Pet store owners tell buyers their puppies come from reputable breeders and humane kennels. But verifying that is challenging, because the dogs are often supplied by brokers who act as middlemen between the shops and shady puppy mills. Jolyn Noethe is a broker who allegedly engineered a multi-million dollar scheme to launder puppies and deceive buyers throughout the country about where their new pets actually came from.In the new season of “Smoke Screen” from Neon Hum, “Puppy Kingpin” pulls apart the scheme to circumvent laws against trafficking animals from puppy mills to unsuspecting consumers. Host Alex Schuman introduces us to the advocates, pet owners and prosecutors trying to shut down a racket that rewards cruelty and deception.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SMOKE SCREEN: PUPPY KINGPIN" BEGIN IN THE LAST TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin

The ubiquity of the Web means people can be whomever they want, wherever they want. That cloak of anonymity makes it easy to steal identities, spread hate speech, and make threats against the unsuspecting. But beyond the criminal acts, the nefarious use of the Internet opens the doors for more pernicious problems - like the erosion of truth or the overreach of a government attempting to strike back.The Netflix documentary series “Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet” shows a series of digitally-based crimes - like swatting, sextortion, hate speech and fraud. It also pivots to the ripple effects of these acts - like misogyny, intrusions of civil liberties, police accountability, and the destabilization of our society.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WEB OF MAKE BELIEVE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE PODCAST.In Crime of the Week: anticipation.

Web of Make Believe

After a 24 hour standoff at a bank robbery, two armed men and their two hostages flee through West Germany. Later, they hold up a city bus and take more hostages. While the police stay back, the criminals instead open a dialogue with the press, calmly taking questions while brandishing weapons. With reporters following the bus through the country, conducting interviews at every stop, the hostage takers are growing more anxious about the situation. With no clear-cut path for a peaceful conclusion, the nation remains glued to the television.Now on Netflix, the German-language documentary “Gladbeck: The Hostage Crisis” relies exclusively on footage shot by news crews who captured the 54-hour ordeal. For English-speaking audiences unfamiliar with the 1988 event, its close-up, real-time chronicle of this rolling standoff builds both suspense and dread.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GLADBECK: THE HOSTAGE CRISIS" BEGIN IN THE LAST 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.  

Gladbeck: The Hostage Crisis

An unexplained cancer is moving through New York’s gay community. Throughout the early 1980s, as more men die, its origins remain a mystery. Meanwhile battlelines form among activists, scientists, politicians, and the public at large. “Slow Burn” creator Leon Neyfakh is out with “Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis” on Audible. The podcast looks into the forgotten twists and turns of the epidemic’s early days, when a diagnosis was a death sentence. Neyfakh brings us those who struggled to keep the infected alive - and get society to care.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "FIASCO: THE AIDS CRISIS" BEGIN IN THE LAST 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. In Crime of the Week: let me roll it to you. 

Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis

Authorities were stumped by the untimely deaths of people who had been taking a little-known diet drug. Known as DNP, the chemical helped users shed pounds, all while cooking them alive from the inside. But the compound which was developed as a World War One explosive had long been banned for human consumption. How was it turning up on the Internet? Why did those with body dysmorphia want it?  And why were authorities slow to take action despite the pleas from families of the victims?The C13Originals podcast “One Click” is co-hosted by actress Elle Fanning and journalist Jessica Wapner. They dive into the rise of DNP deaths, while also exploring the historical pressures on body image that likely fueled victims’ desperation to take a risky drug in the name of beauty.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ONE CLICK" BEGIN IN THE LAST 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

One Click

As the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS, a fundamentalist offshoot of the Mormon church, Warren Jeffs used the lure of eternal salvation to manipulate his followers. He arranged polygamous marriages and coerced families to offer their girls as child brides within the secretive sect, while authorities did little to stop him.The Netflix series “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey'' paints a disturbing picture of the modern subjugation of women and the effects of tyrannical control dressed up as religious obedience. It presents many women who fled their underaged marriages and the outsiders who worked to expose the FLDS’s illegal actions.  OUR SPOILER FREE REVIEWS OF "KEEP SWEET: PRAY AND OBEY" BEGIN IN THE LAST 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: car accident.  

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey

The gang of friends in Hawkins is slowly growing apart. Mike, Dustin, Max and Lucas are in different high school cliques. Having moved to California with Joyce's family, Eleven is finding it hard navigating a new school without her supernatural powers. Though wanted by the KGB, Joyce and Murray pursue a tip that Hopper is alive and in a Soviet prison camp. Steve, Nancy, and Robin join their friends to defeat a dark wizard who’s targeting troubled teens in Hawkins. Meanwhile a team of scientists push Eleven to confront her past to regain her powers needed for another fight in the Upside Down.In season four, part one of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” our heroes attempt to rescue Hopper, recharge El, and repel Vecna. The show widens its universe, adds depth to its young characters, and provides its scariest plotlines yet.  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "STRANGER THINGS" BEGIN APPROXIMATELY IN THE 41:00 

Stranger Things Season 4, Part 1

Michael Peterson said he found his wife at the bottom of the staircase after a fatal fall. But authorities believed when Kathleen Peterson learned of her husband’s double life, he beat her skull with a blow poke in a fit of rage. With the support of his family, a top-notch defense attorney, and a French film crew documenting his every move, Peterson stood trial in a case filled with twists and revelations. Despite holes in the evidence, the jury convicted him of murder.The MAX Original 8-part drama “The Staircase” starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette takes the story beyond where its namesake documentary left off. We see Peterson’s challenges in prison, his family’s personal struggles, clashes over bias in the film - and yes - evidence that an owl attack accounted for Kathleen’s wounds and disorientation.  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF HBO'S "THE STAIRCASE" BEGIN APPROXIMATELY IN MINUTE 38:00In crime of the week: all shook up. 

HBO's The Staircase

On a routine traffic stop in Saskatchewan, a Mountie recognized the driver as the priest who abused him as a child. The officer beat him up, but the priest never reported the attack and the Mountie kept the incident to himself for decades.That officer was the late father of reporter Connie Walker. She wanted to know more about her Cree family’s experiences with Canadian residential schools. St. Michael’s school not only tried to expunge the children’s indigenous culture, but also subjected them to physical and sexual abuse.From Gimlet Media and exclusively on Spotify, “Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s” is Connie Walker’s most personal investigation yet. In a study on intergenerational trauma, Connie gives voice to many of the victims of the systemic abuse while she seeks out the priest who abused her father.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "STOLEN: SURVIVING ST. MICHAEL'S" BEGIN APPROXIMATELY IN MINUTE 40:00

Stolen: Surviving St. Michael's

Before it was known on the big screen as a house of horror, the Dutch Colonial at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island belonged to the family of Ron DeFeo. In November 1974, Ron Junior found his parents and four siblings shot to death in their beds. His trial captivated the community, but his grisly crimes would be overshadowed by the new homeowners' claims the house was possessed.The new podcast “Very Scary People” from HLN revisits the crime which was the prologue to “The Amityville Horror.” Narrated by Donnie Wahlberg, the series explores the DeFeo family history, theories of the crime, and the supernatural legacy of the crime scene.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "VERY SCARY PEOPLE" START APPROXIMATELY IN MINUTE 33:00In crime of the week: bear knuckle fight.  

Very Scary People

The Capitol insurrection seemed to catch most of the country off guard. But many people believed January 6th would be a violent day in Washington. They included conspiracy theorists, as well as security analysts…even one Texas teenager who tipped off the FBI after hearing his father’s plans to overturn the election.But who are these people who would take up arms against a nation they say they want to save? What’s been the fallout for the insurrectionists, their families, and officers wounded that day? And could the riot have been blunted or stopped all together? The hit podcast “Will be Wild” is a production of Pineapple Street Studios, Wondery, and Amazon Music. Ilya Marritz and Andrea Bernstein from “Trump Inc” introduce us to some of the people who planned - or tried to stop - the insurrection. Part current affairs, part cautionary tale - the podcast warns that January 6th wasn’t the end of the story; it was just a practice run.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "WILL BE WILD" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 39:00

Will Be Wild

After the 1984 murder of Brenda Lafferty and her baby, Detective Jeb Pyre learns the woman married into a prominent and devout Mormon family. But her modern outlook soon clashed with her five brother-in-laws’ views on marriage, religion, and the government. As conflicts arose among their wives, their community, and their church - the Lafferty brothers explored Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints teachings about polygamy, taxation and atonement. Now Detective Pyre must question his own faith as he pursues men willing to spill blood in the name of God.Andrew Garfield stars in the FX on Hulu series “Under the Banner of Heaven,” based on the book by John Krakauer. The story flashes between the murder investigation, the evolution of the Lafferty’s extremist views, and scenes from Mormon history that informed the religious overtones of the crime.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN" BEGIN AROUND THE 45th MINUTE.In Crime of the Week: I love the sea life. I've got to boogie.  

Under the Banner of Heaven

In 2014, authorities discovered the bodies of political consultant John Sheridan and his wife Joyce in the bedroom of their New Jersey home. A barricaded door, an intentionally set fire, and the discovery of two knives near the bodies led investigators to believe John killed Joyce in a murder/suicide. The couple’s family noticed detectives ignored odd things about the evidence, such as the blood patterns and type of knife that made the fatal blow. In a state known for its graft and shoddy police work, could there be something more to the case?  In the podcast “Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery,” WNYC reporter Nancy Solomon explores the brutal deaths of the Sheridans, their sons' quest for the truth, and the political corruption that looms over the case.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DEAD END" BEGIN AROUND THE 33rd MINUTE. 

Dead End: A NJ Political Murder Mystery

Candy Montgomery seems to have it all: loving husband, adorable kids…and friends from church like Betty Gore. But to fight the mundanity of suburban life, Candy initiates an affair with Betty’s husband, Allen. After the affair runs its course Betty and Allen are closer than ever. But while away on a business trip, Allen becomes concerned when his wife won’t answer the home telephone.The five-night Hulu event “Candy” stars Jessica Biel, Melanie Lynskey, Pablo Schreiber, and Raúl Esparza. Based on the 1980 crime, the series asks why would Candy kill Betty with 41 blows from a three-foot ax? Was it the affair…or did she just snap?  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CANDY" BEGIN AROUND THE 39th MINUTE.In crime of the week: rock-a-bye baby.

Candy

Since financial advisor Melissa Caddick walked out of her house in 2020, authorities have been unable to determine whether she vanished with the millions from her Ponzi scheme, was snatched by a ripped-off investor, or threw herself into the sea from the high cliffs near her luxury home. The podcast “Liar, Liar: Melissa Caddick and the Missing Millions” is a joint investigation between the Sydney Morning Journal and 60 Minutes Australia. Journalists Kate McClymont and Tom Steinfort seek to finally answer what happened to Caddick and the con artist’s ill-gotten fortune.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF "LIAR LIAR" BEGINS AROUND MINUTE 37:00 

Liar Liar

With drug lord Omar Navarro in prison and his hot-head nephew Javi in charge, Marty and Wendy Byrde’s plan to get out from under the drug cartel’s control is in freefall. Meanwhile, Ruth makes a play for the casino - key to the money laundering operation Marty needs to fulfill his debt and secure a deal with the FBI. Jason Bateman and Julia Garner return for the final season of Netflix’s award-winning “Ozark.”OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "OZARK" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 44:00In Crime of the Week: why don't you grow a pair? 

Ozark series finale

In 1972, seven-year-old Steven Stayner was kidnapped and raised by his abductor under an assumed name. At age 14 he made his escape and returned home. Reporters couldn’t get enough of the miraculous story, and a TV miniseries captivated the nation. But there was no storybook ending for the Stayners. The following years brought conflict, tragedy, and an unthinkable crime.The Hulu documentary “Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story” follows the ordeals of Steven and Cory Stayner. It supplements its historical footage with clips from the 1989 TV miniseries and with research interviews from its screenwriter. It shows how a story can be manipulated and how the media can treat you like heroes one day - and villains the next.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CAPTIVE AUDIENCE" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 38:00

Captive Audience

Complaints about harsh punishments, sexual abuse, and a fatal field trip surfaced about a Utah teen treatment center. State regulators did little about it - even when its director was accused of rape and using residents as workers in his home. The new podcast “Sent Away” is a joint investigation among The Salt Lake Tribune, KUER, and APM Reports. It looks at the troubling history of Integrity House, as well as Utah’s lax oversight which has allowed the teen treatment industry in the state to explode.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SENT AWAY" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 42:00In Crime of the Week: silly bear.

Sent Away

In 1990 Laurie Bembenek escaped from a Wisconsin prison through an open window. When the former Playboy bunny went on the lam, she became a media sensation and a folk hero. But did the former cop and calendar girl known as Bambi actually commit the crime she was in prison for - the murder of her husband’s ex-wife? The new show “Run, Bambi, Run” from Apple Podcasts looks back at the sexy-and-sexist case against Bembenek.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "RUN, BAMBI, RUN" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 38:00 

Run, Bambi, Run

After walking away from Villanelle at the end of last season, security analyst Eve Palastri is immersed in her new obsession. With the help of friends new-and-old, she’s closing in on the mysterious yet powerful cabal known as The Twelve. Elsewhere, Villanelle is having an identity crisis. Can she leave behind her life as an assassin and prove to herself - and to Eve - that she’s not a monster?Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh and Emmy winner Jodie Comer star in the fourth-and-final season of “Killing Eve” from AMC and BBC America. Our heroes seek to complete very personal missions all while continuing their obsessive cat-and-mouse game with each other’s emotions.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF SEASON 4 OF "KILLING EVE" BEGIN AROUND MINUTE 43:00In Crime of the Week: whoever smelt it. 

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