Criminally Online

Power trips. Riot drills. Cast members quitting midway through. It’s all happening on Netflix’s hit reality show, The New Stanford Prison Experiment, based on Philip Zimbardo’s notorious 1971 study. Eliza Orlins (15 years as a Manhattan public defender) and Thea Johnson (criminal law professor) watched so you don’t have to, and they’re asking: is it really an experiment? What does the power dynamic between guards and incarcerated people look like in a real prison? And what are the ethics of reality TV, from Love is Blind to the Bachelor?

Spoiler Warning: This episode contains spoilers for The New Stanford Prison Experiment. 

Got a legal question? Submit it at speakpipe.com/criminallyonline

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Why did Elizabeth Holmes invite a documentary crew in 34 days before going to federal prison? In the first episode of Criminally Online, Eliza Orlins (15 years as a Manhattan public defender) and Thea Johnson (criminal law professor) break down You Can See Everything, the Nathan Fielder documentary everyone’s talking about, and answer the internet’s biggest questions with actual legal expertise. Is Holmes a calculating fraudster or victim of an abusive relationship? Did she have kids to win sympathy? And how much of a conviction can hang on a single word: can?

This episode contains spoilers for You Can See Everything

Got a legal question? Submit it at speakpipe.com/criminallyonline

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Love a true crime rabbit hole? Ever find yourself deep in a celebrity lawsuit at 1 am? The internet has wild theories. But what does the law actually say? Every week, Criminally Online brings you the legal truth behind the headlines. Eliza Orlins (public defender, Survivor star) and Thea Johnson (law professor) are best friends and true crime obsessives breaking down viral cases, courtroom drama, and the surprising legal twists hiding inside pop culture. From Lemonada Media, coming October 22.

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