True Crime Campfire

In last week’s episode, we learned about the troubled early life of Earle Nelson, and witnessed his first steps towards becoming one of the most prolific serial killers in North American history. This week, his journey of mayhem across America really kicks into high gear. Join us for part 2 of this terrifying true story.

Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first CRIMEWAVE true crime cruise! Get your fan code now--tickets go on sale February 7: CrimeWaveatSea.com/CAMPFIRE

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Bestial by...

If you think about the 1920s in the United States, a few things might come to mind—jazz, prohibition, Babe Ruth, and, right at the end, the Wall Street Crash. And if you think of crime, you probably think of Al Capone, bootlegging, and fast-talking wise guys with Tommy guns. But the 1920s were also in some ways the nation’s introduction to crimes that could shock and horrify the entire country. Leopold and Loeb’s thrill killing, the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, the utter horror of child-killer and cannibal Albert Fish. And possibly the most prolific killer...

I saw a meme one time that said, “It’s funny how sometimes the people you’d take a bullet for are the ones behind the trigger.” Most of the time that’s just a metaphor, a way to describe the way it feels when a loved one betrays you. But not always. Sometimes betrayals come written in blood—and more often than not, from somebody you loved and trusted. You couldn’t find a clearer example of that than this week’s case, a story where two of the most powerful forces in the world—love and greed—clash, and three innocent p...

Motivational speakers started really gaining popularity in the 70s and 80s, the golden age of “self-help.” And in recent years, they’ve been even more in-demand, especially in the business world. You can’t swing a dead cat these days without hitting some self-proclaimed entrepreneurial guru who claims to have the formula for success and would be happy to share it with you, if you sign up for their seminar for the low-low price of thousands of dollars. Or buy their TikTok course. But you don’t have to get certified or trained to be a motivational speaker, and their industry i...

Nobody likes to be embarrassed. More often than not, people are kind of weird in one way or another, have some secret history or fascination they’d hate to have dragged out into the light of day. It’s normal. What’s less normal is just how far some people will go to avoid their embarrassing secrets coming out…even to the point of murder.

Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first CRIMEWAVE true crime cruise! Get your fan code now--tickets go on sale Feb...

The heart has been the subject of mythology for humanity for centuries. Egyptians believed that in the afterlife, your heart was weighed against a feather and if all your life’s sins didn’t outweigh the feather, you could join Osiris in the afterlife. If it was heavier, your heart was consumed by Amuut, a demon, and your soul disappeared forever. Ancient Greeks believed that the heart was the anchor of the soul and instinctively thought it was the source of heat for the body. Cultures all over the world recognized the importance of the heart, before even realizing how cruc...

If there’s one thing that gets people’s blood pumpin’, it’s sports. All over the world on any given day, you can find people getting into passionate arguments about whose team has a better chance of making the playoffs, or the finals, or the World Cup or whatever. Sometimes there are fisticuffs involved! There are pubs in Scotland where you’re not allowed to wear your football team colors, for fear of a brawl breaking out. In my hometown, when our college team won a big basketball game, people would celebrate by turning over cars and setting stuff on fire. P...

A young woman found naked and dead in the water. A diary that held clues to a secret life. Dark truths hidden behind suburban walls, and a mind at war with itself. This week we have a tale of mystery and madness where the borders of reality itself start to crumble.

Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first CRIMEWAVE true crime cruise! Get your fan code now--tickets go on sale February 7: CrimeWaveatSea.com/CAMPFIRE

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Deadly Whispers by Ted Schwarz<...

There’s a meme I’ve seen a few times. It says “You never know how toxic something is until you breathe fresher air.” I think it’s about how easy it is to get so completely wrapped up in a relationship, or a group dynamic, or a way of thinking that you stop seeing it for what it is. You become less and less tuned in to what’s normal. This happens a lot when you get two close friends together—two people who might not be likely to do any damage if left to themselves, but who become like fire and...

You’re supposed to be safe at home. Why wouldn’t you be? And that sense of comfort must be even greater if “home” is a beautiful house you built yourself, where you live happily with your family in a town where you’re successful and respected. You’d have no reason at all to think that someone was watching you with binoculars through the trees, their heart burning ever hotter with rage, ever closer to exploding with murderous fury. Join us for a story of madness and grandiose delusion, a case that rocked 1970s California almost as much as the Manson F...

Obsession is one of humanity’s greatest boons… and curses. Obsession can fuel a scientist’s entire career in trying to solve a singular problem. An athlete’s obsession can pull them to physics bending heights, a politician’s obsession with a cause can push a world changing bill forward. People can be obsessed over all sorts of great and mundane things: books, trading cards, cars, art without any kind of harm… But when that obsession is about controlling or possessing another person? Things can take a sinister turn. In today’s story, 7 people’s lives are ruined by a single woman’s o...

There are some people who, if they find themselves stuck in a hole, will just keep digging deeper. Maybe they think they’ll find some highly improbable way out of their troubles, more likely it’s all they know to do. This week’s story is about a man who kept doubling down on his lies and bad decisions until the lives of those closest to him were torn to pieces. Join us for a twisty tale of deception and betrayal.

Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death...

The U.S. military teaches recruits to function together as a well-oiled machine—and for young people who dream of joining the most elite forces, it requires discipline, commitment, and loyalty, not to mention the courage to put yourself in harm’s way for the greater good. For the ones with the deepest commitment, there has to be a fire in the belly that drives them to keep their eye on the prize, no matter what the risks. Most of the time this sets the stage for great achievements. But sometimes, the personality type that lends itself to flawless dedication can...

The Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast returns for its second season!

Seven years after his release from prison, former juvenile lifer Luis "Suave" Gonzalez seems to
be thriving. His career has taken off, he’s in a committed relationship and he’s received public
recognition after telling his story on the podcast. Suave always thought once he was out of
prison and found stability in his new life, he would finally feel truly free. But freedom, it turns out,
is more complicated than it seems. "Suave" is a deeply intimate portrait of a man battling the

How far would you go to get what you want? For most of us, there’s a hard limit on the answer to that question, and that limit is hurting someone. Especially someone close to you. But in this week’s story, we meet a man who didn’t believe in limits like that, who would let nothing and no one stand in the way of his ambition and desires. It’s a mindset you might expect from a Wall Street bigshot, but our guy wasn’t that—he was a suburban rabbi, who kept all his demons hidden under a cloak of g...

Vengeance is such a core human urge that there are hundreds and thousands of parables and plays and stories warning us about what a dangerous path it is. In the classic Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet destroyed himself and the entire Danish royal family in the name of revenge. Francis Bacon wrote “A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green.” Today’s story is a good reminder that if you seek revenge, you should dig two graves. 

Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first C...

For at least the past 200 years or so, there’s been a lot of debate about women and the role we’re supposed to play in society. Historically, we’ve been expected to be the nurturers, the caregivers—the gentler sex, as we used to be called. We cook the food, we nurse the sick, we mind the children. Some of us are perfectly content in that role. But all throughout history, there have also been women who’ve chafed against these expectations. Some of them rebelled in a healthy, heroic way—fighting for women’s right to vote, to manage our own...

For people of faith, a minister is supposed to be a figure of trust, a rock to support you in times of trouble. Not everyone who holds that position meets those ideals, though. This week’s story is about a man whose minister’s robes and carefully practiced smiles hid a heart burning with violence and dark desires, someone who would betray every trust given to him and leave pain—not salvation—in his wake. Join us for our latest "Sinister Minister" episode. 

Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to...

In this week’s episode, we are going to be looking at “Bullshido,” a catch-all term for martial arts practices that are either fake, delusional, or just plain useless. This is the land of no-touch knockouts, touches of death, and mystical masters who can’t manage their own lives. We’ll be asking the question—should you learn self-defense from summon who struggles with basic reality? Spoiler, the answer is no, no you shouldn’t. 

This is a fun one, y'all. Nobody dies, and everybody is an absolute goober. 

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Interesting Stuff From Around the World YouTube ch...

Art is a mysterious thing. It’s hard to pin down why one thing moves us and another does not. Similarly, it can be hard to identify that special spark, that unique creativity that an artist can have that lifts their work into something magical. If you don’t have that, all the technical skill and carefully won knowledge in the world won’t get you to that special place. Unless, of course, you just steal it from someone else. This is “Faking It: Art’s Greatest Forger.”

This is a fun one, y'all. Opulent settings. Drama even a...

We’ve covered some real nasty pieces of work on our show over the years. Dive into true crime for any length of time, and you’re bound to come across plenty of people you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. Or a lit one, even. But even among the rogue’s gallery of devil’s rejects out there, there are some in a league of their own. People so devoid of morals and human empathy that they should really just be shoved in some dank little spider-infested oubliette somewhere and forgotten about, just to protect the rest of us...

Last week, we learned the identity of the man hired to kill Rozanne Gailiunas—Andy Hopper, an insurance adjustor turned weed dealer who had apparently added “hitman” to his list of careers. But investigators were still uncertain whether Andy was who they were after, or just a middleman who could lead them to the real killer. So they let him remain free—and then, tipped off by his girlfriend, he vanished. Join us for the conclusion of “Bound by Hate: The Murder of Rozanne Gailiunas.

Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterho...

In last week’s episode, young nurse Rozanne Gailiunas was brutally murdered while her  young son slept in the room next door. Suspicion initially fell on both her estranged husband, Peter, and her new boyfriend, Larry Aylor. But evidence was thin on the ground, and the case went cold. Three years later, Larry was the target of a botched assassination attempt, but had trouble getting the police to take it seriously. No one connected this shooting to Rozanne’s death. Then, out of the blue, a mysterious woman called investigators and laid the blame for Rozanne’s murder at the feet of...

The late, great Bo Diddley asked one of life’s big questions in one of the 20th century’s greatest songs—“Who Do You Love?” That’s a simple question, but in some relationships, the answer isn’t simple at all. Love, money, revenge—people kill for all kinds of reasons. And in this week’s case, those motives tangle together in a way that will tear lives to pieces. A woman torn between two men, a crime scene straight out of a nightmare, and an investigation that twisted and turned for years. 

Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last P...

We’ve covered our share of scary ladies on this show. In fact, bad bitches are one of our special interests. There was Tracey Richter, who murdered an innocent neighbor to frame him for a crime he didn’t commit. Marie Hilley, the serial poisoner who eluded police for years and once passed herself off as her own (fictional) twin sister. Marjorie Orbin, the Vegas showgirl who murdered her husband for his life insurance and left his dismembered body in the desert. I could keep going—there are a lot of ‘em. But this week, I think we may have found th...

Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Money has never made a man happy yet, nor will it.” To which I think a lot of people would say, yeah, try being poor, Benny. A couple thousand dollars would make me plenty happy right now. But, once you’re beyond the stage of having enough wealth to be comfortable and free from fear of destitution, I think his point mostly stands. We’ve seen a lot of cases involving very wealthy people, and I don’t think you could say they were any happier than the average Joe. If anything, just the opposite. That’s definitely t...

Most people love getting a peek behind a fellow human’s carefully managed facade. We’re delighted when we see the local magistrate gettin’ wrecked at a dive bar two towns over. We catch a glimpse of our married coworker making out with a guy who’s not her husband behind the building, and we can’t wait to tell somebody. We love a hot mic moment, when a news anchor or politician drops the mask for a second and acts like the flawed human they are. I think that’s one of the reasons we love hit-man stings on this show. A...

I have vivid memories of the night of March 22, 1997. Part of it has to do with, y’know, young dumb love—but most of it has to do with the Hale-Bopp Comet, also known as the Great Comet, which was brilliantly visible from my hometown that night. I had a huge crush on this guy, and he invited me to watch the comet with him. We climbed up on the rooftop of this neighborhood bar with a bottle of screw-top wine, and we watched the sky—and suddenly, there it was, a bright silvery ball with a long glowing tail. Magic...

As Abe Lincoln once said—or possibly some guy named Peter Drucker, depends on who you ask—the best way to predict the future is to create it. But for a lot of us humans, that’s a little too loosey-goosey. We’re not big fans of the unknown, and we tend to seek out people who claim they can tell us what to expect from the future. Americans, for example, spend billions a year on psychics. A lot of these are legitimate businesspeople who genuinely want to provide counseling and comfort for their clients. But there’s also a bustling t...

Some of the easiest people on the planet to fool are those who have a real high opinion of their own brains based on very little evidence. A classic con-artist trick is to make the mark think they’re the one in charge, they’re the one making the decisions. They don’t realize they’ve been taken until their bank balance is empty and they’ve signed away the deed to granddaddy’s farm. Sometimes they won’t even see it then, because that would mean facing up to some unpleasant realities about themselves. In this week’s story, the consequences...

On June 10th, 1983, the decomposing body of a well-dressed man was found in a desolate canyon near Los Angeles. John Doe #94 would soon be identified as missing variety show producer Roy Radin. He'd last been seen after meeting with a mysterious woman in a gold dress. Her name was Lanie Jacobs.   Jacobs and Radin were obsessed with becoming Hollywood movie producers. And when their paths collided, it led them to a tantalizing film deal promising fame and fortune. But then, a twisted script unfolded, plunging them into a million-dollar cocaine and cash heist, a tangled web of lies, and ultimately – mur...

When we left you at the end of Part 1, fourteen year old Steven Stayner had escaped from seven years of captivity and abuse at the hands of child predator Kenneth Parnell—and he’d rescued Parnell’s next intended victim, a little boy named Timmy White. The story made international headlines, and Steven Stayner became his hometown’s living legend. It was March 1980, both boys were back home safe and Kenneth Parnell was behind bars where he belonged, waiting to go to trial. It seemed like a happy ending. But the story doesn’t end there. The second half of the Stayne...

In classic literature—and in soap operas, too—there are a lot of families who become lightning rods for misfortune. Sometimes it really strains your suspension of disbelief—like, come on, one family could never go through this much tragedy. But every now and then, a family just seems to be haunted by something sinister. From February through July of 1999, the bodies of four women turned up around Yosemite National Park in California—all brutally murdered and mutilated. The killer was a handsome, likable guy named Cary Stayner, who confessed to the four murders once they had him in custody, and is s...

In Part One, we met high-powered millionaire Ted Ammon and his…let’s say “eccentric” soon-to-be-ex-wife Generosa. When we left off, the Ammons were embroiled in a vicious divorce and a struggle over Ted’s wealth and custody of their twin children. Generosa, staying at the ritzy Stanhope Hotel, was renovating a townhouse and had just met a young electrician by the name of Danny Pelosi. Join us for part 2 of this wild true story.

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Almost Paradise by Kieran Crowley

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As much as most of us might try to live easy, conflict-free lives, sometimes you just can’t avoid an uncomfortable interaction. Maybe an unpleasant neighbor gets in your face about nothing at all, maybe someone behind a counter gives you all kinds of attitude, it’s more or less inevitable that sooner or later, someone will throw some grit into the smoothly turning gears of your life.  And most of us just deal with it and forget about it. Most of us don’t have actual “enemies,” but the main character in this week’s story made enemies like it was her fu...

Monsters in folklore are easy for us to comprehend. You can only kill a werewolf with a silver bullet, to stop a zombie for good, you have to destroy its brain, and vampires can’t enter your home without your permission. They also have pretty straightforward motivations. Werewolves: Animalistic rage. Zombies: Brains. Vampires: Blood. Human monsters have motivations that are a lot more opaque. What would possess someone to kidnap a woman in broad daylight? To break into a home in the middle of the night to kill the strangers inside? What if no one saw anything? How do you ca...

We tend to cover strange cases on our show. We seek them out, because we find that there are always interesting lessons to be learned there. But when it comes to weird, some cases are in a category all their own. Like a pair of high school students so upset about a grade that they plot the brutal murder of their Spanish teacher…and a mother so obsessed with protecting her child from pain that she loses all sense of right and wrong. They’re two very different cases on the face of things, but underneath they have one major thin...

The philosopher and all-round barrel of laughs Albert Camus wrote, “To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.” Like any good philosophical quote, you can interpret it in a few ways. To not worry overly much about other people’s opinion of you can be a healthy lesson to learn, for example. But the main character in this week’s case would have a different interpretation—nothing and no-one mattered except his own grasping need for money and control, a need that would tear into pieces the lives of everyone around him. Join us for the story of a seria...

In the depths of the dark net, tech journalist Carl Miller makes a disturbing discovery: a secret Kill List targeting hundreds of innocent people on a murder for hire website. When the police decide not to investigate, Carl is thrown into a race against time to warn those in danger and uncover the truth about the people who want them dead. From Wondery and Novel, comes a true story about obsession, control and the price of life and death. 

Listen to Kill List on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts: Wondery.fm/KL_TCCF

There’s an old saying: Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy? The answer, for most of us, is obvious. We want to be happy. And sometimes, that means compromising. Not getting exactly what we want. Not winning. But for some people, the only thing that can make them happy is conquest. They’ll always choose being right—always choose winning, no matter what the stakes. Even if it leaves a smoking wreckage behind them. Join us for a true story of smoldering rage and revenge--and one of the worst "bad bitches" we've covered so far...