SVU: The father locks the children up...except to go bowling

SVU s19 e20 “The Book of Esther”

“I’VE BEEN ON THIS SHOW A VERY LONG TIME. I ALREADY KNOW THIS IS NOT GOING TO END WELL.”

SVU tries to help a malnourished girl on a train who'd been locked up with her eight siblings by her religious father. Amanda discovers the children only get to leave the home to go bowling, and her actions lead to a deadly shootout. 

We're talking about SVU season 19 episode 20 "The Book of Esther." Our guest is the actress who played Esther in this episode, Rebekah Kennedy.

This episode is based on the ripped-from-the-headlines story of the Turpin family.

L&O: Cynthia Nixon is a subway vigilante!

Law & Order S1 E2 “Subterranean Homeboy Blues”

I’m sorry. Did you say something about “Miranda”?

Celebrating Law & Order's 30th anniversary!

Greevey & Logan investigate gunfire on a crowded subway train. A white woman says she shot two Black teens because they were trying to rape her. But Stone & Robinette learn the woman had been attacked before and believe this time she was the one looking for trouble.

We're going back to where this whole damn thing began. We're discussing Law & Order season 1 episode 2 "Subterranean Homeboy Blues." Our guest is Mark Blankenship from the "Mark and Sarah Talk About Songs" podcast.

This episode is based on the 1984 subway shooting by Bernard Goetz.

Is it time to "cancel" Law & Order?

Season 4 review

It’s 2020. How you like us now?

Before we begin season five of "These Are Their Stories," here's a look back at the best moments, Hey It's That Guys, and Ripped from the Headlines from the past year. We'll hear from past guests Steven Pappas, Katie Mitchel, Issac Butler, Lani Diane Rich, Lawrence Tucker, Lauren Milberger, Katie Mitchel, Tracey Furgeson, Diana Goodman, Nick Cappodice, Carolyn Paine, Mary Philips-Sandy, Kelly Jones, Aviv Rubenstein, and Si Frater.

Then, among criticism that cop shows have had a detrimental effect on the public's tolerance for police misconduct, we talk with Georgetown professor and L&O superfan Marcia Chatelain about whether it's time to "cancel" Law & Order, et al.

SVU: Hilary Duff didn't kill that baby! Measles did!

SVU s10 E19 “Selfish”

Just cuz I buried my daughter in a lot and then partied all weekend after doesn’t mean I’m a bad mother. CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE!

Baby Sierra is missing and her young mom is off partying. Yes, she buried the girl's body in an abandoned lot, but Olivia and Elliot don't arrest her. Instead they bust the anti-vaxxing mom whose kid gave Sierra measles and charge her with murder.

We're looking at a classic SVU, season 10 episode 19 "Selfish." Our guest is Anita Flores from "I'm Listening: A Frasier podcast."

This episode is inspired by the murder of Caylee Anthony. 

SVU: He's making CLONE BABIES!

SVU S4 E24 “Perfect”

“You’re wearing masks to prevent the spread of germs! How very 2020 of you.”

A girl shot in an alley leads Benson and Stabler to creepy Dr. Lang's school, where all the students were thought to be missing or kidnapped. What's he need all these teens for? He's fertilizing them with the clones of rich parents' dead kids. 

We're talking about SVU season 4 episode 24 "Perfect." Our guest is Jaimie Beebe from the Strictly Stalking podcast. 

This episode takes plot points from the death of Lisa McPherson.

L&O Did he use 9/11 as cover for his lover’s murder?

Law & Order s13 e5 “The Ring”

“Things might look bad now, but you’re going to win an Oscar in 15 years and I’ll just be on ‘The Newsroom.’”

Kelly supposedly died on 9/11, but her skeleton is discovered in Midtown. Did the son of a powerful politician kill his lover on September tenth, cut off her hand, leave it at Ground Zero, then bury the body somewhere else to save his marriage? Serena's got this one in the bag.

For our 100th EPISODE OF THESE ARE THEIR STORIES we're talking about Law & Order season 13 episode 5 "The Ring." Our special guest is the author of Shadow and Bone (soon to be a Netflix series) Leigh Bardugo. 

The episode is based on the ripped-from-the-headlines story of Sneha Anne Philip.

CI: Who threw the violinist down the opera house air shaft?

Criminal Intent S5 E16 Dramma Giocosa

I’m going to do that thing where I pretend to not violate on the Constitutional rights of the defendant and you’re going to do the 2006 thing and pretend not to care.

Who killed the young musician by tossing her from the roof at intermission? Her lover, the temperamental conductor? Her mother, the prima donna opera singer? Logan and Barek have to deal with false teeth, cocaine-covered costumes, and Mad Cow Disease to solve the crime.

We're looking at Criminal Intent season 5 episode 16 Dramma Giacosa.

Our returning guest is Sarah D. Bunting from The Blotter Presents podcast.

This episode is inspired by the ripped-from-the-headlines crime known as "The Murder at the Met."

L&O: The only way to get him back from Israel is prove he's Irish

Law & Order S11 E5 “Return”

“You want us goyim to do what? Oy vey!”

Detectives learn a Jewish man paid to have his father's business partner killed, but when Briscoe and Green go to arrest him they learn he's fled to Israel. The Law of Return protects him from extradition, so Carmichael pleads her case in Rabbinical court in an effort to prove he's actually Irish. A shonda!

We're not completely comfortable with Law & Order season 11 episode 5 "Return." Our guest is Michal Schick of the Nice Jewish Fangirls podcast.

This episode is based on the ripped-from-the-headlines case of Samuel Sheinbein.

SVU: A child dies of neglect! Arrest the caseworkers!

SVU S17 E4 “Institutional Fail”

“You think I’m impressed with your Tony Award, Esparza? When you win an Oscar, a Grammy, and an Emmy too, look me up.”

A child dies after her mother locks her in a cage. Why didn't the Department of Child Services know what was going on? Convinced of a cover-up, Benson gets Barba to charge the caseworkers (including Whoopi Goldberg) with manslaughter. 

We're talking about SVU season 17 episode 4* "Institutional Fail."

Our special guest is Nigel Poor from the Ear Hustle podcast. This story is inspired by the ripped-from-the-headlines case of Nixzmary Brown.

*Note: because of the two-part season 17 opener, some streaming services list this as episode 3.

SVU: The suspect says he got his mistress pregnant from a handy

SVU S14 E7 “Vanity’s Bonfire”

“I walked in and the stalker who had my baby is dead on the floor. I’m just as surprised as you.”

The crazy playground lady steals a baby. Turns out she was its biological mother. Is the father a married man and prominent legal scholar? He says there was only one way it could have happened...

This is a classic podcast episode about a classic SVU episode. We're talking about SVU season 14 episode 7 "Vanity's Bonfire." Our guest is Sarah D. Bunting.

This episode is inspired by the sex scandal of presidential candidate John Edwards.

This podcast episode originally aired in October 2016.

UK: There's a Law & Order series in the UK?

Law & Order: UK S1 E4 “Unsafe”

“We’re the British Briscoe and Logan. Guess which is which.”

The discovery of a body casts doubts about the guilt of the man serving time for the murder. With his conviction overturned, he's now out for the prosecutor who put him behind bars in the first place. 

In this special podcast, we're looking at Law & Order:UK, season 1 episode 4 "Unsafe." The British episodes are based on original recipe scripts; this one mirrors L&O season 4 episode 8 "American Dream." 

Our guest is Ana Anderson from the Crime by the Bar podcast. The ripped-from-the-headlines case that inspired both episodes is the Billionaire Boys Club. 

SVU: They arrest a guy with an eye-patch for spreading HIV

SVU S11 E11 “Quickie”

“Blasted in the face with acid because I intentionally gave women HIV? I’m going to have to update my FaceUnion profile pic.”

Benson and Stabler cross paths with an HIV-positive man who's infecting women on purpose. He's cleared in a murder case and cleared in a rape, so instead the elite squad charge him with spreading the disease.

We're talking about SVU season 11 episode 11 "Quickie." Our guest is Brandie Posey from the Lady to Lady podcast. 

This episode is inspired by the real-life case of Nushawn Williams. 

L&O: an Abu Ghraib guard is murdered and Fontana joins the squad

Law & Order S15 E1 “Paradigm”

“Nice to meet you. I was about to say something racially insensitive. You guys okay with that?”

Green and Van Buren aren't sure what to make of Briscoe's replacement, Joe Fontana. On their first case, a reservist who'd been a guard at Abu Ghraib is murdered and their suspect declares herself a prisoner of war. 

We're looking back at a milestone episode, Law & Order season 15 episode 1 "Paradigm." Our guest is Tracey Ferguson from the Docs That Rock podcast.

(Spoiler: Tracey played the victim in this episode.)

The show takes cues from the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison. 

SVU: She killed her drunk mom because of PMS

SVU S6 E19 “Intoxicated”

“We know there’s a dead body in here. The door is unlocked and it’s quiet. The only question is where is it?”

Mom didn't want her teen having sex with a 21-year-old man. That's how she wound up dead in the kitchen. Her daughter says she bashed her head in because of her severe form of PMS.

We're looking at SVU season 6 episode 19 Intoxicated. Our guest is Lauren Milberger from FYI: the Murphy Brown podcast.

This episode is inspired by the ripped-from-the-headlines case of Vicki Robinson. 

L&O: The fertility doctor was using his own sperm!

Law & Order S5 E15 “Seed”

And you weren’t suspicious when the doctor came in all sweaty saying, “Here’s my special taint paint just for you”?

Logan and Briscoe think a fertility doctor is scamming women into believing they’re pregnant. Then McCoy and Kincaid learn he’s been using his own baby batter to inseminate his patients.

It’s a sticky situation in Law & Order season 5 episode 15 “Seed.” Our guest is Dr. Kelly Jones from the How Story Works Conversations podcast. 

This episode is based on the ripped-from-the-headlines case of Dr. Cecil Jacobson.

SVU: Barba kills a baby and leaves the show

SVU S19 E13 “The Undiscovered Country”

They’re trying me for murder, but Peter Stone’s prosecuting the case, so how bad could it really be?

Inserting himself in an infant’s right-to-die case, Barba takes matters into his own hands. So DA Jack McCoy enlists the help of new-to-town Peter Stone (and son of original character Ben Stone) to prosecute him for murder.

We’re discussing the heart-tugging, star-packed SVU S19 E13 The Undiscovered Country. Our guest is Gabby Dunn from the "Bad with Money" podcast.

This episode is inspired by the 2017 case of Charlie Gard.

CI: Rosanna Arquette did NOT want to go to that sex club

Criminal Intent S4 E14 “Sex Club”

“No, I won’t send you undercover to a sex club Goren. You’ll sniff everything.”

Who would kill over a porno mag publisher's black book? Somebody who wants to blackmail a politician, that's who. Goren and Eames learn the politician's ex-wife refused to go with him to the club...until she didn't.

We're talking about Criminal Intent season 4 episode 14 Sex Club. Our guest is Katie Mitchell from the Date with Dateline podcast.

This episode is inspired by the political sex scandal surrounding Jack and Jeri Ryan.

SVU: She was tricked by a fake abortion clinic!

SVU S7 E9 “Rockabye”

“I have a feeling that - according to a new Gallup poll - that 46% of Americans are going to be really upset with this SVU episode.”

A teenage girl is found beaten around the abdomen and soon loses her baby. The squad learns she agreed to the attack because it was too late to legally terminate the pregnancy. That’s when Benson and Stabler find out the abortion clinic she went to was fake! 

We’re talking about SVU S7 E9 Rockabye with four-time guest Lani Diane Rich from Chipperish Media.

This episode takes cues from a 2005 case of Michigan teenagers purposely using a baseball bat to induce a miscarriage. 

SVU: Sleep with me and your son gets into Hudson!

SVU S18 E3 “Imposter”

“He’s not the Director of Admissions. He’s the Director of Emissions. Am I right, fellas?”

Mom wants Justin to get into Hudson SO BAD that she'll sleep with the admissions director, but - surprise - that guy's not really the admissions director. He says he's just a playboy, but Benson convinces Barba to charge him with rape. We're talking about SVU S18 E3 Imposter.

Our guest is Ralph Castaneda from the Hudson University parody twitter account.

This episode takes cues from the real life case of Jared Rohrig.

L&O: The doctor injects his ex-lover with a coronavirus

Law & Order S14 E3 “Patient Zero”

“I don’t know, man. She looks pretty sick. How thick is this glass anyway?”

What was the carjack victim doing with vials of the coronavirus (no, not that coronavirus) in her trunk? Briscoe and Green learn the lab director infected his ex-lover with the SARS, triggering an outbreak. But thanks to Serena, the doctor’s wife throws the trial into confusion.

We’re talking about Law & Order season 14 episode 3 “Patient Zero.” Our guest is Samantha Thompson from the Spooky Adventures of Alec and Sam podcast.

This episode is inspired by the real-life case of Doctor Richard Schmidt.