True crime is popular in the podcast world, and romance novels are seeing a surge in popularity. The Oregonian/OregonLive’s new podcast, in partnership with Wondery, marries the two topics for a six-part exclusive look at the case of Nancy Crampton Brophy, who was convicted of murdering her husband, Dan.

Reporters Zane Sparling, who covered the trial, and Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, who reported on her arrest and its aftermath, joined Editor Therese Bottomly on “Beat Check with The Oregonian” to discuss the new podcast, which is available on all major platforms today.

In this episode of Beat Check, we talk about:

--Why investigators zeroed in on Crampton Brophy

--How Crampton Brophy took the stand at trial and it backfired

--Her previous role in the Portland community of romance writers

--Why humans can’t resist anthropomorphizing animals -- that is, attributing human behaviors and motives and emotions to our pets

“Happily Never After: Dan and Nancy,” with Wondery, now has two of the six episodes available.

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