This week we’re going all over the place, so buckle up for the ride. Starting off with a dead body being found in a TikTok star’s Tesla trunk (but he’s been on tour so who put it there???), UFOs are all over the damn place, just released terrifying shirtless selfies of Bryan Kohberger, and Elizabeth Gilbert admitting to *almost* attempting to kill her partner but no one seems to care?? WHAT IS HAPPENING

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On the afternoon of October 9, 2010, police in Hickory, North Carolina, receive a report of a missing 10-year-old girl. Everyone in her life is desperate for her safe return. But as the search continues, it emerges that she hasn’t been seen outside the house for some time. Almost a month after the youngster is reported missing, her remains are found in nearby woods, her cause of death unknown. When a suspect is arrested, the community is stunned and appalled when it learns the gruesome and despicable details of what has befallen the young girl. In episode 368, Jac and Alexis detail the heartbreaking murder of Zahra Clare Baker, by someone who committed the most heinous and unforgivable of acts against a child, and the impact of catastrophic systemic failures when it comes to protecting our children.

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The title says it all. This week we are deep diving Unknown Caller: The High School Catfish documentary, because we’ve got THOUGHTS. We analyze every moment of the documentary, what was missing from it, and share how we really feel about Kendra. Plus, Luigi Mangione modeling for SHEIN??

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When we first covered the disappearance of 39-year-old mother of four, Nikki Cheng Saelee McCain, in episode 330,  her case was still classified as a missing persons investigation. Months later, everything has changed. Authorities have reclassified the case as a homicide, Nikki’s husband Tyler has spoken publicly for the first time, and now he’s been arrested and charged with her murder. In this update episode, Jac and Lex revisit Nikki’s story, track the dramatic turns since March, and explore how media attention and relentless advocacy from Nikki’s family have kept the case alive, and helped push it forward.

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It’s a variety show kinda week, and we’re covering all ends of the oddity spectrum for you. From Will Smith’s AI concert promo fail, to forensic otters, to getting knives stuck in your chest for 10 years, to the Burning Man Orgy Dome, to super powered humans who feel no pain, you’e bound to learn a new random useless fact or two to take with you this week!

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It began as an ordinary night in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Families were out, friends gathered, strangers hailed rides to get across town. But beneath the surface of that routine evening, something unthinkable was unfolding. A man who seemed to have everything together, a job, a family, no history of violence, suddenly broke from the life he knew. Over the course of just a few hours, a city was gripped by a series of random, senseless attacks that defied explanation. Between rides for a car service, he struck again and again, leaving investigators and residents searching for answers. On episode 366 of The First Degree, Jac and Lex dive in, exploring the answers of impossible questions. Like, what could drive someone with no warning signs to unleash chaos on total strangers? And how do you stop a threat that blends so seamlessly into the everyday?

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It’s a week full of replacing eyeballs with teeth, con men “suicides”, and thousands of hotdogs flying through the air. Plus, Jenna Miscavige is officially on TikTok and answering all of our most burning questions about Scientology (like where the HELL is Shelly???).

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Homicide detectives are trained to speak for the dead. They build cases from silence, piecing together fragments of lives they never truly knew. Rarely do they ever get to meet the people they fight for. But for one Los Angeles investigator, that changed in the fall of 1987, when a woman lived through the impossible. After being abducted, held captive for 48 hours, and shot in the head twice, she somehow survived. Her story not only defied medical odds, it reshaped a detective’s career and life, forging a bond between victim and investigator that would endure long after the case was closed. In episode 365, Jac and Lex delve into the survival story of Carol LePak, with the help of retired LA homicide investigator, Don Tabek.

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Have you ever wondered what the inside of Jeffrey Epstein’s New York brownstone looked like? Well have no fear! The photos have been leaked and we are going through and analyzing each and every detail. Plus, cursed labubus and banned baby names!

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She did everything right.  She kept the records. Filed the reports. Changed her routines. But none of it mattered. Because the man tormenting her stayed just outside the rules.  A case where psychological terror was real, constant, and intentional-  and yet, legally invisible. In episode 364, Jac and Lex unravel how stalking can become a form of slow-motion violence. How the system waits for blood before it acts. And how, sometimes, the most dangerous threats are the ones hiding in plain sight, waiting, watching, and never quite crossing the line.

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