Criminal

An illustration of various cleaning and construction tools, including a mop, a bucket, gloves, a dustpan, a spray bottle, and a sledgehammer.

A Bucket, a Mop, and a Sledgehammer

Episode #124

2019-10-11 13:04:05

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After a crime occurs, or when someone dies, the police aren’t responsible for cleaning up. That’s not their job. The coroner takes the body, the police conduct their investigation, and then everyone leaves. But the blood, and the rubber gloves, and the uneaten food in the refrigerator are all left behind. Sandra Pankhurst didn’t like imagining that. So she decided to clean it up.
An illustration of a woman in a dress with a long coat and boots, walking, and peering through a magnifying glass.

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes

Episode #123

2019-09-27 11:01:57

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When 18-year-old Ruth Cruger disappeared in 1917, newspapers reported that she probably ran off with a boyfriend. New York police said that there were no clues to go on. But an investigator named Grace Humiston decided that she would do whatever it took to find her. She became known as "Mrs. Sherlock Holmes."
An illustration of a lemur on a branch.

Professor Quaalude

Episode #122

2019-09-13 12:24:52

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John Buettner-Janusch was one of the first Americans to study lemurs. He held prestigious faculty positions at Yale, Duke and NYU, before surprising everyone with a series of increasingly bizarre crimes.  
A negative-space illustration of a dog with a tennis ball next to it on the ground, and a collar and leash around its neck.

Off Leash

Episode #121

2019-08-30 12:13:19

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“I never did anything wrong. I never had a speeding ticket. I think I just saved all my stuff up for just one thing.” This week, we speak with Toby Dorr — better known as the Dog Lady of Lansing Prison.
An illustration of a tunnel with train tracks going through it.

The Tunnel

Episode #120

2019-08-02 12:39:00

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In the late 1800s, North Carolina was trying to build a railway system through the Western part of the state. In December of 1882, something went wrong. The Raleigh News and Observer called it “too horrible to chronicle without a shudder.”
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He’s Still Neutral

Episode #119

2019-07-19 12:49:51

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Dan Stevenson has lived in Oakland’s Eastlake neighborhood for 40 years. He says crime has been an issue for as long as he can remember, but he isn’t one to call the police. He’s a pretty “live and let live” kind of guy. Or he was. Before he finally got fed up and took matters into his own hands. We update a favorite episode with news and additional interviews.
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Stowaway

Episode #118

2019-07-05 14:23:27

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One day in 1969, Paulette Cooper decided to see what she could get away with.
An illustration of a lake, with trees on the shore.

The Lake

Episode #117

2019-06-21 13:50:34

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Amanda Hamm and her boyfriend Maurice LaGrone drove to Clinton Lake one night in 2003. The next day, DeWitt County Sheriff Roger Massey told a local newspaper, “We don’t want to blow this up into something that it’s not. But on the other side, we’ve got three children who are...
An illustration of a city skyline with a replica of the Statue of Liberty under a night sky with a crescent moon, and a little bunny lit by the moon.

Jessica and the Bunny Ranch

Episode #116

2019-06-07 12:33:37

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In our last episode we spoke Cecilia Gentili, a trans Latina who worked for many years as an undocumented sex worker. Today, we get two more views of sex work in America. We speak with a high-end escort in New York City, and take a trip to one of the...
An illustration of the earth with the stars in the sky, and a UFO hovering over the ground.

Cecilia

Episode #115

2019-05-24 19:43:44

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When Cecilia Gentili was growing up in Argentina, she felt so different from everyone around her that she thought she might be from another planet. “Some of us find our community with our own family and some of us don’t.” Today, Cecilia runs a policy reform organization called Trans Equity....
An illustration of a cabin amongst some trees, telephone wires overhead.

Philip and Becky

Episode #114

2019-05-10 12:51:05

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When Philip Benight met Becky Golden, they made a promise to stick together, no matter how bad things got. 
An illustration of a bird in a cage, the door open.

Hostage

Episode #113

2019-04-26 13:19:01

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One summer in 1973, two men robbed a bank in Stockholm. They held four people hostage for six days. Swedish psychiatrist and criminologist Nils Bejerot coined the term "Stockholm Syndrome" to describe the response of the hostages. One of the bank robbers, Clark Olofsson, told us, "It was fun."
An illustration of an open mailbox.

The Mail

Episode #112

2019-04-12 12:21:18

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This episode contains adult content. Please use discretion. When Sarah Garone was 13 years old, she received something very strange in the mail. She didn't know who it was from, or why they would have sent it. And then it happened again.
Text: the gun powder — can you ask about that please? Did they check me for residue? I need to C a lawyer ASAP. Silvon

Silvon Simmons

Episode #111

2019-03-29 11:54:27

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"My first instinct, to be honest, was they shot this guy and now there’s a coverup."-Liz Riley, Special Assistant Public Defender, Monroe County Public Defender's Office.
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Baby Snatcher

Episode #110

2019-03-15 12:05:51

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Georgia Tann bragged that she had a rigorous selection process that matched the perfect child with the perfect home.
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Homewrecker

Episode #109

2019-03-01 13:51:14

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It's one thing to get into an argument with a stranger on Facebook. It's another thing to try to ruin that stranger's life.