True Crime Uncensored with Burl Barer and Mark Boyer

My childhood pal Pat Craig always was the best k ind of rebel - the smart kind. He knew what he was up against and what he had in his arsenal of creativity vs imaginary limitations and standardized expectations.  A best selling author of Amish fiction series, he stunned his  publisher by delivering a novel with blood and the carnage and conflict of war dripping from the otherwise pristine pages of Christian niche paperbacks.   Pat's instincts were correct -- readers of his Amish fiction books were crying out for the authenticity of real life, real conflict and real test of faith.

Full details in this episode  where Pat and his writing partner, Murray, join Buwrl and Mark for an unusual hour of exploring the world of writing publishing and dealing with other forms of evil.

From 2011: When we think of Charles Manson, the picture of him with his wild eyes is the image most often called to mind. That was, however, not only several years ago, it was several decades ago. Manson is still a paranoid schizophrenic who receives no mental health medication or treatment in prison, and has spent most of his years in solitary confinement, which doesn't bother him -- he's used to it.

Marlin Marynick, a nice chap from Regina (that's in Canada),  somehow captured Charlie's attention.and not in a bad way. The result: a new book CHARLES MANSON NOW.  The book is excellent, and Marlin was a fun guest on the radio show I do with Don Woldman.

 “The Garden State Parkway Murders,” true crime writer and attorney Christian Barth dives into the harrowing story of the unsolved murders of Elizabeth Perry and Susan Davis. College friends, the two women were brutally knifed to death and their bodies left off the parkway in the early hours of May 30, 1969.

Among the numerous suspects Barth identifies are infamous serial killers Ted Bundy and Gerald Eugene Stano, who were living within an hour’s drive from where the murder scene at the time they occurred. The killers also resided next to one another on Florida’s Death Row, and indirectly confessed to the double homicide.

A culmination of more than nine years of research, Barth’s book is compiled from multiple sources, including interviews with retired New Jersey State Police detectives, law enforcement officials from other jurisdictions, federal agents, possible witnesses, victim family members, as well as information gathered from FBI case files, letters, journals, libraries, newspaper articles, and university archives.In “The Garden State Parkway Murders,” true crime writer and attorney Christian Barth dives into the harrowing story of the unsolved murders of Elizabeth Perry and Susan Davis. College friends, the two women were brutally knifed to death and their bodies left off the parkway in the early hours of May 30, 1969.

Among the numerous suspects Barth identifies are infamous serial killers Ted Bundy and Gerald Eugene Stano, who were living within an hour’s drive from where the murder scene at the time they occurred. The killers also resided next to one another on Florida’s Death Row, and indirectly confessed to the double homicide.

A culmination of more than nine years of research, Barth’s book is compiled from multiple sources, including interviews with retired New Jersey State Police detectives, law enforcement officials from other jurisdictions, federal agents, possible witnesses, victim family members, as well as information gathered from FBI case files, letters, journals, libraries, newspaper articles, and university archives.

Because Burl is high risk for  the virus, he's does his show from home while fact checker Mark Boyer grills him like a swordfish.

Fact checker Mark Boyer interviews Burl about his career in true crime and his rare book, LOVE AT THE COST OF LIFEv g - an English version of the Farsi original by Pouran Rahimi about the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran. 

Dixie Shanahan had a terribly troubled and abusive marriage in the sleepy little town of Defiance, Iowa. Then one summer day in 2002, Dixie's mean and wicked husband was gone. Some of the local residents presumed that Scott packed his bags and left town. But others were skeptical. After all, Scott's brown Ford pick-up truck was still parked in his driveway. The disappearance mystified Defiance for more than a year. Then in late October, 2003, the truth emerged... or did it? The gray ranch along Third Avenue in the sleepy Midwestern town of less than 400 people was the recurring site of screaming, mad chaos and horrific domestic violence. Then one day, abusive husband Scott Shanahan was gone. Some thought he packed his bags and left town. Weeks passed. Months went by. Still no sign of the volatile wife beater. But what really happened to him was so shocking and so unbelievable that even grizzled, long-time law enforcement officials were aghast by the sight and awful smell. The town wondered why Dixie Shanahan managed to live with her husband's rotting body inside her master bedroom - for fourteen months. "In Dixie's Last Stand, journalist John Ferak gives us an impeccably researched and well-written account of the Dixie Shanahan case. The Iowa woman killed her husband after enduring years of abuse. Ferak weaves a gripping narrative while exploring important topics such as battered wife syndrome and mandatory sentencing laws. Highly recommended." - Robert Sberna, author of HOUSE OF HORRORS, the shocking true story of Anthony Sowell. "A well-written, and gripping depiction of 'battered wife syndrome'. ... This fascinating story will leave you asking yourself one question: Was the punishment that Dixie received in her case justified? Highly recommended

Sean Goff was a dynamic Pentecostal minister who was already running his own church by the age of twenty-two. He had wed a pliable teenager and bent her to his will, eventually convincing her to agree to his secretly taking a second wife named Joy. Although at first the clandestine arrangement worked well, problems soon began to surface.

Leif Wright, Sean’s friend and co-worker, confronted Sean about his hidden polygamous lifestyle, which threatened to scandalize their employer, a world-famous televangelist.

Philly to Tel Aviv, Jamaica to Los Angeles, Leonard built a reputation as an honest and reliable drug dealer and drug smuggler, primarily selling hashish and pot, although he personally consumed all manner of consumables.

He didn’t get busted or go to prison, but he “found himself” at the movies. Co-Founder, with  Robert Downey Sr. of the Reel Recovery Film Festivals, Writers in Treatment and the recently postponed Experience Strength and Hope Awards, Leonard joins us for a fun hour of drug fueled adventures and how living a life awake and aware has kept him sane, productive, drug free and as eccentric as ever.