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

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.

Pop singer Dallas is found beaten in her home while her rap star husband Snake is on stage. As a child, Snake's family took Fin into their home after Mrs. Tutuola  was murdered.  Carisi and Rollins learn a rival rapper (played by Snoop Dogg) threatened the couple on his latest single. The trail eventually leads Benson to a music fan, but Fin figures out the attack was not about obsession...it was about revenge.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 20 episode 22 "Diss." Our guest is Gianmarco Soresi of "The Downside" podcast.Certain plot points were taken from the October 2016 robbery of Kim Kardashian.

The admissions director at an elite kindergarten is murdered. Briscoe and Green learn she wanted to admit a gifted Black girl, but the headmaster overruled the decision  and gave the slot to the son of a pornographer. Southerlyn discovers the pornographer scratched the back of a cement supplier who scratched the back of a real estate developer who got the headmaster an expensive apartment. McCoy tells the jury the admissions director was about to expose the arrangement when she was killed.We're talking about Law & Order season 13 episode 20 "Kid Pro Quo." Our guest is Joshua Unruh from the "In the Gutter" podcast.This episode is inspired by the controversy around business tycoon Sandy Weill and the 92nd St Y.

To mark the passing of actor Richard Belzer, we revisit our discussion of the actor from an October 2017 episode.

Benson and Stabler investigate the brutal murder of a teen found in a car trunk. The detectives learn the victim was a popular girl who was bullying a classmate, but suspicion soon turns to her clique of friends. The motive is jealousy over a boy, and the other mean girls turn on the queen bee who put them up to the killing. While Novak gets justice in the courtroom, the bullied student gets instant justice in the classroom.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 5 episode 17 "Mean." Our returning guest is Sonia Sells. This episode is inspired by the brutal 1992 murder of twelve-year-old Shanda Sharer. 

A Hudson University student who'd been making money selling term papers is found dead. Elliot and Fin trace Caroline's diamond ring to a football player who lost it to her in a poker game. They learn she was a high-rolling card shark, and her lifelong friend and poker-cheating partner Adam admits to strangling Caroline for running up a huge debt.Seeing a bit of himself in Adam, Stabler feels sympathy for the killer. The defense says his gambling addiction was to blame, but Novak discovers his motivation was the money needed to keep his rich girlfriend from dumping him.We're taking you to school for Special Victims Unit season 7 episode 17 "Class." Our guest is Lani Diane Rich from the "How Story Works" podcast. This episode takes some cues from the cheating scandal around Walmart heiress Elizabeth Paige Laurie.

Fontana and Green look into the murder of a mob accountant. When his widow (Amy Ryan) messes up on the witness stand, the burglar who killed him is acquitted. Later the victim's best friend, a former cop, shoots him. McCoy and Borgia aren't buying his claim it was self-defense. He threatens to lie on the stand about planting evidence in past murder cases, jeopardizing dozens of convictions. To get a guilty verdict, Jack grants the widow immunity to testify...when she discloses the revenge killing was her plan all along.We're talking about Law & Order season 16 episode 12 "Family Friend." Our guest is Shadow and Bone and Hell Bent author Leigh Bardugo.This episode takes cues from the evidence planting scandal for New York State Police Troop C.

The rape and murder of an office worker leads Benson and Stabler to a former company security guard (Chad Lowe) who's eager to get into the police academy. With advice from newly-arrived Dr. George Huang, Elliot channels his misogyny to learn more about the suspect's relationship with the victim. Meanwhile, Olivia discovers he likes two things: pricking women's butts with hatpins and sleeping with his mother (Margot Kidder). We're talking about the creeptastic Special Victims Unit season 2 episode 20 "Pique." Our guest is Sarah D. Bunting from the Extra Hot Great podcast.This episode takes some cues from the 1990 crime spree by a suspect dubbed "the Dart Man."

Briscoe and Curtis investigate the killing of a Central Park jogger. Her husband is the sleazy Michael Dobson (played with relish by Larry Miller), a club owner who tricked McCoy into dropping charges of murdering his first wife in an earlier episode. The hit man has connections to Dobson...but also to the mobster who Dobson owes money to. Is he guilty or not? McCoy and Kincaid fear he'll skate again for killing wife number two...until they unravel the mystery with the woman in line to be wife number three.We're talking about Law & Order season 6 episode 15 "Encore." Our guest is author and Emmy winner Edward Zuckerman, who also wrote this classic mothership episode.Plot points for this episode come from the murder of Maria Isabel Monteiro Alves.Check out Edward's new book, Wealth Management, a novel.

After a janitor (Peter Scanavino) assaults a coach he thought was molesting boys, Benson and Amaro look into the perpetrator's own abuse as a child at summer camp. They learn several of Coach Schultz's (Ed Asner) campers are now violent criminals, including death row inmate Reggie Rhodes (Mike Tyson). Olivia tries to get Reggie to disclose his abuse so they can build a case against Schultz. Meanwhile, civil rights attorney Bayard Ellis (Andre Braugher) uncovers misconduct that might get Reggie a stay of execution.An all-star cast populates Special Victims Unit season 14 episode 13 "Monster's Legacy." Our guest is Karyn Cooper from the Chick-Lit podcast.This episode takes some plot points from the case of Mark Valera. 

Benson and Stabler look for whomever broke into the Hudson cryobank and stole a tank of frozen embryos. As the clock ticks down on how long until the fertilized eggs perish, Olivia's biological clock is ticking even louder. The religious zealot behind the plot takes his case to the press at New York's most dangerous location: the courthouse steps.We're revisiting one of our favorite episodes: SVU season 9 episode 14 "Inconceivable." Our guests are Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy from the "Civics 101" podcast. The story takes cues from the real-life case of Ashley X. This show was recorded in front of a live audience at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage in Concord, NH. 

A youth hockey coach is found beaten to death. Briscoe and Green question a player who'd complained about not getting enough time on the ice, but discover it was his hot-headed father who delivered the fatal blows. McCoy and Carmichael seek a conviction, but the defense is claiming insanity. They say it's "sports rage."We're talking about Law & Order season 11 episode 8 "Thin Ice." Our returning guest is Mark Blankenship from the "Mark and Sarah Talk About Songs" podcast.This episode is inspired by the ripped-from-the-headlines case of Michael Costin.

Picking up a storyline from season 14, Lewis Hodda (again played by Tom Sizemore) recants his previous confessions to kidnapping and murdering boys. Barba's circumstantial case is hurt by accusations Lieutenant Benson coerced the confession, by a creepy auxiliary cop's obsession with the case, by Dr. Huang's testimony for the defense, and by Detective Carisi sitting second chair in court. Meantime, maternity staff rush to save Rollins's life because of complications during labor.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 17 episode 9* "Depravity Standard." Our guest is Kimberly from "A Date with Dateline" podcast.This episode is inspired by the real life story of Etan Pates.*Note: Because of a two-part season opener, some streaming services list this as episode 8.

A teen dies from drinking too much at a party.  High school tutor Becca lead Benson and Stabler to the cool kids who threw the bash and who can't follow Judge Donnelly's orders to stop drinking. The detectives discover Becca's mom is sleeping with one of the boys and suspect she's been supplying the booze. Can Novak use Becca's secret drinking problem to get mom to confess? Meantime, Elliot solves all of Kathleen's problems by burning her drivers license. We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 8 episode 18 "Responsible." Our guest is Rebekah Sebastian from the "Die-alogue" podcast.  This episode takes some plot points from the case of Debra Lafave. This show was recorded in front of a live audience in Columbus, Ohio. 

Green and Lupo investigate the murder of a lawyer whose opponent was suing a dry cleaner for $20 million for giving him the wrong pants. The other trousers belong to a SavingsMart executive who'll do anything to hide his office affair and save his job.  Van Buren's old boss, now SavingsMart's head of security, lies on the stand to sabotage the murder case. Why? Cutter and Rubirosa learn the suspect is blackmailing the company over their purchase of Chinese toothpaste filled with deadly antifreeze.  We're talking about original recipe Law & Order season 18 episode 4 "Bottomless." Our guest is popculture.com writer Daniel S. Levine.This episode takes cues from the 2007 lawsuit of Pearson v. Chung.

A homicidal rapist is shot in self-defense by a prostitute (Sharon Lawrence). Munch and Fin learn the gun was used in connection with a string of unsolved murders of johns. When Stabler tries to interrogate her, the woman climbs on the table and gives him a peek up her dress. Cabot fights with Lewin to seek the death penalty, but Benson uncovers a secret about her child that forces the defendant to rethink her position.We're getting an eyeful of Special Victims Unit season 4 episode 1 "Chameleon." Our special guest is Ronald Young Jr. from the Leaving the Theater podcast.This episode is inspired by the story of Aileen Wournos.

Goren and Bishop search for clues after someone poisons churchgoers on a secluded island.  They believe it's connected to the fatal drowning caused by a sabotaged rowboat and a gonorrhea outbreak from teen sex parties. The detectives home in on the reverend's charming nephew and a group of impressionable girls. During interrogation, Goren gets in the teen's face...and he gets in Goren's.We're talking about Law & Order: Criminal Intent season 3 episode 8 "Sound Bodies." Our guest is Katie Mitchell from the podcast A Date with Dateline.This episode is inspired by the 2003 case of poisoning at a church in New Sweden, Maine.

A domestic violence victim keeps letting her abuser back into her life, until she stabs him to death. Even though he's still on the outs with Benson, Barba agrees to defend the woman. After the trial, the two have a frank conversation about Olivia's feelings for Stabler and Barba's feelings for her.We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 23 episode 22 "A Final Call at Forlini's Bar." Our guest is Princess Weekes from PBS's "It's Lit" and the Netflix "Geeked" podcasts.Some plot points for this episode were taken from the 2010 case of Marissa Alexander.