August 18, 2019

EP. 305 — How One True Crime Writer Started Solving Murders

Five thousand murders go unsolved in the United States every year. That means each American killer has a 38% chance of not getting caught, remaining free to listen to the inevitable true crime podcast about their deeds. People all over the world love sharing stories of lurid murder. But what if true crime fans could do more than just listen? What if modern technology and marketing skills can help you solve those crimes yourself, while ALSO blowing the lid off a decades-old ‘Star Wars’ mystery?

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by writer, investigator, and ’Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad’ co-host Billy Jensen. You’ll hear amazing stories from Billy’s new book ‘Chase Darkness with Me: How One True-Crime Writer Started Solving Murders’. You’ll also discover how to help investigate murders from home, learn how your DNA can catch the next “Golden State Killer”-type maniac, and find out exactly who passed up the chance to be Han Solo.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/how-one-true-crime-writer-started-solving-murders

Recent Episodes

January 26, 2020

Freedom sucks…and that is why we have to defend it. Because our democracy involves doing a lot of stuff that takes energy, takes time, and lacks that Michael Bay Quality that only a surprise missile launch can provide. So on this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt and special guest Jason Pargin (who writes for Cracked as David Wong) are exploring the ways being afraid of everything (an easy action) can stop us from being free. Discover the decades-long tradition of some Americans wanting to give up everything in exchange for not needing to think, the centuries-long tradition of people inciting fake panics, and the reasonable ways you can help change things for the better.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/why-fear-based-democracies-arenE28099t-free-with-jason-pargin/

January 19, 2020

How’s your local shopping mall doing? Have you checked on it lately? Swing by sometime, because its department store might’ve turned into a call center or a hospital or a go-kart track. On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by the one and only Kai Ryssdal (Marketplace, Make Me Smart) for a look at surprising, strange, and shocking stories from all over the U.S. economy. Discover an international pig flu, a 26-word statement that built the modern Internet, and more amazing ways cash is ruling everything around you. By the way, if you’re an American listener, you spent the past few years funding an astonishingly huge bailout. Surprise! Listen for details!

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/5-parts-u.s.-economy-that-are-stranger-than-you-think

January 12, 2020

Movies, TV, gaming: three things that are theoretically a waste of time. Oh sure, they deliver value in the art sense, and comfort in the goofing-off sense. But what if they’re more valuable than that? What if consuming shows and playing video games (accidentally) turns people into real-life heroes? On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by comedians/writers Caitlin Gill and Alex Watt for a look at the surprising number of times that exact thing happened. They’ll explore stories of regular people who saved a life thanks to skills gained randomly from cartoons, sitcoms, ‘World Of Warcraft’, and more silly entertainment.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/9-times-pop-culture-accidentally-taught-people-to-save-lives/