Generation Why: True Crime
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Generation Why: True Crime

Since its debut in June 2012 with the episode Jury Duty, Generation Why Podcast has been your source for gripping true crime, intriguing mysteries, and fascinating conspiracies every week. Hosted by Justin and Aaron, the podcast combines in-depth research and discussion to bring you cases that chall...

Episodes 586
Books 167
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The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle cover

The Suspect

Kent Alexander

Mentioned 1 year ago

The Olympic Park Bombing part 3 - 588

The book, "The Suspect in Olympic Bombing", details the events surrounding the Olympic Park bombing and Richard Jewell's ordeal, and was recommended for those seeking more information on the case.

In 2019, Kevin Salwyn and Kent Alexander's book about the Olympic Park bombing was published. It's titled "The Suspect in Olympic Bombing", the FBI, the media, and Richard Jewell, the man caught in the middle. This book is highly recommended if you want more information. You can get it at any bookstore.

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The Most Dangerous Game cover

The Most Dangerous Game

Richard Connell

Mentioned 1 year ago

New Zodiac Killer Suspect

The podcast host mentioned reading "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell when they were 14 years old, sparking their interest in true crime. It was referenced as a book that introduced the host to the genre.

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Dance with the Devil: A Dark Standalone Romance cover

Dance with the Devil

Amanda Richardson

Mentioned 1 year ago

Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner - 583

It was published in March 2007 and was written by Andrew Bagby's father, David, about the events that led to his son's and grandson's deaths.

David Bagby published a book in March 2007 titled Dance with the Devil.

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SAM - Volume 4 - We Will Never Forget You cover

SAM - Volume 4 - We Will Never Forget You

Richard Marazano

Mentioned 1 year ago

Terrance Yeakey - 582

Terrance Yeakey, a rescue worker at the Oklahoma City bombing, described in this book his experience rescuing Randy Ledger from under the rubble, detailing the horrific injuries Ledger sustained and the challenges faced during the rescue operation.

all we could see was part of his face. He was completely buried. We couldn't tell where his arms or legs were. We began lifting blocks of concrete off of Randy. He would tell us it hurt as we lifted the chunks one by one. I lifted a board off of his face and part of his face peeled back. Finally, we freed Randy and started to carry him out. Suddenly, the ground I was walking on gave way and I fell in a hole.

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Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed cover

Ask Not

Maureen Callahan

Mentioned 1 year ago

Max DeVries - 580

It is a children's book about a cat; the speaker expressed happiness with how it turned out.

Also, if anybody has forgotten, I wrote a book last year. It's a children's book, Not True Crime. I'm really happy with it and it's about a cat.

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Boop! cover

Boop!

Bea Birdsong

Mentioned 1 year ago

Max DeVries - 580

This children's book, released on August 5th, is about a family getting a new puppy; it is similar to the author's previous book.

Well, I have a new book out as of August 5th and it's titled Wagga Boop. Very similar to the first one but it's about a family getting a new puppy.

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The Hidden History of the White House: Power Struggles, Scandals, and Defining Moments cover

The Hidden History of the White House

Corey Mead

Mentioned 2 years ago

Marjorie Nugent - 578

The authors of the podcast American History Tellers created a book with details of the White House, including events, scandals, and decisions that shaped the nation, from its foundation in 1792 through to the Obama administration.

Inspired by the hit podcast American History Tellers, Wondery and William Morrow present the new book, The Hidden History of the White House.

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Happily Never After cover

Happily Never After

Lynn Painter

Mentioned 2 years ago

Libby Caswell - 577

The podcast Happily Never After told a story about a chef named Dan and his wife Nancy. The story was compared to a murder mystery novel, with a twist ending, as it was revealed that Nancy was suspected of her husband's murder.

As writers we'd written our share of murder mysteries. So when suspicion turned to Dan's wife, Nancy, we weren't that surprised.

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A Beautiful Child cover

A Beautiful Child

Matt Birkbeck

Mentioned 2 years ago

Girl In The Picture - 576

Matt Burbeck's book brought Sharon's case back into the spotlight and encouraged internet sleuths to look into her true identity.

In 2004, Matt Burbeck published his book about Sharon's life, A Beautiful Child, and this book helps bring the spotlight back onto the case, and many amateur internet sleuths start looking into Sharon's true identity.

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The Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Art Thief, Rock-and-Roller, and Prodigal Son cover

The Art of the Heist

Myles J Connor Jr.

Mentioned 2 years ago

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist - 574

Miles Connor Jr. wrote "The Art of the Heist" which was his confession of being a master art thief. It mentioned the Gardner heist and connected it to Robert Donati.

In 2009, he wrote "The Art of the Heist, Confessions of a Master Art Thief, Rock and Roller, and Prodigal Son" that mentioned the Gardner heist and connected it to Robert Donati.

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None of This Is True: A Novel cover

None of This Is True

Lisa Jewell

Mentioned 2 years ago

Carla Walker - 573

It was described as a shocking psychological thriller.

If you're in the mood for a shocking psychological thriller, check out None of This is True by Lisa Jewell.

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Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World cover

Doppelganger

Naomi Klein

Mentioned 2 years ago

Carla Walker - 573

It was described as an interesting, deep and philosophical psychological look in the mirror.

I'm currently listening to Doppelganger. It's an interesting take from Naomi Klein.

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The Night Stalker: The True Story of America's Most Feared Serial Killer Cover

Philip Carlo

The Night Stalker

The True Story of America's Most Feared Serial Killer

It was described as the definitive book about Richard Ramirez, very informative, although the podcast host did not agree with all of the author's points of view.

"

I had read the book The Night Stalker by Philip Carlo about this, and it is the definitive book about Richard Ramirez. It's very informative.

— Episode: The Night Stalker Part 2 - 227

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Episode: The Night Stalker Part 2 - 227

It was described as the definitive book about Richard Ramirez, very informative, although the podcast host did not agree with all of the author's points of view.

"

I had read the book The Night Stalker by Philip Carlo about this, and it is the definitive book about Richard Ramirez. It's very informative.

Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption Cover

Jennifer Thompson-Cannino

Picking Cotton

Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption

The book, written by those involved in a famous North Carolina case, was mentioned as an example of eyewitness misidentification and its consequences. It highlights how a woman's mistaken identification led to an innocent man's wrongful conviction.

"

The woman in the Picking Cotton case, her name is Jennifer Thompson Canino, and she couldn't stop this man, but she knew she could capture his image and she knew that she would get hi...

— Episode: Ronnie Long - 224

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Episode: Ronnie Long - 224

The book, written by those involved in a famous North Carolina case, was mentioned as an example of eyewitness misidentification and its consequences. It highlights how a woman's mistaken identification led to an innocent man's wrongful conviction.

"

The woman in the Picking Cotton case, her name is Jennifer Thompson Canino, and she couldn't stop this man, but she knew she could capture his image and she knew that she would get him. She would get justice in this case.

Now, 10 years later though, DNA testing is done. It shows that a man by the name of Bobby Pool is the one who raped her and how they get there is unbelievable because Ronald Cotton is in prison and he sees a man in prison who looks like the man in the sketch because after the rape, she had sat down and a sketch artist had drawn the man that had raped her.

Ronald Cotton was staring at this man thinking you're it. You're the guy. And he talked to him. He said, Hey, did you rape that Jennifer woman? And Ronald Cotton said, Oh no, it wasn't me.

In this case, Jennifer said I was wrong. And that opened her eyes to the truth, which is you really don't know what you're looking at. Sometimes this is a traumatic event. And as time goes on, subtle changes can happen.

The Last Master Outlaw: The Award-Winning Conclusion of the D.B. Cooper Mystery Cover

Thomas J. Colbert

The Last Master Outlaw

The Award-Winning Conclusion of the D.B. Cooper Mystery

In this book, Colbert and his team of researchers detail their investigation into the identity of D.B. Cooper, presenting evidence that points to Robert Rackstraw as the hijacker. The book includes witness testimonies, analysis of documents and other evidence gathered over many years.

"

Today's episode, I interview Tom Colbert, who is the author of The Last Master Outlaw book about D.B. Cooper.

— Episode: The Last Master Outlaw - 220

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Episode: The Last Master Outlaw - 220

In this book, Colbert and his team of researchers detail their investigation into the identity of D.B. Cooper, presenting evidence that points to Robert Rackstraw as the hijacker. The book includes witness testimonies, analysis of documents and other evidence gathered over many years.

"

Today's episode, I interview Tom Colbert, who is the author of The Last Master Outlaw book about D.B. Cooper.

I think the book has opened up a lot of eyes, especially when you got his Vietnam commander saying, I watched him. He had a go to hell attitude and he would jump out of planes illegally. He loved it. And he was trained by Halo jumpers. Yeah.

You may have read about Jack Immendorf. Immendorf was hired by the family to, in essence, find one of our suspects relatives. And we found he's still alive and he's on our cold case team at eighty three and he's sharp as a whip.

It's important for your readers to know that besides the cold case team and my writer, the other heroes in this story are six women that turned him in. Two ex-wives, a getaway girl, we call her, that caught up with him on two escapes. A Hollywood producer, who happened to be his cocaine partner, and his sister, God bless her, who on her deathbed qualified as a deathbed confession.

What really is amazing about this book was the hardest thing I've ever had to work on. There are 47 pages of footnotes in here. And they're straight out of the investigative report. And everybody who's looked at this book, we got attorneys to look at this and clear it just like that. Got insurance for it. Documentary got insurance for it based on what's in this book. And they can't counter it.

Chasing Justice (Mountain Country K-9 Unit Book 3) Cover

Valerie Hansen

Chasing Justice (Mountain Country K-9 Unit Book 3)

The book details Kerry Max Cook's decades-long ordeal with the legal system, wrongful conviction, and fight for justice. It was described as so compelling that even if it were fiction, no one would believe it.

"

If it were fiction, no one would believe it.

— Episode: Kerry Max Cook - 218

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Episode: Kerry Max Cook - 218

The book details Kerry Max Cook's decades-long ordeal with the legal system, wrongful conviction, and fight for justice. It was described as so compelling that even if it were fiction, no one would believe it.

"

If it were fiction, no one would believe it.

I did read your book and I even went back and started rereading it to refresh myself on some of these points.

And when I say the rest of the case was made up, that just sounds so hard to believe. But as you yourself, Justin, read my book and tell them it's true.

I think if they could read my book and not have to pay for it and get that understanding, they might understand the rest of me too.

my bestselling book was never disputed as hard as it is to believe.

Man Who Wanted Seven Wives: The Greenbrier Ghost and the Famous Murder Mystery of 1897 Cover

Katie Letcher Lyle

Man Who Wanted Seven Wives

The Greenbrier Ghost and the Famous Murder Mystery of 1897

This book, about the Greenbrier Ghost case, was mentioned as a good resource for listeners interested in learning more about the story.

"

And for anyone interested in the story, there's a great book out there titled The Man Who Wanted Seven Wives by Katie Letcher Lyle.

— Episode: The Greenbrier Ghost - 208

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Episode: The Greenbrier Ghost - 208

This book, about the Greenbrier Ghost case, was mentioned as a good resource for listeners interested in learning more about the story.

"

And for anyone interested in the story, there's a great book out there titled The Man Who Wanted Seven Wives by Katie Letcher Lyle.

Black Lightning: Brick City Blues Cover

Tony Isabella

Black Lightning

Brick City Blues

This novel, about a supernatural serial killer, was found in Cary Stayner's backpack during the investigation into the murders. The book's presence was noted as an interesting detail in the case.

"

In his backpack was a camera, a beer bottle, harmonica, suntan lotion, sunflower seeds and a novel Black Lightning written by John Saul, which happens to be about a supernatural seria...

— Episode: Steven & Cary Stayner - 207

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Episode: Steven & Cary Stayner - 207

This novel, about a supernatural serial killer, was found in Cary Stayner's backpack during the investigation into the murders. The book's presence was noted as an interesting detail in the case.

"

In his backpack was a camera, a beer bottle, harmonica, suntan lotion, sunflower seeds and a novel Black Lightning written by John Saul, which happens to be about a supernatural serial killer.

Jane Doe January: My Twenty-Year Search for Truth and Justice by Emily Winslow (2016-05-24) Cover

Jane Doe January

My Twenty-Year Search for Truth and Justice by Emily Winslow (2016-05-24)

It is a memoir of Emily Winslow's personal experience with the crime and prosecution of her rape. The book details the 13-month prosecution that took place over two decades after the initial assault.

"

And the book Jane Doe January is a memoir of that 13-month prosecution.

— Episode: Jane Doe January - 187

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Episode: Jane Doe January - 187

It is a memoir of Emily Winslow's personal experience with the crime and prosecution of her rape. The book details the 13-month prosecution that took place over two decades after the initial assault.

"

And the book Jane Doe January is a memoir of that 13-month prosecution.

The title comes from the fact that the two victims involved in this specific case, me and one other woman who was attacked in November of that year, and I had been attacked in January, we were kept anonymous in the press, and I'm very grateful for that.

So Jane Doe January is how I thought of myself.

But the memories of how I was treated in the hospital, not just by the people directly questioning me and the doctor directly examining me, who was a woman and she was wonderful, but all the nurses and how much they cared and how upset they were for me and how emotional they were on my behalf. It was very it was a safe place.

To Hell I Must Go: The True Story of Michigan’s Lizzie Borden Cover

Rod Sadler

To Hell I Must Go

The True Story of Michigan’s Lizzie Borden

This true crime book details the 1897 murder of Maria Haney in Williamston, Michigan, by her daughter-in-law, Martha. The author, a retired police officer, based the book on genealogical research and historical documents, including his great-great-grandfather's involvement as sheriff.

"

I'm going to have to write a book about this.

— Episode: Martha Haney - 186

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Episode: Martha Haney - 186

This true crime book details the 1897 murder of Maria Haney in Williamston, Michigan, by her daughter-in-law, Martha. The author, a retired police officer, based the book on genealogical research and historical documents, including his great-great-grandfather's involvement as sheriff.

"

I'm going to have to write a book about this.

It was so bizarre.

this would make a great book.

I literally held my hand on my great-great grandfather's signature thinking this is something that nobody gets to do. It was so cool.

I very much recommend this to anybody who hasn't picked it up yet.

The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History, 2d ed. Cover

Kevin M. Sullivan

The Bundy Murders

A Comprehensive History, 2d ed.

It was published in 2009 by McFarland and Company and contained a lot of new information about the murders; it was described as a comprehensive history and unique in its creation and the way it was written.

"

The first book was The Bundy Murders, a comprehensive history, which was published in 2009 by McFarland and Company.

— Episode: Untold Stories of Ted Bundy - 180

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Episode: Untold Stories of Ted Bundy - 180

It was published in 2009 by McFarland and Company and contained a lot of new information about the murders; it was described as a comprehensive history and unique in its creation and the way it was written.

"

The first book was The Bundy Murders, a comprehensive history, which was published in 2009 by McFarland and Company.

And it was just a unique book how it came about.

It's not just the new information, which is always great to get new, but it's also the way it was written.

They've said that reading your book is like traveling with the killer, rather than like some of the perspective of the other Bundy books where you'd get, you know, this girl would disappear, that girl would disappear, and nobody kind of at the time knew who it was. You're really traveling along with Bundy as these murders are committed.

It really is crammed with a lot of information, and you double-check, quadruple-check everything you got to do to check to make sure lots of dates, lots of names, lots of situations.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.