Criminal
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.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 33 minutes
- Episodes
- 346
- Years Active
- 2014 - 2025
Bully
Skidmore, Missouri is a very small town. In the '70s, there was only one bar, one grocery store, and one bully. Ken McElroy was so ruthless and intimidating that even police officers looked the other…
00:29:39 |
Fri 05 May 2017
The Kingfish
In 1928, Huey P. Long became the youngest Governor in Louisiana’s history. He bragged that he bought lawmakers like “sacks of potatoes, shuffled ‘em like a deck of cards.” By the time he was 39 years…
00:28:44 |
Fri 21 Apr 2017
420
The Colorado Department of Transportation says the 420 mile markers on the state's highways were stolen so often, they had to replace them with 419.99 mile markers. Many people know that "420" repres…
00:18:26 |
Fri 07 Apr 2017
Rochester, 1991
Kim Dadou says she wishes she had a nickel for every person who has asked why she didn't leave her abusive boyfriend Darnell Sanders. The two dated for four years and Darnell Sanders was routinely vi…
00:28:02 |
Fri 17 Mar 2017
Wildin
In 2014, 16-year-old Wildin Acosta left Olancho, Honduras and traveled toward the U.S. border. When he arrived, he turned himself in to border patrol agents. He was one of 68,541 unaccompanied minors…
00:25:17 |
Fri 03 Mar 2017
Vanish
People have faked death to escape criminal convictions, debts, and their spouses. In 2007, a man named Amir Vehabovic faked his death just to see who showed up at the funeral (answer: only his mom). …
00:27:00 |
Fri 17 Feb 2017
Finding Sarah and Philip
In 2005, Teri Knight drove 650 miles on midwestern roads through Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Illinois, pleading with the public to help her do what law enforcement and the FBI had not been able to: find …
00:21:09 |
Fri 03 Feb 2017
In Plain Sight
In 1849, abolitionist and attorney Wendell Phillips wrote: "We should look in vain through the most trying times of our revolutionary history for an incident of courage and noble daring to equal that…
00:32:07 |
Fri 20 Jan 2017
Walnut Grove
In 2010, Michael McIntosh's son was incarcerated at the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in the small town of Walnut Grove, Mississippi. One Sunday, Michael McIntosh went to visit his son and…
00:34:25 |
Fri 06 Jan 2017
Everyday Genius
To close out 2016, we're bringing you two lighter stories of people exhibiting everyday genius under. . . unusual circumstances. Comedian Dave Holmes' story begins with an upsetting phone call from t…
00:20:14 |
Fri 16 Dec 2016
Don't Let Me See You In The Whirl
Since 1938, a weekly African-American owned newspaper called The Evening Whirl has covered crime in St. Louis with a style all its own, using alliteration and rhyme, and often omitting the usual crim…
00:18:44 |
Fri 02 Dec 2016
The Shell Game
The Magic Castle in Hollywood has been a private club for magicians since 1963, and its walls are lined with portraits of magicians past and present. Among them is a portrait of one of the earliest A…
00:17:12 |
Fri 18 Nov 2016
Melinda and Clarence
SPOILER WARNING: Please listen to Episode 53: Melinda and Judy before you listen to this one.
Melinda Dawson found out on the same day in 1998 that her adoptive mother had been killed and that her ow…
00:34:15 |
Fri 04 Nov 2016
Melinda and Judy
When Melinda Dawson was seven years old, she learned that she was adopted under suspicious circumstances. As she got older and had children of her own, she tried to learn something about her biologic…
00:26:57 |
Fri 21 Oct 2016
The Checklist
SPOILER WARNING: Please listen to Episode 51: Money Tree before you listen to this one.
While working on our last episode, we became curious about the nature of psychopathy -- how it is defined, and …
00:25:53 |
Fri 07 Oct 2016
Money Tree
When Axton Betz-Hamilton was 11 years old, her parents' identities were stolen. At that time, in the early 90s, consumer protection services for identity theft victims were basically non-existent. So…
00:28:11 |
Fri 23 Sep 2016
This is Criminal
To celebrate Criminal's 50th episode, we check in with some of our most memorable guests including Fran Schindler from Episode 17: "Final Exit," Dan Stevenson from Episode 15: "He's Neutral," Corpora…
00:39:04 |
Fri 09 Sep 2016
The Editor
In November of 1988, Robin Woods was sentenced to sixteen years in the notoriously harsh Maryland Correctional Institution. In prison, Robin Woods found himself using a dictionary to work his way thr…
00:30:07 |
Fri 26 Aug 2016
Eight Years
2008 was an exciting time to be a Harry Potter fan. The final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, had been released. Movies were on the way. And author Melissa Anelli was at the center of it …
00:25:06 |
Fri 12 Aug 2016
Brownie Lady
Shortly after Meridy Volz moved from Milwaukee to San Francisco, she received a phone call from a friend asking her to take over a small bakery business. Meridy agreed to run the bakery, but she only…
00:23:46 |
Fri 15 Jul 2016
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