Beth Denton has always wondered what really happened to her cousin Patricia, who was murdered in 1970 in her home in Oklahoma City. Decades later, she decided to find out. This week, we speak with Beth as she unravels this family tragedy and tells the story of Patricia's life and untimely death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 14, 2025 • 51min
The Knife: Off Record – 120
This week, Patia and Hannah dig into listener emails, covering a rental scam, a case of digital dating abuse (yes, it’s real), and a cold case: the 2013 disappearance of Brookelyn Farthing. Recommendations: Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer (Wolf Entertainment + CBC) Against All Odds (Wondery) Alone (History Channel) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 7, 2025 • 58min
My Body Is The Crime Scene
Patia and Hannah speak with Cassie, who attended a Halloween party at an Oregon State University fraternity in 2008. The night started with costumes, loud music and a crowded basement full of college students. By the end of the night, Cassie was in the ER, holding a bag that contained her bloodstained costume. She soon found herself in a police interview recounting what happened. The state brought charges, and the case went to trial. Cassie’s story is a personal account of navigating the legal system after reporting a rape. She did everything “right" but still faced a long, painful process. Her experience echoes the questions we’ve wrestled with in high-profile campus sexual assault cases: What does justice actually look like? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 31, 2025 • 54min
The Knife: Off Record – 118
This week we bring you two crime stories in collaboration with Mandy and Melissa from Moms and Mysteries. Hannah and Patia discuss the killing of Richard Challen by his wife, Sally Challen. Then, Mandy and Melissa share the wild true story of the teenage serial thief known as the “Barefoot Bandit.” Plus, Patia and Hannah have recommendations. Links: Moms and Mysteries podcast: https://www.momsandmysteries.com/ David Challen’s book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93021229-the-unthinkable Recommendations: There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane Love Has Won See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 24, 2025 • 49min
Rent-A-Hitman: Murder, Interrupted
Bob Innes never set out to stop murders. But when his satirical website, RentAHitman.com, started attracting real requests for contract killings, he found himself in an unusual predicament. What, if anything, should he do about it? Now, he spends most of his spare time trying to intercept murder-for-hire plots, including an entire family wanted dead over an inheritance. But it turns out trying to stop a murder before it happens is tricky, especially when you aren’t in law enforcement. www.rentahitman.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 17, 2025 • 1h 6min
The Knife: Off Record – 116
Hannah and Patia sit down with Anna Sinfield, the producer and writer behind the first two hit seasons of The Girlfriends, to talk about why the world needs more stories of women winning. Stepping into the host seat for The Girlfriends: Spotlight, Anna shares what it’s like to dive headfirst into a story, the emotional toll of true crime, and what to expect from the highly anticipated new season, The Girlfriends: Jailhouse Lawyer. Also, Hannah shares an update on the Brenda Andrew case, including a U.S. Supreme Court opinion issued in Jan 2025. Recommendations Netflix Documentary: The Twister: Caught in the Storm Podcast: Big Time (Apple/Campside Media) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-girlfriends-spotlight/id1695875823 Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Only Woman on Oklahoma Death Row: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-only-woman-on-oklahoma-death-row-confirming-admission-of-prejudicial-gendered-evidence-can-violate-due-process-rights See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
