Randy Stair secretly identified as a female for years. She ditched her given name for the pseudonym Andrew Blaze and also ditched the YouTube channel she had worked on for a large part of her life to pursue animation. The cartoons she created w

Episode 92

2 1 Jun 19th, 2017 1h 5m

The love of a mother is something many of us take for granted, but when it's not present during the early formative years the results can be disastrous. This is what Edmund Kemper suggests happened to him. A serial killer who enjoyed murdering

Episode 7

1 1 Feb 12th, 2014 1h 11m

"White House Boy" Roger Dean Kiser tells us the story of his personal hell. To him, this world which anyone would consider a living hell was just normal everyday life. The way he describes this upbringing is so brutally honest and matter-of-fac

Episode 4

1 2 Jan 22nd, 2014 53m 37s

On Friday, October 5th 2012, 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway disappeared on her way to school. This is the story of what happened to her and how the suburban city of Westminster coped with the aftermath, including the perpetrator's chilling confes

Episode 170

3 2 Sep 21st, 2020 58m 40s

The world had a conniption when news headlines announced “Kevin Bacon-Murdered!” just before the new year. As more details came out, it was clear that the victim of this murder was not the actor known for the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game.

Episode 2

2 Jan 8th, 2014 1h 8m

Psychopaths are all around us. Who are they? What are they? What makes them feel no empathy for other human beings, seeing them only as objects to manipulate and control? In Episode 2 of Sword and Scale, we examine these questions and hear from

Episode 96

1 Aug 6th, 2017 1h 1m

There's a lot that can go wrong in this organ we call the human brain, which we don't fully understand. It's important for all of us to be much more aware of the red flags so that we can prevent tragedies like this one from happening.We examine

Episode 82

4 2 Dec 17th, 2016 1h

When you dial those three numbers on your phone, you expect that someone will help you. However, as with all matters involving humans, sometimes things can go wrong. In this season-finale episode, we speak with 13-year emergency dispatch vetera

Episode 186

1 May 2nd, 2021 1h 24m

In October of 2005, empty nesters Dennis and Norma Woodruff were found shot and stabbed to death in their Texas home. With a lack of physical evidence and leads, police fixated on the couple’s 19-year-old son Brandon as their killer when they f

Episode 175

1 1 Dec 5th, 2020 1h 32m

Clark Fredericks was born with a hole in his heart. 46 years later, he was arrested for repeatedly stabbing and killing a retired police lieutenant in the small town of Stillwater, New Jersey. What led Clark to commit such a violent act, and wh

Episode 167

Aug 2nd, 2020 1h 2m

The lives of Kevin and Marina Krim were forever changed on October 25th, 2012. All of New York City was suddenly rethinking their caregivers. “Is the person taking care of mom, dad, the dog, or the baby actually safe? What are the chances we co

Episode 66

May 8th, 2016 1h 4m

When someone secretly means to do you harm, there's a good chance they will succeed. When you are a celebrity or public figure of some kind, you become much more vulnerable to attack because of the nature of public life. Your whereabouts are of

Episode 1

3 1 Jan 1st, 2014 56m 25s

In this debut episode of Sword and Scale, author Janice Holly Booth tells the story of Bruce Blackman's slip into the dark depths of schizophrenia and the horrible result it caused to him and his family. This tale is based on the true events th

Episode 5

1 2 Jan 29th, 2014 54m 27s

Imagine a criminal conspiracy and cover-up so so massive in scale, involving the highest levels of government and industry, that it threatens the very fabric of the American system. Now imagine that the crimes of this criminal syndicate are so

Episode 8

1 Feb 19th, 2014 1h 4m

This week the true-crime media has been abuzz reporting the verdict of the Michael Dunn "Loud Music Murder Trial." On Sword and Scale we do things a little different, so we'll let you get your fill of that case from other media outlets while we

Episode 202

1 Nov 15th, 2021 1h 11m

In late October of 2017, two deer hunters discovered a naked and rotting human corpse in the Bruneau Desert near Grand View, Idaho. An autopsy later confirmed that the human remains were that of an 18 to 20-year-old male and that he had been sh

Episode 13

Apr 16th, 2014 1h 9m

This week we're joined by former ex-inmate Glenn Langohr, who spent 10 years behind bars at some of California's toughest level 4 prisons, before reinventing himself as a best-selling author. His latest book, Prison Riot, takes the reader throu

Episode 9

Feb 26th, 2014 51m 6s

If you had to choose a method of execution for yourself, which would you choose? What if you learned that what is considered the most "humane" method of execution is probably the most painful? We discuss the controversy behind lethal injections

Episode 3

1 Jan 15th, 2014 1h 1m

It's really true that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. This week we examine the fascinating topic of female serial killers, including the tale of Belle Gunness - a woman who makes Ted Bundy look like an amateur. Although the town of La P

Episode 65

1 Apr 23rd, 2016 1h 16m

Sometimes the monsters are not only in our homes, but they are the ones closest to us: our mother or father, brother or sister. To a young child living in an environment where a depraved individual lurks can be terrifying. In this episode we wi

Episode 265

Jun 3rd, 2024 1h 5m

Sunday, February 1, 2004 was Superbowl XXXVIII, a game between the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots. Sarasota Springs, a medium-sized community in Florida, was celebrating the game like most other American towns: with beer, food,

Episode 260

Mar 25th, 2024 1h 7m

A group of kids playing with a mysterious app called Randonautica follow its directions to Alki Beach in West Seattle. There they find a strange black suitcase on the rocks below the pier. Intrigued, they open the case to reveal a putrid smell.

Episode 257

1 Feb 5th, 2024 1h 31m

Sue Taynor was worried about her 21-year-old daughter, Jessica Sacco. She was bipolar, depressed, and vulnerable, having just gotten out of a bad relationship. When Jessica moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Urbana, Ohio, she began to open h

Episode 249

1 Sep 24th, 2023 1h 19m

On Mother’s Day weekend of 2018, a hairdresser named Joleen Cummings was reported missing after she failed to pick up her kids from their father. Soon Joleen’s car was found in a Home Depot parking lot and the mystery behind her vanishing would

Episode 247

Aug 28th, 2023 1h 19m

On the day before Halloween, sisters Ashlee and Lisa Rucker were shot in the head inside their Florida condominium. There were four witnesses in the apartment, but only one truly knew what happened. Soon the world would find out who was respons