Criminal is the first of its kind. A show about people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. Hosted by Phoebe Judge. Named a Best Podcast of 2023 by the New York Times. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
305 episodes transcribedIn 1977, a new bar opened on North Wells Street in Chicago. Things weren’t as they seemed at the aptly named “Mirage Tavern.” This story is from our f...
One morning, two men got in a boat and sailed down a river in the Amazon rainforest. They were never heard from again. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook,...
In the summer of 1975, two best friends attempted a robbery unlike any they’d ever pulled off before. Their target: the mob. Say hello on Twitter, Fac...
When Madison Smith went to her county attorney’s office to talk about her rape case, she knew she wanted to press charges. But the prosecutor told her...
In 2010, a $16.5 million Hot Lotto ticket was sold at a gas station in Des Moines, Iowa. At first, no one showed up to claim the prize. And then, a se...
Two men turned in the winning catch at a Lake Erie fishing tournament. But when the tournament director squeezed one of their fish - he felt something...
Phoebe: Are there a lot of spies in this country today? Scott: Far more than people can probably even imagine. You can't rule anybody out. You never k...
Hunters in the Everglades used to kill millions of birds every year for their feathers. In 1902, a man named Guy Bradley was hired to stop people from...
“There was a saying I heard a few times: ‘under the influence, above the law.’ And I think that describes the mindset of a certain type of fraternity...
In the 1980s, Pablo Escobar smuggled four hippopotamuses into Colombia for a zoo on his ranch. Today, there are over 160 hippos in the country. “It’s...
In 1967, a 24-year-old named Leslie Arnold escaped from prison. The FBI looked for him for years. And then, in 2022, a U.S. Marshal got a message from...
On the afternoon of June 23rd, 1972, Martin McNally walked into the St. Louis airport with a wig, a sawed-off rifle, and a plan. Special thanks to Dan...
When Karen Bethea-Shields was in college, she heard a judge say, “No way in the world a Black woman can get raped.” A few years later, in 1975, she he...
“The ingenuity of depraved human genius has culminated in the production of margarine.” Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our...
The Lawrence H. Woodward funeral home in Brooklyn has been run by one family for generations, and has handled many funerals for victims of violent cri...
When JonRe Taylor was called for jury duty in 2007, she voted ‘not guilty’ on every charge. But the defendant was convicted and sent to prison anyway....
In 1989, three people confessed to participating in a murder. Eventually, a total of six people were arrested. But when DNA tests were run on crime sc...
Six people were arrested for a murder in Nebraska. Some said they couldn't remember details of the crime, or being there at all - but then they began...
When we last spoke with Trevell Coleman, he was waiting to hear back about his clemency application. And then, in December of last year, his lawyer go...
In 1991, two police officers stopped Tupac Shakur for jaywalking. He said he was knocked unconscious during his arrest, and sued the city of Oakland f...
