Criminal
Criminal is a podcast about people who have done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. Hosted by Phoebe Judge, it was named a Best Podcast of 2023 by the New York Times. The show is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Episodes
Family Secrets, Part 2
In June of 1985, police followed in pursuit as Fritz Klenner drove through the streets of Greensboro, North Carolina, with his cousin Susie Lynch and her two sons. When the chase eventually ended, it was like “something right out of a movie.”
This is the second part of a two-part story. You can listen to Part 1 here.
Jerry Bledsoe's book is called Bitter Blood. You can read more of Susan Spe
Family Secrets, Part 1
In 1985, college student Ian Perkins reconnected with a family friend, Fritz Klenner, who told him a secret. He said he was a CIA agent — and offered to let Ian come along on his next mission.
To listen early to Part 2 of this story, sign up for Criminal Plus at patreon.com/criminal.
Jerry Bledsoe's book is called Bitter Blood. You can read more of Susan Spear's reporting in the Greensboro News
He Was Told It Was a Job. It Was His Kidney They Wanted.
In 2021, a Nigerian man heard from a friend who offered him a job opportunity in the U.K. After he arrived he was taken to a hospital, where he found out that he wasn’t there for a job at all - but instead, for a kidney transplant. Today, Phoebe interviews journalist Alexis Okeowo about an organ trafficking scandal involving one of Nigeria’s most senior politicians.
You can read Alexis Okeowo’s p
The Informant
In 1978, an investigator in the Harris County DA's office in Houston got a call from an old friend. He told the investigator that he was in jail, that he wanted him to come pick him up — and that he had some information about a case that he thought the investigator would be very interested in.
Pamela Colloff’s book is Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf C
911
A conversation with a 911 operator about what happens on the other end of the line – and the day she heard her daughter's voice on the phone.
This episode was originally released in 2024.
We're going on tour - and it's a different kind of show than any we've done before. Upcoming dates in Durham, NC, and Portland, ME, are on sale now. Find ticket links and updates at thisiscriminal.com/live.
What Happened When 33,000 People’s Therapy Notes Were Released Onto the Internet
Imagine receiving an email from a stranger that said your therapist’s notes about you would be released onto the internet for all to see — unless you paid a ransom. That’s exactly what happened to 33,000 people in Finland in 2020, and it became the biggest criminal case in the country’s history.
You can read Jenny Kleeman's reporting on this case here, and listen to her BBC podcast, called
Out of the Box
In 1964, one of the best javelin throwers in Australia traveled to England to see if he could qualify for the Olympics. But, because of an injury, he didn’t make the team - and he couldn’t afford a plane ticket home. So he came up with an idea while working a cargo job at Heathrow Airport: “I saw them shipping animals. And I thought, well, if the dogs can survive it, I could.”
Marcus and Julie Mc
A Bump in the Night and Unexpected Guests
Amber Dawn was 20 when she moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Enumclaw, Washington. On her very first night, she began to notice strange sounds. And they didn’t stop.
These episodes were originally released in 2017.
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Please Continue (Criminal+)
Today, an unlocked episode of Criminal Plus that's full of exciting updates, public service announcements, and Tom Cruise's teeth.
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How a Volcanic Eruption Led to a Criminal Trial
In 2019, a volcano erupted off the coast of New Zealand - killing 22 tourists who were on it at the time. Four years later, a criminal trial began - where prosecutors claimed that several individuals and companies had violated workplace safety laws, and had “used an active volcano to make money.” Phoebe interviews Emily Clark from the Australian Broadcasting Company about the trial and what happen
Mr. Apology
In 1980, posters appeared in subway stations and on telephone poles in New York City with a phone number to call. When you called it, you would hear a message: “This is Apology. Apology is not associated with the police or any other organization but rather is a way for you to tell people what you have done wrong and how you feel about it.”
This episode was originally released in 2024.
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The Premonitions Bureau
On October 21, 1966, a woman named Lorna Middleton suddenly woke up from her sleep, struggling to breathe. The day before, a man named Alan Hencher was at work in London when he began to tremble all over. They both said they knew something terrible was about to happen.
Sam Knight’s book is The Premonitions Bureau: A True Account of Death Foretold.
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She Killed Three People with Poisonous Mushrooms. Did She Mean To?
In 2023, a woman named Erin Patterson had her husband's family over for a lunch of beef Wellington. A week later, three people were dead. Phoebe interviews Guardian reporter Nino Bucci about what happened next.
You can also watch this interview at youtube.com/criminalpodcast.
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The Comfort Kit
A few hours after Rachel Waters’ mother died in hospice care, police showed up at Rachel’s childhood home with a search warrant. “It had my name and the word ‘homicide’ on it.”
For more, read Madeleine Aggeler’s article, ‘Oh my God, did someone accuse me of killing my mom?’
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125 Acres
George Dinning was emancipated in 1865, when he was 10 years old. By the time he was in his mid-thirties, he’d bought the land on which he had been enslaved. Years later, 25 white men approached the house George had built by hand and told him to come outside.
Ben Montgomery’s book is A Shot in the Moonlight.
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Why Alex Murdaugh is Getting a Do-Over
Earlier this year, Alex Murdaugh’s 2023 double murder conviction was overturned by the South Carolina Supreme Court - due to “shocking jury interference.” Phoebe interviews Wall Street Journal reporter Valerie Bauerlein about what happened, and about the long history of law-breaking behavior in the Murdaugh dynasty.
Valerie Bauerlein's book is "The Devil at His Elbow."
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That’s Not Me
Porcha Woodruff was eight months pregnant when she was arrested by police one morning at her home in Detroit. When she spoke with a detective at the police station hours later, she asked them, “Why am I here?”
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What Nobody Tells You About the Morgue (with Patricia Cornwell)
Phoebe interviews crime novelist Patricia Cornwell about how working in an autopsy suite inspired her to create her most famous character: forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta. Plus, Phoebe and Patricia talk about visiting “body farms,” listening to police scanners, and why Patricia says she would have “run from the room screaming” had she known what her future would look like.
You can also watch t
All the Time in the World
The “body farm” at Texas State University is a place almost no one is allowed to see, because it’s one of very few places in the world that deliberately puts out human bodies to decompose in nature. We asked if we could visit, and they agreed.
This episode was originally released in 2017.
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The Caller
In 2008, an article in the monthly FBI bulletin argued that 911 calls could contain clues for homicide investigations. “The caller, in fact, may be the killer.”
Brett Murphy investigated 911 call analysis for ProPublica. You can find their new show, Paper Trail, wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Riverwalk
In November 2019, nineteen-year-old Zac Brettler went missing. When his parents began looking for him, they discovered that Zac had been living a double life.
Patrick Radden Keefe’s book is London Falling.
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A Man to Be Afraid Of
Sheriff Buford Pusser said he and his wife had come under gunfire early one morning on a country road - leading to her death. He told one reporter, “I'm pretty sure about who did it, and I'm pretty sure about where he is."
Jason Guerrasio's article about Buford Pusser is called "A Bullet, A Legend, A Lie." Oakley Dean Baldwin's book is called "Sheriff Buford Pusser: Final Chapter."
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Breaking Up is Hard to Do (Criminal+)
This episode is unlocked and available for everyone to listen to!
It took some trial and error, but Phoebe finally figured out how to put on makeup. Plus, Lauren asks for advice on delivering bad news, and we hear the latest in a crime story involving bees.
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Mantrap
Ed and Bertha Briney’s unoccupied farmhouse was reportedly broken into 50 times over 10 years. They put up “No Trespassing” signs, repeatedly complained to sheriffs in two different counties, nailed doors shut, and boarded up windows – but nothing worked. So they decided to try something else.
This episode was originally released in 2022.
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The Mountain
On January 18, 2025, Thomas Plamberger and his girlfriend Kerstin Gurtner began climbing the tallest mountain in Austria. But when they were almost to the top, they got stuck. One year later, prosecutors filed charges against Thomas for Kerstin’s death.
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The Poison Squad
In 1902, twelve young men volunteered for a government experiment. They agreed to eat food laced with chemicals like formaldehyde, borax, and salicylic acid every day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They were called The Poison Squad.
Deborah Blum’s book is The Poison Squad.
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Poisoned
In January 1993, a lot of children started showing up at Seattle Children’s Hospital with the same unusual symptoms. Doctors didn't know what was going on – until they realized that most of the children had recently eaten at the same restaurant: Jack in the Box.
Jeff Benedict’s book is Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. coli Outbreak That Changed the Way Americans Eat.
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The Numbers
When Fannie Davis and her family moved to Detroit in the mid-1950s, they hadn’t prepared themselves for how hard it would be. They had trouble finding steady work. So, Fannie found a way to take care of her family. She started small, but built a robust and lucrative operation… a business that a lot of people knew about but no one talked about.
Bridgett Davis’ book is The World According to Fannie
Unwarranted
On the morning of May 20, 1957, a bomb exploded under Don King’s front porch. Police got a tip that they should search the home of someone he knew - a woman named Dollree Mapp. But when they got there, she refused to let them in. Soon, her case would go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Carolyn Long’s book is Mapp v. Ohio: Guarding Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures.
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Rhinelander v. Rhinelander
Alice and Leonard Rhinelander had only been married for a few weeks when his family lawyer came to their house and took Leonard away with him. The next time Alice saw her husband was a year later, in a courtroom.
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The Longline
For years, John Moore and Tanner Mansell ran shark diving tours off the coast of Florida. One day, they came across a fishing line in the middle of the ocean – with over a dozen sharks caught on it. “This looked like something very illegal going on. And we felt like if we didn’t act, these sharks would definitely die.”
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The Formula
On Christmas Eve in 1926, a man came running into Bellevue Hospital in New York screaming that Santa Claus had been chasing him for blocks with a baseball bat. Not long after that, he died. And then another person arrived in the emergency room. And then another. This started happening in emergency rooms around the country. And it was happening because of a plan created by the U.S. government.
Deb
The Quintuplets
When Elzire Dionne gave birth to five identical babies, she caught the attention of reporters and doctors hundreds of miles away, the Chicago World’s Fair – and the Ontario government. Before the quintuplets were ten months old, they passed a new law: the Dionne Quintuplet Guardianship Act. “These children are our own royal family.”
Sarah Miller’s book is The Miracle and Tragedy of the Dionne Qu
Cecilia
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. “I think that we are all aliens until we find our communities.”
This episode was originally released in 2019.
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Excited Delirium
When Angelo Quinto died, his family said police were responsible for his death. But a lawyer told them his official cause of death would likely be something called “excited delirium.”
You can read more of Renu Rayasam's reporting on "excited delirium" at KFF Health News.
Arjun Byju's article for Current Affairs is: Excited Delirium: How Cops Invented a Disease.
Reporter Chris Gelardi obtained R
The Mug Book
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. Years later, a journalist decided to investigate his case, and described it as an “unreal, Alice-in-Chinatown murder case."
Today’s episode comes fr
The Plot
In 1864, a 41-year-old woman named Mary Surratt was running a boarding house in Washington, D.C. One of the most famous actors in the country began visiting her – which led to her becoming known as the woman who “kept the nest that hatched the egg."
Kate Clifford Larson’s book is The Assassin’s Accomplice.
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The Big Lie
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.
Gavin Bain's book is California Schemin'.
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Captain's Orders (Criminal+)
This episode is unlocked and available for everyone to listen to!
Phoebe tells a story about an uncooperative plane passenger. Plus, Lauren and Phoebe discuss what embarrasses Phoebe the most, the intentional vagueness of Criminal episode descriptions, and whether or not Phoebe is a "finger princess."
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The Test
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.
Mikita Brottman’s book is Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida.
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An American Original
In 1963, Jeanne and Alan Abel traveled to Washington, DC to picket in front of the White House. They said they were part of a campaign that wanted to put clothes on animals — including the first lady’s horse.
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Amok
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.
David Grann is the author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon, and his article about Krystian Bala is contained in his collection The Devil and Sherlock Holmes.
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Gone
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.
Karen Palmer’s memoir is She’s Under Here.
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Like a Bad Dream
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.
Ramya Nagesh is the author of A Practical Guide to Insane and Non-Insane Automatism in Criminal Law – Sleepwalking, Blackouts, Hypoglycaemia, and Other Issues.
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Sister Helen
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.
Sister Helen’s book, Dead Man Walking, is about h
The Speeding Duck, the Hungry Javelina, and “Leonardo da Pinchy”
Stories of animals really going for it.
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The Knock
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.
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Fall River
In 1833, a writer named Catharine Williams began working on a new book. She’d published books of poetry and about the Revolutionary War before, but this book was going to be different. It was going to be about a Methodist minister, a mill worker, and a murder.
Kate Dawson’s book is The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne.
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The Manual
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.
This episode was originally released in 2018.
To hear more about who actually wrote Hit Man: A Technical Ma
The Post Office
Scott Darlington ran the post office in a village outside Manchester for four years. One day, the computer system told him there was money missing from the branch – and 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.’”
Nick Wallis’s book is The Great Post Office Scandal. Scott Darlington’s book is Signed Sealed Destroyed
The Boy Scout
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.
Ken Silverstein’s book is The Radioactive Boy Scout.
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Rogers Park
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.
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Ghostwatch
On Halloween night, in 1992, an unusual television special aired on the BBC. Nobody expected what happened next. “The technicians were looking up at the big screen in the lobby, saying to each other, ‘My God, what's going on in Studio One?’”
This episode was first released in 2022.
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The Custom of the Sea
In 1883, a sailing captain named Thomas Dudley accepted a job no one thought was a good idea: to sail a small ship called the Mignonette halfway across the world.
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The Tusker
When Audrey Ryan’s father told her he once found 20 pounds of hash while he was fishing for scallops, she didn’t believe him. But he said that he wasn’t the only one who had found drugs in the ocean.
Audrey Ryan wrote about the Tusker for Boston Globe Magazine.
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Zak and Michelle
In 2006, a group of young men and teenagers were arrested under the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act for planning to set off bombs in Toronto. They were known as the Toronto 18. One of the group’s leaders was a 20-year-old named Zakaria Amara.
Michelle Shephard wrote about Zakaria Amara for The Walrus magazine.
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Patience
One Saturday morning in 2018, the police showed up at Patience Rousseau’s door, and started asking her questions about something she'd posted on Facebook after she'd had a miscarriage.
Caroline Kitchener’s article for The Washington Post is “She said she had a miscarriage — then got arrested under an abortion law.”
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The Phone Call
Bow Suprasert had just returned from a trip abroad when she got a strange phone call, saying a man had been caught traveling with a passport in her name. But Bow’s passport was still in her suitcase.
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The Compound
In 2023, a woman named Jella got a new job. On her first day, she got in a car to go to her new office. Then she got a feeling that something wasn’t right.
Denise Chan hosts the podcast Scam Factory.
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This is Phoebe Judge from the IRS
Phoebe tries to scam an English grandmother named Daisy over the phone. But Daisy isn’t just any grandmother.
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We al
E. Jean
We visited E. Jean Carroll at her house in the woods to talk about her two trials against President Donald Trump.
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The Bus Ride
Two days after Hurricane Katrina hit, people who lived in the Fischer Housing Projects were still trapped – and it didn’t seem like anyone was coming to help. So 20-year-old Jabar Gibson came up with a plan.
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Kids on the Case
The summer after Jessica Maple finished 6th grade, she found out that her great-grandmother’s house had been burglarized. So, 12-year-old Jessica got out her notebook, looked for fingerprints, and decided she would conduct her own investigation. This week, four stories of kids who cracked the case.
This episode was first released in 2020.
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The Clock Starts Ticking
On October 11, 2008, an 18-year-old was shot by someone firing a gun from the back seat of a car. A couple of hours later, homicide detectives arrived on the scene. And so did the camera crew for a reality television show.
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Death in Eden
In the early 1930s, eight people settled on an uninhabited island in the Galapagos. Within five years, two were missing and two were dead.
Abbott Kahler’s book is Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II.
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The Double
In 2023, two men told police the same story: each man said that his name was William Woods, and that his identity had been stolen.
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The Man Nobody Killed
On September 15, 1983, Michael Stewart was on his way home from a nightclub when police arrested him. Thirteen days later, he was dead.
Elon Green’s book is The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart’s New York.
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The Clearwater Monster
Early one morning in 1948, a phone call woke up the police chief in the small town of Clearwater, Florida. The caller said he’d seen something strange at the beach. Residents had found an odd set of footprints in the sand, and a rumor began circulating that Clearwater Beach had a sea monster.
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Uncle Harold
In 1997, Eric Konigsberg received a strange voicemail from someone in prison — a hit man who had confessed to at least ten murders. Eric and the man had never spoken before, but Eric had a hunch about who it was: his uncle.
Eric Konigsberg’s book is Blood Relation.
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By Any Means Necessary
In July 2010, a woman was on vacation with her boyfriend of six years — they were traveling around Italy in a van. One day, she was looking for a pair of sunglasses in the glove box, and she found a passport. It had her boyfriend’s photo — but a different name.
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The Guru
In the late 1960s, a yogi named Swami Rama came to the United States. His followers believed he could read their minds, visit them in their dreams, and manipulate reality. Shruti Swamy was one of them.
Shruti Swamy wrote a version of this story for the June 12th issue of The Believer. You can find it at https://www.thebeliever.net/.
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Professor Quaalude
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.
Phoebe and Lauren got to visit the Duke Lemur Center in person – hear all about it in our latest episode of Criminal Plus. Use the promo code “JOINUS” for 20% off an annual membership. You’ll get
Thin Ice and Unusual Punishments
Two years ago, we started making Criminal Plus episodes — behind-the-scenes conversations featuring Phoebe and Criminal co-creator Lauren Spohrer. Today, we’re sharing some of those conversations with you — about everything from Phoebe’s jangly bracelets to the reason a judge ordered a man to watch Bambi.
And we’re also sharing a promo code if you’d like to support our work and join our membershi
Action Park
“Anyone who went to Action Park understood you could get really messed up going there. It was part of why you wanted to go.”
Seth Porges made a documentary about Action Park, along with Chris Charles Scott. It’s called Class Action Park.
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No Hint or Help
In the 1950s, a new television quiz show premiered called Twenty One. But the first episode was a disaster — so the producers decided to try something.
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False Positive
The night before she gave birth, Susan Horton had a salad for dinner. The next day, doctors told her she’d tested positive for opiates - and reported her to child welfare authorities.
This episode is from our friends at the Reveal podcast. Listen to a longer version here.
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Tabatha
When Tabatha Trammell was 50 years old, she started studying to become a doula — a support person for pregnant women. Today, most of her clients are incarcerated. She says she always tells them her own story when she meets them: “I went down that same road. But I'm here today. And I'm going to tell you how to navigate this prison system.”
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The Job
Not long into his job as prison superintendent, Frank Thompson had to prepare his staff to perform Oregon's first execution in three decades. They simulated each step of the process over and over and over.
This episode was first released in 2018.
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The Roofman, Part 2
When Jeffery Manchester escaped from prison, a lot of people weren't surprised. But they didn't expect what happened next. "I kind of figured he'd be on the beach with a margarita, but nope."
This is the second part of a two-part story.
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The Roofman, Part 1
Between 1998 and 2000, more than 40 stores and chain restaurants across the country were robbed by a masked man who always entered through the roof. Police couldn’t figure out where he’d turn up next.
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