Shows
A Crime's Ripple EffectKitty Genovese: Her Murder Sparked 911Send us a textOn a cold March night in 1964, twenty-eight-year-old Kitty Genovese was murdered outside her Queens apartment.What followed wasn’t just a crime—it awakened a national sense of responsibility.The headline said thirty-seven people watched and did nothing, but the truth was far more complex.This episode uncovers what really happened on Austin Street—and how one woman’s death sparked the creation of the emergency number that still saves lives today: 911.
2025-11-0351 min
A Crime's Ripple EffectThe Manson EffectSend us a textThe Manson Effect explores how one of America’s most infamous crimes—the 1969 Manson Family murders—did far more than end lives; it rewired an entire nation’s psyche. The podcast examines how the brutal killings of Sharon Tate and others shattered the illusion of peace and love that defined the 1960s, marking the symbolic end of the counterculture era.Through a detailed narrative, it traces the far-reaching ripple effects:the rise of home security and fear-driven culture in American suburbs,the evolution of true crime media and courtroom spectacle,the deve...
2025-10-201h 06
A Crime's Ripple EffectBefore Megan’s Law: The Unknown Danger Across the StreetSend us a textIn July 1994, seven-year-old Megan Kanka walked across the street in her quiet New Jersey neighborhood to see a neighbor’s new puppy. She never came home. What followed would expose the hidden dangers living in plain sight and ignite a nationwide demand for change.This episode traces the path from grief to law, from law to evidence, and from evidence to impact—revealing how one family’s heartbreak led to the creation of Megan’s Law and transformed how America protects its children.
2025-10-1252 min
A Crime's Ripple EffectThe Tragic Origin of “Going Postal”Send us a textOn the morning of August twentieth, nineteen eighty-six, Patrick Henry Sherrill drove to the Edmond, Oklahoma, post office. Police records place him there just before seven a.m., carrying multiple firearms. What followed minted a phrase that reshaped how Americans thought about workplace safety.
2025-10-0145 min
A Crime's Ripple EffectLorena Bobbitt: The Cut That Changed the ConversationSend us a textSensational. Extreme. Shocking. Unbelievable.In 1993, a young wife in America carried out an act that stunned the world—and rattled every man. Behind the sensational headlines lay years of hidden abuse and a justice system that failed to protect her. A Crime’s Ripple Effect uncovers how one desperate night sparked a national reckoning on domestic violence, marital rape, and the systems meant to keep survivors safe.If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available 24/7 at the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800...
2025-09-2345 min
A Crime's Ripple EffectAmber Hagerman: The Abduction That Sparked a MovementSend us a textOn a mild January afternoon in 1996, nine-year-old Amber Hagerman vanished while riding her pink bicycle in Arlington, Texas. What began as a neighborhood search became a nationwide manhunt—and the spark for a system now used around the world. This episode follows the investigation, the heartbreak, and the unstoppable ripple that turned one child’s name into a global alert network that saves lives every day.
2025-09-161h 00
A Crime's Ripple EffectThe Stephanie Roper Case: The murder that gave victims a voice.Send us a textApril 3, 1982. A 22-year-old college senior's car breaks down on a dark rural road in Maryland. What happens next doesn't just destroy one family—it exposes a shocking truth about American justice that will change everything.Stephanie Roper was weeks away from graduating magna cum laude from Frostburg State University. She was talented, beloved, and full of promise. But when two strangers offered to help her that night, her trust became her undoing. The brutal crime that followed was horrific enough. What happened to her family in the courtroom was almost worse....
2025-09-1045 min
A Crime's Ripple EffectDivided by fate. Bound by blood. The Stayner Brothers story that changed our parks.Send us a textTwo brothers. Bound by blood. Divided by fate. Steven Stayner was abducted at seven and held captive for seven years before escaping and returning home—a story that changed how America understood child abduction. His brother Cary would later commit a series of brutal murders near Yosemite, shattering lives and forever altering the park’s sense of safety. In this episode of A Crime’s Ripple Effect, we uncover how one family’s tragedy rippled outward, reshaping America’s national parks and leaving a legacy of both resilience and horror.
2025-08-3043 min
A Crime's Ripple EffectThe Day Childhood Changed – The Disappearance of the Lyons SistersSend us a textOn March 25, 1975, two young sisters—10-year-old Katherine and 12-year-old Sheila Lyons—left their suburban Maryland home to walk to Wheaton Plaza. It was a short trip, one they’d made many times before. They were never seen again.The disappearance of the Lyons Sisters shattered a sense of safety in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. It sparked one of the largest missing child investigations in U.S. history and haunted an entire generation of parents and children. But what happened after the girls vanished? And how did their story ripple outward—into the...
2025-08-2248 min