You Can’t Make This Up

Mats Steen appeared to live a life of isolation. A Norwegian teen suffering from a degenerative muscle disease, reliant on adaptive technologies, Mats spent all of his time on his computer. It wasn’t until he died at age 25 that his parents learned what he’d been doing. 

The gamers did not know Mats’s medical condition. Instead, they knew him as Ibelin: a brawny medieval nobleman in search of adventure. The online players regarded Ibelin as a caring friend, a ladies man, and someone whose advice changed them in real life. It wasn’t until his passing, Mats’s impact on both worlds was revealed.

The Netflix documentary film The Remarkable Life of Ibelin uses game logs and code to digitally recreate Mats’s online journey. Through Ibelin, he experiences companionship, romance, and acceptance in a community where he could be his true self. The film asks questions about the nature of friendship and what it means to live a quality life - even one in a virtual world.

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Benjamin Ree.

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched The Remarkable Life of Ibelin yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. 

Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

What goes through the mind of a killer just as they take a life? And how do they feel about their actions after spending years in prison? Season five of the Netflix documentary series I AM A KILLER explores those questions, allowing admitted killers to talk about their crimes and reflect on how taking a life has changed them. 

But their tales don’t go unchallenged. Investigators, prosecutors, and loved ones hear their words and respond - some with forgiveness, some with a fact check on what really happened. What are the inmates looking for? Understanding? Redemption? A chance to rewrite their violent histories? Or simply the opportunity to tell the world “I am a killer.”

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews executive producers Ned Parker and Danny Tipping.

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched I AM A KILLER yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. 

Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

In a league filled with superstars, they stand out among the rest. But what does it take to achieve greatness in the NBA, as well as away from the court where you can’t call a timeout in real life?

The ten-part Netflix sports series Starting 5 provides an intense, behind-the-scenes look at the 2023-24 season through the eyes of five of the league’s biggest players - Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, Domantas Sabonis, and Jayson Tatum. The series captures their battles on and off the court as they chase greatness, push through injuries, and balance the demands of family and legacy.

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews Showrunner Peter Scalettar.

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Starting 5 yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. 

Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

Part 3: Hope for the Future. Today, over 30 years after their crime, Lyle and Erik feel they have healed and evolved. Alejandro learns how they've spent decades in search of peace and fulfillment in their lives behind bars. The brothers speak on the renewed interest in their case spawned from social media sites like TikTok, and share their hopes for the future. As their hours of conversation come to an end, Alejandro reflects on how his journey with the Menendez Brothers has personally impacted him as a storyteller. 

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, information and resources are available at www.wannatalkaboutit.com. 

The Menendez Brothers is streaming now on Netflix.

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CREDITS

Netflix Podcasts Presents

A Campfire Studios Production

in association with Pod People

The Menendez Brothers: The Official Podcast

Written and produced by Angela Palladino, with help from Tony Mantia, Rebecca Chaisson, Natalie Grillo, Sam Gebauer, Alex Vikmanis, and Aimee Machado

From Campfire Studios, Executive Producers: Ross M. Dinerstein and Rebecca Evans

From Netflix, Executive Producer: David Markowitz

Edited by Carter Wogahn and Morgane Fouse

Sound design and mixed by Carter Wogahn

Music composition by Jimmy Stofer

Narrated by Alejandro Hartmann

Part 2: The Legends of the Father. Alejandro dives deeper into the legacy of what it means to be a Menendez, the legend that Lyle and Erik’s father, Josè, created around their bloodline, and what it would ultimately drive his sons to do. All the while, as he develops a closer relationship with them, Alejandro reckons with his understanding of the brothers and their crime.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, information and resources are available at www.wannatalkaboutit.com. 

The Menendez Brothers is streaming now on Netflix.

---

CREDITS

Netflix Podcasts Presents

A Campfire Studios Production

in association with Pod People

The Menendez Brothers: The Official Podcast

Written and produced by Angela Palladino, with help from Tony Mantia, Rebecca Chaisson, Natalie Grillo, Sam Gebauer, Alex Vikmanis, and Aimee Machado

From Campfire Studios, Executive Producers: Ross M. Dinerstein and Rebecca Evans

From Netflix, Executive Producer: David Markowitz

Edited by Carter Wogahn and Morgane Fouse

Sound design and mixed by Carter Wogahn

Music composition by Jimmy Stofer

Narrated by Alejandro Hartmann

Part 1: The First Call. In the first of this three part mini-series, Alejandro Hartmann, the director of The Menendez Brothers documentary, takes us on his journey to reach Lyle and Erik Menendez and convince them to be interviewed for the documentary.

The Menendez brothers are serving life without parole for the 1989 murder of their parents inside the walls of the family’s Beverly Hills mansion. They haven't spoken together about their case since first being incarcerated. Through hours of candid conversation, documentarian Alejandro Hartmann embarks on a journey to uncover the raw, untold stories of the brothers’ lives before and after their crimes.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, information and resources are available at www.wannatalkaboutit.com. 

The Menendez Brothers is streaming now on Netflix.

---

CREDITS

Netflix Podcasts Presents

A Campfire Studios Production

in association with Pod People

The Menendez Brothers: The Official Podcast

Written and produced by Angela Palladino, with help from Tony Mantia, Rebecca Chaisson, Natalie Grillo, Sam Gebauer, Alex Vikmanis, and Aimee Machado

From Campfire Studios, Executive Producers: Ross M. Dinerstein and Rebecca Evans

From Netflix, Executive Producer: David Markowitz

Edited by Carter Wogahn and Morgane Fouse

Sound design and mixed by Carter Wogahn

Music composition by Jimmy Stofer

Narrated by Alejandro Hartmann

It was the trial that rocked the nation. Two brothers from Beverly Hills, convicted of murdering their parents. Lyle and Erik Menendez are serving life in prison without parole. But their crime was more than 30 years ago. Was justice served? And who are the Menendez brothers today?

In this preview of the companion podcast to the new Netflix documentary, The Menendez Brothers, filmmaker Alejandro Hartmann takes us behind-the-scenes on his quest to build a relationship with the two brothers. Through over 20 hours of exclusive prison interviews, the brothers reveal the deeper story of just what happened that summer in 1989 – a story of abuse, myth-making, and choices you can’t come back from. They've never told their story together, until now.

All three episodes of the companion podcast to the Netflix documentary, The Menendez Brothers, will be available right here on Wednesday, October 9th. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss it!

Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

Vicky White was well-liked and respected by her co-workers in the Alabama jail she ran, and by the inmates she supervised. They were shocked when, on one of her last days on the job, she vanished with accused murderer Casey White. It wasn’t until later authorities discovered the pair had a secret relationship for years, and they escaped so they could finally be together. After eleven days on the run, the manhunt came to a tragic end.

Through surveillance video and audio from their secret phone calls, Netflix’s Jailbreak: Love on the Run chronicles Vicky’s plan to spring her dangerous lover and the nationwide search for the couple. It also seeks answers to the question: why did Vicky do it?

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews executive producers Dan Abrams and Rachel Stockman.

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Jailbreak: Love on the Run yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. 

Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

The new podcast Forgive Me For I Have Followed builds on Netflix’s Dancing for the Devil, delving into the personal stories of those affected by Robert Shinn, Shekinah Church, and 7M Films. Shinn founded Shekinah Church in LA over two decades ago, before establishing 7M Films, and is named in a civil lawsuit alleging abuse and "cult-like" behavior.

In this, the premiere episode, co-host and former member Kailea Gray shares her personal perspective. Joined by co-host and Dancing for the Devil Executive Producer Jessica Acevedo, Kailea reflects on her and her now-husband's involvement with the church, how their lives have changed, and their journey moving forward.

Dancing For the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult is streaming now on Netflix.

Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

Cathy Terkanian learned the daughter she gave up for adoption decades earlier vanished under mysterious circumstances while a teenager. When Cathy began her own investigation into the disappearance, she learned police dismissed the involvement of the violent predator living in the home Aundria Bowman grew up in. Her birth mother dedicated herself to getting Aundria’s adoptive parents to reveal the truth about what happened. Then, after years of persistence, an unlikely discovery broke the case wide open.

From the creative team behind The Keepers and Executive Producer Charlize Theron comes the Netflix documentary series Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter. It follows a decades-long quest for justice and the investigation into a man whose list of violent crimes remained largely unconnected. It also profiles Cathy’s quest to do right by the daughter she never knew and bring her home.

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Ryan White and producer Jessica Hargrave.

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. 

Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.