The Man in the Window: For diehard true crime fans only

The Premise (from Apple Podcasts): 

In Man in the Window, Paige St. John, a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter has uncovered never before revealed details about the man who would eventually become one of California’s most deadly serial killers. From Wondery and the LA Times comes a new series that traces his path of devastation through his victims’ eyes.

Series or standalone:

Series

Begin listening to:

Episode 1: Phantom in the Fog

Format:

Investigative reporting with interviews, excerpts from news reports, etc.

Host(s): 

Investigative reporter Paige St. John

Sound/production quality: 

Good--no complaints

Rating/age suitability: 

It deals with rape and murder, so it’s for adults

Approximate length of episodes: 

Around 40 minutes

Curricular ties: 

None unless you’re teaching law.

The Podcast Librarian’s Review:

This podcast is topping the charts right now, but I fear the hype might be a little overblown. MITW is an investigative reporting pod from Wondery, a company which is usually awesome at this genre (see Dr. Death & Dirty John). Host Paige St. John explores the timeline of the Golden State Killer. I didn’t know much about this rapist/murderer before listening, so the first few episodes with victims’ accounts were fascinating and initially got me hooked. Unfortunately, subsequent episodes were a little slower, and the conclusion didn’t feel quite satisfying (probably in part because this case is ongoing, so there was only so much that could be resolved). The focus in later episodes is on how rape cases were handled in the 70s (spoiler alert: really poorly), and although it’s an interesting topic, that discussion made the podcast veer off in a different direction. Overall, this was definitely not one of my favorite Wondery offerings, but if you’re a true crime fan, you may want to check it out for yourself.