It’s officially Halloweek, and fall is in full swing. True crime has taken the media by storm, and popular Netflix series like Monsters and Dahmer have captivated crime lovers. These series tell the gripping stories of two of the most notorious crime cases that the U.S. has ever seen. If you don’t have time to binge these tv shows, never fear because this week’s featured podcast will give you your true crime fix just in time for Halloween.
Criminal, a podcast hosted by Phoebe Judge, delves into some of the lesser-known crime cases from around the world. Each episode goes into detail about true crime stories ranging between murders, disappearances and captures. The episodes are narrated by Judge and often a guest expert specific to the crime. There is a lot of research and preparation that goes into each episode, and in addition to the spooky story, there is often historical relevance and law that helps to set up the crime scene. Criminal is a low-commitment podcast since there is no chronological build up, so one can start with any episode. Under each title there is a one or two sentence description, so one can pick one depending on their interest to kickstart some Halloween spirit.
“Big Fish” is the story of a series of unlikely felonies that took place during fishing tournaments in the U.S. Judge brings Jason Fischer, a fishing competition host, onto Criminal to discuss a recent $30,000 attempted robbery. Two men in his competition were found guilty of tampering with fishing contest results, leading to a year of probation and a $2,500 fine. The two men who were part of Fischer’s competition had been found putting lead weights down the throats of the fish they caught to win the competition. While this may seem like a petty crime, the Division of Wildlife as well as state governments take these crimes very seriously. “Big Fish” explores the other big fishing crimes that have happened in the U.S. and why this crime even matters.
“Trouble in Flamingo” discusses the severity of the plume bird hunting that took place in the early 1900s. Judge invites bird expert Paul Gray to discuss the Florida everglades and their unexpected relationship to crime and murder. In the early 1900s, plume bird hunting was an extremely popular sport that happened to produce an unlikely large sum of profit. The feathers from this bird were shipped up to New York and sold to clothing designers for feather hats. Judge tells the unfortunate story of conservationist Guy Bradley, who was brutally murdered by hunters after attempting to save hundreds of plume birds from being shot on Key West.
These two episode descriptions are only a glimpse into the hundreds that Criminal has to offer. They open one’s eyes to unlikely crimes while also teaching lessons about law and history of the U.S. If crime is not your thing, Criminal also has a spin off podcast series called This is Love, which addresses different mysteries for listeners such as “How To be Alone?” “How to Live Forever?” and “How to Wait, How to Worry, and Yes, How to Love?” Judge does it all. Happy listening.
