From
cold-case investigations to chatty formats, the true-crime genre has played a
key role in podcasting’s journey to the mainstream. And within the category,
there’s a vast subgenre of crime shows that start out as
love stories.
اضافة اعلان
These six podcasts track how the promise of “happily
ever after” can turn into a nightmare, chronicling true stories of abusers,
liars and romantic con artists who ruthlessly exploit their victims’ desire for
love.
‘Sweet Bobby’
This show is the latest in a
long line of hit podcasts about a catfish — that is, someone who creates a fake
persona online to lure a romantic partner. In 2009, radio presenter Kirat Assi
began conversing online with Bobby, a man who had loose ties to her west London
Sikh community. Things seemed strange from day one: Bobby lived abroad, his
promised visits to Assi kept getting delayed by mysterious medical emergencies,
and he became increasingly controlling. Yet their long-distance relationship
lasted for years before the truth emerged. Journalist
Alexi Mostrous gradually
unravels the haunting saga through interviews with Assi and her family and
builds to a midpoint twist that completely changes your understanding of
everything that’s come before. Go in unspoiled if you can.
‘Cold’
“Josh Powell believed in his
own greatness from the age of 5. So why wouldn’t any girls date him?” That line
from the synopsis of the show’s first episode sums up the familiar kind of male
anger at the heart of this true crime story, which follows the unsolved 2009
disappearance of Josh Powell’s wife, Susan, and his long history of disturbing
behavior. Emotionally detailed and exhaustively researched, “Cold” doesn’t hold
back details to artificially build suspense. The equally compelling second
season explores the story of a sexual assault survivor who vanished days before
she was scheduled to testify.
Who the Hell is Hamish?’
This deep-dive series from
The Australian newspaper chose its title for a reason — Hamish Watson, the
Sydney-born con man at the heart of this show, is a shape-shifter, operating
under so many identities that it’s hard to separate truth from fiction. A
compulsive liar, Watson claimed to unsuspecting victims that he’d survived a
plane crash as a child and that he was inside the
World Trade Center on Sept.11. The show details how Watson scammed millions of dollars not only from
investors but also women he seduced via dating apps. Although many questions
are unsurprisingly left unanswered, this is an insightful, riveting character
study of a master manipulator.
‘Dirty John’
This seductive con-man story
from Wondery and The
Los Angeles Times, which debuted in 2017, has spawned a
whole podcast subgenre. John Michael Meehan used online dating sites to present
himself as a catch, a wealthy anesthesiologist who had worked with Doctors
Without Borders and just wanted to settle down. Although the slow unraveling of
their romance is gripping, the show finds its meatiest material in the standoff
between Meehan and Newell’s two daughters, who see the red flags waving from
the start. “Dirty John” doesn’t make the mistake of focusing solely on the
perpetrator’s psyche; it spends just as much time exploring why Newall was a
perfect victim, and a flashback to the history of male violence within the
Newell family is arguably the most unnerving part of the show.
‘Do You Know Mordechai?’
After a rough divorce and
far too many dispiriting online dating experiences, Arya was thrilled to meet
Mordechai, a sensitive, charming, creative guy who also happened to be a
millionaire. Unfortunately, he wasn’t what he seemed. This is an unusual
catfish story, in that the man calling himself Mordechai Horowitz never
physically hid himself from his victims. Most surprisingly of all, Horowitz
himself gives an interview to the podcast’s host,
Kathleen Goldhar, and hearing
from him in addition to all the women he conned offers an unusually layered
picture. Without ever making excuses for his behavior, this format allows
listeners to draw their own conclusions about the mental illness that may be at
play.
‘The Teacher’s Pet’
Like so many couples in
these stories, Lynette and Chris Dawson had a storybook romance from the
outside. They were high school sweethearts during the 1960s and built their
dream home together, using the fortune Chris Dawson made as a professional
rugby player. But in 1982, Lynette Dawson disappeared — and within days, Chris
Dawson had moved his teenage lover into the house. Journalist Hedley Thomas
unpacks the dark truth about the Dawsons’ marriage in meticulous detail. Since
his arrest, the show has had a strange afterlife.
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