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Criminal: Turning The Crime Narrative On Its Head

WUNC News | By Anita Rao,

Frank Stasio

Published January 21, 2015 at 11:56 AM EST

Host Frank Stasio talks with Phoebe Judge and Eric Mennel, two of the creators of the hit podcast 'Criminal'

The North Carolina podcast Criminal is on a mission to tell the stories of “people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle.”

The show is one of the top-ranked podcasts on iTunes. Criminal celebrates its one-year anniversary this month with a live show at Motorco Music Hall in Durham tonight at 8 p.m.

Host Frank Stasio talks with two of the show’s creators, Phoebe Judge and Eric Mennel, about their vision for the project and the stories behind some of their favorite episodes.

Here are some of the full-length episodes featured in today's conversation:

Illustration for Episode One: "Animal Instincts."

Illustration for Episode Ten: "Dear Sheila."

Illustration for Episode Fourteen: "The Fifth Suspect."

Copyright 2015 North Carolina Public Radio

Anita Rao

Anita Rao is the host and creator of "Embodied," a live, weekly radio show and seasonal podcast about sex, relationships & health. She's also the managing editor of WUNC's on-demand content. She has traveled the country recording interviews for the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps production department, founded and launched a podcast about millennial feminism in the South, and served as the managing editor and regular host of "The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio's flagship daily, live talk show. Anita was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest.

See stories by Anita Rao

Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

See stories by Frank Stasio