Murder Made Fiction

Murder Made Fiction

A podcast that analyzes fictionalized adaptations of true crimes. Hosted by Amanda Jane Stern and Joe Lipsett. Part of the Bloody FM podcast network.

Episodes

June 9, 2026 53 mins
The first title in our Leopold and Loeb coverage is Compulsion, written by Richard Murphy and based on Meyer Levin's 1956 novel. Richard Fleischer's film is notable for casting Orson Welles, who delivers an impassioned speech against the death penalty in the finale. Plus: a weakened Hays Code; beautiful Dean Stockwell; and the decision to keep the murder offscreen. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on social media @murdermf...
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Here's a sneak peek at our all new full length Patreon episode on Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948) Like what you hear? Head on over to www.patreon.com/murdermadefiction and become a Patron for more exclusive bonus content today!  Theme Music: Conrad Chambers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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June 2, 2026 19 mins
In Chicago 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb attempted to commit "the perfect murder" by killing 14-year-old Bobby Franks. They were caught almost immediately in what became known as "the trial of the century." Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on social media @murdermfiction (BlueSky & Instagram) or send us an email: murdermadefiction@gmail.com > Amanda: @amandajanestern > Joe: @bstolemyremote / @joelipsett (BlueSky) ...
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Joe welcomes new co-host Amanda Jane Stern with an interview to explore her background, her history with true crime, her likes and dislikes, and recent titles that have caught her attention. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on social media @murdermfiction (BlueSky & Instagram) or send us an email: murdermadefiction@gmail.com > Amanda: @amandajanestern > Joe: @bstolemyremote / @joelipsett (BlueSky) Wanna support the show? ...
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Jenn and Joe wrap up coverage of Netflix's limited series, Unbelievable, with the cathartic final episode. Like what you hear? Head on over to www.patreon.com/murdermadefiction and become a Patron for more exclusive bonus content today!  Theme Music: Conrad Chambers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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In twelve seasons of his anthology show, Ryan Murphy has tackled his share of true crime. To conclude our coverage of the murder of Elizabeth Short, we’re revisiting a pair of episodes featuring Mena Suvari as the famous young woman: Murder House - S1 Episode 9: “Spooky Little Girl” and Apocalypse - S8 Episode 6: “Return to Murder House.” Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on social media @murdermfiction (Twitter & Instagram...
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May 19, 2026 48 mins
Joe and Jenn have reached the most mainstream fictionalized depiction of Elizabeth Short's murder: Brian De Palma's 2006 title, The Black Dahlia. Criticized for its poor casting and convoluted narrative, the film is reminiscent of several other crime entries, notably L.A. Confidential. Despite this (and the 2 hour runtime), the cast is hot, Hilary Swank and Fiona Shaw are having a blast, and that fountain scene is pretty amazing! ...
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Ulu Grosbard’s True Confessions is a star-studded neo-noire following Robert Duvall and Robert De Niro as brothers caught in the corruption of post-WWII LA. But how does it fare as a Black Dahlia text? Does it present a faithful or sensitive version of the tragic murder of Elizabeth Short? Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on social media @murdermfiction (Twitter & Instagram) or send us an email: murdermadefiction@gmail.com...
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Here's a sneak peek at our all new Patreon episode on Episode 2 of the Netflix limited series, Unbelievable (2019) Like what you hear? Head on over to www.patreon.com/murdermadefiction and become a Patron for more exclusive bonus content today!  Theme Music: Conrad Chambers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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May 5, 2026 44 mins
Our coverage of The Black Dahlia kicks off with the 1975 made-for-TV movie, Who Is The Black Dahlia? Director Joseph Pevney and screenwriter Robert W. Lenski's film presents Elizabeth Short as an aimless, unknowable figure (possibly even to herself). As played by Lucie Arnaz, the movie is well researched and actually gives Short much more screen time than we expected, but it doesn't entirely satisfy. As a kick off, this is solid,...
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Jenn and Joe sat down with non-fiction author William J. Mann to discuss his recent novel, Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood, which acts as the source material for our episodes all month long. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on social media @murdermfiction (BlueSky & Instagram) or send us an email: murdermadefiction@gmail.com > Jenn: @jennferatu > Joe: @bstolemyremote / @joelipsett (BlueS...
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May 1, 2026 21 mins
This month, we’re covering films based on one of the most famous unsolved crimes in American history. To kick things off, Jenn and Joe discuss the gruesome murder of Elizabeth Short and the many salacious rumors that rose in its wake. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on social media @murdermfiction (Twitter & Instagram) or send us an email: murdermadefiction@gmail.com > Jenn: @jennferatu > Joe: @bstolemyremote Wanna suppo...
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April 28, 2026 48 mins
Due to a technical snafu, we're unable to release our episode on Bad Education, so accept our apologies with an episode on Brad Parker's delightfully silly B-movie Chernobyl Diaries (2012), which we programmed as part of our Chernobyl coverage on Patreon. Like what you hear? Head on over to www.patreon.com/murdermadefiction and become a Patron for more exclusive bonus content today!  Theme Music: Conrad Chambers Learn more about...
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April 21, 2026 55 mins
Week three of 'Whistleblower' month looks at Todd Haynes' 2019 film, Dark Waters (2019), adapted from the New York Times article "The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare." Starring a fantastic Mark Ruffalo, the film follows Rob Billott a lawyer who takes on DuPont chemicals for polluting the water in West Virginia. Topics include: the long drawn out legal battle; character actors Bill Camp and Mare Winningham; and misusi...
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April 14, 2026 55 mins
Our coverage of whistleblowers continues with Erin Brockovich, a biopic turned true crime drama about a single mother of three who uncovers a devastating environmental crime. Steven Soderbergh’s crowd-pleaser infuses life into what is essentially a story about documents while adding courtroom intrigue to a case settled without going to trial.  Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on social media @murdermfiction (Twitter & Instag...
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April 7, 2026 52 mins
On Nov 13, 1974, the body of Karen Silkwood was discovered in her rear-ended car in a ditch in Crescent, Oklahoma. Mike Nichols' Oscar-nominated 1983 film looks at the events preceding her death as Karen became the first woman ever elected to a Kerr-McGee bargaining committee, her increasing activism, and her attempts to sound the alarm on faulty nuclear rods before her death. The film stars Meryl Streep, Cher, and Kurt Russe...
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April 1, 2026 22 mins
In the early morning hours of 26 April 1986, the fourth RBMK reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, exposing the Soviet Union to massive levels of radioactivity. The resulting cleanup would take nearly a year and wind up claiming thousands of lives. Meanwhile, scientists scrambled to understand exactly what went wrong and how to prevent Earth’s worst manmade disaster from happening again. Jenn walks Joe through the harrowing...
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March 31, 2026 60 mins
Jenn and Joe are ready to wrap up a month of Jack the Ripper texts with arguably the most famous title to date: The Hughes Brothers' From Hell (2001). This adaptation of the Alan Moore comic is 2+ hours long, stars Johnny Depp and Heather Graham (doing questionable accents) and has plenty of stylish green and red lighting. Plus: a fantastic turn by Ian Holm; cries of salacious gore from critics of the time; a revisionist ending; ...
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March 24, 2026 44 mins
For our second last week of Jack the Ripper texts, we're checking out made-for-TV movie The Ripper (1997) Starring Patrick Bergin, Gabrielle Anwar, and MVP Samuel West, this version of the story dispenses with the mystery and identifies The Ripper ~22 minutes in. Plus: prioritizing the romance over the investigation, Bergin as a good guy, queer coding, and why we can tell this was helmed by a female director (Janet Meyers). Wann...
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Here's a sneak peek at our all new Patreon episode on Episode 6 of The Terror, "A Mercy" which features a fiery carnival. Like what you hear? Head on over to www.patreon.com/murdermadefiction and become a Patron for more exclusive bonus content today!  Theme Music: Murder on the Artlist Express   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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