It was my pleasure to call into an old-timey radio station and chat it up with the grandfather of true crime radio and podcasting Burl Barer on his show TRUE CRIME UNCENSORED WITH BURL BARER. And when I say old-timey, my instructions were to call in on a landline if I could manage it — sorry, Burl, I haven’t had one of those since 2006!
I imagine hearing a guest speak through the static of a phone call is part of the show’s retro appeal, but Burl needs no gimmicks as a long-time interviewer who’s intensely focused on his subjects. He told me, genuinely, that Chained Birds was an important book and thanked me for writing it, and I’m not embarrassed to say that made me choke up a little bit 🥹
Decades ago, Burl started out as a radio personality in the Pacific Northwest and then segued into an esteemed career as a New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author with a penchant for writing true crime. In 2008 he married those two passions and launched the Internet radio program TRUE CRIMES, and he’s been on the air ever since, delivering in-depth interviews with true crime authors, victims, and experts.
His show, co-hosted with Mark Boyer, a financial crimes expert and fact-checker, appears live each week on Saturdays at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET on OutlawRadioLive.com. Listeners are not only entertained by his healthy dose of insight and humor but they’re also educated about the endless aspects of the criminal justice system.
Burl, Mark, and I talked at length about the horrific conditions of the experimental Lewisburg prison program that I expose in Chained Birds, with Burl commenting more than once that he had not read such brutal descriptions of overall abuses.
We touched on some lighter topics too, including Burl saying that any book with the word “murder” in its title sells more copies, and that true crime authors who write in a subsequent genre will not necessarily have their fans follow them — they want more true crime, he says!
Burl has quite the legacy as a grandfather of true crime podcasting. His nearly two-decade, innovative approach, which combines storytelling with discussions about notorious crimes and criminals, paved the way for all the true crime podcasts that followed. His commitment to exploring the darker aspects of human nature has resonated with audiences, making him a respected figure among true crime enthusiasts. He’s a sought-after expert for other true crime podcasts and TV shows, and continues to inspire new generations of writers and podcasters in the field.
I will get to talk with Burl at least one more time, as he’s asked me to co-host an upcoming Blogtalk radio show with him and someone he is mentoring in the podcast business. The mentee is a former inmate, and Burl thought we’d have a great on-point connection and discussion. I’m very much looking forward to this and will post an update when it occurs 😊
Carla Conti is a true crime journalist, storyteller, and prison reform advocate. Her debut book, Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir, will be published by WildBlue Press on November 12, 2024.
