Republicans are currently in the unusual position of hating the U.S. military. Last week, General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came under fire after refusing to condemn the latest GOP scare tactic, Critical Race Theory, which teaches that, well, the U.S. has had a checkered history (and present) when it comes to how it’s treated non-whites. One thing Milley said really outraged them: That he had read the works of Mao, Marx, and Lenin in order to educate himself, but “that doesn’t make me a Communist.” On Monday’s Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade became the latest to take him down…by claiming he’d been made to read Mein Kampf in school.
“I thought general Miley totally missed the point last week,” Kilmeade told guest, Texas representative Dan Crenshaw. “He says ‘Oh I read Mao, I read Stalin’ that has nothing to do with it.” He then dropped an unexpected bombshell. “We read Mein Kampf in school, no one thought we were Nazis, that is part of the curriculum, you find out about other things and other insurgencies, we get it, that has nothing to do with Critical Race Theory.”
It was a curious comment for a number of reasons. One: Was Massapequa High School on Long Island really making its young students read Adolf Hitler’s memoir-cum-manifesto? Two: Wasn’t he making basically the same point that Milley was — that reading works we may not agree with enriches our understanding of the world?
But there was really little to do but make jokes.
Little known fact: Brian Kilmeade attended elementary school in Berlin in 1942.
— Russell Foster for Texas (@RussellFosterTX) June 28, 2021
Some questioned the claim’s veracity.
my dad went to school with brian kilmeade and he did NOT read mein kampf…so that sounds like something brian kilmeade did in his free time for fun https://t.co/XLqHogP5VJ
If Brian @kilmeade read Mein Kampf between K-12th grade, that was his own choosing. No public school in the United States assigns that for reading in their curriculum.
Al Gore knows more than anyone what it’s like to have an election potentially taken from you. The results of the the 2000 race were hotly contested, leading to an epic recount in Florida. But after weeks of turmoil, Gore decided that the unity of the country was more important than his potential win, and he’s never taken issue with it since. In other words, it’s the opposite what the Donald J. Trump has done after losing the 2020 election, ranting and railing with claims even his loyal Attorney General deemed “bulls*it.” And when asked about how the 45th president continues to peddle lies, Gore had some words.
In an interview with CNN, the former vice president spoke about the “refusal of the former president to acknowledge that he lost by seven million votes — it wasn’t close, for God’s sake.” He also slammed the Republicans, saying the “majority of his party is still so enthralled to him that they still believe that the American people did not make the judgment that they clearly made. This is very damaging for our democracy.”
Gore was cautiously hopeful, though, saying, “I’m hoping this craziness fades over time.” But you better stress “cautious,” because there’s still a large portion of GOP voters who’ve been effectively brainwashed:
“We hear about AI standing for artificial intelligence. They’re putting another kind of AI out: artificial insanity. … They’re putting out messages that create an alternate reality, and people get into these echo chambers on the internet, and it’s all they hear, and they begin to believe the alternate reality.”
When asked what he would say to Trump, Gore chuckled darkly, admitting, “I’m not sure that whatever I’d say to him would have any impact whatsoever.” But, he said, “just on the off chance that it would, I would say please do the right thing. Acknowledge reality. Stop hurting this country. Stop undermining democracy. Honor the great and honorable traditions of the United States of America. This cannot go on the way it is.”
Basketball is a sport that’s practically built for the drama of movies. The fast-paced action is perfect for montages, and the tension of last second-heroics punctuated by the sound of a buzzer are all the makings of cinematic greatness. But not all hoops films are made equal. Some, in fact, are downright mediocre and others, while originally praised as brilliant, have fared worse over time than others.
There are plenty of basketball movies — whether they follow a team’s journey or use the game as the backdrop for the larger thrust of the film. But a good basketball movie needs to be well cast with a strong story, some realistic-looking game-play and maybe some classic moments and quotes that stand out to fans years later.
Having trouble sorting it all out? We’ve got you covered.
13) Semi Pro (2008)
There has to be a straight-up comedy on here with zero appetite for drama or anything but laughs, and Semi-Pro is it. The heyday of struggling basketball teams is ripe with comedy, and this Will Ferrell movie is criminally underrated in his overall comedic cannon. Ferrell as a player/coach/owner of an American Basketball Association team is a gem. This movie is not realistic in any way — Andre Benjamin of Outkast plays a prominent role — but it doesn’t have to be. Basketball in Flint, Michigan looks like a hell of a lot of fun in this one, and its enduring legacy is the occasional Tropics jersey you’ll see at an NBA game.
12) Hoosiers (1986)
Hoosiers needs to be on this list because it is regarded as a classic basketball movie. The Indiana Pacers have a Hickory High jersey that looks very cool. And Gene Hackman in a coaching role is always something to appreciate. But there is not a movie on this list that has aged worse than Hoosiers, a film made in 1986 and a film about an all-white small-town basketball team triumphing because they got one good player. In this particular movie, they are the good guys. But three decades later, it’s hard not to view the team they beat as the far more interesting story.
11) Coach Carter (2005)
High school basketball is ripe with stories that make for good movies. And making your entire team because they violated your academic agreement is a pretty compelling way to draw an audience in, right? This is one of those basketball movies where the team grows and changes as it gets better on the floor, teaching a lesson along the way. It’s fairly formulaic, but it tells a nice story. A sneaky highlight of this film is an appearance from a very young, extremely bald Channing Tatum. Another early highlight is Samuel L. Jackson, a high school basketball coach, getting challenged by one of the team’s better players to a fight. You can imagine how that goes, but that alone is worth a look, right?
10) Glory Road (2006)
Speaking of more interesting basketball stories, there is Glory Road, a Disney-fied version of Texas Western’s run to the men’s NCAA Championship Game in 1966. The 2006 film doesn’t nearly have the cult following of Hoosiers, but the true story is far more compelling and highlights an issue that basketball in that era certainly suffered from: racism. Texas Western’s run to the title game against Kentucky is given the proper weight it should, and Josh Lucas’ turn as The Bear, coach Don Haskins, is a worthy center for this underrated film.
9) The Way Back (2020)
A heavy film whose box office fortunes were impacted by COVID shutdowns that happened right as it was coming out, The Way Back demands a lot from its lead as Ben Affleck leans on some of his own experiences with the bottle to play a damaged alcoholic trying to find a rope in the dark and a way out of the hole that his life has become after being pummeled by loss. Basketball factors in as that rope, with Affleck’s former high school standout character finding renewed purpose as a fiery and sometimes unorthodox leader of young men.
8) Teen Wolf (1985)
Michael J. Fox is a teen who is also a wolf. I’m not sure what’s not to like here. His character, Scott Howard, turns into an extremely athletic mythical beast. This is a harmless, if not ridiculous classic. And there’s something to be said for that kind of movie getting made in 1985 and still being true today. This is definitely the most “cult classic” of the films listed here, but there’s a particular affection for this movie, which actually sparked an equally-ridiculous MTV show in 2011.
7) Space Jam (1996)
Listen: Space Jam is not really a great movie. When you take away the nostalgia for it and a banger of a soundtrack, much like The Mighty Ducks, the bones of the plot are a bit bare. But it’s hard to hate a movie that puts Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny with equal billing on a movie poster. There’s a reason LeBron James was hounded for years to make a sequel to this 1996 blockbuster (with the new one finally coming out this year): people love the idea of the best player in the game getting sucked into a cartoon vortex. If anything, it’s still the only logical explanation for Jordan deciding to play baseball for a few years.
6) Above The Rim (1994)
Above The Rim plays out as a battle for one young man’s soul, standing out as an excellent showcase for the acting talents of Tupac Shakur, whose character, Birdie, does his best to steer the film’s protagonist, Kyle (Duane Martin) off his course as a basketball prodigy with college ball in his future. The film is also a tremendous showcase for ‘90s hip-hop (due to its iconic soundtrack) and a film that aimed for authenticity when showcasing streetball culture.
5) He Got Game (1998)
Spike Lee’s ode to basketball is a classic. Denzel Washington’s turn as Jake Shuttlesworth is a great performance and a dynamic role, and an appearance from Ray Allen as his son, Jesus, is a fun surprise for those coming to the film for the first time. This is another movie that settles on a plot involving a five-star high school recruit, but the tale of Shuttlesworth coming to grips with his father’s incarceration for killing his mother is compelling and well-executed here. It’s not the apex of Lee’s or Washington’s career in cinema, but it’s certainly worthy of this list.
4) Blue Chips (1994)
Nick Nolte is a conflicted college basketball coach in this 1994 film that has some legendary performances from actual NBA players. Shaq and Penny Hardaway appear as players here, while Rick Pitino and Larry Bird pop up as well. Compared to the kind of scandals that have engulfed college athletics these days, getting a tractor pales in comparison. But the story here is strong, and it’s got some of the best actual basketball scenes out of any movie on this list.
3) Love And Basketball (2000)
Basketball is the thing that brings Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps’ characters together and the thing that tears them apart in this smartly-executed, years-spanning love story from writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood. Impeccably cast with familiar faces sprinkled in throughout, the film is careful to really examine the strains and isolation of both being a heralded athlete and someone who feels like no one else believes in their dreams. The pressures of living up to both your parent’s expectations and legacies is also explored, but while it sounds like a lot is going on, Love And Basketball doesn’t get bogged down, injecting enough gentle and intimate moments of connection that you never lose sight of the point or find yourself not rooting for the pair at the center of this story to get out of their own way and into each other’s arms.
2) Hoop Dreams (1994)
Maybe the best basketball documentary ever, filmmaker Steve James tells the story of two basketball prospects — William Gates and Arthur Agee — trying to launch basketball careers to get themselves out of inner-city Chicago. The movie follows both players for four years as they go through high school hoops, recruiting and school issues and try to stay on track despite the outside pressures of their lives. This film got an Oscar nod for best film editing, and pouring over all the footage of their stories to weave this one together into a cohesive picture certainly seems worthy. This is a must-see.
1) White Men Can’t Jump (1992)
This is a great basketball film that happens to be a lot of fun, playing around in the worlds of trash talk and pick-up ball while leaning heavily on the strength of the uneasy partnership between Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson’s characters (with Rosie Perez thrown into the mix to steal every scene she’s in, as per her usual) and the grift at the heart of that partnership. Everyone loves a film about a good grift and White Men Can’t Jump certainly delivers. Written and directed by sports movie master Ron Shelton, White Men Can’t Jump furthers the truth he also highlights in Bull Durham: that sports can be the foundation for truly great relationships, but the trick is in making those relationships interesting and entertaining.
There are a lot of people in the fourth Matrix. Even Christina Ricci’s in it! But while a good chunk of the old gang is getting back together, not all of them will be there. Laurence Fishburne, who played rebel leader Morpheus, not only won’t appear. He wasn’t even invited to the party. He’s talked about it before, and in a new interview about something he is in — namely the latest Liam Neeson thriller The Ice Road — he says he’s cool with people asking about it. He just doesn’t have a good answer.
In a new interview with Collider (in a bit picked up by IndieWire), the Oscar-nominated actor was asked about not getting to reunite with the likes of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Lambert Wilson. Specifically he was asked if he didn’t mind people bugging him with that question.
“No, I completely understand that. That makes sense. It would make sense that people would ask me that, so it doesn’t get old,” Fishburne said, offering a good-natured chuckle. “I am not in the next Matrix movie, and you’d have to ask [director] Lana Wachowski why, because I don’t have an answer for that.”
In the past, as in an interview with Vulture late last summer, Fishburne said he was “fine” with not being asked back, while saying that maybe, with the free time, he’ll “write another play.” He then wished them well, adding, “I hope it’s great.”
Mind you, a lot of people from the original Matrix trilogy aren’t coming back. Hugo Weaving, aka fearsome Agent Smith, is AWOL, as is Monica Bellucci, Harold Perrineau, Harry Lennix, as well as philosopher/professor Cornel West, who semi-randomly popped up in Reloaded. In other words, he’s in august company.
The as-yet-untitled fourquel is set to be released on Dec. 16.
After Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man, was pursued and shot by three white residents while jogging through a Georgia suburb, Ellen and Patrick Miller* of San Diego hung a Black Lives Matter flag in front of their house. It was a small gesture, but something tangible they could do.
Like many people, they wanted to both support the BLM movement and bring awareness about racism to members of their community. Despite residing in a part of the county notoriously rumored to be marred by white supremacists and their beliefs, their neighbors didn’t say much about it—at first.
Recently, though, during a short window when both Ellen and Patrick were out of the house, someone sliced the flag in two and left the remains in their yard.
via Paula Fitzgibbons
They were upset, but not surprised.
“Nobody prior to May of 2020 said a word about our BLM flag,” Ellen explains. “After George Floyd and the protesting started, we had about 50% positive interactions with our neighbors, quietly offering solidarity as they passed by on their morning and evening walks. Then 25% of interactions were a lot of older busybodies ‘pearl clutching’ and hoping that ‘nobody takes this the wrong way and commits vandalism’ against us.” Then there were the men who would drive past and scream obscenities at Ellen while she unpacked groceries with her young child.
Instead of backing down, Ellen and Patrick grew more involved. They worked to educate themselves about racism. They attended and planned local BLM rallies—including a particularly turbulent one in the middle of their intolerant suburb where members of extremist groups suddenly appeared across the street to counter-protest. They donated to BLM and joined a leadership club that Ellen says “helps students of color with special needs navigate current society.”
By the time Ellen and Patrick’s flag was vandalized, they had already collected some back-ups. Undeterred, they replaced the flag with one that supports a broader mix of voices including the LGBTQ+ community, which they’d planned to hang for Pride Month in June.
via Paula Fitzgibbons
Though they felt the sting of violation, they understood there was no comparison to the indignities Black people in their area experience. As Ellen shares, it was mostly “a sad confirmation of the reputation of our town.”
If the simple act of hanging a flag propelled Ellen and Patrick to lend greater support to the BLM movement, what happened next confirmed the need to continue working hard toward effective allyship.
Ellen explains that a couple of days after their BLM flag was vandalized, Patrick rushed into the house with tears in his eyes and handed her the typed note that was left at their front door along with two wrapped packages.
“I busted into an ugly cry as well,” Ellen adds.
The note read:
“I saw your ripped BLM flag on Tuesday morning. I realize it could’ve been ‘just the wind’ but there are a fair number of other flags I see flying high in this neighborhood without tattering so suddenly…
So, just in case somebody vandalized it on purpose, I went ahead and made a $ donation to BLM on your behalf!
I also wanted to order you a replacement BLM flag in case you still wanted to fly it, then in a fit of passion I ordered two, so that there’s another back-up, or a gift for another good person with a flag pole.
Also quick sidenote, I love your LGBTQ+ Ally flag too! As a “B,” it gives me a sense of camaradery [sic]!
Do with these new flags as you will. It was simply my wish to ‘fix’ the torn flags the same way I wish to ‘fix’ some of the unkind acts against our fellow human beings. I saw it as a chance to remind you, remind myself, remind vandals and kind people alike that you can’t tear away someone’s humanity, you can’t tear away their pride, you can’t tear up love and compassion and good hearts the way you can tear up the fabric.
We’ll continue to fly high!”
via Paula Fitzgibbons
The note confirmed Ellen and Patrick’s hope that flying a simple flag might help people feel more welcome in their neighborhood.
“We no longer felt indignant, but happy that our flag symbol made another neighbor feel safe,” Ellen says.
Flying a BLM flag in a neighborhood with ties to white supremacy allowed the Millers to make a statement against the prevailing racist attitudes in their town. It also moved them to act intentionally in support of BLM. They never imagined the vandalism of that same flag might someday invite more neighbors into solidarity as well.
As another resident of their town commented, “It’s nice to know you aren’t an island when it comes to compassion in your neighborhood.”
When it comes down to which Marvel characters boast the most unusual stories, you gotta admit Loki is pretty dang high on the list. The mischievous Asgardian is an absolute agent of chaos, known for playing various sides, characters, and creatures as he sees fit. Hell, so far the Loki series is all about the God facing the consequences of messing around with the fabric of time. However, for all his antics in the comics and MCU, comic Loki isn’t nearly as troublesome as the Loki found in traditional Norse mythology. Here are five of the Norse Loki’s wildest fun facts.
1. There’s a theory that Loki was originally the Norse God of Fire.
For as much as we talk about all of Loki’s illusions, trickery, mischief, and mayhem, it might surprise some folks to know some scholars believe him to first and foremost be a god of fire. While it’s all speculation, this theory is backed up by the etymology of Loki’s parents’ names. Farbauti, his father’s name, means “fierce strike” and represents lightning. Furthermore, Laufey, his mother’s name, means “leaves.” When lighting strikes leaves, fire is born, and thus this does make some sense. Those who contest the theory state they believe records could be mentioning Logi rather than Loki, who is a giant (or Jötunn) that serves as the personification of fire in Norse mythology.
2. Loki is responsible for the death of one of Norse mythology’s most beloved God, Baldur.
While Loki was already a thorn in nearly every Asgardian side, his work in killing off one of their most beloved Gods — Baldur — certainly earned him outright hatred from the entire Norse pantheon. According to the tale of The Death of Baldur, after hearing Baldur was fated to die, his mother Frigg went to every living creature and made them swear they would never harm her son. However, assuming mistletoe was too small a thing to harm Baldur, she did not acquire its oath. Using this knowledge, Loki armed the blind god Hod with a spear tipped with mistletoe and commanded him to throw it at where Baldur was standing. Hod, unaware of Baldur or the mistletoe’s presence, thus threw it and struck down the son of Frigg and Odin. When Odin visited the goddess Hel to retrieve his son, Hel told him she would return Baldur to the land of the living if every creature on earth shed tears for him. While every creature on earth wept in morning, Loki, disguised as a giantess, refused to cry, thus resigning Baldur to his fate.
3. Loki suffered a pretty grisly punishment for all his insults and bad behavior.
While Loki’s actions don’t have the best of consequences for him in the MCU, they’re nothing compared to what happens to him in Norse mythology. According to a Norse Mythology organization:
For his many crimes against them, the gods eventually forge a chain from the entrails of Loki’s son Narfi and tie him down to three rocks inside a cave. A venomous serpent sits above him, dripping poison onto him. Loki’s apparently very faithful and loving wife, Sigyn, sits at his side with a bowl to catch the venom. But when the bowl becomes full, of course, she has to leave her husband’s side to pour it out. When this happens, the drops of venom that fall onto him cause him to writhe in agony, and these convulsions create earthquakes. And in this state he lies until breaking free at Ragnarok.
4. Loki fathered — and mothered — some pretty interesting children.
On top of Narfi and his entrails, Loki fathered — and mothered! — some other interesting and important children. While goddess of the underworld Hela is Loki’s sister in the MCU, in traditional Norse mythology she is none other than his daughter, Hel. He is also the father of Jormungand, the world serpent, and Fenrir, a monstrously large wolf. Last but certainly not least, Loki turns into a mare, mates with the stallion Svathlifari, and becomes the mother of Sleipnir, an eight-legged horse considered the greatest and fastest in all the realms who is later ridden by Odin.
5. These children are ultimately responsible for unleashing Ragnarok.
So far we’ve covered Loki killing Baldur, being bound, and who his children are, and all of previous these facts come into play in this last one. After Loki’s imprisonment and the binding of his son, Fenrir, the world enters Fimbulvetr, a year-long and brutally cold winter. Following this occurrence, the serpent Jormungand causes monstrous tidal waves, Fenrir breaks his mythic binding, and Loki is freed from his boulders. Ultimately, this starts Ragnarok or the “twilight of the Gods,” an event in which many of the most prominent members of the Norse pantheon are slain and the world sinks into the ocean. Among those killed are Thor, who is poisoned by Loki’s serpent son, and Odin, who is bested by Loki’s wolf son Fenrir.
Saweetie fans were disappointed to learn that the “Fast (Motion)” rapper’s album wasn’t coming out as promised last week when she delayed her album Pretty B*tch Music again to “reconstruct some songs.” Now, thanks to Billboard, those fans know who they can (partially) blame: None other than music icon Cher, who Saweetie met to work on a “really big campaign.” After the Bay Area rapper met the pop goddess, she realized her album wasn’t done and needed just one more thing.
As Saweetie told Billboard, I thought [the album] was done, but after I met her, I had an epiphany. This album needs to have feelings, it needs to have soul, it needs to have spirit. And I have a lot of room for improvement, so I’m gonna work on that. And once it’s done, the album will be released.”
At this point, that strategy might end up paying big dividends, as it shows the care and deliberation with which she’s been proceeding. Certainly, fans have been pretty patient with the rollout, which began sometime last year with the release of “Back To The Streets” and has since included “Best Friend” and “Fast.” In the meantime, she’s sustained her pop-culture dominance with illuminating performances (for which she’s attending an artist development boot camp to help her improve), TV and commercial appearances, features with pop queens like Gwen Stefani, and her Pretty Summer Playlist Vol. 1 EP, as well as an impromptu bout of busking at the Santa Monica Pier.
Saweetie is a Warner Music Group. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
True Crime continues to dominate the zeitgeist. HBO Max, Netflix, and every other streaming service are flush with documentaries and series with true crime bents. Then there’s the world of podcasting. There are hundreds of podcasts that focus on true crime in one way or another. You can choose from a one-off mini-series about a single case presented by a bona fide journalist with real investigative rigor. Or you can indulge the armchair experts, who just love the genre and like re-telling the stories of serial killers, mysteries, and all things true crime. Then there are the comedians chopping it up for laughs (and sometimes serious groans).
This is all to say, that finding a good podcast to devote your precious listening time to can be tough. There’s just so much to wade through. The 35 picks below offer a wide range of choices. Some of these are a little bit older mini-series while others are long-running shows that go in a lot of different directions. Whatever true crime path you’re looking for, you should be able to find something that fits!
Hosts Kari Martin and Adam Tod Brown take deep dives into tragic celebrity tales with this pod. The show takes its time covering the life and death of figures like Anna Nicole Smith and Whitney Houston but also peppers in one-off episodes about tragedies like the death of Dimebag Daryl. Where the show really rises above is in the excellent research put into the series, alongside a deep empathy from both Martin and Brown.
This is never about wallowing in someone’s tragic life. Instead, it’s about understanding why their lives ended up filled with all that tragedy.
Where To Start:
Jump in with episode one of the Anna Nicole Smith series. It’s an enlightening look at the star’s beginnings and sets up the whole vibe of the show nicely.
This follow-up to Dirty John and Dr. Death is a wild pod. Journalist Joe Nocera tells the story of the titular shrink next door, Dr. Isaac “Ike” Herschkopf, who seemingly took over one of his patient’s lives (and wealth) in the 1980s. The story is so wild, it’s been turned into an Apple+ miniseries with Paul Rudd (playing the malfeasant doctor) and Will Farrel (playing his victim).
There’s good buzz around the show, so now really would be the time to catch up on this podcast. Unless you don’t want the upcoming series spoiled.
Where To Start:
While it’s best to start from the beginning of the mini-series, you can jump around a bit. We started with My Dinner With Ike to get a sense of the show and the wildness of this story.
It’s hard to know where to begin with this podcast. There are a lot of stories being told and they all center around cyber-related crimes, terror, money, slavery, and heists. And then all of that is built around North Korea, its secretive regime, and its cyber-attack policy towards the western powers. All that only really scratches the surface of this very active true crime story about cyber thieves attempting to pull off a billion-dollar heist.
Where To Start:
You can truly pick and choose any episode without losing the thread. We’d recommend starting with Cyber Slaves to get a taste of the intensity of the show.
There’s an interesting conceit to this pod in that it’s about grisly murders that take place in state and national parks (or outdoor recreation spots in general). It’s sort of like the great outdoors meets true crime scene investigation with host Delia D’Ambra telling a stand-alone story in each episode.
Where To Start:
With two seasons worth of shows to listen to, you can jump in with any episode that piques your interest. We’d say start with The Unknown about the disappearance of National Park Service ranger Paul Fugate in Chiricahua National Park down in Arizona.
The Piketon Massacre was one of the biggest murder stories in Ohio’s modern history. The pod follows the ongoing investigation and now the trail of the Wagner family and their assault on and murder of eight members of the Rhoden family in Pike County, Ohio.
Where To Start:
You really need to start all the way back at episode one to get the full story.
This new show looks into the brutal murder of Betty Ann Sullivan by her own teenage son. The show is still unfolding this ridiculous and terrifying story of how a young boy got involved with the occult and ended up murdering his own mother before taking his own life. The pod also dives into how that event shook the small New Jersey community (Jefferson) that had to deal with the fallout and is still doing so, almost 30 years later.
Where To Start:
Paradise Lost is the best episode to start with. The podcast guest is the current mayor of Jefferson who was a rookie cop when the murder-suicide took place.
Netflix bringing back Unsolved Mysteries in all its true crime and mysterious glory was a pretty big win for true crime fans. There’s also a companion pod that dives into even more unsolved mysteries that you can listen to when you get done binging the new show over on Netflix. Host Steve French follows the same format as the TV series with a very polished story-telling throughline with eye-witness testimony and that iconic Unsolved Mysteries music.
Where To Start:
You can jump in anywhere since each episode is stand-alone. It’s actually pretty easy to binge this one on autoplay too. If you just have to have a recommendation, start with The Haunting of Ball Cemetery for that classic Unsolved Mysteries vibe and story-telling.
This is a fascinating listen with real star power at the helm. Hosts Hayley Atwell (Marvel) and Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible) host interviews with the people who actually spy for a living. The show is very produced and unfolds like a narrative rather than Atwell or Kirby cutting up with a guest.
Where To Start:
The Boiling Frog is a good spot to jump in. Kirby builds a story around CIA spymaster Jack Devine and his work overthrowing the socialist-leaning regime that came to power in Chile in the 1970s. Like most of these episodes, it’s pretty harrowing.
Dateline has been in the true crime game for a very long time. This pod is classic episodes (and segments) from the show’s archive alongside new stories. The show balances out a bit of nostalgia with plenty of fresh material to hook you pretty quickly.
Where To Start:
While it’d be easy to say start with a new episode, you should really start with a Dateline Classic. The Devil and Bobbi Parker is a great classic Dateline that tells the story of an escaped prisoner and his hostage/possible collaborator while on the run.
Journalist Justin Ling’s podcast looks at how transgender women are “marginalized, overpoliced, and underprotected,” especially when it comes to sex work. The show focuses on stories of murdered trans women whose murders were not taken seriously by local authorities due to blatant anti-trans discrimination.
Where To Start:
Start with How Can You Not See This? The episode opens the series with a look into a string of disappearances from Toronto’s gay village.
Back in 1985, two bodies were discovered in Bear Brook State Park in New Hampshire: An adult and a child. Then, two more bodies were found and it became clear that this was the work of a serial killer. Bear Brook cracks open the cold case files and dives into figuring out who the victims were and who killed them.
The show is a masterclass in investigative podcasting and grabs your attention from the very first moment.
Where To Start:
Start at episode one and work your way through the whole series. With each episode clocking in at around 45 minutes, it’ll be hard not to binge them all at once. There are also shorter “update” episodes that range in the 20 to 30-minute mark.
There’s something rotten in America’s “Most Beautiful Small Town.” Five murders have rocked the small community of Bardstown, Kentucky since 2013. Hosts and investigative journalists Shay McAlister and Jessica Noll tear into the unsolved murders to figure out who might have committed them and why. Where the show really shines is in revealing Bardstown’s seedy underbelly, while maintaining compassion for its residents.
Where To Start:
Start with “The Most Beautiful Small Town in America.” Episode one is the only place to start this journey. Once you’ve binged the first season, start in on the second — with the mystery of Nanette Krentel in Lacome, Louisiana.
If you earn the moniker “Dr. Death,” you’re probably a monster. Host Laura Beil investigates the story of Doctor Christopher Duntsch — a Dallas neurosurgeon who like doing back surgeries. We bet you know where this is going. Dr. Duntsch was all about getting rid of his patient’s back pain and billed himself as the best surgeon in Dallas. Problem was, 33 of his patients became his victims. Then, tragically, those victims found out there were very few repercussions for the doctor through the medical establishment. At least until other doctors started to take note and take Dr. Duntsch to task for his malfeasance. And that’s when things really start to go crazy in this story.
Where To Start:
This is a serialized podcast. You’re going to need to start at episode one and listen your way through the eight episodes — all of which are currently free on Apple Podcasts. Each episode clocks in at around 45 minutes, making this one the perfect work out or commute listen. Maybe just don’t listen to it right before major surgery.
Writer and host Robin Warder takes listeners down the ol’ Unsolved Mysteries path via The Trail Went Cold. Each episode of the podcast focuses in on a cold case with plenty of mystery wrapped around the crime. There isn’t really a supernatural element like Unsolved Mysteries but Warder more than makes up for that with the depth of reporting and how engagingly he tells these stories. It’s just good podcasting, all around.
Where To Start:
Each episode is a stand-alone. Our recommendation is to start with the most recent episode. This will give the best POV on the show and its vibe. From there, you can jump around.
The Last Podcast on the Left blends true crime, paranormal, and comedy into one delicious smoothie of madness. Hosts Ben Kissel, Marcus Parks, and Henry Zebrowski play the straight man, enthusiast, and wild card respectively as they retell some of the craziest stories humanity has encountered. Each episode is banter and riff-heavy as they talk serial killers, sex cults, crimes of passion, close encounters, ghosts, and the straight-up odd. It’s a refreshing way to parse the true crime world by taking it seriously enough to tell a great story but not so seriously that you can’t have a good laugh.
Where To Start:
If you’re looking for a solid entry point, we recommend starting with episodes 269 and 270 titled Kurt Cobain Part I and Part II. It’s deep dive into the death/suicide/maybe-murder of the Nirvana frontman.
Criminal is one of the best podcasts out there regardless of genre. Each episode is expertly researched and presented in a straightforward, no-nonsense way. It’s spell-binding story-telling at its best. And it drives deep into the heart of the human stories behind the headlines and police reports.
Where To Start:
You can start from the beginning or start at the most recent episode. You’ll get hooked either way.
S-Town is a spin-off of the insanely popular Serial — which sort of felt like all anyone could talk about as 2014 turned into 2015. This iteration finds This American Life producer Brian Reed heading to Alabama to do some true crime digging at the behest of one John B McLemore, a resident of “Shittown.” After someone ends up dead, “the search for the truth leads to a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure, and an unearthing of the mysteries of one man’s life.” Add in some southern gothic characters and Spanish moss and you have yourself a must listen.
Where To Start:
This is a serialized story, so start with Chapter One. And good luck not binge-listening to the whole thing.
The minds behind HBO’s hit The Jinx conceived of the brilliant Crimetown as their follow-up. The podcast’s first season follows the life of a Providence, Rhode Island prosecutor as he fights organized crime, becomes mayor, and has his soul whittled away by the realities of America’s criminal underworld.
Where To Start:
This is a fully serialized story, start with Chapter One so you get a proper introduction to the whole affair.
Comedy and true crime have a dynamic relationship. It’s hard to say why. Maybe it’s because we need to laugh to quell the terror. Whatever it is, it works and Pretty Scary — part of the Unpops podcast network — hits the perfect mark of being both terrifyingly apt and hilarious. Co-hosts Adam Tod Brown and Caitlin Cutt cover everything from owl murders to flesh-eating diseases with a nice dose of don’t-give-a-fuck-oh-shit-I’m-terrified vigor. It’s a great one-hour listen any day of the week.
Where To Start:
How to Die in a Corn Silo is a solid point to jump in. The episode looks at the all-to-common deaths of people in corn silos and it’s pretty terrifying.
The premise of True Crime Garage is pretty simple: Two friends sit in their garage, drink beer, and talk true crime. Every week Nic and The Captain delve into new true crime stories that span the ages. They offer a fresh and well-researched perspective into old and new stories, unsolved mysteries, and plenty of craft beer.
Where To Start:
We recommend hitting their 100th episode first. The guys go over their Top Ten Unsolved Cases. The episode offers a solid glimpse into their personalities and the show.
Comedians Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff host this lovingly rambling examination of true crime stories from the American mythos. My Favorite Murder’s often silly and always gripping coverage of grisly crimes has spawned a close-knit community of Murderinos who send in hometown murders which get covered on mini-episodes and posted up on the show’s blog.
Where To Start:
You can really jump around anywhere in the episode list. But if you have to have a recommendation, Episode 60: Jazz It Up is a great benchmark of the series.
Sword and Scale is no laughing matter. Each episode is a deep dive into a darkly fascinating crime, it’s always well-researched and often comes with great interview subjects to bolster the episode’s validity. It’s a comprehensive look at some incomprehensible crimes, cover-ups, and some conspiracies that turned out to be more than just theories.
Where To Start:
We recommend trying episode 86 which reexamines the Heaven’s Gate cult on the 20th anniversary of their (spoiler alert) mass suicide.
Hosts Greg Polcyn and Vanessa Richardson decided to take a different route with Serial Killers. Instead of chatting about a case, they tell a straight story by narratively voicing segments and characters. It makes for an audiobook-like experience and helps to raise the stakes of each story.
Where To Start:
Start with episode five titled “The Vampire Of Dusseldorf.” The two-parter tells the story of Peter Kürten who went on a murder spree in 1929 and drank the blood of some of his victims.
Generation Why is an insanely addictive podcast. Two buddies, Aaron and Justin, spend around an hour recounting various crimes of the past and present. Each episode is well-researched and presented though banter that’s educational without making you feel like you’re in school.
Where To Start:
A starting point is episode 229 about the Belcher Islands Massacre when an Inuit man read the bible for the first time and decided he and his buddy were Jesus and God, respectively. As the episode title suggests, it doesn’t end well.
Richard O Jones is a great true crime narrator. His podcast, True Crime Historian, takes a look at some of the most gripping crimes of the past and brings them back to life in the present. Jones’ retelling of big cases from the past and those that have long been forgotten offer a glimpse into the minds behind the madness, the way cases were investigated and possibly solved, and why they were important back then while still resonating to this day.
Where To Start:
Each one is about an hour and covers one story — so you don’t have to worry about jumping in at any point. Our recommendation is to find a story that piques your interest and start there.
Casefile True Crime is one of the most engaging podcasts out there right now. Maybe it’s the Anonymous host’s Australian accent helping us listen more and more. The true crime stories are truly stellar here. The production value is high, the stories are amazingly researched, and the narration pulls you right into the madness of it all.
Where To Start:
There is a couple of multi-episode series in the mix. The three episode arc about Jonestown is a great place to dive in and get a sense of the quality of this pod.
Most Notorious is another chance to take a sprawling dive into the crimes that have shook us and shaped us throughout history. Host Erik Rivenes has been obsessed with solving crimes for as long as he remembers and that enthusiasm makes this podcast shine. Rivenes often invites experts on to talk about their books which cover whichever crime is being highlighted in the episode, providing a very deep take on the subject. It’s conversational, engaging, and chilling.
Where To Start:
We suggest the episode titled “1897 Chicago’s Sausage Vat Murder.” Simply because who doesn’t want to know what’s up with that story immediately??? Spoiler alert, it’s grisly.
Indigenous women in the U.S. and Canada (and Mexico) are the most at risk of being raped and murdered daily. The numbers are off the charts. With so little reporting in the mainstream media, podcasting has picked up the slack to tell the stories of women and children who otherwise would be forgotten forever. The story of Cleo Nicotine Semaganis, who was taken from her family in the 1960s to be “re-educated” in a boarding school, is a chilling portrayal of how colonial powers destroy Indigenous lives and, then, refuse to come to a reckoning, even today.
Where To Start:
Missing and Murdered is another pod where it’s essential to start from episode one and work your way to the finale.
The Last Days of August hits that perfect sweet spot of the true crime podcast’s ability to report and entertain. It takes a story you think you know and upends it into something so much more. With Jon Ronson at the helm, the podcast never drifts into speculation or hearsay. It stays locked in on the mysterious suicide of adult actress August Ames and never sensationalizes for dramatic effect. This is a story that sticks to the facts because, well, the facts are interesting enough.
Ronson and co-producer Lina Misitzis tackle the story of porn star August Ames’ untimely death with a grace and precision that touches on how we ostracize porn actors and use social media while making the story painfully human.
Where To Start:
You really need to start this one from episode one and listen through.
Southern Fried True Crime takes the idea of true crime and zeroes it in on a region. Host Erica Kelley tells stories exclusively from America’s South. It’s a part Gothic nightmare and part classic true crime, filtered through Kelley’s excellent storytelling style. The podcast is all about Kelley telling a story in acts with a beginning, middle, and (not always satisfying) end. She’s able to draw you by sticking to the facts of the case because, put simply, facts are often far stranger than any fiction.
Where To Start:
Drop in at episode 33. The biggest reason here is not a shift in content but in quality. The recordings get crisp and clear at this point, making them a dream to listen to. Once you’re hooked, you can go back and give the earlier episodes a listen.
Small Town Dicks is a hell of a unique show. For starters, hosts Yeardley Smith (yes, the voice of Lisa Simpson) and Zibby Allen work with actual detectives in planning and hosting each episode. Oh, and those detectives happen to be twins. It’s a cool crew that allows the show to bring on the actual detectives from the cases they explore, giving the show a sense of gravitas and realism rarely found in the true crime podcasting world.
Where To Start:
Episode 15 and 16 from season two are a great place to start. The two-parter walks the audience through a crime and a first-hand account, step-by-step of how the detective solved it.
Esther Ludlow’s Once Upon A Crime is a fascinating listen that flies by. Ludlow’s voice draws you in and her storytelling directness keeps you tuned in. Each episode is a 30-minute (or so) stand-alone tome of tragedy and travesty. A nice ripple that Ludlow employs is using themes to explore true crime stories over multiple episodes, making it even easier to binge a couple of eps in a row.
Where To Start:
Ludlow’s “Bad Sports” themed run ended with episode 128: Ten Cent Beer Night. The episode tells the tale of a Cleveland baseball game that descended into chaos when the team decided to sell ten-cent beers to their fans. It’s a great introduction to the show.
In the spring of 2018, the Golden State Killer — Joseph James DeAngelo — was captured. A random family DNA test finally led to the arrest of one of California’s most prolific and elusive serial killers after 44 years. Man In The Window from the LA Times and Wondery takes a deep dive into not only how DeAngelo was finally captured but how he carried out so many burglaries, rapes, and murders and what, if anything, we can do to stop people like him.
It’s a comprehensive investigation into a harrowing reign of terror that spanned decades.
Where To Start:
This is the sort of show that you have to listen to from episode one. That episode, “Phantom and the Fog“, opens the series with an investigation into a spat of brutal dog killings in a small California town that unknowingly at the time would lead to a brutal killing spree.
Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia
Root of Evil
The Podcast:
Root of Evil takes a two-pronged approach to the infamous murder of Elizabeth Short — later dubbed the Black Dahlia. The 70-plus-year-old cold case has led to endless theories but the most common is that a man named George Hodel was responsible for the brutal dismemberment. While the podcast does look into the case of the Black Dahlia the real focus is on Hodel and his family history — past, present, and future. Through Hodel’s great-granddaughters, we get a deep look into a disturbing man and his family.
This podcast is also a companion piece to the TNT show I Am the Night directed by Wonder Woman’s Patty Jenkins and starring Chris Pine.
Where To Start:
Interestingly, you can kind of skip around with this series. While there is a sense of story building towards a climax, a good place to get a taste is with episode six, Supposin’ I Did Kill The Black Dahlia. The episode follows Steve Hodel, George Hodel’s son, as he looks into the piles of evidence against his father and reckons with his family’s unsavory history.
Reveal isn’t a classic “true crime” show per se. It’s an investigative podcast that uses the classic tactics of investigative journalism to tackle issues affecting all us today. Through The Center for Investigative Reporting and in collaboration with The Washington Post, ProPublica, APM, The Marshall Project, and The Investigative Fund, Reveal looks at crimes that span everything from political corruption to suicide to silencing scientists over climate change to imprisoning migrant children. It’s a vast podcast that takes the time to tell stories right.
Where To Start:
We’d suggest starting with Sins of the Fathers. The episode investigates how the Catholic church in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska relocated sexually abusing priests from white, Asian, and black communities to Indian reservations to hide the abuse.
Of course, the abuse continued once the priests arrived in Indian Country. This can be a pretty tough listen.
The Tour de France announced that the organization would sue the woman who caused the massive crash with her big cardboard sign, which drew international headlines in the aftermath of the wreck. As The Washington Post reported on Monday, police continue to search for the woman, who went missing after the wreck injured some spectators and quite literally broke some bikes.
“We are suing this woman who behaved so badly,” Pierre-Yves Thouault, the tour’s deputy director, told Agence France-Presse. “We are doing this so that the tiny minority of people who do this don’t spoil the show for everyone.”
One problem, though: multiple reports say she has fled the country in order to escape the hunt for her that started on Saturday after the crash. As CBS reports, French media outlets are reporting that the woman hopped on a plane and abruptly left the country as outrage grew.
However, French publication Ouest-France reported the woman, who is believed to be German, got on a flight and is untraceable, according to CBS Sports.
It’s entirely unclear why this person would be untraceable or what kind of punishment they’re now avoiding by being on the lam, but things are quickly escalating here to say the least. Hopefully things come to a swift conclusion and everyone who was injured in the wreck recovers. And unless using a cardboard sign to disrupt the Tour de France was the start of a very elaborate heist or international crime thriller, the person on the run comes to their senses and heads back to France soon.
Ben Simmons is entering the offseason with a clear task facing him to improve as an offensive player after the way the season ended for he and the Sixers in the conference semis against the Hawks.
Simmons’ reluctance to shoot has long been a point of contention for his detractors, but that conversation reached a fever pitch after Game 7. The 24-year-old All-Star has always had a unique offensive game, less predicated on scoring and more on running the offense as a facilitator, but in crunch time that can get exposed as the Sixers’ best on-ball creator for others becomes a complete non-threat. That was exasperated this postseason by his free throw shooting woes, which seemed to lead to him shutting down as an attacker to avoid getting fouled.
This offseason will be about building up those scoring skills as well as working on being more mentally prepared for what comes his way with teams fouling him and sending him to the stripe. Figuring out how to shrug off the misses to keep attacking, as Giannis Antetokounmpo does, will go a long way towards that, but it is much easier said than done. All of that is to say, this offseason for Ben Simmons is all about working on Ben Simmons, and the star is apparently taking that seriously, officially withdrawing from the Australian Olympic team on Monday (something that’s been rumored for more than a week), with coach Brian Goorjian offering a statement supporting Simmons’ choice.
“I have spoken with Ben and whilst we wanted him to be a part of our team, we understand and support his decision and he has made it clear that this is something that he wants to be a part of in the future. It is a pretty rough time for him right now and I know it is something that he wanted to do, but the timing just hasn’t worked. The best thing for everybody right now is for him to go on and develop that skill package and improve in a couple of areas for his next season in the NBA, but the Boomers are always here for him. We wanted him to know that in his time of need, the culture and the guys here are behind him and support him.”
Australia was understandably excited about their prospects in the Olympics with Simmons, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, and potential lotto pick Josh Giddey leading the way, but will now be down a star. That doesn’t mean a deep run is an impossible task for the Boomers, but just a more difficult one. As for Simmons, he’ll look to bounce back for next season with plenty of attention and scrutiny sure to come his way when he steps on the NBA floor again in October.
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