Sydney McDowell was preparing for the last steps in her fertility journey. But when she went to Nashville’s Center for Reproductive Health for a final check-up, she learned the clinic was abruptly closing, and what would happen to her frozen embryos was unclear. Hundreds of families who’d paid thousands of dollars were left in the lurch, unable to recover their money or their embryos. As the would-be mothers compared notes, they said they missed many red flags that something wasn’t right at this fertility clinic.

From School of Humans and iHeartPodcasts comes “What Happened in Nashville.” Host Melissa Jeltsen brings the heartwrenching stories of those whose dreams of conceiving were dashed. She also explores the background of the clinic’s owner-operator, attempts to hold him accountable, and the lingering deficiencies in regulating this kind of medicine.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WHAT HAPPENED IN NASHVILLE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: rolling in the dough.

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From no-knock warrants and phony police informants to civil forfeiture and international narcotics interdiction, the US war on drugs has affected more than just traffickers. Its highly provocative methods have caused the deaths of innocent bystanders, often with no consequences for those responsible.  Animated by decades of political cries stoking fear and anger, police departments have gained more power in their tactics, which look more like combat than law enforcement. And the deaths of people caught in the crossfire are now accepted as necessary sacrifices in the quest for a drug-free America. 

In each episode of the podcast “Collateral Damage” from The Intercept, investigative reporter Radley Balko covers an unjust or avoidable death as a result of the government’s questionable enforcement policies and practices. The series distills the war on drugs down to the personal stories of bystanders who lost their lives or livelihood as collateral damage to the dangerous and quixotic goal of saving a nation from itself.

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

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A group of armed thieves force their way into a London investment firm which manages pension funds. In order to move billions of pounds into an offshore account, low-level office worker Zara Dunne is forced to complete the transaction with a gun to her head. DCI Rhys Covac thinks the heist isn’t all that it seems, and is paired with forensic accountants and MI5 operatives to unravel the operation. As Covac investigates her co-worker Luke, Zara finds herself in the middle of a high-stakes caper, looking for a way out.

The six-episode series “Steal” on Prime Video stars Sophie Turner. The thriller puts her character in the crosshairs of cold-blooded spies, crypto-robbers, and the cops looking for the missing billions. Was the theft of the workers’ retirement money an inside job? Was it a cash grab or was it a political statement? 

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "STEAL" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: regrets only.

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In 2001, a wealthy American couple moved to Costa Rica to build a multimillion-dollar home and wildlife sanctuary in the rain forest. In their lavish estate patrolled by armed guards, John and Ann Bender found themselves more isolated as the couple dealt with debilitating illness, bipolar disorder, and growing paranoia. When tragedy struck in 2010, authorities were left to wonder whether what happened was an accident, suicide, or murder. What followed was a legal saga which lasted years and grabbed the world’s attention. To this day, what happened that night at the Boracayan Estate remains the subject of debate.

From Blanchard House, Exactly Right Media, and iHeartPodcasts comes “Hell in Heaven: A Mysterious Death in Paradise.” Host Becky Milligan traces John and Ann Bender’s lives in the Costa Rican jungle and seeks the truth about what happened in the couple’s opulent rain forest estate. The eight-part series explores how cultural differences, personal demons, and the estranging influence of the wild contributed to the tragedy.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "HELL IN HEAVEN" IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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When police discovered an emaciated boy covered in wounds and duct tape, they learned he and his sister were being kept in the basement of Jodi Hildebrandt. She had built an online following by promoting harsh approaches to marriage advice and rigid child‑rearing strategies. The imprisoned children belonged to Ruby Franke, who abandoned her well‑known mommy vlog to collaborate with Hildebrandt on YouTube. As investigators dug into the case, they uncovered more about their methods…marked by domination, seclusion, and uncompromising demands for responsibility.

The Netflix documentary “Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story” examines the notorious child abuse case through the lens of Franke’s partner, accomplice, and enabler. It explores Hildebrandt’s backstory, her controversial counseling techniques, as well as the ways she influenced the influencer…and its horrific consequences.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "EVIL INFLUENCER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: slipping the leash.

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In 1999, billionaire Edmond Safra died in his fortified Monaco penthouse after a chaotic sequence of events. His nurse, Ted Maher, was stabbed by intruders, and the fire he set to summon help consumed the penthouse, killing Safra who was hiding in the safe room. The paranoid Safra had made enemies of the Russian mafia, and his widow had already inherited a fortune from the death of another husband under suspicious circumstances. But authorities accused Maher of staging the break-in to look like a hero, an accusation that follows him to this day. 

Netflix’s “Murder in Monaco” looks into the circumstances around the death of one of the world’s richest men. It catalogues the many players and their possible motives to see Safra eliminated. It also puts Maher under the microscope, as new events force a re-consideration of his role in the tragedy.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDER IN MONACO" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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In the 1980s, America was told Satanism was on the rise. Devil worshipers were responsible for kidnappings and blood sacrifices, and were coming for your children. Soon, police, teachers, and social workers were seeing Satanists everywhere. But why did the “satanic panic" take off in the first place? Were we really afraid of the devil? Or was it a way to explain the rising prevalence of societal ills and cultural shifts some saw as just as corrupting as Lucifer himself? 

In CBC’s “The Devil You Know,” host Sarah Marshall hunts for the origins of the 80s satanic panic and why it took hold. She finds that mass media tropes and religious dogma - combined with the public’s growing awareness of sexual abuse, queer-phobia, and changing mores - helped fuel a hysteria in which it was easier to blame the devil for our problems than ourselves.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE DEVIL YOU KNOW" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: rail fail.

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In 2010, when Anastasio Hernández-Rojas died after his arrest at a checkpoint, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it was from a medical emergency. Even though video surfaced showing 20 officers beating and tasing him, none of the men were held accountable for his death. An investigative journalist and a former CBP agent noted a passing reference to the Critical Incident Team, an organization neither had heard of. They learn this secretive unit isn’t tasked with investigating lethal force incidents - their purpose is to prevent or short-circuit them.

“Critical Incident: Death at the Border” from HBO Documentary Films looks into a shadow unit buried within U.S. Customs and Border Protection working to shield officers from lethal force investigations. It follows a reporter’s quest to uncover the Critical Incident Team and learn its true purpose, and tells the story of the family’s fight to get some measure of justice for Hernández-Rojas.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CRITICAL INCIDENT: DEATH AT THE BORDER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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After New Zealander Greg Wards married an American, she convinced him to open a cafe in a resort town. He’d learn that Lezlie Manukian forged bank documents, stole money, and made off with his parents’ life savings. Years later, Kiwi journalist Ollie Wards examined his family’s efforts to locate Lezlie. Wards picked up the search and discovered a trail of more fraud, cover stories, and victims. 

“Snowball” is from the Unravel Podcast team at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is being redistributed in the feed for Pushkin’s “Deep Cover” series. Part family profile, part shoe-leather investigation, “Snowball” follows Wards’ attempt to reconstruct how his family was brought to financial ruin and what happened to the woman who caused it all.

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

In Crime of the Week: We can work it out.

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In 1997, armored car driver David Ghantt teamed with Kelly Campbell - a pretty former co-worker - and Steve Chambers - a small-time criminal - to steal from the Loomis Fargo vault in Charlotte, North Carolina. The well-planned heist netted $17.5 million, but things started to unravel once they got away. While Ghantt laid low in Mexico to avoid attention, Chambers couldn’t stop making high-profile purchases in stolen $20 bills. Soon Ghantt was dodging both the FBI and a hit man, all while his conspirators were flashing cash and making some pretty dumb moves.

From SmartLess Media, Campside Media, Big Money Players and iHeart Podcasts comes “CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist.” Johnny Knoxville narrates the story of the second-largest bank robbery in US history, while regular show hosts Rory Scovel and Josh Dean provide commentary. Listeners hear from many of the key players in a story stranger than fiction, but just right for the big screen.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CRIMELESS: HILLBILLY HEIST' BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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