Examined: The Backfire Effect | New Podcast

Nearly 40 years ago, in the parking lot of a community college in Port Huron, Michigan, a 20-year-old student named Scott Macklem was shot dead in broad daylight. His murder shocked the community. It made no sense. The police quickly found their suspect. There was only one problem: the man said he was nowhere near the scene of the crime. And he could prove it. In Examined: The Backfire Effect, journalist Josie Duffy Rice talks with eyewitnesses, investigators and local reporters to unravel a shocking story of judicial apathy and expedience — a story that leaves no one off the hook. Examined looks at overlooked cases that never got the real investigation they deserved. Each season features deeply reported stories about crime, punishment, and the criminal legal system.  Find more episodes of Examined: The Backfire Effect wherever you get podcasts. Binge the full series now with a Pushkin+ subscription — sign up on the Examined Apple show page or at pushkin.fm/plus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In February 2024, celebrated children’s book author and illustrator Petra Mathers and her husband, photographer Michael Mathers, mailed letters to dozens of friends and family members to let them know they had died by suicide. Petra and Michael were by all accounts healthy, happy, and deeply in love. As much a love story as one about death, it begs the question: what did that decision do to the people left to mourn them? In season 3 of Death of an Artist, journalists Leon Neyfakh and Alice Gregory set out to interview everyone who got one of Petra and Michael’s letters—as one married couple trying to understand another. Told through intimate conversations with Petra and Michael’s friends and family about their own relationships to aging, grief, death, and the friends they thought they knew, Death of an Artist weaves together a portrait of a community grappling with the Mathers’ deaths and the final words they left behind. Search for Death of an Artist wherever you get podcasts. And get early, ad-free access to the entire season now by subscribing to Pushkin+ on the Apple Podcasts show page or at pushkin.fm/plus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For most of her life, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was in a wheelchair. She had a feeding tube, an oxygen tank, and a list of diagnoses long enough to fill a binder. Then, in 2015, her mother was found stabbed to death in their home, and the world found out Gypsy could walk.  The story became a documentary, a TV series, a household name. Case closed.  But did she fake it all?  In this new series from PRETEND, host Javier Leiva investigates the online world that formed around the case, where no one is a reliable narrator.  This is part one of The Gypsy Rose Obsession. Listen to PRETEND wherever you get podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you liked this past season of Deep Cover, The Family Man, you'll enjoy this episode from another Pushkin podcast, Heavyweight. It's a great companion to our bank robbery story from this season. Heavyweight, hosted by Jonathan Goldstein, creates space for difficult conversations and resolving long-standing regrets and unanswered questions. In this episode: A young man had just turned 14 when he took his father’s shotgun, skipped school, and robbed a bank for $40,000. Now, 33 years later, he wants to apologize to the people he harmed that day. Find Heavyweight wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Keith Giammanco started robbing banks in 2007, he sought to minimize his legal risk. Keith says he never carried a weapon, and he confessed to the authorities the same day he was arrested.  But, ultimately, he faced two prosecutions - federal and state. And he served nearly two decades in prison. Jake sits down with legal scholar James Forman, Jr. to unpack how this all unfolded, why a lawyer never tries to "manifest success,” and what justice looks like in a case like this.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Walton was shocked to learn his lifelong friend, Keith, had been living a double life as the Boonie Hat Bandit. He’d seen reports about the serial bank robber on the news, but never recognized him. Jake speaks with Mike about their friendship and why, sometimes, it’s hard to see the thing right in front of you.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Keith’s daughters, Elise and Marissa, face new trials on their own while Keith serves his time. After decades in custody, Keith nears his release date, and the Giammanco family grapples with the past and the choices they’ve made.  To learn more about Keith’s story, check out Bank Notes Revisited, co-written with Caroline Giammanco. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Federal and county prosecutors all want to hold Keith accountable for his crimes. Against the advice of his counsel, Keith takes his case to trial, hoping a jury will show him and his family some mercy. In the courtroom, his victims tell their side of the story.  Subscribe to Pushkin+ to binge the entire season, ad-free. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Keith’s arrest makes national news, forcing Elise and Marissa to defend their dad to the world. Their mother makes a surprise reappearance, moving in and bringing new troubles along with her. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to binge the entire season, ad-free. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Boonie Hat Bandit robs a 12th bank. And things don’t go according to his plan. His teenage daughters, Elise and Marissa, are left to pick up the pieces. They wonder: how had he managed such an elaborate deception? And what’s going to happen to their family now? Subscribe to Pushkin+ to binge the entire season, ad-free. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.