Hollywood & Crime

In 1978, Rodney Alcala won a date on the popular TV show, The Dating Game. What no one knew was that he was a prolific serial killer in the middle of a cross-country murder spree. In this six-part series, co-hosts Tracy Pattin (Hollywood & Crime) and Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don’t Breathe) take listeners on an unbelievable journey into Alcala’s twisting secret life. He hid behind normal jobs as a typesetter at a prominent newspaper and a summer camp counselor. How did this predatory monster fool employers, prison psychiatrists, and parole boards — all while committing heinous crimes from coast to coast? And how did a one-time appearance as a game show contestant help lead to his capture? From the makers of Dirty John, Dr. Death, and Young Charlie, learn the story of the most famous serial killer you’ve never heard of - The Dating Game Killer.

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On the morning of August 9, 1969, the bodies of actress Sharon Tate and four other people were discovered at the sprawling Benedict Canyon home of Miss Tate and her husband, film director Roman Polanski. The victims had all been brutally murdered. The next day, the bodies of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were discovered at their home in Los Feliz. They had been murdered in a similar, gruesome fashion.

In 1939, young Charlie Manson’s mother Kathleen is arrested in Charleston, West Virginia and jailed for robbery. After her release, she is unable to control her son and has him sent to the Gibault School for Boys in Indiana. Charlie runs away after only ten months. Then, after being arrested for burglary, he is given a second chance when a kindly judge sends him to the famous Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska. After just four days, he escapes from there as well.

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The dark journey of Charles Manson, from his troubled childhood to orchestrating the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders.

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The murder of William Desmond Taylor rocks Hollywood. Within hours, everyone has heard the news and is asking the same question: why would anyone want Taylor dead? After examining the crime scene, detectives start narrowing in on the first suspects in this shocking crime.

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On February 1, 1922, William Desmond Taylor, one of Hollywood’s most successful directors was found dead in his home with a bullet in his back. The list of suspects was as long as the line outside one of his premieres, and the search for the killer would take investigators across the country and into the underbelly of downtown Los Angeles tracking down clues. As the case unfolded, famous names like Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand, and Mack Sennett would be dragged through the mud. The press published torrid love letters, exposed scandalous affairs, and filed incendiary reports on the drug problem on Hollywood sets. But the bigger questions remained — how much did the studios know about the murder, and why were they covering up evidence? And more importantly, who would have reason to murder one of Hollywood’s most promising directors? 

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Hysterical investigates a mysterious illness that spreads among a group of high school girls in upstate New York. What is causing their sudden, often violent symptoms? Is there something in the water or inside the school? Or is it “all in their head?” The series examines the outbreak in LeRoy, NY, believed by some to be the most severe case of mass hysteria since the Salem Witch Trials. In his search for answers, Dan Taberski (9/12, Missing Richard Simmons, Running from Cops) explores other seemingly inexplicable events of the last few years – CIA officers being crippled with nausea and vertigo; cops OD'ing from exposure to fentanyl – and discovers they’re far more connected than we realize.

From Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios, this 7-part series forces us to grapple with the mysteries of our own minds, and reckon with a contagion that we thought was long dead, but may be the defining disorder of our time.

Follow Hysterical on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Hysterical early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+ at wondery.fm/Hysterical_FD.

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Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. We know the six wives of Henry the eighth as pawns in his hunt for a son. But their lives were so much more than just being the king’s wives. 

Each episode of Wondery’s podcast Even the Royals pulls back the curtain on royal families, past and present, from all over the world, to show you the darker side of what it means to be royalty. 

This is just a preview of Even the Royals. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, or at wondery.fm/eventheroyals. 

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Nancy Brophy fills her novels with romantic betrayals and murder. It’s a far cry from her quiet life in the suburbs, where she and her chef husband, Dan, are living out their golden years. But when Dan is shot dead, Nancy finds herself at the center of a murder case that could be ripped from the pages of her novels.

From Wondery, this is a story about what happens when the line blurs between fiction and reality. 

Listen to Happily Never After: Dan & Nancy on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial by visiting Wondery.fm/HNA_DN now. 

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Imagine falling in love with the perfect partner—charming, caring, handsome, successful and utterly captivating. But what if that love was nothing more than an elaborate con orchestrated by your alleged best friend? Sometimes the perfect match can be a dangerous game. Season 20 of Something Was Wrong unravels the chilling story of a group of friends ensnared in one of the most elaborate catfishing schemes of all time. Meet the survivors who thought they found love, friendship, and trust, but instead found themselves entangled in a web of lies, all spun by one person. Uncover the chilling truth behind 'Brody,' a fictitious persona meticulously crafted to deceive and control women for over a decade. Through relentless determination and tech-savvy prowess these victims unite to expose the truth and put an end to this wide spanning cycle of abuse.

Listen now: Wondery.fm/SomethingWasWrongS20

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