TRUE CRIME: ENTERTAINMENT OR DISSERVICE

True crime, a genre that discusses and portrays nonfictional crimes, is a mainstay of American culture. An early example is the 1893 trial of Lizzie Borden, a woman tried and ultimately acquitted of the brutal murder of her father and stepmother. As the trial progressed, newspapers flew off the shelves and the question of whether she was guilty became a hot teatime topic. It may have marked one of the first crimes sensationalized within American media, but it was far from the last.

In an era of social media and biopics, true crime has evolved from something we see or read about in the news to dramatized shows portraying criminals as protagonists and entire podcasts dedicated to their crimes.

In real life, and in the series, many of Dahmer’s victims were people of color — whose deaths are often treated differently in the media or not investigated as deeply because of racism or other factors. The victims of these crimes had lives and families, yet they were reduced to a few episodes of screen time and fake limbs in some kid’s trick-or-treat basket. It’s not just podcasters or Hollywood producers, it’s true crime culture itself that is wrong — and it could even be inspiring others to replicate the violent acts they see and hear about.

Podcast juggernauts like Stephanie Soo of Rotten Mango rack up millions of views per episode, though not without being in full glam. It’s not necessarily the fact Soo and others discuss these crimes that’s worrisome, but the fact they seem to do so without a care in the world for those affected.

Soo has been criticized by viewers for her older “mukbang”-style true crime videos where she would eat copious amounts of food while discussing the tragic deaths — including often murders — of innocent people. The family and friends of these “cases” are often still alive and may have no idea that the brutal murder of their loved one is about to be discussed in excruciating detail over lunch.

True crime podcasts are disrespectful, but not as egregious as media like Monsters, which dramatizes the lives of real-life killers. One article on the website CrimeReads written by the cousin of a murder victim describes what it is like to have your family’s personal tragedy be used for entertainment and how it leaves families “sitting at home, shuddering with rage and horror as their greatest trauma is repackaged into a titillating narrative for you to consume with dinner.”

Shows and movies that depict killers walk a fine line between documentation and glorification. In its first season, Monster accumulated 1 billion hours viewed in 60 days and became the second most viewed English language show on the platform at one point, according to Netflix. The show included graphic depictions of how Dahmer abused his victims before and after their deaths — without notification or consent of the surviving family members, some families say.

Rita Isbell and Eric Perry, sister and cousin of 19-year-old Dahmer victim Errol Lindsey, called the show “retraumatizing” and “harsh and careless” in statements published in The Hollywood Reporter in 2022.

Another ripple effect of true crime can be seen in the number of copycats and seeming fans of the Columbine High School massacre, which shocked the American consciousness in 1999.

“The Columbine effect” partly describes what happens when people glorify Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold or try to replicate their attack. One investigation from Mother Jones in 2019 documented “the Columbine effect” in 100 plots and attacks across the U.S.

At least one such case may have nodded to the 2003 film Zero Day, which was based on Harris and Klebold’s story, including the “basement tapes” they had filmed chronicling their plans before the mass shooting. Earlier this year, 17-year-old Solomon Henderson shot up his high school in Nashville, Tenn., killing one person and injuring another before ending his own life after writing in his online diary about wanting to shoot his mother “before Zero Day.”

Henderson, who was online with another shooter who seemed to idolize Columbine, stated on the internet several times that the Columbine killers had “style” and reposted fan art of the shooters.

The names of killers live on in infamy, while their victims seem to fade into obscurity and become footnotes in history. True crime can downplay the severity of violent acts that are selfish and depraved. Everybody gets to consume and create whatever they want. But if you or someone you loved were the victim of a tragic crime, would you be OK with someone creating content from it and profiting off of it?

THE MYSTERY OF ATLANTIS - PART TWO

For centuries, Atlantis was dismissed as a philosophical allegory, a cautionary tale about hubris. Yet modern science and archaeology are uncovering clues that suggest Plato’s account may have roots in reality. The most compelling evidence lies beneath the waters off southern Spain, near Cádiz—a region long associated with the ancient Tartessos culture. Here, sonar and LiDAR scans have revealed three submerged concentric walls carved into the seabed, eerily similar to the layout Plato described. At the center of these rings lies a rectangular monument, possibly the Temple of Poseidon, surrounded by sculpted canals and massive stone blocks displaced by what appears to have been a violent cataclysm. Geological analysis dates these formations to roughly 11,600 years ago, aligning with Plato’s timeline and the end of the last Ice Age—a period marked by rising seas and catastrophic floods.

Additional discoveries strengthen the case. In 2015, marine archaeologists recovered 39 ingots of orichalcum from a shipwreck off Sicily—the very metal Plato claimed adorned Atlantis’s walls and temples. This rare alloy, once thought mythical, now exists as tangible proof of advanced metallurgy in antiquity. Satellite imagery near Cádiz has revealed rectangular structures and concentric rings in a salt marsh, while rock carvings in Iberia depict boats and horses overwhelmed by waves, alongside illustrations of a circular city. These carvings suggest cultural memory of a great flood and a lost civilization.

Underwater ruins near Salmedina Island add another layer to the mystery. Massive stone structures, some walls towering over twenty feet high, lie buried beneath the sea. Researchers estimate these ruins are more than 11,000 years old, predating known civilizations in Europe. Recent studies even point to a submerged mountain range off the Canary Islands, named Mount Los Atlantes, which could mark the western edge of Plato’s fabled island.

Theories abound. Some scholars argue Atlantis was Tartessos, an advanced culture in Andalusia that thrived before being wiped out by floods. Others link it to the Minoan civilization, devastated by the eruption of Thera around 1600 BCE—a disaster that echoes Plato’s description of sudden destruction. Still others speculate that Atlantis was a memory of multiple events: rising seas, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes during the chaotic transition from the Ice Age to the modern climate.

What makes these findings so compelling is their convergence. Plato’s timeline coincides with the Younger Dryas—a period of abrupt climate change and massive flooding. His description of Atlantis’s engineering marvels mirrors what sonar and satellite imagery now reveal beneath Spanish waters. And the discovery of orichalcum, once thought mythical, suggests that ancient metallurgy was far more advanced than previously believed.

Perhaps Atlantis was real—a thriving society erased by nature’s fury. Or perhaps it remains a cautionary tale, reminding us that even the greatest civilizations can fall when arrogance overshadows wisdom. Until the ocean gives up its secrets, Atlantis will remain a shimmering phantom—a dream of perfection, a warning of downfall, and a mystery that binds the past to the present...

VIDEO BREAK: THE LEGEND OF ATLANTIS

NEWS BREAK: THE REINER MURDER CASE

Nick Reiner, who is charged in connection to the murders of his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, reportedly doesn’t understand why he is behind bars.

According to a Friday, January 9,  report, the 32-year-old is delusional. The outlet previously reported that Nick — who has long lived with substance abuse issues — was diagnosed with schizophrenia and that a change to his medication allegedly led to a mental breakdown. Nick's medication is not working apparently even after a month after the killings.

The legendary Hollywood director, 78, and his wife, 70, were found with fatal stab wounds in their Los Angeles home on December 14. Prior to their killings, the Reiners reportedly attended a holiday party at the home of Conan O’Brien, and it is believed Rob engaged in an argument with his son.

After the Reiners were found dead in their home, Nick was located and arrested by police hours later at approximately 9:15 p.m. local time near the University of Southern California campus.

He was initially represented by high-profile attorney Alan Jackson, but during a Wednesday, January 7, court appearance, Jackson withdrew from the case. Nick was then appointed a public defender, and his arraignment was postponed to February 23.Instagram/Michele Reiner

Nick has not yet entered a plea.

On January 7, Jackson also reiterated his belief in his former client’s innocence. “What we’ve learned and you can take this to the bank, is that pursuant to the laws of this state, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder,” he said. “Print that. We wish him the very very best moving forward.”

Rob and Michele, who also share children Jake, 34, and Romy, 28, met working together on When Harry Met Sally… before they tied the knot in 1989...

THE MYSTERY OF ATLANTIS - PART ONE

The story of Atlantis begins with Plato, writing in the 4th century BCE. In his dialogues Timaeus and Critias, he described a vast island beyond the Pillars of Hercules—what we now call the Strait of Gibraltar. This island, he claimed, was larger than Libya and Asia Minor combined, a land blessed with fertile plains, abundant resources, and a society that valued wisdom and virtue. Its people were descendants of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and their capital city was a marvel of engineering: concentric rings of land and water, connected by bridges and canals, adorned with gleaming walls of red, black, and white stone. At its heart stood the Temple of Poseidon, shimmering with orichalcum—a rare metal said to glow like fire.

Plato’s account was precise, even giving measurements for the city’s layout and describing its advanced infrastructure: irrigation systems, harbors, and a fleet of ships that dominated the seas. Atlantis was not just a city; it was an empire, commanding territories across the Mediterranean and beyond. Its wealth and power were unmatched, and for a time, its rulers governed with justice and restraint.

But prosperity bred ambition. The Atlanteans, once noble, grew greedy and sought to conquer lands far beyond their own. Their moral compass faltered, and arrogance replaced virtue. In Plato’s telling, this corruption angered the gods. As punishment, they unleashed a cataclysm—earthquakes and floods that swallowed Atlantis in a single day and night, leaving nothing but a restless sea where a paradise once stood.

For centuries, scholars debated whether Plato’s story was allegory or history. Was Atlantis a metaphor for hubris, a warning to Athens after its own imperial ambitions? Or was it a memory of a real civilization, passed down through oral tradition? The timeline Plato gave—9,000 years before his own era—places Atlantis around 11,600 years ago, coinciding with the end of the last Ice Age, a period marked by rising seas and violent geological upheavals. Could a great city have perished then, its ruins hidden beneath the ocean?

This question has haunted explorers, historians, and scientists for millennia. And as we’ll see in Part Two, modern discoveries are beginning to suggest that Plato’s tale may hold more truth than myth...

MY PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH A KILLER: JAMES EDWARDS

In my town of Shaler, a small community north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, not much even happens. However, that changed in 2013 when James Edwards attempted to kill his entire family. I actually knew the man. I did not know him well, but James Edwards was an electrician who did jobs with my stepfather. When my step father died in October of 2012, James came to the funeral home and even met me at my mom's house to go through some of my step father's old tools. He was over my mom's house in the spring of 2013. Later that year is when the tragedy happened.

On the morning of August 22, 2013, the peaceful neighborhood of Winterset Drive in Shaler Township, Pennsylvania, woke to a nightmare. Police cars lined the street, crime scene tape fluttered in the summer breeze, and neighbors whispered in disbelief. Inside one of those homes, a family had been shattered by an act of unimaginable violence.

James Edwards, 52, an electrician at Pittsburgh International Airport, had always seemed like an ordinary man to those who knew him. But in the early hours of that Thursday, something snapped. Armed with two .44-caliber revolvers, Edwards moved from room to room in his home, shooting his wife, Charlene, his 21-year-old son Jimmy, and his 19-year-old daughter Laurin. Laurin, a bright college student at Saint Francis University who had just celebrated her birthday, didn’t survive. The family dog was also killed. After the rampage, James turned the gun on himself. 

Charlene and Jimmy were critically wounded but miraculously survived. Charlene, a nurse, and Jimmy, a pharmacy student at Duquesne University, faced long recoveries—both physical and emotional. In the aftermath, their resilience became a beacon of hope. Jimmy, despite enduring multiple gunshot wounds, publicly forgave his father, calling it an act of faith and strength.

Investigators searched for answers. Why would a father annihilate his own family? There were no letters, no clear signs of domestic turmoil. But troubling details emerged: Edwards had been suspended from his job and was reportedly facing termination amid allegations of workplace misconduct. Friends described him as erratic, financially strained, and under immense stress. Still, no one imagined this outcome. “He seemed fine,” a neighbor recalled, stunned by the suddenness of the tragedy. 

The community rallied around the survivors. Vigils were held, prayers offered, and donations poured in to help with medical bills and funeral costs. Laurin’s funeral mass drew nearly 200 mourners, all remembering her as “sweet, innocent, and compassionate.” Her mother and brother attended, their presence a testament to perseverance in the face of heartbreak. 

Today, the Edwards case remains a haunting reminder of how quickly life can unravel—and how strength and forgiveness can emerge from even the darkest moments...

CASEY ANTHONY: THE MISSED EVIDENCE

While investigating the disappearance of Casey Anthony's two-year-old daughter, the Florida sheriff's office overlooked the key evidence that someone in their home did a Google search for "fool-proof" suffocat*on methods on the same day the toddler was last seen alive.

 
They missed it because the search was made from Mozilla Firefox and they had only checked the browser history of Internet Explorer.

On December 11, 2008, Caylee Anthony’s remains were found with a blanket inside a laundry bag in a wooded area near the Anthony family's house.

The state sought the death penalty for Casey. Relying largely on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution alleged Casey wished to free herself from parental responsibilities.

 
The defense stated that the child had drowned accidentally in the family's swimming pool and that George, her grandfather, had disposed of the body.

 
On July 5, 2011, a jury found Casey not guilty of first-degree m*rder, aggravated ab*se, and aggravated mansla*ghter of a child, but guilty of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer.

With credit for time served, she was released on July 17, 2011. A Florida appellate court overturned two of the misdemeanor convictions on January 25, 2013...