SVU: The annoying lab tech was really the killer

SVU Season 10 Episode 22 "Zebras"

For those who've ever wanted to tell Stabler to STFU, this one's for you.

The psycho suspect escapes by riding through a Fun House, then fleeing super villain-style by dumping toxic gas to cover his tracks. But it's Benson who rescues Stabler from the real killer by repeatedly slapping her partner and making out with the bad guy.

We're looking at SVU season 10 episode 22 "Zebras." Our guest is from the "In Trouble for Talking" podcast, Sonia Sells.

The episode takes some cues from the life of SVU regular Richard Belzer. 

SVU: I didn't stab the Captain with a pickle

SVU: S12 E5 "Wet"

If not Benson, then who did?

A woman get horny and dies after eating mushrooms. A mime refuses to talk. Some guy is snipping women's hair in the park. A dog coughs up a tampon. And Benson has the weirdest freak out after being exposed to toxic fungi. 

We're looking at SVU season 12 episode 5 "Wet." Our guest is KCUR reporter and podcaster Sam Zeff.

The episode is based on the controversy around the effects of soda on the health of children.

CI: Goren faces off again with Nicole Wallace

CI: S5 E1 "Grow"

Get a room already.

Goren again matches wits with super criminal Nicole Wallace. Is she trying to hasten the death of a little girl to inherit her $5m lawsuit settlement...or is she protecting the child from her own father who wants the money too? And the new guy in the squad with nothing to do is Mike Logan.

We're looking at Criminal Intent season 5 episode 1 "Grow." Our guest is author and comedian Dan Wilbur.

The episode's villain is derivative of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Moriarty, who is based on the real-life criminal mastermind Adam Worth. 

L&O: The militia guy says the fringe on the flag makes him a POW

L&O S8 E5 "Nullification"

Defendant: That flag has fringes. This is a military tribunal. Judge: Bullshit.

It's an armored car heist! No! It's actually a militia hoping to overthrow the government! And as long as there are fringes on that American flag, the defendants consider themselves prisoners of war.

We're looking at a classic L&O season 8 episode 5 "Nullification." Our guest is retired Lt Col James Weirick of the Military Justice podcast.

The original episode is inspired by the real life cases of anti-government militia activity of the 1990s.

SVU: The teen makes his own kiddie porn site

SVU: S7 E21 "Web"

We ask, "WTF does THIS mean?"

We still aren't sure what to say about this SVU episode that starts with a puppet show, ends with a kidnapping, and makes some really messed up twists in Teddy's Treehouse along the way.

We're looking at SVU season 7 episode 21 "Web."

Our guest is Molly McKean from the upcoming podcast HGTV & Me (also from Partners In Crime Media).

The TV episode was inspired the real life child pornography case of Justin Berry.

L&O/SVU/CI: These are "These Are Their Stories"

TATS season 1 finale

What started off as a honey-do project has blossomed into a fun podcast with lots of great fans. We're even nominated for Best TV podcast at this month's Podcast Movement convention. (We're going to lose. We're gonna lose hard. We're going to lose like the Washington Generals always lose to the Harlem Globetrotters.)

We're celebrating the end of season one (and the upcoming start of season two) with a look back at some of the best moments from the first year of These Are Their Stories. We'll relive some good episode discussion, favorite detective teams, Hey-it's-that-guys, and the best ripped from the headlines.

Thanks to Vanity Fair, the gang's all here.

L&O: The bikini girl, the news anchors, and the Ponzi scheme

L&O S19 E17 “Anchors Away”

Bikini pictures? Let me see...

A bikini posing TV reporter gets murdered and all the anchors want to do is stab each other in the back. But could the lightweight journalist have been close to exposing a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme when she was killed?

This time we look at original recipe season 19 episode 17 "Anchors Away." Our guest is host of the Accused podcast Amber Hunt.

This episode was inspired by the Bernie Madoff case and the scandals of TV anchors Larry Mendte and Alycia Lane.

SVU: Grifters fake a rape to extort a Trump-like billionaire

SVU S2 E8 “Taken”

This victim is not all that she seems.

Boy, it can really ruin the grand opening of a 5-star hotel when a guest is assaulted...even if it's only part of a convoluted scam to extort $10 million from the owner.

This time we look at SVU season 2 episode 8 "Taken." Our guest is writer and co-host of Slate's DoubleX Gabfest podcast June Thomas.

This episode was inspired by the fake rape extortion case at Walt Disney World.

SVU: Come back with my frozen embryos!

SVU S9 E14 “Inconceivable”

Munch has a sketch of the victims.

This case has everything! Someone stealing frozen embryos! A mother harvesting her disabled daughter's eggs! Olivia baby angst! A courthouse steps shooting! Dwarfs! Luis from "Sesame Street"!

We'll try to figure out what happened in SVU season 9 episode 14 "Inconceivable." Our guest is writer and co-host of Slate's Mom and Dad Are Fighting podcast Carvel Wallace.

Part of the story references the controversial case of little girl "Ashley X" and the medical treatment used to address her severe disabilities. 

SVU: John Stamos has 20 kids and gets blown up with a knife

SVU S12 E22 “bang”

Would you become baby mama #21? You know you would.

Remember when John Stamos was the guest star on SVU? And he fathered 20 kids by 20 different women (which isn't actually a crime)? And he got killed by a special knife that made his chest blow up? Yeah...it's kind of hard to forget.

We're going to figure out what happened in SVU season 12 episode 22 "Bang." Our guest is Gillian Pensavalle from the True Crime Obsessed podcast.

This episode is based loosely on a clinical study into "reproductive coercion," and also the story of British bloke Keith Macdonald who had ten baby mommas.

L&O: The stalker strangled the soap star

L&O S2 E12 "Star Struck"

Cerreta actually said they weren't going to question a murder suspect until he got some fettuccine. (Sigh)

How do you track down a deranged fan who'd choke their favorite soap star in Central Park? Interview a studio grip, a female impersonator, and Allison Janney. And stop to get some fettuccine before you make an arrest.

Logan and Cerreta chase a stalker in L&O season 2 episode 12 "Star Struck." Our guest is repeat offender Brady Carlson of Wisconsin Public Radio. 

This L&O episode is based on several high-profile cases, including the Rebecca Schaeffer murder.

CI: Goren suspects everyone in the family bludgeoned Dad

CI: S3 E9 "Happy Family"

So...is Goren always like this or is it just me?

When a wealthy financier is bludgeoned to death in his home, whom does Goren suspect? The soon-to-be-ex? The new boyfriend? The nanny? The brother-in-law? The children? The answer: everyone. 

We're diving into L&O:Criminal Intent S3 E9 "Happy Family," a rare episode where the killer isn't revealed until the last minute.

Our guest this episode is repeat offender and Chester Lake advocate Sarah D. Bunting: blogger, TV critic, and host of The Blotter podcast.

This Criminal Intent episode is based on the Ted & Generosa Ammon case. 

SVU: The rape joke comic was a rape joke rapist

SVU S15 E15 "Comic Perversion"

"...so a rapist walks into a bar..."

He's a stand up comic who likes to tell female hecklers it would be funny if they got raped. Then when one of them walks home...well, it's SVU so you can guess the rest.

Kevin & Rebecca dive into SVU season 15 episode 15* "Comic Perversion" with Pat Dixon, comedian and host of the podcast "NYC Crime Report."

This episode is based on two scandals, one involving Daniel Tosh and the other with Derek Jeter.

Note: Because of the two-part season opener, some streaming services list this as episode 14.

L&O: The singer caused the mob restaurant shooting

L&O S14 E20 "Everybody Loves Raimondo's"

Jerry Orbach was a mother fucking sorcerer at playing pool. He gets to do his own tricks in the scene undercover in a pool hall.

Nothing like eating an expensive meal in an Italian restaurant when one mobster shoots another because he's heckling the singer. But that's just the start of the trouble in this mafia-and-meatballs-themed episode L&O S14 E20 "Everybody Loves Raimondo's." Green & Briscoe (in one of Jerry Orbach's last episodes) think a movie producer was the victim of a conveniently-timed hit at an exclusive restaurant frequented by celebrities, judges, and mobsters alike.

Our guest this episode is Chris Greene of RTÉ Two radio in Ireland and co-host of "Craic Addicts." He brings a certain amount of "Paddywackery" to the show.

This episode is inspired by the real life shooting in Rao's restaurant by Louie Lump Lump Barone.

L&O: The Holocaust survivor who married a Nazi

L&O S3 E13 "Night and Fog"

Kevin and Rebecca go back to the Stone Age to watch Law & Order Original Recipe Season 3, Episode 13. In "Night and Fog," Briscoe and Logan learn a pair of Holocaust survivors quarreled about a Nazi collaborator who came from the husband's village, and Stone and Robinette believe the woman was murdered because she'd learned his war-time secret. 

Briscoe tells Logan about his father was in WWII. And we're like, "You're father was in WWII? We thought you were in WWII!"

Our guest is the very savvy Adam Ragusea, host of Current's The Pub podcast. He's also turned his savage wit and musical wisdom into a mostly-critical, but often-hilarious look at Billy Joel's career in "We Didn't Start the Podcast." 

This episode of Law & Order takes its cue from the real life case of accused concentration camp prison guard John "Ivan the Terrible" Demjanjuk.

SVU: The prep school rapist & the "Cherry Pickers Club"

SVU S17 E12 A Misunderstanding

"He may be my rapist...but I still kinda like him. Is that weird?"

What really happened between those two teens in the prep school darkroom? The girl's texts are hurting the case, but then the squad learns the boy is part of a virgin-collecting contest in the secret "Cherry Picker's Club."

This episode, Kevin & Rebecca are joined by Undisclosed: The Killing of Freddie Gray journalist Amelia McDonell-Parry as they look at SVU season 17 episode 12 "A Misunderstanding."

The ripped from the headlines case this episode is based on is the rape trial of St. Paul's prep school graduate Owen Labrie.

L&O: The one that's TOTALLY not based on Martha Stewart

Law & Order S13 E15 Bitch

Come now, detective. Don't you know who my father is? Or my mother, for that matter?

Brisco & Green tie a stockbroker's murder to a multi-millionaire business woman who's committed some insider trading.

Kevin & Rebecca welcome comedian Jimmy Pardo (Never Not Funny podcast) for look at Law & Order season 13, episode 15 "Bitch."

Despite the title, this L&O episode actually is based on the Martha Stewart case.

SVU: The twin girl learns she's really a boy

SVU S6 E12 "Identity"

These twins have more in common than they know.

Benson & Stabler's search for the victim of a botched rape leads them to a set of twins...and the sister has more in common with her brother than she realizes.  

Kevin and Rebecca welcome Jack O'Brien (Cracked podcast, Cracked magazine) to talk about SVU season 6 episode 12 "Identity."

This SVU episode is based on the real-life case of David Reimer.

SVU: Bob Saget puts a microchip in his wife then gives her his liver

SVU S8 E9 "Choreographed"

Stabler: "I'd give you my kidney."

Benson: "It probably has a bullet hole in it."

Rabid dogs, mute witnesses, philandering husbands, secretly implanted microchips, a liver transplant...and Stabler & Benson are reunited after his fling with temporary partner, Dani.

Kevin & Rebecca are joined by Outside/In podcast producer Taylor Quimby - better known to our fans as Uncanny Valleys, the composer of our catchy theme song. The panel discusses a crazy SVU installment from season 8 episode 9, "Choreographed."

Though not based on a crime, this SVU episode is inspired by the true story of microchip enthusiast Amal Graafstra.

SVU: Harry Connick Jr macks on Olivia and busts gang-raping military contractors

SVU S13 E12 "Official Story"

Let me show you on the doll where I'd like you to touch me.

Harry Connick Jr. makes a guest stint as a DA who goes after some military contractors who drugged and gang-raped a co-worker in Afghanistan - and then goes after Olivia who's swooning over him.

Patrick Hinds of True Crime Obsessed joins Kevin & Rebecca to dish on SVU S13 E12 "Official Story."

This SVU episode is inspired by the real-life story of Jamie Lee Jones.