Spirits with Crime

Ep. 154: Mothers of Monsters- Sue Klebold and Sante Kimes

This week on Spirits with Crime, we’re talking about mothers. Not the Pinterest quote version of motherhood. Not the “a mother always knows” version either. One mother spent the rest of her life wondering what she missed after her son helped carry out one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. Another appeared to spend years shaping her son into a criminal partner willing to lie, steal, and kill alongside her. This episode explores the stories of Sue Klebold and Sante Kimes — two women connected by maternal love, but divided completely by what they did with it. Cheers! Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://www.ted.com/talks/sue_klebold_my_son_was_a_columbine_shooter_this_is_my_story [https://www.ted.com/talks/sue_klebold_my_son_was_a_columbine_shooter_this_is_my_story] https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317243/a-mothers-reckoning-by-sue-klebold/ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317243/a-mothers-reckoning-by-sue-klebold/] https://vault.fbi.gov/columbine-high-school [https://vault.fbi.gov/columbine-high-school] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/15/the-mother-of-columbine-shooter-dylan-klebold-breaks-her-17-year-silence/ [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/15/the-mother-of-columbine-shooter-dylan-klebold-breaks-her-17-year-silence/] https://www.theatlantic.com/search/?q=columbine [https://www.theatlantic.com/search/?q=columbine] https://www.nytimes.com/topic/subject/columbine-high-school-shootings [https://www.nytimes.com/topic/subject/columbine-high-school-shootings] https://murderpedia.org/female.K/k/kimes-sante.htm [https://murderpedia.org/female.K/k/kimes-sante.htm] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/enabling [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/enabling] https://www.apa.org/ [https://www.apa.org/]

Ep. 153: Do What Thou Wilt (Terms & Conditions Apply)- Aleister Crowley

What makes a dangerous idea irresistible? This week on Spirits with Crime, we follow Aleister Crowley: Victorian occultist, self-declared prophet, and the man a British tabloid called the wickedest man alive. We trace his rise from a suffocating religious upbringing through the secret society halls of the Golden Dawn, across the Mediterranean to a crumbling Sicilian commune, and into the psychology of why intelligent people hand their loyalty to dangerous leaders. This episode asks the question that feels more relevant every year: Are we following dark prophets because they possess truth, or because they offer permission? The ritual awaits. Cheers! Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-39568-3 [http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-39568-3] www.britannica.com/topic/soma-Hinduism [http://www.britannica.com/topic/soma-Hinduism] www.rbth.com/blogs/stranger_than_fiction/2017/01/09/how-russian-scientists-cracked-the-secret-of-a-riga-veda-era-drink_676758 [http://www.rbth.com/blogs/stranger_than_fiction/2017/01/09/how-russian-scientists-cracked-the-secret-of-a-riga-veda-era-drink_676758] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_of_Thelema [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_of_Thelema] sicilianmagpie.com/en/thelema-abbey [http://sicilianmagpie.com/en/thelema-abbey] www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks/article/New-Book-Shares-True-Story-of-Arthur-Conan-Doyle-and-the-Paranormal-20160314 [http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks/article/New-Book-Shares-True-Story-of-Arthur-Conan-Doyle-and-the-Paranormal-20160314] www.doingsofdoyle.com/2024/05/global-conan-doyle-launching-edinburgh.html [http://www.doingsofdoyle.com/2024/05/global-conan-doyle-launching-edinburgh.html] plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NXIVM [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NXIVM] www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html [http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html] www.doingsofdoyle.com/2024/05/global-conan-doyle-launching-edinburgh.html [http://www.doingsofdoyle.com/2024/05/global-conan-doyle-launching-edinburgh.html] www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html [http://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html] www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html [http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html]

Ep. 152: The Shape of a Confession Part 2

A confession should settle a case. But what happens when the confession becomes the question? This week on Spirits with Crime, we continue one of the most controversial cases in modern true crime, following the interrogation of Brendan Dassey, the trial that followed, and the legal battle that forced unsettling questions about suggestion, memory, and whether a story can be shaped in real time. The conclusion of this case will absolutely have you reeling, and questioning when a confession reflects truth and when might it reflect pressure instead. Cheers! Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://famous-trials.com/avery/2749-dasseyconfession [https://famous-trials.com/avery/2749-dasseyconfession] https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/ [https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/] https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/03/false-confessions [https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/03/false-confessions] https://famous-trials.com/avery/2749-dasseyconfession [https://famous-trials.com/avery/2749-dasseyconfession] https://www.wicourts.gov [https://www.wicourts.gov] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/the-confessions/ [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/the-confessions/] https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/ [https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/ [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/] https://www.workwithkz.com/ [https://www.workwithkz.com/] https://apnews.com/ [https://apnews.com/] https://www.chicagotribune.com/ [https://www.chicagotribune.com/] Making a Murderer Netflix Docuseries

Ep. 151: The Shape of a Confession- The Steven Avery Case Part 1

What if the most convincing part of a case… isn’t actually the truth? We trust confessions. We rely on them, and sometimes we build entire cases around them. But what happens when a confession isn’t as solid as it seems? In this Part 1 of 2 episodes of Spirits with Crime, we explore a case that sits at the center of that question. A question where perception, pressure, and a carefully constructed narrative may have shaped something far more fragile than it appears. And it all starts with one man and his family. Cheers! Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://www.doj.state.wi.us/ [https://www.doj.state.wi.us/] https://innocenceproject.org/cases/steven-avery/ [https://innocenceproject.org/cases/steven-avery/] https://www.wicourts.gov/ [https://www.wicourts.gov/] https://www.chicagotribune.com/ [https://www.chicagotribune.com/] https://www.nytimes.com/ [https://www.nytimes.com/] https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1258&context=cplpej [https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1258&context=cplpej] https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/43m92u/did_gene_kusche_actually_trace_steven_averys/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/43m92u/did_gene_kusche_actually_trace_steven_averys/] https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=300 [https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=300] https://wislawjournal.com/ [https://wislawjournal.com/] https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/us/dna-frees-wisconsin-man-after-18-years.html [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/us/dna-frees-wisconsin-man-after-18-years.html]

Ep. 150: Fairy Unbelievable- The Cottingley Fairies

What would it take for you to believe in fairies? In 1917, two young girls from a small village in Yorkshire answered that question for the entire world, with a camera.  This week, we’re diving into the story of the Cottingley Fairies; the picture that captivated Arthur Conan Doyle and a grief-stricken post-war world. We’re also getting into the dark side of fairy folklore that nobody talks about, and why the need to believe in something magical might be one of the most human things there is.  Grab your favorite elderflower mix and meet me by the stream. Cheers! Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies] https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Fairies-of-Cottingley/ [https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Fairies-of-Cottingley/] https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cottingleys-scientific-fairies-and-enchanting-technology/ [https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cottingleys-scientific-fairies-and-enchanting-technology/] https://photographyproject.uk/research/elsie-wright-the-cottingley-fairies-a-great-photographic-hoax/ [https://photographyproject.uk/research/elsie-wright-the-cottingley-fairies-a-great-photographic-hoax/] https://medium.com/university-of-leeds/the-cottingley-fairies-a-study-in-deception-2ab08b8cafb0 [https://medium.com/university-of-leeds/the-cottingley-fairies-a-study-in-deception-2ab08b8cafb0] https://qz.com/911990/the-cottingley-fairy-hoax-of-1917-is-a-case-study-in-how-smart-people-lose-control-of-the-truth [https://qz.com/911990/the-cottingley-fairy-hoax-of-1917-is-a-case-study-in-how-smart-people-lose-control-of-the-truth] https://library.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/1000/library/132/fooled-by-fairies [https://library.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/1000/library/132/fooled-by-fairies] https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-cottingley-fairies-a-study-in-deception-leeds-university-library-galleries/lgVB6Ceti9WVAw [https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-cottingley-fairies-a-study-in-deception-leeds-university-library-galleries/lgVB6Ceti9WVAw] https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Coming_of_the_Fairies [https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Coming_of_the_Fairies] https://www.realyorkshireblog.com/post/the-cottingley-fairies-the-photographs-that-fooled-the-world-for-60-years [https://www.realyorkshireblog.com/post/the-cottingley-fairies-the-photographs-that-fooled-the-world-for-60-years] https://allthatsinteresting.com/changeling [https://allthatsinteresting.com/changeling] https://longreads.com/2018/06/08/fairy-scapegoats-a-history-of-the-persecution-of-changeling-children/ [https://longreads.com/2018/06/08/fairy-scapegoats-a-history-of-the-persecution-of-changeling-children/] https://folklorethursday.com/folktales/unchanging-appeal-changelings/ [https://folklorethursday.com/folktales/unchanging-appeal-changelings/] https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/changelings-fairy-thefts-of-human-children/ [https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/changelings-fairy-thefts-of-human-children/] https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/history-elder-tree-deities-dryads-shakespeare-j-k-rowling-197720 [https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/history-elder-tree-deities-dryads-shakespeare-j-k-rowling-197720] https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2019/02/17/fairies-and-elder-trees/ [https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2019/02/17/fairies-and-elder-trees/] https://seedsistas.co.uk/2023/11/24/myth-magic-and-folklore-of-the-elder-tree/ [https://seedsistas.co.uk/2023/11/24/myth-magic-and-folklore-of-the-elder-tree/] https://wildhunt.org/2020/02/column-faery-lore-of-the-elder-tree.html [https://wildhunt.org/2020/02/column-faery-lore-of-the-elder-tree.html]