Crime Writers On...True Crime Review

Robert Berchtold seemed the perfect neighbor and close friend to the Broberg family. But his fixation on their daughter Jan led him to abduct the girl and flee to Mexico. Parents Bob and Mary Ann were left confused as to why their trusted friend would take their child. But long after their return, Berchtold continued to hold Jan under his spell, keeping each parent at arm's length through blackmail. His diabolical scheme to possess Jan lasted years and threatened to tear the Broberg family apart.Jake Lacy, Anna Paquin, and Colin Hanks star in the Peacock mini-series “A Friend of the Family.” The show recounts the story first told in the shocking documentary “Abducted in Plain Sight.” The dramatization focuses on the interpersonal dynamics between its players while highlighting the bizarre crimes. It’s a cautionary tale on what happens when a master manipulator befriends the easily fooled.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Love you to the moon and back. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ana Mendieta was a provocative performance artist. Her husband was the mercurial legendary sculptor Carl Andre. They were the It couple of the New York art scene, until 1985 when Ana mysteriously fell from their 34th floor apartment after an argument. Andre’s arrest for his wife’s death split the artistic community. Thirty-five years later, those who knew the couple remain tight lipped on what they think happened that night.From Pushkin Industries and Somethin’ Else comes the podcast “Death of an Artist.” Host and museum curator Helen Molesworth revisits Ana’s death and the trial that followed, and examines the silence and the protests that have accompanied this story ever since.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DEATH OF AN ARTIST" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.   For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Immigrants and payday borrowers were receiving calls from the US government: either pay the money they owe or be arrested. But it was all an international scam, tricking people into turning over thousands of dollars to con men traveling the country.  But with the calls originating from India, authorities had little hope of finding the players and shutting the operation down. In season four of Chameleon from Campside Media, “Scam Likely” host Yudhijit Bhattacharjee talks to victims, investigators, and some of the phone operators behind an elaborate fraud on unsuspecting people. The team even travels to India in search of the masterminds behind the deception.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CHAMELEON: SCAM LIKELY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 14 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: rest in pees. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1995, a pair of eight-year-old girls were kidnapped from the Belgian countryside. Later, two teens vanished after leaving a magic show. Then another set of girls disappeared. Hysteria gripped the country, while the police response seemed not up to the task. After questioning, Marc Dutroux would take investigators to his home where they discovered two of the girls being held in a dungeon. Dutroux’s arrest set in motion a controversy over police errors, government ineptitude, and accusations of cover-ups.In “Le Monstre: The Dutroux Affair” from iHeart Media and Tenderfoot TV, host Matt Graves looks into the crimes of Belgium's deadliest serial killer. It also explores the country’s institutional failures to protect children and the massive protest movement demanding reforms.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LE MONSTRE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In an effort to stop a ski resort expansion in Vail, Colorado, environmental activists set fire to several buildings. It was the work of the Earth Liberation Front, an extremist group that targeted companies they felt were damaging the environment. The FBI labeled the group eco-terrorists and the country’s greatest domestic terror threat. For decades, two of its leaders have been on the run. Now it’s time for them…and the rest of the world…to face the consequences of their actions.From BBC Sounds comes the new podcast “Burn Wild.” Host Leah Sottile of “Bundyville” and “Two Minutes Past Nine” turns her attention to a different kind of extremist. She poses the question, is it okay to do the wrong thing for the right reason?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BURN WILD" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: dirty mouth. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In August 1996, 19-year-old Zach Snarr took his friend Yvette to a secluded reservoir to take photos of the moon. But their date was interrupted by “George” Benvenuto, a stranger who fatally shot Zach and wounded Yvette without provocation. Zach’s family wanted justice, hoping Benvenuto would rot in prison. But the years brought little comfort and grief turned to anger. That’s when the letter came.“The Letter” from Lemonada and KSL Podcasts looks at the effects of the murder on the Snarr family and their journey of restorative justice with the man who murdered their son. It’s an intimate portrait of those affected by the shooting and the unexpected ways they cope with it.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE LETTER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last week, after two decades in prison, Adnan Syed walked out of a Baltimore courtroom when his conviction for Hae Min Lee’s murder was vacated. Sarah Koenig's new episode 13 of “Serial” may play like an epilogue to Adnan's story, but its creation has sparked new consideration for what the famous podcast got wrong, its ongoing obligation to the subject, and whether making Adnan the world’s most famous wrongfully-convicted inmate was enough.Then...the Phoenix Goddess Temple said it was a house of worship, a place where the healing powers of feminine touch would bring about a sacred union. But police said it was a high-end brothel hiding behind religious protections. In the eight-part podcast “Witnessed: Mystic Mother,” Katie and Leah Henoch revisit the scandal. They also ponder the nature of sex work and what set the Phoenix Goddess Temple apart.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WITNESSED: MYSTIC MOTHER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Let's taco 'bout pizza.   For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

John McAfee made hundreds of millions of dollars on his ubiquitous anti-virus software and retired to Belize. But after his neighbor was murdered in 2012, McAfee went on the run. Rather than keep a low profile, he let a camera crew film his every move. McAfee uses his unscrupulous methods and considerable wealth to escape his predicament in Central America. But when he gets into trouble in the US, a paranoid, drug-addled, and heavily armed McAfee invites cameras on his luxury yacht as he takes to the sea to avoid capture.The Netflix documentary “Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee” brings us inside the businessman’s never-ending flight from justice, through jungles, foreign court systems, and the high seas. It documents his downward spiral while on the lam - and asks questions about his controversial death.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL" BEGIN IN THE LAST 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

To get to the top of the best-seller list takes more than just writing a good book. And going from acclaimed author to scandalous fraud can happen with the turn of a page. Like Kaavya Viswanathan - the young phenom whose book contained plagiarized passages. Or Dan Mallory, the author of The Woman in the Window whose life of adversity was an elaborate hoax played upon the literary community.The eight-part podcast series “Missing Pages” from The Podglomerate dives into stories of famous authors brought low by their misdeeds and misrepresentations. Host Bethanne Patrick also explores the industry culture and social biases that contributed to the controversies in the first place.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MISSING PAGES" BEGIN IN THE LAST 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: queen bee. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the 60s and 70s, Synanon emerged as an experimental residential program dedicated to helping drug addicts into recovery. But its founder, Chuck Dederich, reclassified the organization as a church, manipulating followers with fear and intimidation. Synanon would soon be caught up in crime and  abuse, with Dederich espousing violence to maintain control.“The Sunshine Place” from C13Originals is hosted by Sari Crawford, the daughter of a former Synanon leader. While some credit the program for their sobriety, others say its messianic leader destroyed their lives. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE SUNSHINE PLACE" BEGIN IN THE LAST EIGHT MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.