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PODCAST

You Can’t Make This Up

The incredible real stories behind the making of the biggest documentary series & films on Netflix. Host Rebecca Lavoie leads in-depth interviews with creators and subjects, exploring how these stories are produced & their impact, while uncovering new information. New episodes every Wednesday.

tv & film film interviews

All Episodes

29:19

Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2021/03/24

You’ve probably heard a lot about the 2019 college admission scandal, but you haven’t heard everything. Operation Varsity Blues goes beyond the celebrity-driven headlines with real conversations from FBI wiretaps. The film offers a rare glimpse of the man at the center of the scandal, Rick Singer, and the methods he used to help his wealthy clients cheat a system already designed to benefit the privileged. Our host Rebecca Lavoie is joined by two guests in this episode, Jon Karmen (the film’s

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43:03

Murder Among the Mormons

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2021/03/10

A note to listeners: This episode contains spoilers. So make sure to watch the entire series and then, listen on. In Salt Lake City in 1985, a trio of pipe bombings killed two people. The murders sent shockwaves through the Mormon Church when a trove of historically controversial Latter-Day Saints letters was found destroyed in the vehicle of the third victim, a renowned collector of rare documents. As he fights for his life, investigators raced to uncover the truth. “Murder Among the Mormons” is

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38:19

Crime Scene: The Vanishing at The Cecil Hotel

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2021/02/19

For nearly a century, the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles has been linked to some of the city’s most notorious activity — from untimely deaths to housing serial killers. In 2013, college student Elisa Lam vanished while staying as a guest at the hotel. Her disappearance ignited a media frenzy that mobilized a global community of internet sleuths eager to solve the case. In this episode, host Rebecca Lavoie speaks with Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger to discuss

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42:05

The Ripper

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2021/01/27

It was the late 1970s. A serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper cast a dark shadow over the lives of women across England. Over a span of five years, thirteen women were dead and the police seemed incapable of catching the murderer. No one felt safe – and every man was a suspect.

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36:43

Night Stalker: The Hunt for A Serial Killer

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2021/01/20

The mid-1980s was a period of terror in Southern California. A series of random home invasions, sexual assaults, and brutal murders were happening across the region. Men, women, and children of all races and walks of life were victims. Stranger yet, the horrendous methods of killings fit no particular pattern. Some victims were strangled. Some were shot. Some were beaten to death. Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer is the definitive portrait of one of the most disturbing and unpredictable

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28:29

Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2021/01/13

In the early 1980s, the crack epidemic tore through America like a tsunami, ravaging all in its wake. And the destructive effects on people's lives, families, and communities are still deeply felt decades later. “Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy” examines the drug’s devastation, shadowy origins, and the ongoing criminalization of Black and Brown people in U.S. prison and healthcare systems. Rebecca speaks with director Stanley Nelson. This episode contains spoilers. So make sure to watch the

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45:21

Looking Back on 2020: You Can't Make This Up

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2021/01/06

Happy New Year! We are so ready to jump into 2021 but before we do, we want to take a look back at 2020. It really was a year of 'You Can’t Make This Up' moments, and the true-crime titles and conversations were no different. Netflix filmmakers and documentarians consistently delivered original content that intrigued and surprised. They forced viewers to take a second look at crimes that we thought we knew all about from news reports and pop culture. We have much more engaging true crime and

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48:05

Trial 4

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/12/02

In this episode, Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with Trial 4's director Rémy Burkel. This episode contains spoilers so make sure to watch the whole series before listening or reading on. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our guest was not recorded in a studio. We appreciate your understanding of the change in audio quality. Trial 4 is a timely, sweeping story about criminal justice, police power, and systemic racism in America. It documents the history of Sean Ellis, who faced three trials

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46:56

Stolen Kids: Unsolved Mysteries

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/11/23

In 1989, two-year-old Christopher Dansby and 19-month old Shane Walker were abducted from the same Harlem playground within months of each other. Police and locals were put on high alert, but no trace of the missing toddlers was ever found. Three decades later their families have not given up hope. "Stolen Kids" is the final episode of Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 2. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, our host Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with director Jessica Dimmock. Rebecca

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56:28

Lady in the Lake: Unsolved Mysteries

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/11/18

On an icy, winter night nearly 10 years ago, police found 55-year-old JoAnn Romain’s abandoned car outside her church in a Michigan suburb. They assumed she drowned in a nearby lake by suicide. But her body was recovered 70 days later in the Detroit River 35 miles away from where police allege she had entered the water. Her family suspects foul play. They have a list of suspects and will not stop until they find the truth about what happened to their mother. "Lady in the Lake" is the fifth episode

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49:45

Tsunami Spirits: Unsolved Mysteries

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/11/11

Nearly ten years ago, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded devastated the northeastern coast of Japan. It generated a tsunami that at its peak reached 131 feet high. Close to twenty-thousand lives were lost. Twenty-five hundred more remain missing. Then, in one of the worst-hit cities, people began to experience strange phenomena. Taxi drivers spoke of “ghost passengers.” Some even talked of being possessed by lost spirits. A local Buddhist monk claims the tragedy enabled the people

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48:32

Death Row Fugitive: Unsolved Mysteries

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/11/04

In 1965, repeat sex-offender Lester Eubanks confessed to killing 14-year-old Mary Ellen Deener and was sentenced to death. However, Lester's sentence reverted to life in prison when a 1972 Supreme Court ruling abolished the death penalty. While in prison, he joined a program allowing inmates to leave the grounds. Around a year later, while on a Christmas shopping trip to the mall, Eubanks escaped. He remains a fugitive nearly 50 years later. "Death Row Fugitive" is the third episode of Unsolved

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49:31

Death in Oslo: Unsolved Mysteries

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/10/28

When a woman is found dead in a luxury hotel room in Oslo, Norway, it initially appears to be a suicide until several pieces of evidence begin to suggest otherwise. She has no identification. She registered at the hotel under a false name. There was no blood on her hand or the gun that killed her. No one even reported her missing. Who is this woman? Was she murdered? Could she have been part of a secret intelligence operation? Twenty-five years later all these questions, and more, remain unanswered

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62:06

Washington Insider Murder: Unsolved Mysteries

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/10/21

For more than three decades, Unsolved Mysteries engrossed audiences with true tales of missing persons, unsolved murders, and paranormal occurrences - touching on a wide range of stories from UFO sightings to the Kennedy assassinations. Over 260 cold cases have been solved because of tips from viewers of the show. Now, some of the most chilling mysteries are still waiting to be solved in Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 2, now streaming on Netflix. “Washington Insider Murder” is the first episode of

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36:29

American Murder: The Family Next Door

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/09/30

Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary film explores the tragic disappearance of Shanann Watts and her two young daughters in Frederick, Colorado. It becomes clear that Shanann’s husband wasn’t the man he appeared to be. In this episode, Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with the film's director, Jenny Popplewell. This episode contains spoilers so make sure to watch the whole series before listening on. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our guest was recorded in his home and not in a

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36:04

Fear City: New York vs The Mafia

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/09/23

Fear City: New York vs The Mafia, chronicles the rise and fall of New York’s most powerful Mafia families from the perspective of the FBI agents and prosecutors who risked their lives to take them down. In this episode, Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with the director, Sam Hobkinson. This episode contains spoilers so make sure to watch the whole series before listening on. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our guest was recorded in his home and not in a studio. We appreciate your

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34:48

The Social Dilemma

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/09/16

We tweet, we like, and we share — but what are the consequences of our growing dependence on social media? The documentary-drama, The Social Dilemma, explores the dangerous impacts of social networking by talking to the Silicon Valley insiders who know it best. In this episode, Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with the film's director, Jeff Orlowski. This episode contains spoilers so make sure to watch the whole series before listening on. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our guest was

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35:52

World's Most Wanted

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/08/26

The FBI, Interpol, and entire nations are hunting them down. Millions of dollars have been offered for their capture, yet all but one of these fugitives continue to elude justice. Where are they hiding and who is helping them? The docuseries World's Most Wanted, now streaming on Netflix, profiles five individuals suspected of committing some of the world’s most heinous atrocities. In this episode, Rebecca Lavoie (Crime Writers On...) speaks with the Executive Producer of the series, Thomas

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46:25

Missing Witness: Unsolved Mysteries

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/08/05

For over three decades, Unsolved Mysteries engrossed audiences with true tales of missing persons, unsolved murders, and paranormal occurrences - touching on a wide range of stories from UFO sightings to the Kennedy assassinations. Over 260 cold cases were solved because of tips from viewers of the show. Now, the iconic documentary series is on Netflix. “Missing Witness” is the sixth and final episode of volume one of this series. In 2003, Lena Chapin confesses that her mother murdered her missing

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52:14

Berkshires' UFO: Unsolved Mysteries

You Can’t Make This Up ·

2020/07/29

For over three decades, Unsolved Mysteries engrossed audiences with true tales of missing persons, unsolved murders, and paranormal occurrences - touching on a wide range of stories from UFO sightings to the Kennedy assassinations. Over 260 cold cases were solved because of tips from viewers of the show. Now, the iconic documentary series is on Netflix. “Berkshires' UFO” is the fifth episode of this series. Over fifty years ago, townspeople from Berkshire County, Massachusetts were traumatized by

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316 results

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