Nikki Addimando is a young mom in prison for murder. But she claims that she was acting in self-defense. This is the story we don’t tell, the one where the woman doesn’t die. Hosted by journalist Justine van der Leun, Believe Her -- Lemonada Media’s first true crime series -- premieres October 21, aligned with Domestic Violence Awareness Month. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Believe Her (Official Trailer)

Believe Her is true crime, upside down. In September 2017, young mom Nikki Addimando shot and killed her partner, Chris Grover. She was sentenced to nineteen years to life in prison for murder. Through rare access to police audio, a month-long trial, conversations with Nikki, and original reporting, journalist Justine van der Leun lays out the killing, the evidence, and the aftermath. As this six-part series unfolds, listeners will put together different pieces of a disturbing puzzle. One thing is clear: perception ≠ reality. Believe Her is a riveting chronicle that grapples with assumptions we make about domestic and sexual violence, the long reach of trauma, and the ways in which survival is criminalized, leaving us shocked at how far people will go to avoid seeing what's right in front of them. From Lemonada Media and Spiegel &amp; Grau.
 

True crime

We are dropping in your feed today to tell you about a new Lemonada Media series called Fail Better with David Duchovny. On Fail Better, David, who has experienced both low and high profile failures throughout his life, explores the vast world of failure - how it holds us back, propels us forward, and ultimately shapes our lives. Each week, he will chat with guests like Ben Stiller, Bette Midler, and more about how our perceived failures have actually been our biggest catalysts for growth, revelation, and even healing. Through these conversations, he hopes listeners can learn how to embrace the opportunity of failure and fail better together.
You’re about to hear a preview of the first episode of Fail Better, where David catches up with Ben Stiller. Believe it or not, Ben Stiller has failed. (Remember Zoolander 2? He’d probably rather you didn’t.) As it turns out, Ben has had his share of flops, and he chats with David about those times in his life and how they sometimes led to something better.
To hear more of Fail Better, head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/failbetterfd See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen Now: Fail Better with David Duchovny

We’re dropping in your feed to let you know that Julia Louis-Dreyfus has returned for Season 2 of her award-winning podcast, Wiser Than Me™! Each week, she has funny, touching, personal conversations with iconic older women who are brimming with the kind of unapologetic attitude and wisdom that only comes with age. Julia sits at the feet of some extraordinary teachers this season and of course her 90-year-old mom, Judy. Tune in to laugh, cry and get wise. All Hail Old Women! 
 
You’re about to hear part of the premiere episode, where Julia connects with the one-and-only Sally Field. With a spectacular film career spanning over six decades, Sally – now 77 years old – candidly discusses the introspection that comes with aging, shyness and playing characters who are taking back their power. Plus, Julia asks her 90-year-old mom, Judy, when she feels most confident. 

To hear the rest of the episode, head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/wiserthanmefd  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen Now: Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

On January 4th, 2024, Nikki Addimondo was released from prison and reunited with her family. To celebrate, we are sharing two excerpts that were previously only available to our Lemonada Premium subscribers. These two conversations speak to the range of the incredible reporting in this series – one touches on the heart of Nikki’s personal story and the other reminds us that Nikki was not the only person put behind bars for trying to save her own life – this is an issue still impacting so many others.



Resources:

Follow the We Stand With Nikki campaign on Instagram at @westandwithnikki, on Twitter at @standwithnikki, and on their webpage at www.westandwithnikki.com.
Nikki’s sister, Michelle Horton, wrote about Nikki’s story in her book Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds
Check out Justine van der Leun’s book We Are Not Such Things: The Murder of a Young American, a South African Township, and the Search for Truth and Reconciliation
Read Monica Cosby’s writing here 
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233. You can also search for a local domestic violence shelter at www.domesticshelters.org/.
If you have experienced sexual assault and need support, visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) at www.rainn.org or call 1-800-656-HOPE
Have questions about consent? Take a look at this guide from RAINN at www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent.
Learn more about criminalized survival in New York State at www.survivedandpunishedny.org/.
Learn more about the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act at www.nysda.org/page/DVSJA. 
Read Justine’s May 2020 investigative piece on Nikki’s case at www.gen.medium.com/nikki-had-proof-shed-been-abused-but-was-it-enough-for-self-defense-bd9f196396eb.  

 
 
Believe Her is created in partnership with Spiegel & Grau. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @spiegelandgrau.
Follow Justine on Twitter at @justinevdl and on Instagram at @jvanderleun.
Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.
If you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, please join our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/believeher/. 
 
Interested in bonus content and behind the scenes material? Subscribe to Lemonada Premium right now in the Apple Podcasts app by clicking on our podcast logo and the "subscribe” button.
 
Stay up-to-date on everything in the Lemonada world by becoming a superfan at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.  
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/believeher shortly after the air date. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nikki is Free

Sheree Warren left her job in Salt Lake City on a mild October evening in 1985. She told a coworker she was headed to meet her estranged husband, Charles Warren, at a car dealership. But she never made it, Sheree vanished. When her car mysteriously surfaced weeks later, hundreds of miles away in Las Vegas, no one could say how it got there.
When a young mother disappears under unexplained circumstances, police always turn suspicious eyes towards the husband. And although there was distrust around Charles Warren, he wasn’t the only suspect when Sheree went missing. She also had a boyfriend, a former cop named Cary Hartmann, who lived a sinister double life.
Season three follows two suspects– men who both raised suspicion for investigators. But with two strong persons of interest with competing facts and evidence, it muddied the murder investigation. This season, host Dave Cawley, digs into the lives of these two men, the details of the case and examines the intersections between domestic abuse and sexual violence. The COLD team seeks to answer the question: what really happened to Sheree Warren?
Hey Prime Members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast, COLD, in the Amazon Music App. Download the app today: www.amazon.com/COLD_us_pfd_AA_110122.
  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon Music Presents COLD: The Search for Sheree

In this bonus interview, Justine sits down with Sandra Brown, the criminalized survivor who you heard from in Chapter 6. Sandra was recently released from prison, where she worked on rebuilding herself over the course of 21 years, and is now working toward her Ph.D. This conversation has been edited for time and clarity.
 
Resources:

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233. You can also search for a local domestic violence shelter at www.domesticshelters.org/.
If you have experienced sexual assault and need support, visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) at www.rainn.org or call 1-800-656-HOPE.
Ask Governor Kathy Hochul to grant Nikki clemency: https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-freenikki 
Have questions about consent? Take a look at this guide from RAINN at www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent.
Learn more about the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act at www.nysda.org/page/DVSJA. 
Learn more about criminalized survival across the U.S. at https://survivedandpunished.org/.
Read Justine’s Dec. 2020 article on criminalized survival in the U.S. at https://newrepublic.com/article/160589/women-prison-domestic-violence-survivors.
Support incarcerated survivor Tanisha Williams by visiting https://standwithtanisha.com/.
Support incarcerated survivor Tomiekia Johnson by visiting https://www.change.org/p/gavin-newsom-grant-commutation-for-incarcerated-survivor-tomiekia-johnson.
Read Sandra Brown’s writing by visiting https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004441651/BP000023.xml.
Learn more about incarcerated survivor Kelly Harnett’s story at https://www.survivedandpunishedny.org/kelly-harnett/.
Follow the We Stand With Nikki campaign on Instagram at @westandwithnikki, on Twitter at @standwithnikki and on their webpage at www.westandwithnikki.com.

 
Justine van der Leun is the host and lead reporter. This series is produced by Justine van der Leun and supervising producer Kristen Lepore. The associate producer is Giulia Hjort. The production assistant is Rory James Leech. Additional reporting by Kristen Lepore and Giulia Hjort. Mixing and sound design by Kegan Zema. Music by RRA aka Sara Abdelaal. Fact checking by Justin Kloczko. Additional audio engineering by Ivan Kuraev. Story editing by Jackie Danziger. Story consulting by Amy Metsch. The executive producers are Stephanie Wittels Wachs, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Spiegel & Grau.
 
Believe Her is created in partnership with Spiegel & Grau. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @spiegelandgrau.
Follow Justine on Twitter at @justinevdl and on Instagram at @jvanderleun.
Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.
If you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, please join our Believe Her podcast community on Bookclubz at www.bit.ly/believeherbookclubz and our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/believeher/. 
 
Interested in bonus content and behind the scenes material? Subscribe to Lemonada Premium right now in the Apple Podcasts app by clicking on our podcast logo and the "subscribe” button.
 
Stay up-to-date on everything in the Lemonada world by becoming a superfan at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.  
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/believeher shortly after the air date. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Believe Her (Official Trailer)

Download our free app to listen on your phone