Crime&Stuff

It was the best of times, then the worst of times, for two con men — and their marks — as they separately traveled America using one of the country’s most famous and powerful names to wheedle their way into the hearts and minds of the rich. And ultimately, for one, to commit murder. What drove these two very different men — one French, one German — to call themselves Rockefeller? And why did people who should know better buy it?

It’s a funny, shocking, tragic and ultimately sad story.

Join us for Episode 16!

Everyone makes stalking jokes. Everyone. But from the time it first came into modern public perception as a thing, to the recent murder of singer Christina Grimmie, and for millions of regular people who aren’t celebrities and have to live with it every day, it’s not a joke at all.

What’s happened since the vicious 1982 attack on actress Theresa Saldana, or the 1989 murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer? Or even since the June murder of Grimmie? And when did we actually start calling it stalking? And what’s the deal with “Catcher in the Rye”?

Also, we talk to lawyer Matt Nichols about why it’s okay to revoke bail for some people charged with big crimes, and our recommendations include old-timey movies that we like even though they’re not in color.

So, lots of stuff. Lots. Join us for Episode 15.

We don’t mail it in when we discuss the spate of US Postal Service-related shootings over a 20-year period that spurred the phrase “going postal,” particularly one in Edmond, Oklahoma, in 1986 that changed the way we look at mass shootings. Patrick Shirrell wasn’t the first disgruntled worker to shoot up his workplace, but when he killed 14 coworkers, it riveted the nation and brought us in to a new era. His was the deadliest of dozens of post office and/or postal working shootings from the early 1980s to early 2000s that, fairly or unfairly, gave us a new phrase for people who kill in the workplace.

Nearly 16 years after Washington intern Chandra Levy disappeared and nearly 15 after her remains were found in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., police are no closer to convicting someone of her murder. That’s despite one trial and conviction, a scheduled then dumped retrial and the extremely unhelpful “goofiness” of Gary Condit, the California congressman the 24-year-old was having a secret affair with when she disappeared.

Sex, drugs, jailhouse snitches, sleazy middle-aged men who lead on pretty young things — this story had it all. All, that is, but some resolution. Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the Chandra Levy case, and maybe even some things you didn’t, in Crime & Stuff Episode 13.

And, yes, he’s back! Ask a Lawyer, with Matt Nichols of Nichols & Churchill in Portland, Maine, tells us why jailhouse snitches aren’t any worse witnesses than a a lot of other witnesses.

And, this week, we talk about the podcasts that we listen to when we’re not doing our own. C’mon. You know you want to know.

Buckle up, folks. It’s going to be a rough ride.

And on this week’s recommendations, a discussion of other things devolves into a rant on why Maureen won’t read the Harry Potter books. I know! What’s wrong with her?