The Docket 05.16.24: Inspector Oldfield vs. the Black Hand
Seems like your threatening symbol shouldn’t remind SDB of a kindergarten hand turkey? (Oldfield Collection) My esteemed colleague/MASTAS co-host Mark...
The wild times and beastly behavior of Bronx Zoo '90
[read the full Bronx Zoo ‘90 review here, or upgrade to get all content ad-free in your inbox!] The crimes[inhales deeply] Harassment; extortion; possession...
The Berman Murders is a well-researched look at journalistic obsession
Best Evidence supporters get the full article in their inbox, all others may click through to read. There's always that guy who brings Kahlúa to the party....
Spacey Unmasked: "The issue of Kevin was certainly well known"
The crimeSexual misconduct and assaults allegedly committed by actor Kevin Spacey against numerous non-consenting colleagues, employees, and classmates. The...
The Docket 05.09.24: True Crime Story: It Couldn’t Happen Here
Hilarie Burton Morgan, host of True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here, makes a relatable face in the second season. (Sundance) Is AMC+’s popular true-...
Bewitched, Borden, and black widow: The Elizabeth Montgomery BET-CRP
Welcome back to another edition of the BET-CRP – the Best Evidence True-Crime Résumé Percentage! We haven't done one in a minute, plus I finally got my act...
True crime scores big at the 2024 Pulitzer Awards
"Awards are pretty much all bullshit," Kirsten Dunst famously said. She's not wrong, and yet we all want to know who else has one. For people in journalism,...
Docket announcement: Book Club!
Hey all, SDB here. Our esteemed colleague Mark Blankenship and I will be chatting about Inspector Oldfield and the Black Hand Society: America's Original...
Behind Ctrl Alt Desire’s glib title is a thoughtful docuseries
The crime Grant Amato killed his parents, Chad and Margaret, and older brother Cody. The story (warning: some structural spoilers ahead)I watched...
The Basketball Fix shoots an airball
The crimeThe CCNY point-shaving scandal. The story I don't recall how 1951's extremely, um, 1951 The Basketball Fix wound up on my watchlist, but the NBA...
The Docket 05.02.24: Lives Of Crime
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, who died at 45, is one of the “famous/criminal” obit exemplars we’re discussing. When a major-case figure dies, what should that...
Depardieu detention, Antarctica a-holes, and Weinstein revelations
Gerard Depardieu in "Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra" Best Evidence supporters get the full article in their inbox, but everyone can read for free at...
April 2024 Bonus Review: You're Wrong About's O.J. Simpson series
The crimeThe June 12, 1994 murders of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman. The storyI'm not a regular You're Wrong About listener, but I dip in occasionally on...
Who'll take the true crime crown at the 2024 Edgar Awards?
Over the past few weeks we’ve taken a look at the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award 2024 nominees for Best Fact Crime. Now it’s time for...
Rabbit Heart is a sharp look at crime-related trauma
A detail from the cover of Rabbit Heart Best Evidence supporters can read the full article via newsletter, while folks with a free subscription can click...
Baby Reindeer vs. the algorithm
[CW: depictions of sexual assault] The crimeStalking; rape. The storyBaby Reindeer apparently hit Netflix a couple weeks ago, and the Netflix algorithm did...
Best Evidence sub intel! Please read!
Hello, Best Evidence newsletter subscribers! Thanks so much for being here. We know the move and changes to editorial-dashboard stuff has been a bit of a...
Maybe Baby Reindeer isn’t true crime, but it’s true as hell
[CW: depictions of sexual assault] The crimeStalking; rape. The storyBaby Reindeer apparently hit Netflix a couple weeks ago, and the Netflix algorithm did...
From the archives: Derf Backderf’s Kent State
Part of a page from Derf Backderf's Kent State. Many of Backderf's renditions of the May 1970 set-to may look eerily familiar. (Backderf/kent.edu) …I can’t...
Number Go Up is a compelling look at crypto's rise and fall
A detail from the cover of Number Go Up lampoons its dubious poster child. In 2021, cryptocurrency mania swept the world, heralded as the future of finance....
Three Catfish spinoffs I wish I could watch instead of Catfish
Original Catfish hosts Max Joseph and Nev Schulman (Photo by MTV) “Catfish is back for its zillionth season,” I slacked to Sarah. “We should talk about it on...
The Docket 04.22.24: The Jinx Part 2
A creepy latex mask stars in an "imagining" of Robert Durst's planned escape to Cuba in the credits of The Jinx's second season. (HBO) Early edition this...
From the archives: The Jinx’s 2015 finale
Robert Durst, R, tussles with his lawyer during a trial re-enactment shown in the 2015 episodes of The Jinx. What did SDB think of that "season"'s finale at...
The Docket 04.18.24: Let us now praise (not) famous (enough) true crime
Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu in Hustlers. Why doesn't the movie get more love? (Annapurna Pictures) The companion episode to last week’s, in which we...
Under The Bridge was worth waiting for
Under The Bridge finally brings Rebecca Godfrey's 2005 book to the small screen, with downbeat but compelling results. Vritika Gupta as Reena Virk. (Darko...
What Jennifer Did faces photo manipulation controversy
A detail from the main art for 'What Jennifer Did.' Credit: Netflix I would have forgotten about What Jennifer Did, but social media wouldn’t let me. The...
Chicago (1927): Ragtime, slapstick, and “yesterday’s news”
Roxie Hart (Phyllis Haver) tries to sell the DA (Warner Richmond) on her story. Will the 1927 silent movie sell YOU? (DeMille Pictures Corp) Phyllis Haver...
You’ve read Ice-T’s memoir. What’s next?
Ice-T in NYC. His 2011 memoir, Ice, has a lot to say about rap...and robbery process. WE'VE got a lot to say about related recs. (David Corio/Redferns via...
OJ Simpson dead at 76
Orenthal James Simpson, one of the most (in)famous people in the world, acknowledges a fan. (ESPN Films via NYT) Links and discussion continues here.
The Docket 04.11.24: Not mad, just disappointed
Your co-hosts, bracing for another PR blast...or Colin Firth and Toni Collette in HBO's scripted version of The Staircase. (HBO) A conversation on recent...
What Jennifer Did fails to satisfy
What Jennifer Did. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024 The combination of time and geography meant that I went into new Netflix true crime documentary What...
An Arnold Rothstein Reader: The Big Bankroll and Blame for the Black Sox
Arnold "The Big Bankroll" Rothstein poses awkwardly with old technology. Do we put so much of the blame for the Black Sox on him because it's easier? ...In...
Scoop turns an infamous Prince Andrew interview into a thriller
Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell in Scoop. Credit: Netflix It was a reasonable concern when Scoop was first announced: How could a feature film adaptation...
The Docket 04.04.24: Is more Quiet on Set a good thing?
Amanda Bynes waves to the crowd while holding some Nickelodeon swag. She's not in the Quiet on Set update. (Chris Pizzello/AP via BI) Building a story road...
The Witch of New York argues that the good old days of journalism were not so good
Witch of New York's cover (l), "Polly Bodine at Newburgh Trial, 1848: Historical Pamphlet" (which is included in the book) After a fire consumed their Staten...
Edgar Awards round-up: In Light Of All Darkness
...These first 100 pages really pack a punch, and I was taken back in time to 1993, the image of Winona Ryder visiting Petaluma to lend her name and money to...
The Synanon Fix's slow-boil
Still from The Synanon Fix. Credit: Bruce Levine/HBO I always feel bad for projects that drop on April 1 — there’s always that search for the joke when the...
March 2024 Bonus Review: BUtterfield 8
[cw: sexual assault involving a child; death by suicide] The crimeTrafficking and sexual assault of a minor, probably; extortion, allegedly; prosecutorial...
Airbnb crime, a bad vegetarian, and a peep at a marshmallow scam.
This is actually relevant to one of today's stories, I swear! Best Evidence readers know that the end of the month isn’t just for making your car payment....
The Docket 03.28.24: Ask Us Anything II
You asked, we answered; we asked each other, we answered! Genealogical mysteries, masters of IRL horror, and much more. Elsewhere down the Shore......
Has Serial passed its sell-by date?
An aerial view of the notorious Camp 7 at Guantanamo Bay. "Gitmo" is Serial's subject this time around. (Wikimedia Commons) Before I talk about Serial Season...
The Lost Sons of Omaha illustrates the issues with both-sides-ism
On May 30, 2020, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, protestors took to the streets in Omaha’s Old Market District. There,...
Roadhouse's true crime ties
What hurts more, the diet, the exercise, or the waxing regimen? It’s Friday, it’s Sarah’s birthday, and I’m in the mood to plan my true crime weekend. I have...
The Docket 03.21.24: Homicide: New York’s failure of nerve
The Homicide: New York title card is like the show itself -- KIND of cool, but not thoughtful or creative at all. (Netflix) Today's Docket features special...
Edgar Award nominee Crooked tackles Harding-era corruption
Nathan Masters's Edgar-nominated book expertly captures the economic, social, and political landscape of the 1920s. Harry Daughtry, political fixer to...
Stormy: compelling subject, compromised execution
Stormy Daniels preps for a media appearance. (Peacock) In fact, Stormy‘s power lies primarily in evoking the poisonous side effects of that Trumpiness: the...
The Bishop and the Butterfly explains why you know the term ‘Tammany Hall’
Folks well-versed in New York history likely know all about Tammany Hall, the 1800s-era political organization that essentially ran the city (and boy oh boy,...
Manhunt is righteous, ambitious, and trying much too hard
The title card for Apple TV+'s latest, Manhunt. ...The desire to look again at Lincoln’s assassination and the disorienting days immediately following it,...
The Docket 03.14.24: James L. Swanson on The Deerfield Massacre
Cover detail from The Deerfield Massacre. (SDB) hello! Taking a break from regularly scheduled Docket programming to bring you SDB's interview with Manhunt...
Quiet on Set won’t stay silent about abuse at kids’ shows
...Writing my review, a day before you see it, a quick Google tells me that Drake Bell’s coming forward as the unidentified minor in the charging document...