Uncover: Calls From a Killer

Rebecca Lavoie, host of Crime Writers On..., speaks with four distinguished podcasters who work with true crime: Justin Ling, host of Uncover: The Village, Connie Walker, host of Missing & Murdered, Natalie Jablonski, producer on In The Dark, and Amber Hunt, host of Accused. They break down the ethics behind true crime podcasts, what good podcasts should work to achieve, and what to take into consideration when dealing with stories that affect real lives. This bonus episode was recorded in front of a live audience at Podcast Movement.

Host David Ridgen joins victims' family members as they investigate cold cases, tracking down leads, speaking to suspects and searching for answers. In Season 7 of Someone Knows Something, Ridgen and investigative journalist Amanda Robb dig into the 1998 murder of her uncle, a New York doctor killed for performing abortions. They uncover a network of anti-abortion movements linked to violence in North America and Europe. Twenty years later, with debates about reproductive rights heating up in the U.S., could more violence be on the horizon? More episodes are available at hyperurl.co/sks

It’s the crack era.The most violent time in New York City history. The NYPD is fighting a losing battle and instead of protecting the city from drug dealers, some police officers have become them. This is the never-before told, first-person documentary of the biggest police corruption scandal in NYPD history and the investigation that uncovered it all. From Audacy Originals and Zak Levitt, the Emmy, Peabody, and NY Press Club Investigative Journalism Award winning creator of Root ofEvil, Gangster Capitalism, and Relative Unknown comes The Set.

Host David Ridgen joins victims' family members as they investigate cold cases, tracking down leads, speaking to suspects and searching for answers. In the highly-anticipated 8th season of Someone Knows Something, award-winning investigator David Ridgen delves into a cold case that has haunted Whitehorse for more than 15 years. Angel Carlick was a vibrant youth worker, nicknamed ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ by her loved ones. She had plans after graduation to become legal guardian of her brother and work to support struggling youth at her local resource centre. But just days before she was set to graduate in 2007, at age 18, Angel disappeared. Months later, her remains were found in a remote area in the Canadian north. As David works alongside Angel's family, friends, and community, he uncovers details surrounding her death and strives to bring her justice, while honouring the legacy of her late mother, Wendy. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/8ZWNBR9I

Fraud. Abduction. Murder. Every week, Crime Story host and investigative journalist Kathleen Goldhar goes deep into a tale of true crime with the storyteller who knows it best. From the reporter who exposed Bill Cosby, to the writer who solved one of Australia’s most chilling cold cases — Crime Story guests include: Gilbert King (Bone Valley), Eric Benson (Project Unabomb),Carole Fisher (The Girlfriends), and many more. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/3xHecDMq

Of all the young revolutionaries in Syria during the Arab Spring, Amina is different. An out lesbian in a country where homosexuality is illegal, she bravely documents her life on the blog Gay Girl in Damascus. Her candid posts attract readers from around the world, and soon she has a wide, ardent following. But then a post appears saying Amina has been abducted. Her fans mobilize, desperate to track down and save their fearless heroine. What they find shocks them. Journalist Samira Mohyeddin investigates what actually happened to the infamous Gay Girl in Damascus in this 6-part series. The result is a twisted yarn that spans the globe and challenges our thinking on love, politics and identity in cyberspace. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/bJOhy5oI

One July night in 1995, Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was shot behind the Crown Sterling Suites hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. At the same time as the murder, at least ten people saw Toforest Johnson four miles away, at a popular nightclub called Tee's Place. But detectives zeroed in on him as a main suspect in Deputy Hardy’s murder anyway, ultimately resulting in Toforest being tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. For over a quarter century, Toforest has been confined to a 5’ by 8’ cell on Alabama’s death row. In 2019, investigative journalist Beth Shelburne began covering the case, going down a disturbing rabbit hole revealing many unsettling facts that cast grave doubts about Toforest’s guilt. The facts she found tear at the very foundation of the American criminal justice system: No eyewitnesses or physical evidence tied Toforest to the murder; the state tried to convict a different man for the same crime; and perhaps most disturbing of all, Toforest’s conviction relied on an ‘earwitness’ – a woman who claimed to have eavesdropped on an incriminating phone call, a woman whom prosecutors paid for her testimony, in secret. That payment was not disclosed to the jury, Toforest, or his lawyers until after he had been on death row for 17 years. From the team behind the award-winning hit podcast Bone Valley, Lava for Good’s Earwitness is an 8-episode docuseries that asks the question, “How did an innocent man end up on death row — and why is the state still trying to execute him over the objection of the prosecutor who put him there?” Shelburne’s unprecedented access to key players—the lead detective, lead prosecutor, witnesses, jurors, and the earwitness herself— illuminate a story filled with disturbing twists, frustrating ambiguities, and shocking admissions. The story of Toforest Johnson and the state's enthusiasm for the death penalty in the face of such troubling evidentiary flaws brings to light the failings of a criminal justice system run amok. Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

From the BBC World Service and CBC Podcasts comes Hollywood Exiles. Host Oona Chaplin tells the story of the decades-long campaign to root out communism in Hollywood. It’s a campaign that eventually drove her grandfather, Charlie Chaplin, and many others out of tinseltown. Hollywood Exiles is a tale of glamour, duplicity and political intrigue that reverberates to this day. It’s the story of how Tinseltown became an ideological battleground. The toll of the fight was enormous – reputations, careers and families were torn apart by the campaign to drive communists from the movie business. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/fZ1ZQKD6

Avenger from Orbit Media tells the story of Miriam Lewin, one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. More episodes of Avenger are available at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-burden/id1734312219

She had a million-dollar smile and a trail of dead men behind her— who was Sandra Bridewell? From Sony Music Entertainment comes Fatal Beauty. Host and investigative report Cooper Moll exposes the secrets of the 'black widow' on Fatal Beauty the latest true crime series to drop on The Binge.  Search for Fatal Beauty wherever you get your podcasts to listen now. 

In the wake of 9/11, anthrax-laced letters unleashed a new wave of terror across the nation. But who was behind the attacks — and why has America nearly forgotten this story?As government buildings shut down and law enforcement scrambled to track the perpetrator, the FBI launched one of the largest and most complex investigations in its history. Untangling a web of scientific evidence and false leads, the case took unexpected turns with lasting consequences.From Wolf Entertainment, USG Audio, Dig Studios and CBC, this eight-part series grants unprecedented access to declassified materials and firsthand accounts, revealing how the anthrax attacks reshaped America—and the hidden impact that still lingers today. More episodes of Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer are available at: https://link.mgln.ai/JRKpUZ

Groundbreaking investigations. Artful storytelling. Uncover the best in true crime. Follow the show to get the latest episodes in your feed, and to explore the rich 30+ season catalogue of award-winning investigative journalism.

Over the past few months, CBC documentarian Josh Bloch has been investigating NXIVM, a self-help group led by Keith Raniere. In this season of Uncover, we take you into NXIVM, and reveal how Raniere won the endorsement of actors, politicians and even a visit from the Dalai Lama.

Jennifer Kobelt — Sarah Edmondson's former assistant in NXIVM — tells her story of joining NXIVM at a moment of crisis in her life and being involved in the group's so-called "fright study." For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-1-escaping-nxivm-transcripts-listen-1.4675949

Sarah faces criticism about her role in NXIVM and tries to come to terms with the 12 years she spent as a high-level member of the group. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-1-escaping-nxivm-transcripts-listen-1.4675949

Josh speaks to one of Keith Raniere's lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, and hears a different point of view on NXIVM and DOS. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-1-escaping-nxivm-transcripts-listen-1.4675949

Sarah and her husband try to escape NXIVM and take it down while warning others who are still inside. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-1-escaping-nxivm-transcripts-listen-1.4675949

What happens when you leave NXIVM? Those who have left or spoken out reveal the price they paid. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-1-escaping-nxivm-transcripts-listen-1.4675949

Those who knew Keith Raniere intimately reveal his early life, how he started NXIVM and ended up being accused by the FBI of running a criminal enterprise. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-1-escaping-nxivm-transcripts-listen-1.4675949

Sarah takes us inside her journey with NXIVM, from signing up for a personal growth workshop to becoming a star recruiter for the group she now calls a cult. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-1-escaping-nxivm-transcripts-listen-1.4675949