Episodes

In 2017, a little-known consulting firm called NXIVM became the center of an international scandal. One day, no one had heard of the group at all. The next, people were calling it a cult. There were accusations of a secret so...

After her daughter Shanna was disqualified from the cheerleading tryouts, Wanda Holloway was seeing red. In her mind, there were two people responsible for Shanna not being a cheerleader: Verna Heath and her daughter Amber. A...

Obviously, most of us don’t use the internet as a search engine for murder. But there are bad apples in every bunch. Richard Beasley was one of those bad apples. When he decided he wanted to kill people, he sought the despera...

In 2017, a little-known consulting firm called NXIVM became the center of an international scandal. One day, no one had heard of the group at all. The next, people were calling it a cult. But this wasn’t your typical religiou...

By the turn of the century, Keith Raniere had launched a new company that would not only bring him vast sums of money, it would also give him access to vulnerable people in search of ways to improve themselves. They’d willing...

As Keith Raniere's company hits its stride, he lures billionaire heiresses and hollywood actresses into the fold. But not everyone is content to stay under his thumb, and when people speak out against him, Keith goes scorched...

When Keith Raniere felt the women in his cult slipping out of his control, he came up with a way to keep them under his thumb. The secret group known as Dominus Obsequius Sororium, or DOS, was designed to turn women into his ...

On July 27, 1981, six-year-old Adam Walsh was kidnapped from a Sears parking lot in Florida. Just days later his remains were found in a drainage canal over 100 miles away. The case captivated America, and started a national ...

Mattie Lasiter and Ashleigh Teeter's father led a doomsday cult in Arkansas. Now they're sharing their stories and educating others about how to recognize a cult when you see one -- even from the inside. To listen to all four...

Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole are two of history’s most prolific serial killers. Or they’re liars who aren’t to be trusted. Either way, they’ve both got red in their ledger – all stemming from their twisted beginnings. To l...

When Ottis Toole meets Henry Lee Lucas outside of a homeless shelter in Florida, he’s overjoyed to have found a soulmate. But when one friend abandons the other, it leads to a crime that changes America. To listen to all four...

After abandoning Ottis Toole once again, Henry Lee Lucas finds himself in Texas. There he commits a pair of horrifying murders that will open a Pandora’s Box of trouble for law enforcement around the country. To listen to all...

With their confessions piling up, Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole earn infamy as two of history’s most prolific serial killers. But while not everything about their stories add up, some refuse to believe they’ve been conned. ...

This season on American Criminal we’re taking you inside the minds of the killers who committed one of the most infamous crimes of the 20th century: Leopold and Loeb. In 1924, two teenagers abducted and murdered Bobby Franks ...

There have been a lot of developments in the Menendez case since our last update. Recently, Lyle and Erik Menendez appeared before the parole board for the first time. Here's everything you need to know about what happened. T...

Ahead of our next series on Leopold and Loeb, Lindsay Graham ( American Scandal, American History Tellers, & History Daily ) joins the show to talk about a key figure in the Leopold and Loeb story, and one of the 20th century...

In this special bonus episode, we're bringing you pieces of our favorite stories that didn't make it to the final episodes. Thank you for being a listener. Please be sure to rate, review, and follow American Criminal wherever...

Growing up in Chicago, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb both seemed destined for greatness. They each performed well in school, and advanced to university long before their peers. But once they met at college, Leopold and Loeb...

A frank conversation with our host Jeremy Schwartz about his favorite cases we've covered, his career as an actor on and off the stage, and what he's listening to when he's not behind the mic. Thank you for being a listener. ...

Once they're reunited in Michigan, Leopold and Loeb carried on their downward spiral into criminality. Their schemes got progressively more daring until the little things wouldn't do anymore. Now they wanted to carry out the ...

In May, 1924, Leopold and Loeb set out to commit their carefully planned "perfect crime." First they had to choose a victim, then kidnap and kill him, hide his body, and collect a substantial ransom. They were certain they co...