Episode 225 - Touch the Mule

About this episode

This episode explores how media coverage can distort the truth in crime cases.

They say "if it bleeds, it leads," but what happens when the blood is eclipsed by the spectacle? In this episode, we’re peeling back the curtain on the cases that stopped being about justice and started being about the ratings. From cable news talking heads to the digital mob, we examine how media frenzies distort the truth, turn victims into props, and transform crime scenes into pop culture events. Grab your popcorn—the court of public opinion is now in session. Research links below! EBSCO - "Halls-Mills murder case" A Little History - "New revelations in the Hall-Mills murder mystery" TIME - "Under The Crabapple Tree" The New York Times - "J.E. STRICKER DIES AFTER AND OPERATION; Former Middlesex Prosecutor Began Investigation of Hall-Mills Mystery. SIXTH DEATH DURING INQUIRY Rumor of Suicide Unfounded -- Death In Hospital Due to Peritonitis" Evening Courier - "All Charges Dropped in Hall-Mills Case" Press of Atlantic City - "Henry Carpender Dies; Was In Hall-Mills Case" The New York Times - "'Not Guilty' is Verdict in Hall Case: Plan to Free Prisoners on Bail Today and Probably Quash All Other Charges" Library of Congress - "Trials of the Century: 1900 to 1950" PBS - "Murder…

People in this episode

Host: The Bad Taste Crime Podcast

Topics covered

• media frenzies
• true crime
• justice
• pop culture
• public opinion
• victims

Keywords

• media
• crime
• justice
• pop culture
• victims
• ratings
• public opinion

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: EBSCO, A Little History, TIME, The New York Times, Evening Courier, Press of Atlantic City, Library of Congress, PBS, Famous Trials, Historical Society of the New York Courts

Books & works: Halls-Mills murder case, New revelations in the Hall-Mills murder mystery, Under The Crabapple Tree, Trials of the Century: 1900 to 1950, Murder of the Century, The Trials of Harry Thaw for the Murder of Stanford White

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