True Crime Uncensored with Burl Barer and Mark Boyer

 He began his career with a rather classical education, and finished it off with a decade in prison.  He is always a fun and fascinating guest.

After three books that have kept readers on the edge of their seats, in April, 2020, Jon again changed genres with As Long As I Have Lips…a romantic comedy set amid the advertising and cosmetic industries, and the attraction older women have of younger men. In December of that same year, he released the drama Rubdown, a story of innocence, sex, betrayal, romance, trust, murder and secret identities.

What does the future hold?

One thing’s for sure, Jon’s already writing the next book, and the odds are good that it won’t resemble any genre he’s previously given to the public.

In the meantime, Jon’s currently waiting for the check that’s supposedly in the mail...and listens to rock & roll music all the time.

Matthew Watts also wrote/directed and produced SWAMP PEOPLE, URBAN TARZAN, EPIC MYSTERIES, THE FIRST 48, and other well-known TV shows.

Tod Goldberg is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen books, including The Low Desert, Gangsterland (a finalist for the Hammett Prize), Gangster Nation, The House of Secrets (which he co-authored with Brad Meltzer), Living Dead Girl (a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize), and the popular Burn Notice series. His books have been published in a dozen languages and around the world and were twice named a finalist for the VN international Thriller of the Year Award.

His short fiction has been collected in three volumes — Simplify, which won the Other Voices Book Prize and was a finalist for the SCBA Award, Other Resort Cities, and his latest book, The Low Desert: Gangster Stories — and has been widely anthologized. His essays, journalism, and criticism have appeared in numerous publications, including the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal, among countless other publications and anthologies, and have earned five Nevada Press Association Awards for excellence, while his essay “When They Let Them Bleed” was selected for Best American Essays. For his body of work, Tod was honored with the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.

In addition to his work on the page, Tod is also the cohost of the podcast Literary Disco, along with Julia Pistell & Rider Strong, which has been named a top podcast by the Washington Post, The Guardian, Mashable, and even Good Housekeeping (among many others).

He is also the co-host, along with essayist Maggie Downs, of Open Book on KCOD Coachella FM, the leading public radio station in the Coachella Valley.

Tod Goldberg holds an MFA in Creative Writing & Literature from Bennington College and is a Professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside where he directs the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts. He lives in Indio, CA with his wife, the beauty writer Wendy Duren.

Fact checker Mark Boyer takes over and asks questions of award-winning true crime writers Frank Girardot and Burl Barer. 

Goldberg broke into television with a freelance script sale to Spenser: For Hire. Since then, his TV writing & producing credits have covered a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi (seaQuest), cop shows (Hunter, The Glades), martial arts (Martial Law), whodunits (Diagnosis Murder, Nero Wolfe), the occult (She-Wolf of London), kid’s shows (R.L. Stine’s The Nightmare Room), T&A (Baywatch, She Spies), comedy (Monk) clip shows (The Best TV Shows That Never Were) and total crap (The Highwayman, The New Adventures of Flipper).

He’s written and produced TV shows in Canada (Murphy’s Law, Cobra, Missing), England (Stick With Me Kid, She Wolf of London) and Germany (Fast Track: No Limits). His mystery writing for television has earned him two Edgar Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.

His two careers, novelist and TV writer, merged when he wrote the eight books in the Diagnosis Murder series of original novels, based on the hit CBS TV mystery that he also wrote and produced. He followed that up by writing fifteen bestselling novels based on Monk, another TV show that he worked on. His Monk novels have been translated and published in Germany, Poland, Thailand, Japan, Turkey, and many other countries.

In addition to his writing, he’s worked as an international TV development expert and consulting producer for production companies and major networks in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

But perhaps he’s best known for his pioneering work mapping the human genome and negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Goldberg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and his daughter and still sleeps in Man From U.N.C.L.E. pajamas.

What’s scarier than a murderer? Someone with the charisma to compel others to kill for them . . . or to kill themselves. Meet these cult leaders–and get an inside look at their beliefs and how they controlled others.

Some cults, led by leaders like Charlie Manson, Jim Jones, and David Koresh, are notorious. But others are less well known, such as Shoko Asahara and his doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo, who orchestrated the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. Or Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret, who founded the Order of the Solar Temple, a doomsday cult that led to the death of 51 members by murder or suicide. Then there is Marshall Applewhite, leader of Heaven’s Gate, who, along with 38 followers, killed themselves in the belief that the Hale-Bopp comet signaled the arrival of a spaceship that would transport them to a higher plane of existence. What makes cult leaders so compelling is their often-unfathomable power over their adherents. Why do people kill others or themselves for a questionable set of beliefs? Killer Cults tells the stories behind both famous and unfamiliar cults, and the people behind them. Across a series of profiles, we learn the jaw-dropping truth behind some of the most mystifying and deadly cults, and their leaders, all of whom led their followers down a dark, murderous path.

Two attempted murder charges and a history of criminal behavior spelled a dead-end life for Sidney Sims...but something happened -- knowledge, volition, and action transformed Sims' life from monochrome predictability of retrograde to a vibrant multi-hued life of adventure and personal transformation in service of others. How did that happen?

J.T. Hunter is a best-selling true-crime writer. He strives to craft compelling narratives that educate and inform while treating victims and their families with empathy and respect. J.T. has been interviewed for true crime documentaries broadcast in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and he has appeared on numerous true crime radio shows and podcasts. In his role as a college professor, J.T.’s teaching interests include creative writing and criminal psychology. He practiced law as a licensed attorney for nearly 15 years, including criminal law and appeals, and he has training in criminal investigation techniques. J.T. can be reached at [email protected]. You can view his webpage at www.jthunter.org

A horrific case of multi-generation murder, sexual abuse of young girls and tragic loss for the extended family.  The RCMP fought an uphill battle catching the killer, but once they had him, the brilliant interrogation resulted in a full confession --  meaning he admitted murdering the family, but he fictionalized the motive behind the murders until after he was sentenced, THEN he revealed the true reason he gunned them down.