...these Are Their Stories: The Law & Order Podcast

Detectives Churlish and Muncy investigate a rape accusation against the son of a rich, domineering real estate mogul. When Benson goes to arrest Martin Parish, she finds Connie Parish breastfeeding him. Carisi's rape case falls apart when the victim recants, then dies before testifying before the grand jury. The squad learns her cocaine was laced with industrial abrasive, which is also the cause of Martin's failing health. He refuses to testify against his mother, until his long-absent father returns to say he lost the taste for Connie's boobies when he learned she was trying to kill him with the same abrasive. We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 24 episode 18 "Bubble Wrap." Our guest is Melody Carlisle from the "Heaving Bosoms" podcast.A few plot points in this episode are inspired by the controversy around actor Armie Hammer.

Benson and Stabler learn the kidnapper and rapist they're looking for is children's book author Saul Picard. When they take him into custody, Picard head butts Elliot into a car window, leaving him temporarily blind. The feds want to bring Picard back to Louisiana where child rape is a capital offense. Huang says the suspect is schizophrenic and belongs in a hospital, not death row.Novak schemes with a defense attorney to keep Picard in NY.  Motivated by personal reasons, Casey's plan to sabotage her own prosecution to save Picard puts her at loggerheads with new District Attorney Jack McCoy and a vengeful Benson, seeking revenge for Stabler's injury. We're talking about Special Victims Unit season nine episode seven "Blinded." Our guest is Ronald Young Jr. from the "Weight for It" podcast.A minor plot point alludes to the life of author Theodor Geisel, aka, Dr. Suess. 

Lennie Briscoe and his new partner Ed Green investigate a fatal mugging. They can't make an arrest stick to suspect Bobby Sabo, who enjoys taunting Briscoe, but the senior detective says Sabo spontaneously confessed to the crime while they were out of earshot from Green. Van Buren isn't confident the confession happened. Tensions boil over between the detectives as Briscoe feels his trustworthiness and age are questioned. McCoy's case is about to fall apart when the evidence gets thrown out. But Carmichael objects to a deal that might close two cases and reveal the truth about that disputed statement.We're talking about Law & Order season 10 episode 6 "Marathon." Our guest is Mary Payne Gilbert from the Pink Shade podcast.Inspiration for this episode comes from the 1999 murder of Jacqueline Frezza.

Benson investigates the rape of a housewife spotted jumping between rooftops. Jenna Miller has a big secret: she's been doing sex work. She has an even bigger secret: she's the world record-holding pole vaulter who could lose her endorsements if her double life were exposed. When the defendant's attorney suggests she's losing her good looks, Jenna responds by ripping off her blouse in court. With Barba's case tanking, Carisi and Rollins suspect Jenna's behavior might be the result of an undiagnosed mental illness. Meanwhile, Amanda remains unsettled  after her sister makes parole and moves in with her and Jessie.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 18 episode 4 "Heightened Emotions." Our guest is Wah Lino from the DocuSweeties podcast.This episode is based on the life of former Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton. 

Benson and Stabler look for the killer of Laura Santiago. Their investigation uncovers cock fighting, radical vegan feminists, and hundreds of photos of women's butts. The detectives learn Laura was secretly filming an exposé on conditions in a slaughterhouse. Olivia goes undercover at the meat packing plant to find the missing film, but the left-handed foreman confesses quickly to the right-handed stabbing. Benson and Munch confront the elderly owner of Donna Rosa's Meatballs about whether she'd kill to protect the family recipe. This episode has everything! We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 11 episode 20 "Beef." Our guest is Roberta Blevins from the "Life After MLM" podcast. The story takes cues from the work of muckraker Upton Sinclair.This podcast was recorded in front of a live audience in Dallas, TX.

When a cop is shot in a park, Logan recognizes him as childhood friend Billy Marino, who'd  been trading phone calls with their old priest, Father Joe Krolinsky. He and Briscoe learn Krolinsky left the priesthood and started a family, but Logan confides in Cragen (now assigned to Anti-corruption) Father Joe molested altar boys and even put the moves on him. The detectives learn Krolinsky gave Billy $50,000 as hush money. With all his sex assaults beyond the statute of limitations, McCoy charges Krolinsky with conspiracy to hide his past crimes. But the former priest has a shocking defense: he said young Billy recruited victims in the neighborhood and the cash was a belated payment for crimes beyond the statute of limitations. Kincaid  notices Krolinsky's wife is skipping the trial - and perhaps she has family secrets to share.We're talking about Law & Order season five episode twenty "Bad Faith." Our guest is Hank Krutulis from the "Procedural Veneration" podcast. The crimes of former priest James Porter

Olivia and Elliot learn Sydney, a woman who died of accidental autoerotic asphyxiation, was one of three friends who raped a male stripper at a bachelorette party. Stabler is among those who don't believe a woman can rape a man, but Benson and Cabot go after Pam and Amelia (played by Diane Neil).  At trial, the exotic dancer admits he was suing Sydney and she told her friends she was going to settle. The detectives think it's a great motive for murder and reopen the investigation of her death.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season three episode ten "Ridicule." Our guest is Natalie Grillo of the Obsessed Network.Some inspiration for this episode comes from the 1977 “Manacled Mormon” case.

Before testifying against the pimp who had him shot, a former sex slave says Cassidy raped her when he was undercover.  When Amaro and Munch go to his apartment to question him, they see Olivia exit his bedroom.Though Brian says it's a frame-up, he goes on trial for the assault. His attorney confronts Amaro on the stand with Cynthia Mancheno, the woman he had a relationship with while undercover ten years ago. Nick learns he's the father of her nine-year-old son and Cynthia's boyfriend is using the kid to mule drugs. The squad goes undercover to get the boyfriend off the street and prove Cassidy's innocence.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season fourteen episode seventeen "Undercover Blue." Our returning guest is Nettie Smith from the Oh Hell Yes podcast.Some inspiration for this episode comes from a controversy around undercover officers in Britain's National Public Order Intelligence Unit. 

The lead actor of the financially-troubled, accident-prone Broadway musical "Icarus" falls to his death after his safety wire is cut. Goren and Eames learn the show's demanding director (Cynthia Nixon) couldn't convince the producer to fire him and wanted his understudy to perform that night for the benefit of a theater critic. When the detectives discover an insurance policy that would cover investors' losses if the lead was killed, they get the show's dramaturg and producer to turn on each other.We're talking about Criminal Intent season 10 episode 7 "Icarus." Our returning guest is Brandi Brown.This episode is inspired by the ill-fated musical "Spider-Man:  Turn Off the Dark."

Lisa, a teen with a fake ID, is murdered on a rooftop. Benson and Stabler learn she and her friend, Angela (Hayden Panettiere), teased high school students with colored sex bracelets, were big on the apps, gave oral for designer clothes and turned tricks at a fancy hotel. But it didn't stop there for the HIV-infected victim. Lisa also earned money as an underage porn star. Meanwhile, Stabler pressures Kathleen to give up whether her boyfriend pressured her to give it up.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season six episode fifteen "Hooked." Our guest is Michelle Rubenstein from the Total Betty Podcast Network.Plot points for this episode come from the life of actress Traci Lords.

When a new body washes up on his beach burial ground, imprisoned serial killer Dr. Gregory Yates  points Amanda to a mummified murder victim in a townhouse. He says the culprit is his old friend Carl Rudnick, the deputy chief medical examiner. After Yates's girlfriend tells Benson she has incriminating evidence, Rudnick kills and dismembers her, then flees dressed as a woman.  Rollins and Carisi capture the doctor, who hires both Calhoun and  Buchanan to defend him. Barba fears Rudnick's improbable self-defense claim is working with the jury, but Sonny uncovers video of the suspect saying the wrong things while talking to himself. Meanwhile, Rollins learns she's pregnant. We're talking about the Special Victims Unit two-part season seventeen opener, episode one "Devil's Dissections" and episode two "Criminal Pathology."* Our guest is Lauren van der Meer from the Drinks with Death podcast. Some plot points are taken from the Long Island Serial Killer case.*Note: some streaming services list this as a single ep

When washed-up actor Mitch Carroll (Chevy Chase) is pulled over for drunk driving, he goes on an antisemitic tirade, all while covered in blood. Green and Cassady trace his pistol to the murder of the Jewish TV producer he felt ruined his career. But the detectives learn Carroll's son pulled the trigger in his own bigoted rage.McCoy and Rubirosa try to prove the father's hate speech drove his son to murder. When the actor shows he's willing to let his boy take the fall, the teen turns on his dad and tells the truth.We're talking about Law & Order season 17 episode 7 "In Vino Veritas." Our returning guest is BFF Molly McKean.This episode takes cues from the 2006 drunk driving arrest of actor Mel Gibson.

An abandoned baby leads Benson and Stabler to a career woman (Lori Singer) who may have received the child in an illegal adoption. But it's the woman's lawyer/fiancé (John Stamos) who draws scrutiny. Ken Turner has fathered more than 40 children, all of them conceived after his condoms suspiciously broke. Olivia accuses him of being a "reproductive abuser," tricking women into having his babies. Though Turner's done nothing illegal, the squad calls in an expert to build a case against him. But police find Turner's body blown up from the inside out. The killer says she didn't know the special scuba diving knife she stabbed him with was filled with compressed CO2.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 12 episode 22 "Bang." Our guest is Gillian Pensavalle from the True Crime Obsessed podcast. This episode is based on a clinical study into "reproductive coercion" and the story of British baby daddy Keith Macdonald.Note: this episode was originally released June 7, 2017.

When a child is snatched, Benson and Stabler find evidence his mother, Dr. Sophie Gerard (Isabelle Huppert), was planning to sneak him overseas. But the hunt for the hired kidnapper leaves the boy dead in a watery car crash. Sophie cannot accept her son is dead, so Olivia and ADA Jo Marlowe (Sharon Stone) bring her to the morgue to see for herself. After a scuffle with the boy's father, Sophie steals an officer's gun, shoots Warner, and takes the rest hostage. While Elliot sneaks through an air duct, he learns the father masterminded the kidnapping. Before the mother can exact her revenge, Marlowe pretends the dead child is still alive and carries him over to Sophie.We're talking about the head-scratching Special Victims Unit season 11 episode 24 "Shattered." Our returning guest is Erika Villalba from the "That Aged Well" podcast.Some plot points for this episode come from the international child abduction case of Sean Goldman. 

When a newborn baby is discovered in a garbage pile, Benson and Stabler trace the child to a college student who denies it's hers. Later, she says she was a victim of rape and didn't know she was pregnant until she went into labor. Cragen learns this wasn't the first time the woman gave birth and threw the child away. Meanwhile, Warner discovers the baby's father is his own grandfather, a politician who says he's in a consensual sexual relationship with his adult daughter. Novak can't get a conviction, but the mother reveals incriminating details about the previous child she disposed of.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 7 episode 14 "Taboo." Our guest is Simone Paget from the "We're Never Doing This Again" podcast.Plot points for this episode were inspired by the 1997 case of the so-called Prom Mom, Melissa Drexler.

When an astronaut is murdered in her hotel room, Goren and Eames investigate shuttle commander Luke Nelson (Tate Donovan) with whom she had an affair. They turn their attention to another astronaut who had feelings for Nelson. They discover she drove to New York wearing adult diapers to kill her rival and return to Maryland to cover her tracks. The detectives conclude she was driven to violence by the commander's wife (Amy Ryan) who spiked the murderer's skin lotion with steroids to eliminate both women.We're talking about Criminal Intent season six episode nineteen "Rocket Man." Our returning guest is Katie from A Date with Dateline podcast.This episode is inspired by Commander Lisa Nowak and the so-called astronaut love triangle.

The squad tries to help Kelsey, a famous singer who's in a violent relationship with her equally-famous boyfriend, Austin. When dueling accusations of assault are traded by the celebrities, Austin's fans turn hostile to the victim. It's up to Carisi to convince the jury who to believe in a high profile case of he said/she said. Meanwhile, Rollins struggles with her emotions after being shot in the line of duty.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 24 episode 3 "Mirror Effect." Our guest is Wendy from the Fruitloops: Serial Killers of Color podcast. This episode is inspired by the ripped-from-the-headlines case of Amber Heard versus Johnny Depp.

An armed robbery leaves an off-duty cop dead and the two gunmen flee by hijacking a town car. When Briscoe and Curtis find one of them, the robber offers Ross a deal: in exchange for a light sentence he'll tell them where to find the kidnapped driver. Over the cops' objections, McCoy agrees to the bargain, but they learn too late the driver was already dead when the suspect offered it.When the other robber turns up dead, Jack shocks Lenny and Rey when he decides to honor the crooked deal. He lets the first guy go for killing a cop so he can charge him with killing the other cop killer. But the entire thing could fall apart if Briscoe and Curtis don't lie on the stand and say they didn't tell McCoy the cause of the accomplice's death was murder.We're talking about the award-winning episode of Law & Order season seven episode nineteen "Double Down." Our returning guest is Brady Carlson from the "Cool Weird Awesome" podcast.The landmark case of Brady v Maryland serves as a plot point to this episode.

SVU searches for a woman abducted in a taxi cab. The victim's left leg is discovered in a canal, having been amputated while she was still alive. Benson and Amaro suspect a connection to a sex worker who said a john paid $25,000 to cut off her leg. The victim's obsession with body modification lead Fin and Rollins to a woman with a peg leg who gives pointy ear surgery to people out of a box truck. But the medical paper trail points to a psychiatrist who developed a strange fetish after his mother became an amputee. We're talking about one of the weirdest SVUs ever. It's Special Victims Unit season 13 episode 22 "Strange Beauty." Our returning guest is Ronald Young Jr from the "Leaving the Theater" podcast.This episode takes some cues from the real life story of Doctor John Ronald Brown.

Benson and Stabler investigate a case of prolonged child abuse that's left a girl in a coma. The suspects include the victim's ex-con father, business executive stepfather, douchebag stepbrother, and an avuncular foreign diplomat. Munch tells Fin he isn't convinced they've arrested the right person. He gently elicits a confession from the girl's mother, herself a victim of childhood abuse. Later, a tearful Munch tells Olivia the victim reminded him of an abused girl he wished he could have saved when he was a teenager.We salute a fine performance by Richard Belzer in Special Victims Unit season 2 episode 4 "Legacy." Our guest is Bob Ruff from the "Truth and Justice" podcast.This episode is inspired by the real-life case of Elisa Izquierdo.