COLD

Days before his execution, serial killer Ted Bundy denied knowing anything about the disappearance of Nancy Baird. That didn’t stop police and the press from declaring Bundy the killer. That folklore loomed large for Nancy’s son, Brant.

Meanwhile, one of the police officers who investigated Nancy’s case wandered a proverbial wilderness following his arrest for child sex crimes. In Idaho, Tom Jackson found a new family, among a community of people who knew nothing of his past.

Decades later, a surprise discovery a few miles from where Nancy Baird vanished cast fresh doubt on the common belief Ted Bundy did it.

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If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, free and confidential help is available through the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).

Episode credits:

If you enjoy COLD, please try these other great shows from KSL Podcasts: The Letter, Ransom, Stranger Becomes Neighbor

A young man who demonstrated astonishing “powers” arrived in Utah five years following the disappearance of Nancy Baird. James Hydrick wowed police, including a former officer who investigated Nancy’s case, with his telekinetic abilities.

James Hydrick’s amazing talents drew fame and followers. But they were all an act, a fraud. Hydrick soon landed in prison for sex offenses against children.

The former East Layton cop, Tom Jackson, also ran afoul of the law for child sex offenses. In this episode, Jackson’s adult daughters break decades of silence to provide a full picture of who their father really is. Their account raises a chilling question: what might Tom Jackson be hiding?

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Join the COLD Insider Club for ad-free listening, early access and exclusives: https://insiderclub.thecoldpodcast.com/
Right now, founding members receive 20% off.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, free and confidential help is available through the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).

Episode credits:

If you enjoy COLD, please try these other great shows from KSL Podcasts: The Letter, Ransom, Stranger Becomes Neighbor

Impatient customers lined up at the cash register late on the afternoon of Friday, July 4th, 1975. The gas station clerk, Nancy Perry Baird, was nowhere to be found. A police officer soon discovered Nancy’s purse, keys and car were left behind. So was Nancy’s 4-year-old son, Brant.

In this episode, investigative reporter Dave Cawley traces Nancy Baird’s life from her childhood to her disappearance. He reveals how a tiny, untrained police department in East Layton, Utah fumbled the case. That is, until a convenient scapegoat arrived to draw away the public's attention.

Now, Nancy’s son Brant Baird breaks his silence, speaking for the first time exclusively to COLD. And the last surviving member of the East Layton Police Department spins a confusing story about where he was when Nancy Baird vanished.

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Join the COLD Insider Club for ad-free listening, early access and exclusives: https://insiderclub.thecoldpodcast.com/
Right now, founding members receive 20% off.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, free and confidential help is available through the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).

Episode credits:

If you enjoy COLD, please try these other great shows from KSL Podcasts: The Letter, Ransom, Stranger Becomes Neighbor

A serial killer was on the prowl during the summer of 1975, when Nancy Perry Baird vanished from the gas station where she worked. Police pinned Nancy's disappearance on Ted Bundy, even though no evidence tied the notorious killer to the case.

Five decades later, a former police officer's daughter listened to an episode of COLD about the Nancy Baird case. She heard her father quoted and realized a dark secret from their past might be the key to solving the Nancy Baird cold case.

The first two episodes drop September 23, 2026. New episodes each Wednesday.

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About a year after Susan Cox Powell disappeared from her home in West Valley City, Utah, a man entered a mom-and-pop bookstore one town over and stabbed the owner of the shop to death. The November, 2010 murder of Sherry Black was an inverse of the Susan Powell case: a body and physical evidence, but no suspect. It took police a decade before investigative genetic genealogy led them to Sherry Black's killer. That man is now in prison for life.

Black's daughter, Heidi Miller, spent a decade of her life trapped in a stage of suspended grief. Heidi didn't know who killed her mom, or why. In the midst of that uncertainty, Heidi created a non-profit organization, the Sherry Black Foundation, to try and create something positive out of her tragedy.

On September 26, 2026, the Sherry Black Foundation will co-host the inaugural Utah Missing and Unsolved Day, bringing together investigators, victim families and service providers. The goal is to make sure no cold case goes uninvestigated, no murdered or missing loved one unforgotten. Ahead of the event, Heidi Miller shares her story with COLD host Dave Cawley in a revealing personal interview.

For years, investigative reporter Dave Cawley has been studying thousands of police documents, journals, videos and diary entries. He tracked down new sources, followed new leads and traced Josh Powell's trail from West Valley City, Utah, through Idaho, Oregon, Nevada and on to Washington State, where Powell killed himself and his two sons. Cold is the most complete retelling of the Susan Powell story ever. Join Dave Cawley in his search for truth.

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Episode credits:

If you enjoy Cold, please try these other great shows from KSL Podcasts: The Letter, Ransom, Stranger Becomes Neighbor

A 3-year-old boy wanders away from camp in the Uinta Mountains, leading to a panicked search. Uinta Triangle host Dave Cawley covered the case of Benjamin Myrup's disappearance when it happened. In this bonus episode, Dave revisits the case years later to learn what Benjamin's parents experienced behind the scenes of the search.

The word "Uinta" is foreign to many people, but not to native speakers of the Ute language. Larry Cesspooch, a member of the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, shares what the Uinta Mountains mean to himself and his people. Uinta Triangle host Dave Cawley also asks for Larry's help in learning the meaning of other Ute placenames, which are critical in helping keep the Ute language from becoming extinct.

Late in the summer of 1940, a government surveyor named Lynn Simmons vanished near Lamotte Peak in the High Uintas. Crowds of searchers scoured the mountain wilderness but never found any trace of Lynn. Over time, his case was forgotten by all but a few relatives. In this bonus episode, Uinta Triangle host Dave Cawley connects with Lynn's family to bring his memory back to the forefront.

In season 2 of COLD, one of our bonus episodes touched on a cult called The Zion Society. Now, there's a new podcast available that goes deeper on the story, with survivors of the cult.

COLD host Dave Cawley asked Aaron Mason, host of Gardens of Evil from the Gamut Podcast Network, to share the first episode of this new show with us. Here's how Aaron describes episode 1:

A young couple moves into the Northwood sub-division. The yards are impeccably landscaped, and a group of neighbors soon become like family. But not everything is as it seems… Years later, Erin, a 23-year-old woman walks into the county attorney’s office and makes an astonishing confession: She’s part of a cult and would like to report abuse.

Find the rest of Gardens of Evil: Inside the Zion Society Cult wherever you listen to podcasts. 

We’re excited to share a new podcast from KSL Podcasts & Lemonada Media: Stolen Voices of Dole Valley, a nine-part series about survival, injustice, and the fight for answers. It’s the story of a predator you’ve likely never heard of — one who prowled the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, when hitchhiking was a rite of passage for many young people. Some young women managed to escape him, but their warnings were ignored. One survivor’s account was dismissed by police, leaving the man free to kidnap and murder others.

Police believe this killer was responsible for far more than the two murders he was convicted of, and decades later, families and investigators are still determined to uncover the truth. With new DNA testing and relentless hope, loved ones are refusing to let their daughters and sisters be forgotten.

After you listen to this preview, search for Stolen Voices of Dole Valley in your favorite podcast app to hear the rest of the series.