The MLK Tapes

An all new season, an all new case. Rip Current returns. This time, examining the peculiar assassination attempt on environmental activist Judi Bari. The first episode drops on November 5th.

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Vanished. Vilified. Voiceless.

This season on Truer Crime, every story has something in common: it’s not what it seems.

What starts as a disappearance, a tragedy, or a headline quickly reveals something deeper—about power, about prejudice, about who gets to be heard and who gets written off.

We’re digging into six gripping cases. Some you might recognize. Others you’ve never heard before. But every one of them will leave you questioning the stories we’re told and the stories we choose to believe.

Six months. Six cases. One show that digs deeper.

Truer Crime is available now. Listen for free on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Podcasts.

Want early access to episodes? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at ⁠⁠tenderfootplus.com⁠⁠.

Keep up with us through our ⁠⁠Truer Crime Substack Newsletter⁠⁠.

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Sign up for my weekly newsletter, ⁠⁠Sincerely, Celisia⁠⁠.

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Hello, MLK Tapes Fans! We want to share a new show you might like, United States of Kennedy. 

About the show: United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.

Listen here and subscribe to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Truer Crime Season 2 drops today! From the Manson Murders to untold stories of injustice, these 10 new episodes will change the way you see true crime. New episodes every Monday here—don’t miss it!

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Interviews with Ryan Jones, historian at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, & Brian Dominski, court reporter for the '93 HBO trial and the '99 Civil Trial.

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After King is murdered, John Curington notices increased contact between H.L. Hunt and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. One day, Hunt gives Curington a satchel to bring to Ray's attorney, Percy Foreman. As he hands the bag to Foreman, Curington says the words he was told to say: "Here are 125,000 reasons for Ray to plead guilty."

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Dallas oilman H.L. Hunt hated communists, and in his mind this included Martin Luther King. He attacked King regularly on his program Life Line, carried daily on 500 radio stations across the country. Hunt believed this would be enough to destroy King, but J. Edgar Hoover had other ideas.

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On this Bonus Episode, we look at the life of Attorney Bill Pepper. We trace his early career in sports, a brush with the mob, work for Bobby Kennedy, travels in Vietnam and Cuba, and his friendship with Martin Luther King Jr. Then, how he came to represent James Earl Ray's brother, Jerry, at the House Committee hearing. 

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Lennie Curtis works at the police rifle range where sharpshooter Frank Strausser talks about killing King. On the fatal day, Strausser practices all morning with his new rifle. When Strausser leaves for town, Curtis tries to warn King, but fails. Years later, Pepper confronts Strausser.

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After 30 years of silence, cab driver Louis Ward comes forward to tell what happened to him when King was shot. A few years later, Ronnie Lee Adkins, who says his family was involved in the assassination, confirms Ward's story.

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