This week on Crime Story, we’re live at PodSummit with journalist Jana Pruden. Known for sharp reporting and thoughtfulness, Jana talks about how she approaches difficult stories, what draws her to certain cases, and the moments that stay with her after the work is finished.

Kathleen and Jana get into the pressures and blind spots of the true crime world, how audiences are changing, and the choices reporters make when dealing with real people in real pain. 

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience in Calgary, AB. 

Natalie Robehmed is the first journalist Allison Mack agreed to speak to, on the record, since her release from prison. Allison spent over a decade in NXIVM, the now infamous sex cult where some members were branded with leader Keith Raniere’s initials. She joined the group as a Hollywood actress known for her role on the hit TV show Smallville and eventually climbed the ranks, using her starlet status to recruit other women into the cult.

This week on Crime Story, Natalie Robehmed discusses the new season of Uncover: Allison after NXIVM, including what it was like to finally hear from Allison, the lies she told to protect Keith, and how she became both victim and perpetrator of his sinister ploys.

Kayla had just graduated from high school when her dad found images of her on a violent porn site. Except, they weren’t images of her - not really. Someone was posting pornographic deepfakes of her face and likeness without her consent. But when she and other young women went to the police, they were told there wasn’t much they could do. The justice system had yet to catch up to the realities of artificial intelligence. 

But who was behind the deepfakes? It had to be someone they knew. And if the police weren't getting involved, what could the women do about it? It turns out, a lot.

This week on Crime Story, Kathleen speaks with reporters Olivia Carville and Margi Murphy about their podcast, Levittown.

A family lunch turned deadly. Three people died after eating a homemade beef Wellington laced with one of the world’s most toxic mushrooms. ABC’s Rachael Brown joins Crime Story to unpack a case that shocked Australia.

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A homeless man insisted his identity had been stolen. Another man, miles away, claimed he was the real William Woods — and had the documents to back it up. What followed is a story about more than fraud. It’s about how we decide who to believe, and what happens when society refuses to see the vulnerable as victims. Writer Charlie McCann joins Crime Story to tell the twisted case of William Woods.

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In the early summer of 2017, police in Squamish, British Columbia discovered the body of a man in a burned out vehicle. It took little time for the police to declare his death a homicide. What took more time was identifying who the man was. Originally, authorities thought his name was Jesse James, but they discovered he had other identities: Andrew Britt Greenbaum, Davis Wolfgang Hawke, Commander Bo Decker. Each identity revealed a mysterious past - and a potential motive for his murder.

In the new podcast, Dirtbag Climber, host Steven Chua takes us along on the adventure to uncover who the real Jesse James was.

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Kevin Smith seemed like your typical pastor. He was a respected member of his community in Montego Bay, preaching the Bible to hundreds of congregants each week. But he also preached conspiracy theories from his social media account. On October 17, 2021, Smith sent a message on Facebook instructing his followers to get to the church. He told them “the Flood is coming”. Members of his congregation packed their suitcases and rushed over. But when they arrived, that’s when the real danger began. Three people were killed, two of them, witnesses allege, as part of a human sacrifice. 

This week on Crime Story, reporter Rachel Browne explains how a pastor’s pandemic conspiracy theories turned a church into a cult and a crime scene.

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Maria Hinojosa first met David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez when he was serving life without parole — sentenced as a juvenile. What began as a chance visit inside a Pennsylvania prison grew into a decades-long story of friendship, justice and redemption.

Suave’s journey out of prison exposes the harsh realities of juvenile sentencing, the complexities of freedom under lifelong parole, and the fragile line between journalist and subject. Along the way, Maria confronts the emotional toll this story takes on her family and herself.

If you like this episode, we think you’ll enjoy Trouble in Sweetwater: Connie Walker investigates a crisis of policing on America’s largest reservation.

Not every journalist is willing to explore the darkest corners of humanity. It’s hard. It’s haunting. And not everyone can stomach what they would discover But Ian Urbina has made a career out of going there. 

In his podcast, The Outlaw Ocean, Ian explores the most lawless place on earth – the vast unpoliceable ocean. He’s back with season two where he sheds light on secretive Libyan prisons, flagrant human rights abuses off the shores of China, and the horrors of a shrimp processing plant in India. 

And this week, we have something special for you. Ian sat down with Daemon Fairless, host of the podcast Hunting Warhead, to discuss what it takes to report crime on the ocean.

On October 21st, 2021, actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene for his new Western film, Rust, when tragedy struck. The gun he was holding wasn’t supposed to have live ammunition. Both the director, Joel Souza, and the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, were shot. Halyna, a 42-year-old mother and filmmaker, died.

Right from the start, the question on everyone’s minds was this: how did a real bullet end up in a gun that everyone, including Alec Baldwin, thought was a prop? In her new documentary, Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna, director Rachel Mason takes us on set to explore who Halyna Hutchins was and what really happened on the set of Rust.