Attorney Steven Donziger spent his whole career on one case: suing an oil company for polluting villages in the Amazon rainforest. When he obtained a $9 billion judgment against Chevron, it was considered a win for the environment, for corporate accountability, and for Donziger himself. But Chevron never paid the judgement and shifted its legal strategy. They targeted Donziger and his propensity for pushing the limits of the law. In the end, the attorney found himself ruined, disbarred, and under house arrest.

The podcast “Scorched Earth: Inside the Epic Battle Between Steven Donziger and Chevron,” available now as an Audible Original, looks at the multibillion-dollar lawsuit, an ethically-compromised attorney, and the lengths that Big Oil went to avoid responsibility. Host David Sirota raises questions about the weaponization of the law, about accountability in the climate change era, and about the line between advocacy and misconduct. 

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SCORCHED EARTH" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: six feet under from stardom.

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An official in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley made a troubling discovery about the county’s Office of Youth Services. Workers were taking action against a large number of families based on the diagnosis of a hospital specialist…diagnoses that were frequently proven wrong. He argued money was wasted and lives were destroyed by an overabundance of caution from one doctor. Dr. Debra Jenssen made a career in multiple states finding signs of abuse others hadn’t found, and strong-arming authorities to take action against unsuspecting caretakers. Parents, social workers - and even judges - claimed the specialist too often misdiagnosed illness or accident as trauma, rejected contrary evidence, and upended families in a misguided effort to protect children. 

The podcast “The Preventionist” from Serial Productions and The New York Times explores the rise of a powerful new field in medicine and the consequences of its “better safe than sorry” application by one doctor. Host Dyan Neary also highlights the story of a family trying to piece itself together after authorities took action on a questionable diagnosis of child abuse.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE PREVENTIONIST" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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In 1988, postal officials intercepted a package of heroin from China being sent to New York. DEA Agents followed the shipment to the door of a young mother living in Chinatown. Tina Wong told them she was paid by a high school friend to receive packages and pass them along to a street gang. Officials learned women in local mahjong parlors were being recruited to take part in a massive drug trafficking operation. Prosecutors leaned on Wong to betray her friend and take down the gang. But as they moved in on the Flying Dragons, its leader named “Onionhead,” fled to Hong Kong.

From Pushkin Industries comes the podcast “The Chinatown Sting.” Host Lidia Jean Kott and co-reporter Shuyu Wang talk to key figures in the crime who’ve never spoken before. In addition to reviewing the investigation, they dig into the challenging cultural landscape faced by those growing up in New York’s Chinese neighborhoods during the 1980s.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE CHINATOWN STING" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: Legal technicality.

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For decades, David "Skull" Schulman ran The Rainbow Room in Nashville, a club known for its edgy mix of country music, burlesque shows, and other illicit activity. But the city was shocked in 1998 when the colorful 81-year-old local icon was murdered in his empty nightclub, his French poodle the only witness to the crime.

Authorities suspected someone was after the wad of cash Skull always kept in the bib of his Hee Haw overalls. Despite questionable witness statements and no evidence connecting him to the scene, prosecutors convicted a 17-year-old for the crime. All this time later, the question remains: is the right man in prison for killing Skull Schulman?   

In season two of “Murder on Music Row: The Skull at the End of the Rainbow,” Keith Sharon and Kirsten Fiscus of The Tennessean reopen the famous case, pulling apart the original investigation and looking for new evidence. The podcast takes a deep dive into the stories of the famous and infamous characters who frequented the Rainbow Room, and the eccentric club owner’s place in Nashville history.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDER ON MUSIC ROW: THE SKULL AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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With the sudden death of the President, Ambassador to the UK Kate Wyler is passed over as Vice-President. Grace Penn instead selects Kate’s husband, Hal, to join her in the White House. The move forces Kate to choose between going to Washington with Hal as his Second Lady or staying in London as a diplomat. As the Wyler’s marital relationship dissolves, so does the diplomatic relationship between the nations, as the US’s role in the false flag attack on a British warship goes public. And when the Prime Minister won’t cooperate with the Americans on a crisis involving a missing Russian submarine, Kate realizes Hal’s solution could lead the strained allies to war.

Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell return in season three of Netflix’s “The Diplomat.” Kate is tested as personal and political power dynamics shift. In both affairs of state and of the heart, new alliances are formed, old ones are abandoned, and Kate contemplates what's best for her and the country.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE DIPLOMAT" SEASON THREE BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: fluffy nutters.

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Podcasters Charles, Oliver and Mabel are shocked to find a severed finger in a platter of shrimp cocktail! Is it connected to the suspicious death of their doorman? Or their search for a missing dry-cleaning mobster? The investigation takes a turn when they uncover a secret casino hidden beneath the Arconia. The gaming room contains a card table with a cleaver-shaped gash and is frequented by a trio of billionaires, one who’s missing a finger. But as they dig deeper into the mystery, stories don’t add up, the podcast is muzzled, and the killer remains even more elusive. 

Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez return for season five of Hulu’s Emmy-winning “Only Murders in the Building.” Television’s fictional favorite true crime podcast team looks into yet another death - or two - in the Arconia. The cast of suspects includes a mob widow, a crooked politician, the world’s richest people, and a robot. This time the crew learns the residents aren’t the real target - it’s the building itself. 

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING" SEASON FIVE BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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Returning to work after a family tragedy, FBI Agent Tom Brandis is put in charge of a task force to find who has been robbing drug stash houses run by the ruthless Darkhearts motorcycle gang. Robbie Prendergrast is out for revenge since the bikers killed his brother for sleeping with a leader’s wife. But when a holdup turns deadly, Robbie leaves with the eight-year-old son of the people they just killed. Now both the bikers and law enforcement are looking for the stolen drugs and the kidnapped boy. Meanwhile, Tom fears someone on the task force is sabotaging the investigation.

Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey star in the HBO Original drama “Task.” As Tom struggles with his shattered family, Robbie searches for a way out of his impossible situation. In addition to its gripping characters and gritty violence, the crime series is rich in themes of loss, vengeance, and redemption

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "TASK" BEGIN IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: I'm not lovin' it.

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British Columbia police were stumped by the 2017 murder of Jessie James, an avid “dirtbag” rock climber, campground philosopher, and shit-posting online troll who lived out of his truck. After years of dead ends, investigators learned the victim had been using an alias, after walking away from a checkered past in the US. Reporter and local climber Steven Chua dug into the story of this con artist who was among the first to harness the Internet’s power for hate speech, spam advertising, and online fraud. After making a world wide web of enemies, did someone finally locate the shape-shifting provocateur in the Canadian woods and take their revenge?  

From CBC Podcasts comes “Dirtbag Climber from Uncover.” Chua crisscrosses North America to learn more about Andrew Britt Greenbaum and his life of cons and contradictions. The host’s search for truth follows the trail he left behind - one alias, one scam, one climb at a time.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DIRTBAG CLIMBER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL EIGHT MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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Journalist Laura "Lo" Blacklock is invited on a cruise aboard a superyacht filled with Richard and Anne Bullmer’s ultra-wealthy friends to raise money for the terminally ill woman’s charity. On the first night, Lo hears a commotion from the cabin next door and spots a woman floating in the water. Lo believes it was the mysterious blonde she saw taking a shower in cabin 10. But with all of the crew and passengers accounted for, no one believes her sighting. The reporter snoops stem-to-stern looking for clues as to who the woman was and why someone would want to push her overboard.

Based on the bestselling novel, the film “The Woman in Cabin 10” stars Keira Knightley and Guy Pearce and is streaming on Netflix. The nautical closed circle mystery finds its heroine doubting her sanity and sniffing out a murderous plot, as she tries to avoid becoming the killer’s next victim.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10" BEGIN IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: terror alert.

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In February 2022, Florida deputies responded to a service call in which a white woman complained about Black children in her neighborhood playing near her property. Though deputies found the behavior innocuous, Susan Lorincz continued to call the police on the kids, fueling growing tension among neighbors. Then in June 2023, Ajike Owens went to Lorincz’s door to confront her after the woman allegedly threw a roller skate at her son. Within minutes, gunshots rang out—leaving one woman dead and another in custody. Detectives were left to determine whether this was a case of self-defense or a premeditated attack. 

Note: The Perfect Neighbor begins streaming on 10/17.

The documentary The Perfect Neighbor, now streaming on Netflix, is shot almost entirely through police body-worn camera footage. It recounts Lorincz’s slow burn from Karen to killer and examines the racial disparity in the application of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law—asking whether the suspect was motivated by fear or by anger.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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