Topic: True Crime

Greg Carlwood mentions his recent appearance on the Danny Jones Show, facilitated by Sam Tripoli. He addresses his hesitation to discuss certain sensitive topics, such as the "Tracy" case, citing the legal risks and lawsuits faced by other podcasters like Clyde Lewis. He encourages his audience to support the appearance to help bypass YouTube's "tombstone algorithm."

Ryan Gruelich discusses the importance of humanizing Hallie Illingworth to avoid the common true crime trap of deifying killers. He suggests that the community's collective storytelling has transformed Hallie into an egregore, a group thought-form that grants her a new kind of power in death. This process is compared to the experience of a theme park attraction where the phenomenon responds to human engagement.

Darren Shaffer discusses the future of the Cooper Vortex podcast, noting that despite initial plans to finish the project, the depth of the mystery requires continued coverage. Shaffer clarifies that he is not a general true crime fan but is specifically captivated by the Cooper case. The segment concludes with Shaffer inviting listeners to the upcoming convention in Portland.

Godfrey discusses her first book, "The Poisoned Widow," which details the true story of Myrtle Schauder in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Schauder conspired with a student boarder to murder her husband using strychnine and later attempted to kill her four children. Godfrey spent six years researching the case, eventually tracking down Schauder's descendants who were unaware of her criminal past.

The murder plot involved Schauder giving her children chocolate bonbons laced with bitter strychnine, hoping they would die in a staged car accident. The plan failed when the children bit into the candy and spit it out, though one teenager ingested enough to cause convulsions. Schauder initially blamed a fictional "poison candy lady" from Milwaukee before confessing to the crime.