At the end I didn’t learn anything new. Instead heard the same thing over and over repeated by different people. Way to stretch a podcast, truly with no added value for the listener.
It’s insane to me that a ~30 minute episode has 9 ads, it is so off-putting and ruins the flow of the show. While the topic is interesting, given that they’re just retelling other people’s research and insight into the topic, throwing in a couple of interviews, it’s a pass for me.
I like this show. The reporting is solid. Her voice over is very hard to take. Most of the time it sounds like she wants to laugh. It makes it hard to take the information seriously. It’s a very immature way of telling the story.
Season 4 is a decent story but the ads are making it unlistenable. The same ads over and over and over. I spend half my time fast forwarding. I understand you need sponsors but what makes you think your audience will be okay with that?
That very long phone conversation was so hard to understand. The audio was terrible. Didn’t you listen to how this sounded before you included it in the podcast?
This is a great pod but the last season doesn’t hit for me. It’s such an interesting story, but the hosts style of talking - like she’s holding in a laugh and having to halt after every word drives me insane! Take a breath, get to the story, and do some editing.
How come you don’t do hit pieces on democrats, all you podcasts are the same, why don’t you ever do pieces on how the democrats lie, cheat, and steal, and if that doesn’t work, they outright break the law. Like Biden, how many laws did he break, that if it were Trump, he’d been indicted? You’re all a bunch of biased, hypocritical, propagandist
I liked the fact that this podcast is to the point and not just made to hear themselves speak. Some podcasts that are ten plus episodes are often repetitive. This was not.
In season four, Scott seems to get confused between liking a family that have been victims of a crime and evidence. You make up your own mind, but be prepared. He’s gonna knock you over the head with his beliefs and make anything that opposes it sound doubtful.
The story takes too long.
Great story.
But I find myself often getting bored in parts.
That being said, as a trial attorney it is always great listening to juries talk.
Season 4 of this show was previewed/introduced by another podcast I follow and it cued my interest. Just finished the season and I have to say, being empathetic (if I don’t say so myself) and in consuming criminal (in)justice/crime content for years, this podcast’s season gave me the closest feeling to the “unsettleness” of justice our system provides. The story was engaging, those interviewed relatable and human. I’ve never had this strong of an inclination to reach out to individual strangers featured on a podcast and can only attribute it to the storyteller’s skill in relating this tale.
I thoroughly enjoyed Season 1. Season 2 was also solid. 3 & 4 have tailed off a bit and the barrage of ads is the main reason I’m giving it a 4. Pushkin pods are actively trying to force people into subscriptions to avoid the deluge.
This is a great podcast, and Season 4 is the best yet. It tells the story of how serendipity, hard work, and faith come together in a commitment to justice for a person and family who society otherwise might have preferred to ignore.
I really like this podcast & totally understand the reality/necessity of sponsors, BUT this is absolutely ridiculous! The ads are approaching 50% of the content! That’s why I dropped you by 2 stars.
I didn’t think season 3 could be topped but season 4 is already proving me wrong.
The amount of research and reporting that goes into this production is unmatched.
Overall just some great storytelling!
Season 3 What a terrible waste of time. An entire podcast about this lying conwoman who uses MISSING WOMEN’s identities to hide from an overprotective sister. Are you f’n kidding me! Jake completely missed the bus with this season. What a disgrace. Ester didn’t deserve this redemption arc. To add insult to injury you spent zero time and attention whatsoever to the actual victims including Brooke Henson. Shame on both of you. PS Ester deserves her name.
I’m ALWAYS awaiting the next episode with uncomfortable anticipation. There are very few podcasts that elicit that feeling in me. I am so stoked that season 4 is only a few days away!
I’ll start by saying I like this show. I’ve listened to all three seasons. The stories are interesting, and framed and told well. But if there’s a season 4, I’m probably skipping it.
First issue, the show moves slowly. I get the repetitive sound bite sense that’s typical of daytime TV - I don’t need to be told the same thing 3 times. And the stories sometimes seem squeezed for additional drops of content, rather than told at a natural pace. Each season could have been 2/3 the length, and I was tempted to speed up the playback.
Second issue, each season is based around a single central character, and they all strike me as unreliable. They’re telling these stories in part to make themselves look good or important. Season 1 was particularly bad on this front, with a guy who’s written his own life a novel and seems to want to be seen as a character in hard-boiled mystery books. The host sometimes checks their assertions or verifies with other sources, but far too much is taken at face value, given both their motives and everything we know about memory. I get why it was done, but it reduces my trust in what I’m hearing.
Sorry but I just can’t with Esther. First off, did you guys validate her sob story, because she comes off as an utter inauthentic bullsh!@er. The only reason I finished the season was to hear the updates on Natalie and Brooke. And the narcissist, aka Esther, doesn’t feel sorry for the pain she caused only just that she got caught!
