Crime Writers On...True Crime Review

Lara hits the roof after hearing the latest installment of "In the Dark." We knew the court was rough on the defendant - but the jurors too?!Kevin gives a plug for the June 8-9 Toronto True Crime Film Festival. He'll be there Saturday for a panel discussion. More at torontotruecrimefilmfestival.com.Toby gets another chance to roll his eyes about "The Staircase" owl theory.Rebecca leads the discussion on Killing Eve. An American-bred Brit goes from desk jockey to head of a secret unit tracking a skilled assassin striking throughout Europe. This cat-and-mouse thriller that bounces around the continent is both suspenseful and playful, with compelling characters and crackling dialogue.TO HERE OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "KILLING EVE," JUMP AHEAD TO 1:00:49In Crime in Week: dangerous moves.  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.

More paper pasted this week in the Adnan Syed case. The defense has filed its conditional cross-petition. It basically says, "Hey state supreme court, don't take this case. But if you do, we got some stuff over here we want to talk about."This week's "In the Dark" buries the needle on the Brickter-scale. Listen how Cookie's story crumbles.The crime writers break out the leotards and sweatbands for the hot hot-yoga docu-pod "30 for 30: Bikram." Julia Lowrey Henderson tells the rise of Bikram Choudhury, peels back the veneer of his self-created myth, and gets into the many allegations of sexual misconduct.TO HEAR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF BIKRAM, FAST-FOWARD TO 58:17.In Crime of the Week: done and dusted. 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.

Could it be? Could the next Baltimore State's Attorney be willing to drop charges against Adnan Syed? Well..he's gotta win first. How about them Handmaids - the feel-bad tv show of the year? Lara's Rage-o-meter buries the needle when she hears this week's episode of In the Dark (oh Cookie!),TO SKIP OUR TALK ABOUT "IN THE DARK," JUMP AHEAD TO 29:50.Then from Australia we’ll review “The Teacher’s Pet”: a podcast about a professional athlete, his missing wife, and his teenage lover. Does this cold case story from Down Under stack up against the best podcasts out there?TO JUMP PAST OUR DISCUSSION ON "THE TEACHER'S PET," GO TO OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW AT 51:26.Then in Crime of the Week: I could read it all over your face.  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.

There are TWO true crime updates this week in the Adnan Syed case. First, prosecutors have decided to ask Maryland's highest court to review the previous rulings granting Adnan a new trial. Second, HBO has announced a documentary about the case is in the works. They promise new information and the first interviews with Adnan since "Serial."We discuss episode four of "In the Dark." Something's fishy about those jailhouse confessions, and Lara's head might explode.Speaking of confessions, Kevin admits he's always wanted to try the tangy taste of Miracle Whip. With three naysayers listening on, he takes his first bites.Moving on...the crime writers go over the Netflix documentary "Evil Genius." A man robs a bank with a bomb locked around his neck. Who was the mastermind beyond the elaborate plot? Does the series give short shrift to the characters' mental illnesses? And does the story maintain the momentum of it's compelling beginning?FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW, GO TO 1:02:26.Then a vintage crime of the week: step right up.  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.

This week the Crime Writers look at the second season of "In the Dark" from APM Reports. Madeline Baron and her team investigate the case of Curtis Flowers, a man who’s been tried six times for the same crime. Is the sophomore season of the Peabody Award winning pod delivering the goods?TO JUMP TO THE SPOILER-FREE REVIEW, FAST-FORWARD TO 1:00:00.Kevin announces his appearance at the Toronto True Crime Film Festival June 8-9, Lara gets a fan mail slap down, and Toby gets sexually harassed.In Crime of the Week: Rescue vs. room service.Also mentioned: the Omni Mount Washington Resort and the More Perfect podcast episode Object Anyway.  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.

Lara makes her triumphant return, promising to bring her A game.We give an update on the COSA appeal in favor of Adnan Syed: why the next 15 days are important. Speaking of triumphant returns, John David Booter is back with season two of Done Disappeared. It seems crimes against water fowl are more common than John David Booter realized. (With John David Booter.) Plus, a fake astronaut claps back on The Habitat, the podcast from Gimlet we reviewed last week.Next, we take a close look at the New York Times podcast Caliphate. Journalist Rukmimi Callimachi pulls back the curtain on how the terror group draws people to the cause, and life as a war correspondent, all in an attempt to answer the question, “Who are we fighting?”FOR A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF CALIPHATE, GO TO 48:28:40In Crime of the Week: if it bleeds, it leads.  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.

Lara picked the wrong week to go on vacation...The panel gives their reaction to the capture of the alleged Golden State Killer. Did Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark play a role in the arrest or is it too soon to tell?Rebecca provides Toby an abridged update on Death In Ice Valley. Then the team offers their first impressions of season two of HBO's "Westworld."The main event: Gimlet’s new hit podcast The Habitat. This series follows six volunteers simulating a Mars mission by being cooped up together in one small shelter for a year. Is the podcast a look at the human failings inherent in a long-term space mission? Or is it NASA's version of "The Real World"?FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW, JUMP TO 58:05.In Crime of the Week: frugivorous felons.  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.

Internet fame is bestowed upon one of the crime writers (thanks to The Daily podcast and interpretive dancing). News from West Cork...Ian Bailey is going to have to pay a lot of money. And the panel wants to know more about what a "taint team" is.The crime writers give their first impressions of a new podcast collaboration from the BBC World Service and NRK called, “Death in Ice Valley.” The colder the rain, the colder the case.Masterpiece on PBS is now airing the limited British crime series, “Unforgotten.” The show follows police as they try to solve the decade’s old mystery of a skeleton found in a clay basement. The investigation involves a diverse group of characters who may have had a hand in the crime, then went on with their lives. Is "Unforgotten" worth remembering?FOR A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW, FAST FORWARD TO 52:30.The crime of the week - breaking balls.  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.

This episode Toby announces the title and guest panel for his next Patreon book club podcast (name of podcast still TBD). The Peabody Award nominations are out, and true crime is well represented. And Rebecca reveals her new (sort of) friendship with Alison Sweeney from Days of Our Lives and The Biggest Loser, who turns out to be a HUGE fan of true crime podcasts.The panel talks about the new A&E series “Marcia Clark Investigates the First 48.” This new show (and companion podcast) is a mashup of the First 48’s format of highlighting the importance of the first 48 hours of an investigation, along with the OJ prosecutor taking a second look at a famous case.Then the crime writers discuss ”Felonious Florida,” the new podcast from Wondery and the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Can this newspaper-sources and -staffed pod achieve the success of its predecessors? Or will it just make Rebecca's head explode?OUR DISCUSSION IS SPOILER-FREE, BUT TO SKIP AHEAD TO THE REVIEW GO TO 57:13.In Crime of the Week: blow.  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.

This episode we breakdown the recent COSA decision affirming Adnan Syed's right to a new trial. Kevin asks Undisclosed's Colin Miller (aka Legal Siri) about how the winning and losing arguments were flipped, Adnan's chances on bail, and the local politics infused into the appeals process.Toby talks about his new Patreon-exclusive book club podcast. He, Rebecca, Rabia Chaudry, and Patrick Hines discussed Michelle McNamara's I'll be Gone in the Dark. Also, there's some news about the TV adaptation of Dirty John (they have their John).Moving on, Panoply is out with a seven-part podcast called Empire on Blood. It’s magazine writer Steve Fishman’s seven-year relationship with crack dealer Calvin Buari, in jail for more than twenty years for a double homicide. To tell the story of Cal’s search for justice, Fishman meets Cal’s drug dealing frienamy; a prosecutor who rescues turtles; a cop who’s too good at getting confessions; and a private eye who carries a Bible, a gun, and a bottle of wine.TO SKIP PAST THE SPOILERS AND GO STRAIGHT TO THE REVIEWS, FAST-FORWARD TO 1:13:36.In Crime of the Week - bird is the word.SPONSORS THIS 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.