Ripley

A hardscrabble journalist is reassigned to help an American podcaster investigate a cold case in a remote Irish village. After twenty years, Bodkin is set to resume its annual Samhain  celebration - a tradition that was canceled after three people disappeared the night of the pagan festival.While host Gilbert Power focuses primarily on the human interest angle,  Dove Maloney thinks a larger story is hiding within Bodkin. Along with their researcher Emmy, Dove looks for connections between the festival victims and an infamous smuggler living in the village under an assumed name. The Netflix comedy/mystery series “Bodkin” stars Siobhán Cullen and Will Forte. The team tries to navigate car fires, hit-and-runs, yoga teaching nuns, an eel smuggling ring, and the secrets a small town wants to bury, peppered with insider quips about the state of podcasting.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BODKIN" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: home shopping. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

Donnie Dunn, an aspiring stand-up comedian, extends a courtesy to a distraught pub customer. Martha Scott becomes a friend and a regular at the bar, but her fixation on Donnie starts crossing boundaries. He tries to push away, but a spurned Martha begins an unrelenting stalking campaign which upends his life. The stress of the stalking triggers repressed feelings of Donnie’s own sexual assault at the hands of an influential television writer. As things continue to spin out of control, Donnie struggles to understand himself and decipher the woman who’s obsessed with him.Netflix’s buzzworthy dark comedy-slash-searing drama “Baby Reindeer” stars Richard Gadd and is based on his autofictional one man show. The series mines deep emotional territory, with performances that are fiercely raw and often unsettling.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BABY REINDEER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

Police in Austin, Texas had no clue as to who was behind a package bomb that killed a homeowner in March 2018. Ten days later, when two more devices exploded in the city, investigators knew they were dealing with a serial bomber. With each new attack, the devices were more sophisticated. But authorities caught a break when bombs found at a FedEx facility could be traced to a suspicious man who dropped them off.In the newest installment of the series from Campside Media, Pegalo Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment, “Witnessed: 19 Days” recounts the hunt for the Austin serial bomber. Host Sean Flynn describes the shoe leather efforts of law enforcement to stop the attacks and discern the motive behind the terror campaign.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WITNESSED: 19 DAYS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Don't stop bee-lieving. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

Grifter Thomas Ripley is hired by a wealthy businessman to convince his prodigal son to return from his extended holiday in Italy. But instead he ingratiates himself with Dickie Greenleaf and shares in his host’s life of luxury. Once he overstays his welcome, Ripley hatches a plan to get rid of Dickie and assume his playboy identity.Instead of Easy Street, Ripley finds himself living one step ahead of Dickie’s suspicious girlfriend, Marge, and an Italian detective investigating the missing bon vivant. Can the talented con man keep up the ruse and avoid getting tangled in the web of lies he’s spun?Netflix’s series “Ripley” stars Andrew Scott and Dakota Fanning, and is based on the book and movie “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” The moody black & white thriller is punctuated with rich symbolism, awe-inspiring scenery, and heart-stopping suspense, wrapped around a tour de force performance by Scott.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "RIPLEY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

In 1988, three months after going missing from a lake in San Angelo, Texas, the bodies of teenagers Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly were discovered - the pair had been shot. Among those in their friend group were a collection of self-styled occultists, and evidence of satanic rituals was found near the park where they vanished. Evidence suggested there was more than one killer and rumors of a falling out between the victims and members of the cult interested investigators. Other possibilities included a drug debt, a random robbery, or police perpetrators and a cover-up. Decades after the murders, new clues keep emerging, but detectives seem no closer to solving this cold case.From Texas Monthly True Crime comes “Shane and Sally.” Hosts Rob D’Amico and Karen Jacobs take a fresh look at the prominent unsolved mystery. They track down past suspects and seek a motive for the killing of the teens. Did they really double-cross a drug dealer, provoke a satanic cult, or were they the latest victims of a stick-up gang prowling the lake?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SHANE AND SALLY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: give us this play. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

Among the missing persons cases online sleuth Todd Matthews followed were that of two boys from the same family who vanished 25 years apart. He was shocked to receive a call from a man who thought he might be Phillip Steven Brandenburg, the baby who went missing in 1974.Todd determined Steve Patterson was indeed the John Doe they’d been searching for and helped him reconnect with the mother he never knew. Sandi Brandenburgh claimed the underground adoption was brokered by her husband. Soon after, Franklin Floyd disappeared with Sandi’s oldest daughter and lived on the run with her for years. Authorities would not tie all these threads together until three more people were dead or missing.From iHeartMedia, Revelations Entertainment, First and Last Productions, and Neon Hum Media, comes "Hello, John Doe." We hear Todd work with Steve to learn more about where he came from, though the answers are discouraging. It also guides listeners through the connections to the Sharon Marshall and Michael Hughes cases and Todd’s efforts to reunite a family torn apart by tragedy.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "HELLO, JOHN DOE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

In 2014, Sarah Koenig and Dana Chivvis traveled to Guantánamo Bay hoping to find the untold stories about the infamous military prison. They found many friendly soldiers willing to repeat Army talking points, but no one willing to be candid about life at the detention center.A decade later, the pair reached out to those people, many who had left the military and were now willing to go on the record. Many remembered Gitmo as a plum wartime assignment in sunny Cuba, filled with strong drinks and sexy personnel. Others have slowly come to terms with what the mission was and the role they played in it. Koenig also spoke with former prisoners, some with little or no connection to the Taliban or Al Qaeda when they were detained. In season four of “Serial,” Koenig and Chivvis drift away from the podcast format it popularized ten years ago, telling a variety of stories week-to-week about Guantánamo Bay from the people who were there. Instead of a deep investigation into policies and procedures at Gitmo, the hosts seek personal, unexplored stories from more than 100 of those on the ground. The podcast promises an oral history of the military detention center long cloaked in mystery and infamy.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF SEASON 4 OF "SERIAL" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODEIn Crime of the Week: distill my heart. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

After being booked, defendants in Nashville’s justice system must navigate a labyrinth of challenges. They include people whose mental illness gets them in trouble, an abuse survivor who finds herself both victim and defendant, a couple using jail as an opportunity to get clean from heroin, and teenagers facing life sentences for murder. There are also judges and corrections officials who acknowledge the system’s default setting is for incarceration, not rehabilitation. And they recognize the inadequate resources available for those who need help once they’re released.The Max Original JUSTICE, USA is an insider’s view of Nashville's criminal justice system, going into the jails for men, women, and juveniles. The series features a variety of stories about inmates, lawyers, and judges who confront issues of incarceration, mental illness, and addiction.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

With the nation already on edge after 9/11, envelopes containing deadly anthrax were mailed to journalists and politicians. It killed five postal workers and reporters, and sickened Congressional staffers. Government officials claimed these attacks originated overseas, and used the threat as justification for the invasion of Iraq. The FBI relied on leading experts to decipher the anthrax, and traced the weaponized strain to a particular beaker in a US biolab. Was one of the scientists working with investigators actually responsible for the attacks? In the latest installment of the series from Sony Music and Campside Media, “Cover Up: The Anthrax Threat” recounts the seven-year probe that shocked the nation, ruined lives and careers, and set the country on the path to war. Host Josh Dean details the sprawling investigation into who mailed the bio-weapon and why.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "COVER UP: THE ANTHRAX THREAT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Octomess! For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

The 2012 murders of 20 school children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary shocked the nation and shattered their grieving families. But InfoWars host Alex Jones immediately unspooled a series of conspiracy theories accusing the parents of faking their kids’ deaths in an elaborate hoax. For years, the families were harassed by conspiracy theorists and routinely slandered by Jones. Fed up, a group of parents sued the host for libel and asked courts in Texas and Connecticut to hold him accountable in the biggest defamation case in US history.The HBO Original documentary “The Truth vs. Alex Jones” goes behind the scenes of the billion-dollar-plus lawsuit. It also digs into the origins of Jones’s unrepentant personna and his scandal-driven business model, as well as the worldview of the followers he inspired to torment the victims’ loved ones.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE TRUTH VS. ALEX JONES" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com