SVU: The mean girls take out one of their own

SVU s5 E17 “Mean”

“Let us go or we’re going to start a rumor that you kissed that balding man you came here with!”

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.

SVU: Gambling addiction made him kill his best friend

SVU S7 E17 “Class”

“But if this is my peanut butter sandwich, what evidence did I eat at lunch?”

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.

L&O: Amy Ryan gets her revenge

Law & Order S16 E12 “Family Friend”

“What? You think I’d intentionally throw my testimony in a long con to release the man who murdered my husband, cheat McCoy out of immunity, then confess on the stand to arranging the killer’s murder? Who? Me?”

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.

SVU: Chad Lowe sleeps with his mom, Margot Kidder

SVU S2 E20 “Pique”

Sure, my brother Rob Lowe is more famous than me…but I’m more famous than our cousin, Virgil the accountant.

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 own 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."

L&O: Larry Miller kills his wife...again!

Law & Order S6 E15 “Encore”

“Why do all my wives keep getting killed by hitmen? Because a defense attorney is cheaper than a divorce attorney.”

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.

SVU: Benson gets Mike Tyson off death row

SVU S14 E13 “Monster’s Legacy”

“You should know Mike, this is some of the worst acting we’ve ever seen…and we’ve both worked with Richard Belzer.”

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 Victim's 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. 

SVU: Embryos are the specialest victims of them all

SVU S9 E14 “Inconceivable”

“I really hope this giant canister contains the eggs and not the sperm.”

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.

L&O: Dad kills the coach with a hockey stick

Law & Order S11 E8 “Thin Ice”

“You beat a youth hockey coach to death with a stick because you wanted more time on the ice? I will never understand white people.”

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.

SVU: Did Liv coerce Tom Sizemore's confession?

SVU S17 E9 “Depravity Standard”

“SHE made me do it! I didn’t want to dye my hair this color but SHE made me do it!”

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.

SVU: Cool mom gives girls booze and sleeps with the boys

SVU S8 E18 “Responsible”

“This mom buys the high school kids booze, lets her daughter drink in the house, and sleep with the school jock? Man, the ‘cool mom’ in my school just let us stay up to watch ‘Love Boat.’”

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. 

L&O: A murder over missing pants leads to poisoned toothpaste

Law & Order S18 e4 “Bottomless”

“You’d sue a dry cleaner for millions of dollars because you think their ‘one day service’ sign is fraud? God help Dominos if your pizza doesn’t arrive in 30 minutes!”

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.

SVU: Sharon Lawrence lets Stabler look up her skirt

SVU S4 E1 “Chameleon”

“Woah! I haven’t seen a live one of those is some time.”

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.

CI: A church poisoning, a boat sinking, teen orgies and a face slap

Criminal Intent S3 E8 “Sound Bodies”

I just sniffed and licked something I scraped off of a boat with a knife. I’m not afraid of you.

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.

SVU: Barba returns and declares his unconditional love

SVU S23 E22 “A Final Call at Forlini’s Bar”

Mmmmm. Apple juice pretending to be Scotch.

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. 

SVU: Carisi's niece lies about rape, then gets raped

SVU S19 E14 “In Loco Parentis”

“You falsely accused a classmate of rape, tried to apologize, then was actually raped by him? Do you have any idea the amount of paperwork this is going to cause me?”

After a Hudson classmate is suspended for raping his niece, Carisi wants to arrest him. When the case fizzles, Mia admits to her uncle she lied about not giving consent. Later the boy she accused actually rapes her.

At trial, it comes out Carisi urged Mia to stay quiet about the first rape to win a conviction for the second one. It's up to new ADA Peter Stone to draw a confession out of the defendant on the stand. 

We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 19 episode 15 "In Loco Parentis." Our guest is Sarah Carradine from the Crime Seen podcast.

This episode is inspired by the ripped from the headlines case of Nikki Yovino.

L&O: McCoy charges the gun manufacturer with murder

Law & Order S10 E1 “Gunshow”

“Here is an illegal assault weapon. I’m so relieved that here in 1999 we have solved gun violence. Give yourselves a pat on the back.”

Lenny Briscoe and his new partner Ed Green look for a mass shooter who killed 15 women in Central Park. They discover the suspect is a misogynist who easily modified his weapon to make it an automatic machine gun. McCoy and Carmichael learn the firearm's selling point was its ease of illegal modification. Jack charges the CEO with murder, but his least favorite judge is ready to throw out the case.

We're talking about Law & Order season 10 episode 1 "Gunshow." Our guest is Margo Donohue from "Book vs Movie" and the "Dorking Out" podcast.

This episode is inspired by the 1989 mass shooting at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. 

Note: this episode deals with a fictional mass shooting of college students.

SVU: Did the FBI profiler kill the serial killer?

SVU S9 E12 “Signature”

“Captain! I’ve spent the last three days reviewing this surveillance video when it occurred to me: why don’t I just watch the portion where the thing happens? “

Benson and Lake are joined by a young FBI profiler as they hunt for a sadistic serial killer named The Woodsman.  Huang suspects something's wrong with the case. Things take a turn when The Woodsman ends up dead - and the profiler appears to have sent the email telling cops where to find his body.

We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 9 episode 12 "Signature." Our guest is Sarah Snyder from the "Adulting with ADHD" podcast. 

Plot points for this episode come from the case of Todd Alan Reed, also known as The Forest Park Killer.

SVU: Is a celebrity couple filming themselves raping women?

SVU S20 E11 “Plastic”

“We’re not here to poke holes in your story. There is a whole podcast that’s going to take care of that for us.”

A woman says she was drugged, filmed, and raped by a celebrity plastic surgeon and his girlfriend. But the couple - and the many other women with which they made sex tapes - say the sex was consensual.

Fin and Carisi find an encrypted video that links the doctor to a missing girl, a skeleton in a wall, and a tearful reunion for a father and daughter.

We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 20 episode 11 "Plastic." Our guest is Josh Duggan from the Munch my Benson podcast.

This episode is based on the case of Dr. Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley.

L&O: A dog ripped a lady apart!

Law & Order S12 E1 “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

“I don’t know if that was the dog that ate half of that woman, but he did take a massive shit so I think you’re on the right track.”

Briscoe and Green investigate a fatal dog attack in Central Park. They trace the killer canine to a dog fighting ring controlled by a prison inmate. McCoy and Southerlyn bring manslaughter charges against the convict's lawyer, who owned the dog. McCoy tries to convince the jury by showing them the murder weapon: the snarling, barking pit bull.

We're talking about Law & Order season 12 episode 1 "Who Let the Dogs Out?" Our returning guest is comedian Brandi Brown.

This episode is inspired by the 2001 death of Diane Whipple. 

SVU: Did the creepy billionaire also molest the girl being poisoned by her grandmother?

SVU S5 E19 “Sick”

“Don’t worry. It only takes me about two minutes to identify and cure the mental and emotional issues you’ve been hiding all your life.”

A boy says a rich toy store owner molested him during a children's party and paid his parents hush money. Novak is thwarted when the victim recants and leaves town. Then a woman tells Benson and Stabler her dying granddaughter was also molested by the billionaire. Her story falls apart when it's learned the girl doesn't  have cancer; she's being poisoned by her grandmother who suffers from Munchausen syndrome. 

We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 5 episode 19 "Sick." Our guest is Adam Schwitters from the "Munch my Benson" podcast.

Some plot points of this episode come from the story of Beth Thomas.