You Cant Make This Up

On today’s show, we’re taking a break from our usual format to premiere a new original Netflix podcast: “Searching for The Sons of Sam.” From Tenderfoot TV and true crime director Joshua Zeman comes a 5-part audio documentary about Zeman’s relationship with the late journalist Maury Terry. Terry spent 40 years of his life trying to prove that convicted Son of Sam serial killer David Berkowitz had not acted alone. Terry’s book, “The Ultimate Evil,” lays out his case that the Son of Sam murders were carried out by multiple members of a satanic cult. After Terry’s death, Zeman inherited all of his case files. “Searching for The Sons of Sam” is the companion podcast to Zeman’s Netflix docu-series, “The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness,” which retraces Maury Terry’s investigation into who was really behind one of America’s most notorious serial killings. It's our pleasure to present to you the world premiere of the podcast: Searching for the Sons of Sam - Episode 1: The Ultimate Evil. 

In 1990, two men dressed as cops conned their way into a Boston museum and stole a fortune in art. The stolen works are estimated to be worth over half a billion dollars today and there’s a 10 million dollar reward for whoever finds it. “This is A Robbery: The World’s Greatest Art Heist” goes deep into the leads, dead ends, lucky breaks, and speculations surrounding this notorious crime that remains unsolved over 30 years later. Join host Rebecca Lavoie as she speaks with Colin Barnicle, the series director, and executive producer. A note to listeners: This episode contains spoilers. So make sure to watch the entire series and then, listen on. You Can’t Make This Up is a production of Netflix. Our music is by Hansdale Hsu and our producer is Shana Daloria.

You’ve probably heard a lot about the 2019 college admission scandal, but you haven’t heard everything. Operation Varsity Blues goes beyond the celebrity-driven headlines with real conversations from FBI wiretaps. The film offers a rare glimpse of the man at the center of the scandal,  Rick Singer, and the methods he used to help his wealthy clients cheat a system already designed to benefit the privileged. Our host Rebecca Lavoie is joined by two guests in this episode, Jon Karmen (the film’s editor, writer, and producer) and Chris Smith (the film’s director and producer). This episode contains spoilers so make sure to watch the entire series before you listen on.

A note to listeners: This episode contains spoilers. So make sure to watch the entire series and then, listen on.  In Salt Lake City in 1985, a trio of pipe bombings killed two people. The murders sent shockwaves through the Mormon Church when a trove of historically controversial Latter-Day Saints letters was found destroyed in the vehicle of the third victim, a renowned collector of rare documents. As he fights for his life, investigators raced to uncover the truth. “Murder Among the Mormons” is the first comprehensive look at one of the most horrifying crimes to have ever taken place among the LDS community and the criminal mastermind behind it all. 

For nearly a century, the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles has been linked to some of the city’s most notorious activity — from untimely deaths to housing serial killers. In 2013, college student Elisa Lam vanished while staying as a guest at the hotel. Her disappearance ignited a media frenzy that mobilized a global community of internet sleuths eager to solve the case. In this episode, host Rebecca Lavoie speaks with Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger to discuss the first season of his new series “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at The Cecil Hotel.”  

It was the late 1970s. A serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper cast a dark shadow over the lives of women across England. Over a span of five years, thirteen women were dead and the police seemed incapable of catching the murderer. No one felt safe – and every man was a suspect.

The mid-1980s was a period of terror in Southern California. A series of random home invasions, sexual assaults, and brutal murders were happening across the region. Men, women, and children of all races and walks of life were victims. Stranger yet, the horrendous methods of killings fit no particular pattern. Some victims were strangled. Some were shot. Some were beaten to death. Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer is the definitive portrait of one of the most disturbing and unpredictable serial killers in criminal history from the perspective of the two detectives leading the hunt to capture him. On the show this week, our host Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with Tiller Russell, the Night Stalker series director.   This episode contains spoilers. So make sure to watch the entire film and then, listen on.

In the early 1980s, the crack epidemic tore through America like a tsunami, ravaging all in its wake. And the destructive effects on people's lives, families, and communities are still deeply felt decades later. “Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy” examines the drug’s devastation, shadowy origins, and the ongoing criminalization of Black and Brown people in U.S. prison and healthcare systems. Rebecca speaks with director Stanley Nelson. This episode contains spoilers. So make sure to watch the entire film and then, listen on. 

Happy New Year! We are so ready to jump into 2021 but before we do, we want to take a look back at 2020. It really was a year of 'You Can’t Make This Up' moments, and the true-crime titles and conversations were no different. Netflix filmmakers and documentarians consistently delivered original content that intrigued and surprised. They forced viewers to take a second look at crimes that we thought we knew all about from news reports and pop culture. We have much more engaging true crime and criminal justice stories coming your way in 2021. We'll continue to share important conversations with groundbreaking filmmakers who take us around the globe, so stick with us.  

In this episode, Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with Trial 4's director Rémy Burkel. This episode contains spoilers so make sure to watch the whole series before listening or reading on. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our guest was not recorded in a studio. We appreciate your understanding of the change in audio quality. Trial 4 is a timely, sweeping story about criminal justice, police power, and systemic racism in America. It documents the history of Sean Ellis, who faced three trials before he was found guilty of the 1993 murder of Boston police officer John Mulligan. He served 22 years in prison for the killing. It was a crime Sean says he never committed. In 2015, he was released on bail to await a fourth trial that would determine whether he would be proven innocent or sent back to prison for the rest of his life. A judge ruled that Sean was never given a fair trial. Prosecutors withheld information about a corruption scheme involving several detectives who were key players in his conviction

 In 1989, two-year-old Christopher Dansby and 19-month old Shane Walker were abducted from the same Harlem playground within months of each other.  Police and locals were put on high alert, but no trace of the missing toddlers was ever found. Three decades later their families have not given up hope. "Stolen Kids" is the final episode of Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 2. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, our host Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with director Jessica Dimmock. Rebecca will also dive into conversation with her husband Kevin Flynn (Crime Writers On...) as they discuss their own reactions to this episode. Loyal fans of Unsolved Mysteries might remember these words from the late and irreplaceable former host of the show, Robert Stack, “For every mystery, someone somewhere knows the truth. Perhaps that person is someone listening. Perhaps it’s you.” Go to https://unsolved.com/home/ to learn more about the extensive amount of other mysteries covered by the series. Note to listeners:

On an icy, winter night nearly 10 years ago, police found 55-year-old JoAnn Romain’s abandoned car outside her church in a Michigan suburb. They assumed she drowned in a nearby lake by suicide. But her body was recovered 70 days later in the Detroit River 35 miles away from where police allege she had entered the water. Her family suspects foul play. They have a list of suspects and will not stop until they find the truth about what happened to their mother. "Lady in the Lake" is the fifth episode of Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 2. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, our host Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with director Skye Borgman. Rebecca will also dive into conversation with her husband Kevin Flynn (Crime Writers On...) as they discuss their own reactions to this episode. Loyal fans of Unsolved Mysteries might remember these words from the late and irreplaceable former host of the show, Robert Stack, “For every mystery, someone somewhere knows the truth. Perhaps that person is someone li

Nearly ten years ago, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded devastated the northeastern coast of Japan.  It generated a tsunami that at its peak reached 131 feet high. Close to twenty-thousand lives were lost. Twenty-five hundred more remain missing. Then, in one of the worst-hit cities, people began to experience strange phenomena. Taxi drivers spoke of “ghost passengers.”  Some even talked of being possessed by lost spirits. A local Buddhist monk claims the tragedy enabled the people to “see what’s not supposed to be seen.” "Tsunami Spirits" is the fourth episode of Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 2. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, our host Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with another familiar voice, director Clay Jeter. Rebecca will also dive into conversation with her husband Kevin Flynn (Crime Writers On...) as they discuss their own reactions to this episode. Loyal fans of Unsolved Mysteries might remember these words from the late and irreplaceable former host of the show

In 1965, repeat sex-offender Lester Eubanks confessed to killing 14-year-old Mary Ellen Deener and was sentenced to death. However, Lester's sentence reverted to life in prison when a 1972 Supreme Court ruling abolished the death penalty. While in prison, he joined a program allowing inmates to leave the grounds. Around a year later, while on a Christmas shopping trip to the mall, Eubanks escaped. He remains a fugitive nearly 50 years later. "Death Row Fugitive" is the third episode of Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 2. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, our host Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with Unsolved Mysteries series executive producer and director of "Death Row Fugitive," Robert Wise. Rebecca will also dive into conversation with her husband Kevin Flynn (Crime Writers On...) as they discuss their own reactions to this episode. Loyal fans of Unsolved Mysteries might remember these words from the late and irreplaceable former host of the show, Robert Stack, “For every mystery, someone so

When a woman is found dead in a luxury hotel room in Oslo, Norway, it initially appears to be a suicide until several pieces of evidence begin to suggest otherwise. She has no identification. She registered at the hotel under a false name. There was no blood on her hand or the gun that killed her. No one even reported her missing. Who is this woman? Was she murdered? Could she have been part of a secret intelligence operation? Twenty-five years later all these questions, and more, remain unanswered. "Death in Oslo" is the second episode of Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 2.  In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, our host Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with Unsolved Mysteries series executive producer and director of "Death in Oslo",  Robert Wise. Rebecca will also dive into conversation with her husband Kevin Flynn (Crime Writers On...) as they discuss their reactions to this episode.   Loyal fans of Unsolved Mysteries might remember these words from the late and irreplaceable former host of the

For more than three decades, Unsolved Mysteries engrossed audiences with true tales of missing persons, unsolved murders, and paranormal occurrences - touching on a wide range of stories from UFO sightings to the Kennedy assassinations. Over 260 cold cases have been solved because of tips from viewers of the show. Now, some of the most chilling mysteries are still waiting to be solved in Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 2, now streaming on Netflix. “Washington Insider Murder” is the first episode of Volume 2. In this episode, our host Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with Unsolved Mysteries series co-creator and executive producer Terry Dunn Meurer, where we get the inside story on reactions, viewer tips, and updates to the first set of cases covered in Volume 1. Later in the episode, we will hear Rebecca's conversation with "Washington Insider Murder" episode director Don Argott about the unexplained death of former White House Aide, John Wheeler. Rebecca will also dive into conversation with her husban

Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary film explores the tragic disappearance of Shanann Watts and her two young daughters in Frederick, Colorado. It becomes clear that Shanann’s husband wasn’t the man he appeared to be. In this episode, Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with the film's director, Jenny Popplewell. This episode contains spoilers so make sure to watch the whole series before listening on. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our guest was recorded in his home and not in a studio. We appreciate your understanding of the change in audio quality.

Fear City: New York vs The Mafia, chronicles the rise and fall of New York’s most powerful Mafia families from the perspective of the FBI agents and prosecutors who risked their lives to take them down. In this episode, Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with the director, Sam Hobkinson. This episode contains spoilers so make sure to watch the whole series before listening on. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our guest was recorded in his home and not in a studio. We appreciate your understanding of the change in audio quality.

 We tweet, we like, and we share — but what are the consequences of our growing dependence on social media? The documentary-drama, The Social Dilemma, explores the dangerous impacts of social networking by talking to the Silicon Valley insiders who know it best. In this episode, Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with the film's director, Jeff Orlowski. This episode contains spoilers so make sure to watch the whole series before listening on. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our guest was recorded in his home and not in a studio. We appreciate your understanding of the change in audio quality.

The FBI, Interpol, and entire nations are hunting them down. Millions of dollars have been offered for their capture, yet all but one of these fugitives continue to elude justice. Where are they hiding and who is helping them? The docuseries World's Most Wanted, now streaming on Netflix, profiles five individuals suspected of committing some of the world’s most heinous atrocities. In this episode, Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with the Executive Producer of the series, Thomas Zribi. This episode contains spoilers so make sure to watch the whole series before listening on. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our guest was recorded in his home and not in a studio. We appreciate your understanding of the change in audio quality.