Criminal

Black and white illustration of a Ford Torino at an angle with the hood facing to the right.

Tokyo Joe

Episode #250

2024-01-05 05:00:36

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Ken Eto worked for the Chicago mafia for over 30 years - the FBI estimated that he made millions of dollars a year for them. But in 1983, the mob turned on him.
Black and white illustration with six different animals: a mouse holding dentures, a dog on a sofa, a cow jumping over a fence, a cat sitting on a rice cooker, a bird sitting on a cruise ship, and a goat screaming. Text reads: Episode 249: The Gargoyle Cat, the Taylor Swift Goat, and the Runaway Cow.

The Gargoyle Cat, the Taylor Swift Goat, and the Runaway Cow

Episode #249

2023-12-22 05:00:00

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Stories of animals really going for it.
In the center, on a white background, is black handwritten text in cursive that reads: The questions I'm asking. Bordering the image are black dots and question marks.

The Questions I’m Asking

Episode #248

2023-12-15 05:00:23

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Today we meet “Genius Grant” winner Andrea Armstrong. In 2019, she started the Incarceration Transparency Project to identify and make public how many people were dying behind bars in Louisiana. The project also documents conditions inside the state’s prisons and jails – what Andrea Armstrong calls “secretive spaces of confinement.” She’s said: “Too often, the how and why a person in prison dies is kept secret from everyone, including the person’s family."
Black and white digital illustration of the tip of an island. On the island, there’s several large buildings and trees. Across the water from the island is a city with many buildings. There are a couple of boats in the water.

Send Her to the Island

Episode #247

2023-12-08 05:00:46

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When a young woman showed up at a boarding house in Manhattan, she said her name was Nellie Brown – but that was all she seemed to remember about herself. Then someone went to the police: "I want you to take her quietly."
Black and white digital illustration of a small cardboard box with items scattered around it: two combs, an envelope, a pencil and a roll of tape.

The Kit

Episode #246

2023-12-01 05:00:09

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In the early 1970s, Marty Goddard was worried about the high rates of sexual assault in Chicago. She learned from police that evidence from sexual assault cases often wasn’t collected properly — or at all. “They said, ‘We don’t get evidence.’ And this really kicked everything off.”
Black and white illustration of a poodle with a poofy haircut standing inside of an ornate picture frame.

Masterpiece

Episode #245

2023-11-24 05:00:59

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In the 1950s poodles were all the rage — one tabloid even reported that when a girl “makes the big time she traditionally acquires 3 things — minks, gems, and a poodle.” But one poodle in particular put the breed on the map. His name was Masterpiece… and police in 13 states knew exactly what he looked like.
Black and white digital illustration of a gallery wall with many different framed paintings. In the middle, there's a painting of a naked woman. The other paintings are portraits of men.

Fine Art and Meat Cleavers

Episode #244

2023-11-17 05:00:14

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In 1913, museums and art galleries in London received a memo from the police. It told them to be careful when they let in visitors – women might try to attack the art.
Black and white illustration of a poster tacked onto a brick wall. On the poster, one hand reaches down from the upper left and another reaches up from the bottom right, three clean unused syringes in the open palm. Between the hands, large text reads "The Liverpool Exchange."

The Liverpool Exchange

Episode #243

2023-11-10 05:00:07

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In the 1980s, Liverpool was having what journalists called a heroin epidemic. The chairman of a local organization where people would go for drug counseling told a reporter, “We are on the brink of complete catastrophe.” Then a small group of people decided to try something.
Black and white sketch of a small room with a table and two chairs, one on either side, across from each other. An overhead light hangs from the ceiling above and illuminates the table and chairs.

Interrogation Room

Episode #242

2023-11-03 05:00:08

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After a 17-hour-long interrogation, a woman confesses to a murder. But then, evidence surfaces proving that she can’t have actually done it – and that it was a false confession. Today, we’re looking at what goes on in the interrogation room – and we hear what happens on the inside.
Black and white illustration of an old Victorian-style house with bushes and trees around it. One of the windows appears to have a crack in it. A large arm is sticking out of one of the top windows and making a peace sign gesture. A large leg is sticking out of one of the bottom windows and its toes are holding a triangular flag that reads “for Sale.”

How to Sell a Haunted House

Episode #241

2023-10-27 05:00:15

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In 1989, Helen Ackley decided to sell her old Victorian house in Nyack, New York. It didn’t go as planned. The house became the center of a case that’s referred to as “The Ghostbusters ruling.”
Black and white illustration of U.S. documents in a messy pile. They include a New York State Drivers' license with a signature that reads "Jack Barsky," a Social Security care with the "Jack Barsky" signature, a U.S. Passport, and a birth certificate.

The Spy

Episode #240

2023-10-20 05:00:31

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Jack Barsky was a college student in 1970 when the KGB knocked on the door of his dorm room to inquire about his plans after college.
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Chesa, Kathy, and David

Episode #239

2023-10-13 05:00:44

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When Chesa Boudin was 14 months old, his parents were arrested for participating in a robbery that led to the murder of a security guard and two police officers. He spent his childhood visiting them in prison.
Three white shapes sketched against a black background — two squares and a circle. They very slightly overlap.

The Confession, Part 2

Episode #238

2023-10-06 05:00:09

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17 years after he shot a man, Trevell Coleman walked into a police station and tried to turn himself in. He’d never been a suspect in the case, and had kept the secret for years. He also never knew if the man had lived or died — but after turning himself in, he finally found out.
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The Confession, Part 1

Episode #237

2023-09-29 05:00:00

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Trevell Coleman signed with Bad Boy Records in 1998. He made it onto the Billboard charts, and was called “the latest protege of rap’s royal family.” But there was something from his past he hadn’t told anyone about – and he couldn’t let it go.
A black and white illustration of a white crabapple tree on a black background. The tree is bare, missing its leaves and many of its branches.

Under the Crabapple Tree

Episode #236

2023-09-22 05:00:25

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On September 16, 1922, a reverend and a choir singer were found dead under a tree. Between their bodies was a stack of love letters. When police began investigating the murders, tabloid reporters did too, and rumors about the case began to spread quickly.
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The Newsroom

Episode #235

2023-09-15 05:00:47

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Reporter Jeff German spent his life investigating corruption, fraud, and murder. After he was killed, his colleagues were determined to figure out why he had died.