Criminal

A black and white illustration of a so-called "mug book" split into two parts. The book consists of pasted in photographs of mug shots.

The Mug Book

Episode #354

2026-02-27 05:00:06

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After a gang leader was murdered in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the only witnesses who would talk with the police were tourists. They looked through so-called “mug books” filled with photographs of Asian men - and pointed out a man named Chol Soo Lee. He insisted he was innocent.
Black and white drawing of a bird’s nest made mostly with twigs seen from above with four eggs inside.

The Plot

Episode #353

2026-02-20 05:00:15

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In 1864, a 41-year-old woman named Mary Surratt was running a boarding house in Washington, D.C. Soon, one of the most famous actors in the country began visiting her – his name was John Wilkes Booth.
Black and white illustration of an early-2000s-style trucker hat and aviator sunglasses.

The Big Lie

Episode #352

2026-02-13 05:00:43

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In the early 2000s, the hip hop group Silibil N’ Brains seemed like they were on the brink of becoming very famous. They had a record deal with Sony, had been on MTV, and were talking about making a TV show. But they weren’t who they said they were.
Black and white illustration of a duck decoy used for hunting.

The Test

Episode #351

2026-02-06 05:00:51

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When Mike Williams went missing while duck hunting on Lake Seminole, investigators wondered if he had been eaten by alligators. But Mike’s mother was sure something else had happened. 
A black and white illustration of a dog wearing striped pants.

An American Original

Episode #350

2026-01-30 05:00:29

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In 1963, Jeanne and Alan Abel went to Washington, DC. They said they were part of a campaign that wanted to put clothes on the first lady’s horse.
Black and white illustration of a book with the profile of the head of a goat with horns on the cover.

Amok

Episode #349

2026-01-23 05:00:10

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While investigating a murder, a Polish detective discovered an unusual clue – a novel that contained an odd number of similarities to the real-life crime.
Black and white illustration of a boxy station wagon with its headlights on driving away from the viewer on a long road that turns and disappears into the horizon.

Gone

Episode #348

2026-01-16 05:00:08

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One night in 1989, Karen Palmer got in her car with her husband and two daughters and drove away from their home in California. They didn’t tell anyone where they were going.
Black and white illustration of an overflowing bathtub. Water pours out of a faucet and streams down the side of the tub. The bathroom walls are tiled.

Like a Bad Dream

Episode #347

2026-01-09 05:00:05

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One day in 2011, Lindsey Schweigert’s roommate came home to an open garage, a missing dog, and an overflowing bathtub. Lindsey remembers waking up in police custody.
Black and white abstracted depiction of a rosary.

Sister Helen

Episode #346

2025-12-26 05:00:55

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In 1982, Sister Helen Prejean was invited to write a letter to a man on death row named Elmo Patrick Sonnier. She told us, “I thought that all I was going to be doing was writing letters. And lo and behold, two years later, I am in that execution chamber.” When we spoke to her in 2021, she was 81, and had been present at the executions of six men.
Black and white illustration of several different animals: a duck flying, a bear from the neck up wearing a bucket hat and sunglasses, a cat sitting on top of a van, a goat from the neck up wearing a medal around its neck, a javelina eating cheetos from a bag, and a slug.

The Speeding Duck, the Hungry Javelina, and “Leonardo da Pinchy”

Episode #345

2025-12-19 05:00:15

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Stories of animals really going for it.
Black and white digital illustration of a house with a porch. The house sits on a small hill and a long set of stairs lead to the porch. The ground is covered in snow.

The Knock

Episode #344

2025-12-12 05:00:53

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On Christmas morning, Laura Nowlin was in her living room with her infant son. They were getting ready to leave to spend the day with family. Then, Laura heard a knock on the door. She says it sounded frantic.
Black and white illustration of a map of the town of Fall River on the Massachusetts and Rhode Island border.

Fall River

Episode #343

2025-12-05 05:00:06

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In 1833, a writer named Catharine Williams was working on a new book. It was going to be about a Methodist minister, a mill worker, and a murder.
A black and white illustration of a phone booth.

The Manual

Episode #342

2025-11-28 05:00:07

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In 1993, a family was found murdered in their home. A Maryland police spokesperson described the homicide investigation as the most “exhaustive and labor intensive” in the department’s history. And then investigators found a strange manual - written by someone calling themselves Rex Feral.
Black and white illustration of an English post office box, specifically a kind called a pillar box. It's tall and narrow, with ornate carvings and a slot.

The Post Office

Episode #341

2025-11-21 05:00:53

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Scott Darlington ran the post office in a village outside Manchester – until he was accused of theft and fraud. “I started thinking, ‘Maybe I’ve done this and I just haven’t realized that it’s been me.’”
Black and white illustration of the Boy Scout Atomic Energy merit badge, which is a fabric patch with an illustration of an atom in the center.

The Boy Scout

Episode #340

2025-11-14 05:00:06

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When David Hahn was 16, he started working on something that caught the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the FBI.
Black and white illustration of a whistle. The whistle is attached to a corded lanyard which coils outward from it in a spiral.

Rogers Park

Episode #339

2025-11-07 05:00:49

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The story of one day in one neighborhood in Chicago – and the people living there who try to stop ICE agents from arresting their neighbors.