Culpable: A compelling case...and one of the catchiest pod theme songs ever

The Premise (from Apple Podcasts):

Culpable explores unsettled cases where the people who seem deserving of blame have somehow eluded justice. On February 26, 2014, Christian Andreacchio was found dead in the upstairs bathroom of his apartment from a single gunshot wound to the head. After a mere 45-minute investigation, local police ruled his death a suicide, despite substantial evidence that points to Christian’s death not only being a homicide, but premeditated murder. Host Dennis Cooper investigates and shares a compelling story about this suspicious death, the questions surrounding it, and a grieving family’s ongoing fight for justice.

Series or standalone:

Series

Begin listening to:

Trust the Process

Format:

Investigative true crime reporting

Host(s):

Dennis Cooper

Sound/production quality:

Very good

Rating/age suitability:

Adult; CW: language/murder, etc.

Approximate length of episodes:

40 minutes

Curricular ties:

N/A

Similar recommended pods:

Podcast Librarian’s Review:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I don’t usually review true crime pods until they’ve ended, but I’m making an exception. The first thing to know about this pod is that it has some of the most catchy intro and interstitial instrumental music that I’ve ever heard; it’s by Dirt Poor Robins. The pod is the story of a young man who is found dead in a bathtub with a gun in his hand. The police claim that it was a suicide, but much evidence indicates otherwise. Like so many other true crime pods, this one is made interesting (and infuriating) by a shoddy investigation that further complicates the case. I have to admit that the host sometimes sounds like he’s reading a script (which I’m sure he is, but it just sounds a little too monotone sometimes), and some of the episodes have included repetitive information. But for some reason, I’ve found myself intrigued by the different people involved in the case, and the level of access to information that the show has is really impressive. I like that it’s a pod that respects the victim and his family, who are fully on board with the pod and actually approached the team at CrimeCon to ask them to tell Christian’s story. I hope this crime gets solved, but either way, I’ll keep listening (and humming that theme song) until there are no more episodes left.

Update 10.27.2020

It's been about a year since the first season of Culpable ended, and I did indeed keep listening to all the episodes, including bonuses. It continued to be well-made and engaging--and sadly, Christian's case remains unsolved. The good news is that the season was very popular, and I expect that there will be another season (probably of a different case) forthcoming.

Also, the theme song is still probably my favorite of any podcast!