The Blotter Presents, Episode 123: Sarah Cleans Out Her DVR
Plus: A journalist turned drug trafficker tells his side of the tale
On this week’s episode of The Blotter Presents, Sarah is flying solo. That’s probably good, because she has six different properties to plow through, all previously-televised true crime properties. Here’s the docket:
“Blowin' Up” (which is Episode 4 of POV’s 32nd season)
“The Force” (Independent Lens)
“Predator On The Reservation” (Frontline Season 37, Episode 12)
Some of these shows, which have languished on Sarah’s DVR for years, were crummy enough to compel a motion to dismiss from our host, while others were granted a continue-ance. You can listen to this week’s episode here to learn which are worth a watch. -- EB
Sarah says that The Confession Killer is a solid option to turn on while you’re, say, wrapping holiday gifts. The Netflix series about Henry Lee Lucas came up in this publication earlier this month, so I’ll spare you the recap and just give you this link (it’s the third item down). The five-part docuseries, which drops this coming Friday, arguably has a new relevance in this ear of confessional unreliability, and it definitely provides another perspective on violent attention-seeking behavior.
Based on the first episode (she didn’t view all five), Sarah says that the show offers a “meta examination of the distortions that this genre can enact on the true stories it's trying to tell,” which is also a timely conversation: See the abundant coverage (including a discussion on an upcoming episode of The Blotter Presents!) Savage Appetites has garnered.
Though its pacing is “deliberate” (which I’ve learned is Sarah-speak for “Eve you will probably start messing with your phone if you sit down to watch this one”), Sarah says it also gives viewers the “texture of turn-of-the-’80s Texas,” so she terms it a good show to have on while engaged in another task. You can listen to her full assessment here. -- EB
Oh, god, do I have to get the Facebook Watch app now? I feel like everyone in my social circle is doing what they can to reduce their reliance on Facebook, and the absolute last thing I want to do is give them even more information on my interests. (Yeah, I know the horse has left the barn on this one, but that doesn’t mean I want to kick any of my remaining horses out into the world, too!)
It appears that Dan Abrams fails to share the nation’s growing distrust of the Zuck Empire, as his website Law&Crime has reportedly made a two-show deal with the social network. According to Mediaite, the shows, both of which will run for eight episodes, will be called Vanished (unsolved cases of missing kids) and Buried With Love (the Brooke Skylar Richardson case). The former will appear on Thursdays beginning on December 26 (“Merry Christmas, kids!”), and the latter kicks off on December 15 and will run every Sunday. -- EB
We could easily talk all day about this piece from The Ringer on a former Vice editor who admits to trafficking cocaine and is now plotting a true crime podcast. Not only does it fulfill your worst suspicions about people who work at Vice (arrogant, drugs) but it’s an amazing “dumb criminal” story and a delicious longread.
Vice Canada editor Slava P. has pled guilty to his role in a coke import scheme that landed five people in Australian jail in 2015, Kate Knibbs reports. He’s currently awaiting sentencing, his journalism career essentially tanked by the scandal. But he sees a possibility for a second act while in prison (his lawyers are fighting for a six-to-eight year sentence, while prosecutors are shooting for 12), as he says he’ll likely launch a true-crime podcast in which he’ll interview his fellow inmates. “There’s a lot of interesting people in jail,” he says. You can read the story here. -- EB
Paid subscribers to Best Evidence are choosing what Sarah will read next. It’s just another benefit to being a BE subscriber, along with five issues of the newsletter a week and the ability to comment on every issue. Of course, anyone can vote in the poll to pick which of these books Sarah will review next:
…but only paid subscribers will get the review of the winning book in their inboxes. This is a great time to subscribe -- or grab a gift subscription for a pal -- as just yesterday we kicked off our 12 Days of Best Evidence promotion. For the next 11 days, an annual subscription to BE has been marked down to just a dollar a week. Grab this deal while you can, so we can keep bringing you all the true crime that’s worth your time.
Thursday on Best Evidence: Quick, what U.S. town is nicknamed “Homicide City”?
What is this thing? This should help.
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🚨Pamela Colloff klaxon🚨 She's got a new longform piece up at ProPublica https://www.propublica.org/article/hes-a-liar-a-con-artist-and-a-snitch-his-testimony-could-soon-send-a-man-to-his-death Colloff hive assemble!