I had the great pleasure of discussing Chained Birds on two new true crime podcasts, and I’m honored to be among their first guests. My interviews on Santana True Crime and True Crime Talk with Nic Edwards just dropped, and each episode offers something unique in terms of interview style, topics discussed, and book content covered.
Fun fact: each of these new shows has a two-degree separation from my publisher, WildBlue Press. Cameron Santana, host of Santana True Crime, just launched his show this month following the release of his true crime book A Murder on Campus, written with his brother Brian Santana. The North Carolina brothers published their book in January with WildBlue Press, and it’s gotten fantastic reviews. The story follows the cold case of 19-year-old Virginia Olson and her brutal 1973 murder on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Asheville.
Just as I’ve done, the brothers have promoted their book through numerous true crime podcasts and radio interviews, but unlike me, Cameron caught the radio bug. He decided to set up a studio and launch his own show in the true crime space, which appears to have plenty of room for newcomers. And let me tell you, this host does not phone it in!
Cameron and I had a lengthy, detailed discussion about the aspects of Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir that fascinated him the most. As a former cop, he was particularly interested in the co-dependency of correctional officers and prison gangs who sometimes operate in tandem to control violence. But of course, this co-dependency can also turn into collusion, which is what happened in my book. Cameron and I discussed how, in Chained Birds, the guards and a gang worked together to set up a rec cage assault on an inmate, which was a pivotal event that drew me into the story.
You can hear my Santana True Crime interview on Apple Podcasts and the Podcast App. All episodes of this new weekly podcast are free.
Two days after that episode was released, my interview on True Crime Talk with Nic Edwards aired. I had a fantastic exchange with Carolyn Beradino, one of the show’s three hosts, and then at the end of the show, all three hosts discussed the book. I love the stylized intro to this new show, where the hosts take turns providing background on the book to prep their audience.
Nic Edwards, in the title of True Crime Talk, is an experienced podcaster best known for his popular True Crime Garage show, now in its tenth year. In addition to being a victim’s rights advocate, Nic is also a WildBlue Press author. In 2023, he co-authored with Brian Whitney THE DELPHIA MURDERS: The Quest To Find ‘The Man On The Bridge’, which follows the 2017 deaths of three Indiana teenagers who went for a walk in the woods near the abandoned Monon High Bridge. The book has just been updated with case-solving details.
This January, Nic was tapped by WildBlue Press to launch True Crime Talk to feature the publisher’s true crime new releases and backlist, with episodes released twice a month. For the last 15 minutes of the Chained Birds’ episode, Nic joined Carolyn and their co-host Bryan Smith to discuss the dynamics of keeping inmates safe in prison, not just from corrupt officers, but gang “shot-callers” who demand extreme loyalty upon threats of death. It was fascinating to hear a group of reviewers mull over an important theme in my book.
You can listen to the Chained Birds episode of True Crime Talk with Nic Edwards for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and Audible.
Carla Conti is a true crime journalist, storyteller, and prison reform advocate. Her debut book, Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir of Justice, Survival and Redemption Behind Bars, is out now with WildBlue Press.
