March 5, 2025 • 27 mins
What does it take to bring a true crime story to national television?
For nearly a decade, journalist and TV producer Claire St. Amant has worked on some of the most high-profile cases in the country, reporting for 48 Hours and 60 Minutes. From serial killers to mass shootings, she has tracked down the criminals behind the headlines and uncovered the stories that haunt both victims’ families and investigative reporters alike.
In her debut memoir, Killer Story, Claire pulls back the curtain on the cutthroat world of true crime television—where the pressure is relentless, the competition is ruthless, and the pursuit of justice often comes at a cost. She takes readers inside her biggest cases, including the murder of Chris Kyle, the chilling crimes of Samuel Little, and the devastating Parkland school shooting, sharing the ethical dilemmas, investigative roadblocks, and personal moments that still weigh on her.
In this episode, Claire talks about her whirlwind career—from launching her first podcast, Final Days on Earth, and hosting four gripping seasons, to her latest podcast, Justice Pending, and now, her first book. Plus, she’s collaborating with a major network to develop a new docuseries on serial killers—and we get the inside scoop.
This is a must-listen for true crime fans, aspiring forensic psychologists, and anyone fascinated by the intersection of media, justice, and storytelling.
🔗 Get Killer Story – www.clairestamant.com
🔗 Final Days on Earth Podcast – finaldaysonearth.com
🔗 Justice Pending Podcast – Listen Here
P.S. Reese Witherspoon—this book is made for TV. Killer Story deserves a screen adaptation just like The Morning Show!
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Killer Psychologist and True Crime Journalism
01:47 Claire St. Amant's Journey in True Crime Media
05:49 The Role of Investigative Journalism in True Crime
10:54 Transitioning to Podcasting and Deep Dives into Cold Cases
13:22 Engaging with Law Enforcement and Victims' Families
17:12 Future Projects and Television Adaptations
20:19 The Challenges and Rewards of Independent Work
23:27 Inspiration for Aspiring Journalists and Conclusion
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/killer-psychologist--6020549/support.
For nearly a decade, journalist and TV producer Claire St. Amant has worked on some of the most high-profile cases in the country, reporting for 48 Hours and 60 Minutes. From serial killers to mass shootings, she has tracked down the criminals behind the headlines and uncovered the stories that haunt both victims’ families and investigative reporters alike.
In her debut memoir, Killer Story, Claire pulls back the curtain on the cutthroat world of true crime television—where the pressure is relentless, the competition is ruthless, and the pursuit of justice often comes at a cost. She takes readers inside her biggest cases, including the murder of Chris Kyle, the chilling crimes of Samuel Little, and the devastating Parkland school shooting, sharing the ethical dilemmas, investigative roadblocks, and personal moments that still weigh on her.
In this episode, Claire talks about her whirlwind career—from launching her first podcast, Final Days on Earth, and hosting four gripping seasons, to her latest podcast, Justice Pending, and now, her first book. Plus, she’s collaborating with a major network to develop a new docuseries on serial killers—and we get the inside scoop.
This is a must-listen for true crime fans, aspiring forensic psychologists, and anyone fascinated by the intersection of media, justice, and storytelling.
🔗 Get Killer Story – www.clairestamant.com
🔗 Final Days on Earth Podcast – finaldaysonearth.com
🔗 Justice Pending Podcast – Listen Here
P.S. Reese Witherspoon—this book is made for TV. Killer Story deserves a screen adaptation just like The Morning Show!
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Killer Psychologist and True Crime Journalism
01:47 Claire St. Amant's Journey in True Crime Media
05:49 The Role of Investigative Journalism in True Crime
10:54 Transitioning to Podcasting and Deep Dives into Cold Cases
13:22 Engaging with Law Enforcement and Victims' Families
17:12 Future Projects and Television Adaptations
20:19 The Challenges and Rewards of Independent Work
23:27 Inspiration for Aspiring Journalists and Conclusion
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/killer-psychologist--6020549/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Killer Psychologist. I'm Dana Anderson, a forensic psychologist
and your host of the show. Killer Psychologist is for
true crime fanatics and anyone intrigued with the dark side
of psychology. True crime fans love the suspense, the twists,
(00:23):
the pursuit of justice. But what if I told you
that the stories you watch unfold on network TV are
only part of the battle behind every headline grabbing case
is a journalist fighting for access, navigating cutthroat competition, and
facing off against stone walling detectives, reluctant lawyers, and even
(00:48):
powerful institutions that don't want the truth exposed. Claire Satamont
has lived it as a producer for forty eight hours
and sixty minutes. She's spent nearly a decade tracking down
killers and covering shocking twists, and sometimes even putting herself
(01:08):
in danger. From the murder of Chris Kyle to one
of America's most prolific serial killers, Claire has sat face
to face with the criminals who made headlines. In her
hot off the press new book, Killer Story, Claire pulls
back the curtain on the world of true crime television,
(01:31):
revealing stories that never made it to air and ones
that still haunt her, and she talks about the ethical
tightrope journalists walk every day. Claire, Welcome to Killer Psychologist.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm glad to
be here.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So I'm excited I have your book hot off the press,
but I'm glad that you sent me the audio tape
and I yes, already got into the two chapters and
I love that you tell your own story in your
own voice, and I love it.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Yeah, it was really an interesting experience to not only
write a book, but to record the audio book as well.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I feel like.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I relived it all whenever I was in the soundbooth
recording every word that i'd written.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
I have listened to a lot of audio books or
books on tape during my life, and it was how
I got through my commute to school. And back in
the day, I would go to the library and rent
CDs and I would rent like six at a time,
and I would put them in my player, and they
(02:48):
were all like true crime books. But I would decide
whether or not I was going to listen to it
based on how the person's voice was, if I liked
the narrator, Unfortunately, sometimes I would take it out ejected
immediately and just never listen to it. Not because I
didn't want to listen to the story, but because of
(03:09):
the narrator they had chosen to read the story. It
was kind of incongruent. It was sort of off track,
and I think it's so important to find a narrator
that can tell your story. And so tell me about
your journey?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Did you already.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Intend to tell your own story? So?
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Yeah, So it is funny because they, you know, when
I was going through the contract for the book, one
of the things they put in there was that I
could audition for my own audiobook, And I was like,
all right, who's going to be better at reading my
life story than me? I would love to know, But
that's just kind of standard contract fair They have to
(03:51):
have that in there in case the author has some
type of voice issue or you know. But I was
really excited to get to read the audiobook because it's
not just any book. It's a memoir, right, So I'm
talking about my experiences, my love story with my husband,
my career, like everything, the birth of my son. So
(04:13):
having someone else read that that would have been pretty
pretty bizarre.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah, I wish this book was around back in the
day when I was a young girl trying to figure
out what career path I wanted to pursue. In fact,
when I was in college, I took this psychological test.
It was a screener to find out what type of
career you'd be good at, and I took it, and
(04:40):
I remember investigative journalism being at the top. And at
the time, I thought, I don't even really know what
that is. I mean, is it exciting? Is there mystery?
And I didn't have anyone that I knew in that
position at the time that I could look to and
find out more about that career field. And and now
it's all starting to make sense because I was listening
(05:03):
to you and I'm like, wait, she has this job.
It's so interesting in exciting, and it sounds a lot
like what I do going to the gel interviewing people,
like being you know, sneaky, getting the scoop, getting the stories.
And I'm like, wait a minute, should I have become
an investigative journalist?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Well, life is long, you know, Dana, There's still time.
You can totally make a pivot here.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Thank god, it's all starting to make sense now. Like,
maybe finally I have my microphone.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
It's like, there you go.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
But I never knew it was so exciting, And I
think my career path could have gone a different way
had I had someone like you sharing your experience firsthand,
tapping into this field. Yeah, I hope that young journalists
read this book. You know, my primary audience for it
(05:54):
is anyone who watches true crime television or listens to
true crime podcasts. But I definitely see, you know, aspiring
journalists as an audience for this book.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
And I feel like it's.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Such a unique window into not only what it's like
to work in national television for network news. You know,
I worked at CBS for most of my career, but
it also shows the journey from local media to a
startup news website and then to the national media because
(06:28):
for most people, you don't start at the top, you know,
you don't start at the national media, and you have
to find your way through lots of different media jobs,
you know, before you end up somewhere like forty eight
hours and getting to tell these really complicated, fascinating, twisted
murder stories.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Well, I think that's what makes your story so relatable,
because I mean, you had to jump through the hoops
and oh, it kind of kind of slide your way
in there, and you didn't always like quite follow the rules,
but you know, I kind of like, I like, I
found that very relatable, like you're still in it to
get the story. I actually really had never really thought
(07:11):
about it from an investigative journalist perspective of like from
their perspective, how do they get the stories? And yeah,
you know, how do you beat out the competition some
of these cases right to get an interview with someone
who's incarcerated, Like what is it going to take for
them to talk to you? And you know why you
(07:34):
over this other person. But it's like you're getting in
there early on and building those relationships and getting them
to open up to you.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
And trial and error, you know, to learning what worked
with certain people. And it was an interesting experience for me.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Well, a lot of people that are interested in listening
to killer psychologists, a lot of people are really interested
in forensic psychology. And there's a lot of females that
are trying to figure out what career path to take.
And I'm finding that being an investigative journalist, it's diving
into the world of forensic psychology and putting yourself on
those positions where you get those interviews, and there's a
(08:14):
lot of interest in this career field. Now, I'm just curious,
you've been doing this a while now, are you seeing
that more people following in your footsteps?
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Interest?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Is it more females interested in becoming an investigative journalist?
Speaker 3 (08:30):
So there's actually a lot of negativity about becoming a
journalist in today's world. I found a lot of discouragement
for people to go into the media right now, just
because the economics of it are pretty rough and a
lot of newsrooms are closing or they're shrinking, you know,
(08:51):
there just aren't as many media jobs as there used
to be. But I still think it's the greatest job
in the world. And I always encourage people that if
you think you might want to be a journalist, give
it a shot, because you'll know right away if it's
for you or not. You know, I worked with a
lot of people in different newsrooms, you know, for newspapers, magazines,
(09:15):
online television, and it's just very obvious if you don't
enjoy this kind of work, that you won't do it
for long. Because for the most part, it's not a
glamorous job. You don't make a lot of money in
the beginning, and so it really has to be something
that you love to do. And then if you love it, eventually,
after you put in the time and you cover all
(09:37):
these great stories, you'll have these bigger jobs and better
opportunities and you know, to go onto. It's a challenging
cell in a lot of ways to get people to
want to go into journalism right now. I know because
I've started teaching a class on podcasting in the journalism
department at my alma mater, Baylor University, and a lot
(10:00):
of the students are going for the PR track the
marketing track, and we feel like it's based in large
part by the fact that jobs in media are shrinking
and they see a lot higher paychecks in PR and marketing,
and a lot of times that just turns people away
(10:22):
from the media field. But I think that if more
people would realize how much fun there is to be
had in the media, how rewarding the job can be
to tell these stories that you know, you get to
be the first reporter to tell this story.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
It's really exciting. I talk about how.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
When you're a journalist, your job is on display for
everyone to see your failures your successes. It's a public
facing job and so there's a lot of pressure there,
but there's also, you know, a lot of satisfaction.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
So you've crossed over to pop casting. Yeah, and maybe
that was easy for you to transition to since you
were already so vocal and public. Tell me about your podcast.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
So my podcast is called Final Days on Earth with
Claire Santama, and I have three seasons out. It's deep
dives on cold cases, and so I take one case
per season and I follow the story wherever it takes me,
and I look at these unresolved deaths, so questions of
(11:32):
was this murder, was this an accident?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Was the suicide?
Speaker 3 (11:36):
And so I wanted to talk about the cases that
were too complicated for an hour of television, And so
the podcast allowed me to have as much time as
I needed to go deep on these cold cases and
really look at all possible angles and talk to as
many people as I could. And I really enjoy putting
(11:57):
the podcast out there and then listen to see who
comes out of the woodwork to want to talk to
me about their case. And so I always have bonus
episodes where people I didn't expect to talk to me,
you know that they contact me and say, I know
something about this case and i'd like to, you know,
tell you about it. And so I'll do a bonus
episode with different people. Sometimes they're witnesses to the case,
(12:21):
sometimes they're friends or family members, and so.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
That's been really rewarding.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
And yeah, I love being able to talk about these
under the radar cases that people might not have heard of,
where someone is still saying, you know, justice has not
been served. And after three seasons of that, I got
the idea to do a spinoff podcast called Justice Pending
with my true crime bestie Susan, who lives in New York,
(12:49):
and so I'm here in Texas and we talk about
the cases that keep us up at night, and it's
really like us workshopping what cases could potentially be a
future season of Final Days on Earth. But it's a
weekly chat show and so we're trying to do it
every week in twenty twenty five, and then in twenty
(13:10):
twenty six, we want to come out with a new season, scripted,
serialized of Final Days on Earth, you know, a deep
dive on another cold case. But for now, we're talking
about a new case every week.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Wow. So as far as the cases that you go through,
are you getting the whole criminal file, the autopsy, everything.
Are you getting this through family? Are they reaching out
to you and presenting cases and then asking you to
get justice for their family.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
I usually have someone in the victim's family who comes
forward and says, you know, we don't think justice has
been served in this case, and we want you to
take a deeper look at it, and we want to
get answers that we haven't been able to find so far,
and we haven't been able to get through through the
traditional justice system. So I also go to whatever law
(14:06):
enforcement agency is investigating the case, and I always ask
them to participate. I've had a mixed bag of results
with that. My first season, you know, they did not participate.
I was able to get a special consultant who had
worked for a different agency and had had access to
the file and had looked into it. You know, that
was on season one. But seasons two and three I
(14:28):
had cooperation from law enforcement on these cold cases, which
was really fabulous, and they talked to me about their investigation.
And I was also able in all three seasons to
use the original police interviews that were done on persons
of interest, witnesses, suspects, and so you'll hear those audio recordings.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
In all of my.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Episodes, I use clips from the actual police interviews.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Yeah, I think that can be one of the challenges
is getting law enforcement interested to assist you, and I
know it can be difficult, especially with cold cases. But
it's interesting. I was talking to someone yesterday, actually a
couple of different people recently who's cases were resolved through
(15:21):
a podcast.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, And in in other cases where you get someone
to go on your show that's a suspect and they
actually just start spilling the beans and sharing things, and
then it's incriminating. The district attorney listens in they get
this information. So I like, have you thought about getting
some of those folks on your podcast, you know, any
suspects and see what they want to share.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
I've tried to speak with whoever will talk to me
related to the case, whether it's a suspect or you know, victims,
family investigators, and so yeah, I've talked to people who've
been suspected, you know, of these a lot of times.
Most of the time they don't want to go on
the record. They won't agree to do, you know, an
on camera or recorded interview with me for the podcast.
(16:10):
But I even find speaking to them off the record
is extremely helpful and interesting to me. I always take notes.
I'm always hopeful that someone will talk to me on
the record about these cases. But yeah, it's really the
dream that you could get the actual suspect to talk
to you on the podcast, right.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Yeah, you're like a secret private detective working for the police,
so you're taking all this notes. You could be feeding
them information. Yeah, you know, it's it's very interesting. I
do feel like with the cold cases, there's no statute
of limitations on murder, so you can always be charged
with the murder. There's no people say, you know, getting
away with murder. Well, as long as you're still breathing,
(16:53):
you could still be charged. There's always that possibility. So
do you have, like you have some cases in mind
that you're you want to go after and maybe help solve. Yes,
So you've written your first book, or you're going to
have a series or maybe like a television series to
go with this.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
I would love to.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
I feel like it has all the makings of a
television show. I was, of course a television producer, so
I wrote it kind of scene by scene, and you know,
each chapter could really be an episode of a television show,
a scripted drama about the life of a.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
True crime television producer.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
So, you know, I love The Devilwaar's Prada, the fashion
journalism story that you know turned into the movie that
has been very successful, as well as The Morning Show
on Apple TV, which is based on Top of the Morning,
written by Brian Stelter, a journalist who you know looked
at all three major morning news shows at ABC, NBC,
(17:56):
and CBS, and that's what they used to create this
television series was his book.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
And so I see.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
This Killer Story as very much a television ready book.
It could very easily be adapted into a television show
about forty eight hours Dayline in twenty twenty, and what
the producers do to get the stories on the air.
So you know, you've got all the drama of working
in the media, plus you up murder. So I think
(18:27):
I think it's a winning combination.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I love the.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Morning Show and I love Reese Witherspoon. Yes, she is
a genius when it comes to her business strategy, which
she's she takes authors and turns them into movies. So
I think you should partner with her.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah, Reese, if you're listening, I would love to partner.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
So what are you working on right now as far
as any plans for true crime docu series? You've got
so many stories and connections, and everybody loves true crime.
It's the one thing that's not dying down in this market,
Like true crime stories are selling and it just never
(19:16):
goes out of style.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Well, I don't think I'm gonna let the cat out
of the bag just yet, but I do have a
television show in development about serial killers, and so that
to be continued that conversation. But I am working on
a television show right now with a major network, and
in addition to that, of course, working on my podcast
(19:38):
Justice Pending, looking to do a new season of Final
Days on Earth and promoting killer stories. So I've got
a full murder plate, Danta.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, and plus you're touring and you're doing speaking events,
and you seem to be pretty booked. I don't know
how you're doing it all, actually, because I just connected
with you on Instagram and you're doing in person book
signings and it's blowing up. I mean, your book just
(20:11):
came out last week, Like, I just got this in
the metal and we just happened to connect. Yeah, And
I caught your title and I immediately was drawn to it,
like I want to I want this, I gotta get
my hands on this. I like the title. I was like, Okay,
I got to get to know her. I think we
connected on LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Yeah, I think it was. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
But yeah, So you've actually recently quit your job and
are doing this full time now, correct.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
So I left CBS News in twenty twenty two to
develop my own television shows, to continue my podcast, and
to write this book, and so I've been doing all
those things. There's so much, you know, of the creative
life that goes on in private, right, So it's really
exciting and surreal for me to be able to share
(20:59):
these projects now with the world, because for so long
it just lived on my laptop. So I really am
just saying yes to as many things as possible right
now and just trying to find a space on the calendar.
You know, I'm doing things on the nights and weekends
and whenever people are available, just because I really believe
(21:21):
in killer story and I want, you know, as many
people as possible to know about it. And I think that,
you know, the discovery problem. We talk about that a
lot in podcasts, that there's so many great podcasts out there,
but how do people know they exist? And I feel
the same way about books. You know, they're just wonderful
books that are sitting on the shelf waiting to be
picked up. And so I'm trying to do my part
(21:43):
to tell people to go read Kill her Story, go
listen to the audiobook because I really believe it's a
one of a kind book. And so no rest for
the weary. I'm doing events all across Texas. I just
booked my first out of state event in Florida and
looking at doing Chicago, New York.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
So it's an exciting time.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
You're my hero. Thank you Someday, you know you think
about writing a book. You know, we all have these
stories in our head or things you want to share,
but to actually make it happen and get it out there,
it's just exciting to what you grow and just I'm
here to follow your journey.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
And watch this come to television. It seems like you've
rapidly accomplished a lot, and I think it's inspirational for
a lot of young females that are interested in going
into this career field.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Well, thank you. I really appreciate that. You know, I'm
so grateful for the years that I spent working at
CBS and working in other newsrooms, because I couldn't have
just started out, you know, on my own, starting my
own production company and doing my own shows, you know,
without having first worked in traditional newsrooms. But I got
(23:00):
to say, quitting my job and becoming my own boss
has been the best experience, you know. It's it's definitely
the hardest I've ever worked in my life because I'm
working for myself and I'm very demanding. But it's worth it,
you know. And I love getting to say yes and
to have the power to do things like this because
you know, there's no one I have to ask permission, right,
(23:22):
I get to do what I want to do and
how I want to do it, and that's pretty special.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Yeah, it's only been a couple of years. You're out
on your own. Are you getting a lot of support
from the people you used to work with or they're
just like, how are you doing this?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well?
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I mean it feels like it's been a long time
since I've had something, you know, out in the public
because for a long time, for years, I was developing
these things, you know, just in my home office, trying
to get them to the point where I could go
out and shop them and take meetings and you know,
sell them. But in order to do that, there's so
(24:00):
much legwork that has to go into it. So it's
definitely been a journey. I've definitely had some dark nights
of the soul and wondering how it's all gonna work out.
And it's just really gratifying to have the book out
in the world and to see it doing well and
getting you know, lots of great feedback from reviewers, and
you know, it was named an Amazon Editor's Best New
(24:22):
Release in Nonfiction, so that was super exciting. I mean,
I'm a I'm a first time author. I don't take
any of this for granted. Like, I am so grateful
for every review, every interview you know, that requests that
I get. I'm just really happy that I get to
live my dream and talk about my book.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yeah, I'm amazed, first time author and you're just blowing
up and people love.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
It and so.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
I'm just excited. I'm here to support your journey.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yeah, what other projects you got going?
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Man?
Speaker 3 (24:59):
I think that's a about it. It's definitely keeping me busy.
So yeah, this is my full time job now.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
So what's next for your book tour? Where are you
headed to next?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
So let's see.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
I have an event coming up on March eighteenth on
Baylor's campus with a journalism department, and then I'm going
to be in McKinney.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
At Neighbor Books.
Speaker 3 (25:22):
And after that, I know I have an event in
San Antonio and San Marcos and I think Grapevine. Yeah,
there's a new bookstore in Grapevine that I just set
up a signing with.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
So I'm going to be a busy girl.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Any chance you're coming to California.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
I would love to. I will keep you posted.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
We get new invites every day, so I would love
to come out to California. Maybe we could do a
joint event together.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Oh that would be fun, it would it would Well,
thank you so much for sharing your story and I'm
excited to promote it for you. And it's been exciting
to meet with you. I know, we chatted for like
almost an hour. The other day and yeah, finally connect
with you in person again. But thank you so much
(26:11):
for your time. Where can people find more about you,
your websites and how to purchase your book? I just
purchased mine from Amazon.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
You can purchase it everywhere books are sold. If you
go to killerstorybook dot com. I have links to all
the different major booksellers. Go to your local bookstore and
ask them for Killer Story and if they don't have it,
they will order it for you.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
I like to multitask. Audiobooks are my favorite, so I'm
glad you did that right away so that people can
access your book through listening.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
So the audiobook is available on Audible and you can
get it there and listen to it right away. And
also the Kindle ebook edition. If you have an eReader,
you can get it right now. You don't even have
to go anywhere.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
Awesome. Thank you so much, Claire, Thank you, thank you,
thank you for listening to Killer Psychologist. To watch full
video episodes or if you want to interact with me,
you can find Killer Psychologists on YouTube. You can also
get notified of new episodes by signing up in my
stand store now if you want to work with me,
(27:20):
you can book a console. My website is psychologydoctor dot com.
That's psychology dr dot com.
Welcome to Killer Psychologist. I'm Dana Anderson, a forensic psychologist
and your host of the show. Killer Psychologist is for
true crime fanatics and anyone intrigued with the dark side
of psychology. True crime fans love the suspense, the twists,
(00:23):
the pursuit of justice. But what if I told you
that the stories you watch unfold on network TV are
only part of the battle behind every headline grabbing case
is a journalist fighting for access, navigating cutthroat competition, and
facing off against stone walling detectives, reluctant lawyers, and even
(00:48):
powerful institutions that don't want the truth exposed. Claire Satamont
has lived it as a producer for forty eight hours
and sixty minutes. She's spent nearly a decade tracking down
killers and covering shocking twists, and sometimes even putting herself
(01:08):
in danger. From the murder of Chris Kyle to one
of America's most prolific serial killers, Claire has sat face
to face with the criminals who made headlines. In her
hot off the press new book, Killer Story, Claire pulls
back the curtain on the world of true crime television,
(01:31):
revealing stories that never made it to air and ones
that still haunt her, and she talks about the ethical
tightrope journalists walk every day. Claire, Welcome to Killer Psychologist.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm glad to
be here.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So I'm excited I have your book hot off the press,
but I'm glad that you sent me the audio tape
and I yes, already got into the two chapters and
I love that you tell your own story in your
own voice, and I love it.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Yeah, it was really an interesting experience to not only
write a book, but to record the audio book as well.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I feel like.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I relived it all whenever I was in the soundbooth
recording every word that i'd written.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
I have listened to a lot of audio books or
books on tape during my life, and it was how
I got through my commute to school. And back in
the day, I would go to the library and rent
CDs and I would rent like six at a time,
and I would put them in my player, and they
(02:48):
were all like true crime books. But I would decide
whether or not I was going to listen to it
based on how the person's voice was, if I liked
the narrator, Unfortunately, sometimes I would take it out ejected
immediately and just never listen to it. Not because I
didn't want to listen to the story, but because of
(03:09):
the narrator they had chosen to read the story. It
was kind of incongruent. It was sort of off track,
and I think it's so important to find a narrator
that can tell your story. And so tell me about
your journey?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Did you already.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Intend to tell your own story? So?
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Yeah, So it is funny because they, you know, when
I was going through the contract for the book, one
of the things they put in there was that I
could audition for my own audiobook, And I was like,
all right, who's going to be better at reading my
life story than me? I would love to know, But
that's just kind of standard contract fair They have to
(03:51):
have that in there in case the author has some
type of voice issue or you know. But I was
really excited to get to read the audiobook because it's
not just any book. It's a memoir, right, So I'm
talking about my experiences, my love story with my husband,
my career, like everything, the birth of my son. So
(04:13):
having someone else read that that would have been pretty
pretty bizarre.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah, I wish this book was around back in the
day when I was a young girl trying to figure
out what career path I wanted to pursue. In fact,
when I was in college, I took this psychological test.
It was a screener to find out what type of
career you'd be good at, and I took it, and
(04:40):
I remember investigative journalism being at the top. And at
the time, I thought, I don't even really know what
that is. I mean, is it exciting? Is there mystery?
And I didn't have anyone that I knew in that
position at the time that I could look to and
find out more about that career field. And and now
it's all starting to make sense because I was listening
(05:03):
to you and I'm like, wait, she has this job.
It's so interesting in exciting, and it sounds a lot
like what I do going to the gel interviewing people,
like being you know, sneaky, getting the scoop, getting the stories.
And I'm like, wait a minute, should I have become
an investigative journalist?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Well, life is long, you know, Dana, There's still time.
You can totally make a pivot here.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Thank god, it's all starting to make sense now. Like,
maybe finally I have my microphone.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
It's like, there you go.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
But I never knew it was so exciting, And I
think my career path could have gone a different way
had I had someone like you sharing your experience firsthand,
tapping into this field. Yeah, I hope that young journalists
read this book. You know, my primary audience for it
(05:54):
is anyone who watches true crime television or listens to
true crime podcasts. But I definitely see, you know, aspiring
journalists as an audience for this book.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
And I feel like it's.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Such a unique window into not only what it's like
to work in national television for network news. You know,
I worked at CBS for most of my career, but
it also shows the journey from local media to a
startup news website and then to the national media because
(06:28):
for most people, you don't start at the top, you know,
you don't start at the national media, and you have
to find your way through lots of different media jobs,
you know, before you end up somewhere like forty eight
hours and getting to tell these really complicated, fascinating, twisted
murder stories.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Well, I think that's what makes your story so relatable,
because I mean, you had to jump through the hoops
and oh, it kind of kind of slide your way
in there, and you didn't always like quite follow the rules,
but you know, I kind of like, I like, I
found that very relatable, like you're still in it to
get the story. I actually really had never really thought
(07:11):
about it from an investigative journalist perspective of like from
their perspective, how do they get the stories? And yeah,
you know, how do you beat out the competition some
of these cases right to get an interview with someone
who's incarcerated, Like what is it going to take for
them to talk to you? And you know why you
(07:34):
over this other person. But it's like you're getting in
there early on and building those relationships and getting them
to open up to you.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
And trial and error, you know, to learning what worked
with certain people. And it was an interesting experience for me.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Well, a lot of people that are interested in listening
to killer psychologists, a lot of people are really interested
in forensic psychology. And there's a lot of females that
are trying to figure out what career path to take.
And I'm finding that being an investigative journalist, it's diving
into the world of forensic psychology and putting yourself on
those positions where you get those interviews, and there's a
(08:14):
lot of interest in this career field. Now, I'm just curious,
you've been doing this a while now, are you seeing
that more people following in your footsteps?
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Interest?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Is it more females interested in becoming an investigative journalist?
Speaker 3 (08:30):
So there's actually a lot of negativity about becoming a
journalist in today's world. I found a lot of discouragement
for people to go into the media right now, just
because the economics of it are pretty rough and a
lot of newsrooms are closing or they're shrinking, you know,
(08:51):
there just aren't as many media jobs as there used
to be. But I still think it's the greatest job
in the world. And I always encourage people that if
you think you might want to be a journalist, give
it a shot, because you'll know right away if it's
for you or not. You know, I worked with a
lot of people in different newsrooms, you know, for newspapers, magazines,
(09:15):
online television, and it's just very obvious if you don't
enjoy this kind of work, that you won't do it
for long. Because for the most part, it's not a
glamorous job. You don't make a lot of money in
the beginning, and so it really has to be something
that you love to do. And then if you love it, eventually,
after you put in the time and you cover all
(09:37):
these great stories, you'll have these bigger jobs and better
opportunities and you know, to go onto. It's a challenging
cell in a lot of ways to get people to
want to go into journalism right now. I know because
I've started teaching a class on podcasting in the journalism
department at my alma mater, Baylor University, and a lot
(10:00):
of the students are going for the PR track the
marketing track, and we feel like it's based in large
part by the fact that jobs in media are shrinking
and they see a lot higher paychecks in PR and marketing,
and a lot of times that just turns people away
(10:22):
from the media field. But I think that if more
people would realize how much fun there is to be
had in the media, how rewarding the job can be
to tell these stories that you know, you get to
be the first reporter to tell this story.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
It's really exciting. I talk about how.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
When you're a journalist, your job is on display for
everyone to see your failures your successes. It's a public
facing job and so there's a lot of pressure there,
but there's also, you know, a lot of satisfaction.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
So you've crossed over to pop casting. Yeah, and maybe
that was easy for you to transition to since you
were already so vocal and public. Tell me about your podcast.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
So my podcast is called Final Days on Earth with
Claire Santama, and I have three seasons out. It's deep
dives on cold cases, and so I take one case
per season and I follow the story wherever it takes me,
and I look at these unresolved deaths, so questions of
(11:32):
was this murder, was this an accident?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Was the suicide?
Speaker 3 (11:36):
And so I wanted to talk about the cases that
were too complicated for an hour of television, And so
the podcast allowed me to have as much time as
I needed to go deep on these cold cases and
really look at all possible angles and talk to as
many people as I could. And I really enjoy putting
(11:57):
the podcast out there and then listen to see who
comes out of the woodwork to want to talk to
me about their case. And so I always have bonus
episodes where people I didn't expect to talk to me,
you know that they contact me and say, I know
something about this case and i'd like to, you know,
tell you about it. And so I'll do a bonus
episode with different people. Sometimes they're witnesses to the case,
(12:21):
sometimes they're friends or family members, and so.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
That's been really rewarding.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
And yeah, I love being able to talk about these
under the radar cases that people might not have heard of,
where someone is still saying, you know, justice has not
been served. And after three seasons of that, I got
the idea to do a spinoff podcast called Justice Pending
with my true crime bestie Susan, who lives in New York,
(12:49):
and so I'm here in Texas and we talk about
the cases that keep us up at night, and it's
really like us workshopping what cases could potentially be a
future season of Final Days on Earth. But it's a
weekly chat show and so we're trying to do it
every week in twenty twenty five, and then in twenty
(13:10):
twenty six, we want to come out with a new season, scripted,
serialized of Final Days on Earth, you know, a deep
dive on another cold case. But for now, we're talking
about a new case every week.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Wow. So as far as the cases that you go through,
are you getting the whole criminal file, the autopsy, everything.
Are you getting this through family? Are they reaching out
to you and presenting cases and then asking you to
get justice for their family.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
I usually have someone in the victim's family who comes
forward and says, you know, we don't think justice has
been served in this case, and we want you to
take a deeper look at it, and we want to
get answers that we haven't been able to find so far,
and we haven't been able to get through through the
traditional justice system. So I also go to whatever law
(14:06):
enforcement agency is investigating the case, and I always ask
them to participate. I've had a mixed bag of results
with that. My first season, you know, they did not participate.
I was able to get a special consultant who had
worked for a different agency and had had access to
the file and had looked into it. You know, that
was on season one. But seasons two and three I
(14:28):
had cooperation from law enforcement on these cold cases, which
was really fabulous, and they talked to me about their investigation.
And I was also able in all three seasons to
use the original police interviews that were done on persons
of interest, witnesses, suspects, and so you'll hear those audio recordings.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
In all of my.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Episodes, I use clips from the actual police interviews.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Yeah, I think that can be one of the challenges
is getting law enforcement interested to assist you, and I
know it can be difficult, especially with cold cases. But
it's interesting. I was talking to someone yesterday, actually a
couple of different people recently who's cases were resolved through
(15:21):
a podcast.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, And in in other cases where you get someone
to go on your show that's a suspect and they
actually just start spilling the beans and sharing things, and
then it's incriminating. The district attorney listens in they get
this information. So I like, have you thought about getting
some of those folks on your podcast, you know, any
suspects and see what they want to share.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
I've tried to speak with whoever will talk to me
related to the case, whether it's a suspect or you know, victims,
family investigators, and so yeah, I've talked to people who've
been suspected, you know, of these a lot of times.
Most of the time they don't want to go on
the record. They won't agree to do, you know, an
on camera or recorded interview with me for the podcast.
(16:10):
But I even find speaking to them off the record
is extremely helpful and interesting to me. I always take notes.
I'm always hopeful that someone will talk to me on
the record about these cases. But yeah, it's really the
dream that you could get the actual suspect to talk
to you on the podcast, right.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Yeah, you're like a secret private detective working for the police,
so you're taking all this notes. You could be feeding
them information. Yeah, you know, it's it's very interesting. I
do feel like with the cold cases, there's no statute
of limitations on murder, so you can always be charged
with the murder. There's no people say, you know, getting
away with murder. Well, as long as you're still breathing,
(16:53):
you could still be charged. There's always that possibility. So
do you have, like you have some cases in mind
that you're you want to go after and maybe help solve. Yes,
So you've written your first book, or you're going to
have a series or maybe like a television series to
go with this.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
I would love to.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
I feel like it has all the makings of a
television show. I was, of course a television producer, so
I wrote it kind of scene by scene, and you know,
each chapter could really be an episode of a television show,
a scripted drama about the life of a.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
True crime television producer.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
So, you know, I love The Devilwaar's Prada, the fashion
journalism story that you know turned into the movie that
has been very successful, as well as The Morning Show
on Apple TV, which is based on Top of the Morning,
written by Brian Stelter, a journalist who you know looked
at all three major morning news shows at ABC, NBC,
(17:56):
and CBS, and that's what they used to create this
television series was his book.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
And so I see.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
This Killer Story as very much a television ready book.
It could very easily be adapted into a television show
about forty eight hours Dayline in twenty twenty, and what
the producers do to get the stories on the air.
So you know, you've got all the drama of working
in the media, plus you up murder. So I think
(18:27):
I think it's a winning combination.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I love the.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Morning Show and I love Reese Witherspoon. Yes, she is
a genius when it comes to her business strategy, which
she's she takes authors and turns them into movies. So
I think you should partner with her.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah, Reese, if you're listening, I would love to partner.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
So what are you working on right now as far
as any plans for true crime docu series? You've got
so many stories and connections, and everybody loves true crime.
It's the one thing that's not dying down in this market,
Like true crime stories are selling and it just never
(19:16):
goes out of style.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Well, I don't think I'm gonna let the cat out
of the bag just yet, but I do have a
television show in development about serial killers, and so that
to be continued that conversation. But I am working on
a television show right now with a major network, and
in addition to that, of course, working on my podcast
(19:38):
Justice Pending, looking to do a new season of Final
Days on Earth and promoting killer stories. So I've got
a full murder plate, Danta.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, and plus you're touring and you're doing speaking events,
and you seem to be pretty booked. I don't know
how you're doing it all, actually, because I just connected
with you on Instagram and you're doing in person book
signings and it's blowing up. I mean, your book just
(20:11):
came out last week, Like, I just got this in
the metal and we just happened to connect. Yeah, And
I caught your title and I immediately was drawn to it,
like I want to I want this, I gotta get
my hands on this. I like the title. I was like, Okay,
I got to get to know her. I think we
connected on LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Yeah, I think it was. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
But yeah, So you've actually recently quit your job and
are doing this full time now, correct.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
So I left CBS News in twenty twenty two to
develop my own television shows, to continue my podcast, and
to write this book, and so I've been doing all
those things. There's so much, you know, of the creative
life that goes on in private, right, So it's really
exciting and surreal for me to be able to share
(20:59):
these projects now with the world, because for so long
it just lived on my laptop. So I really am
just saying yes to as many things as possible right
now and just trying to find a space on the calendar.
You know, I'm doing things on the nights and weekends
and whenever people are available, just because I really believe
(21:21):
in killer story and I want, you know, as many
people as possible to know about it. And I think that,
you know, the discovery problem. We talk about that a
lot in podcasts, that there's so many great podcasts out there,
but how do people know they exist? And I feel
the same way about books. You know, they're just wonderful
books that are sitting on the shelf waiting to be
picked up. And so I'm trying to do my part
(21:43):
to tell people to go read Kill her Story, go
listen to the audiobook because I really believe it's a
one of a kind book. And so no rest for
the weary. I'm doing events all across Texas. I just
booked my first out of state event in Florida and
looking at doing Chicago, New York.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
So it's an exciting time.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
You're my hero. Thank you Someday, you know you think
about writing a book. You know, we all have these
stories in our head or things you want to share,
but to actually make it happen and get it out there,
it's just exciting to what you grow and just I'm
here to follow your journey.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
And watch this come to television. It seems like you've
rapidly accomplished a lot, and I think it's inspirational for
a lot of young females that are interested in going
into this career field.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Well, thank you. I really appreciate that. You know, I'm
so grateful for the years that I spent working at
CBS and working in other newsrooms, because I couldn't have
just started out, you know, on my own, starting my
own production company and doing my own shows, you know,
without having first worked in traditional newsrooms. But I got
(23:00):
to say, quitting my job and becoming my own boss
has been the best experience, you know. It's it's definitely
the hardest I've ever worked in my life because I'm
working for myself and I'm very demanding. But it's worth it,
you know. And I love getting to say yes and
to have the power to do things like this because
you know, there's no one I have to ask permission, right,
(23:22):
I get to do what I want to do and
how I want to do it, and that's pretty special.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Yeah, it's only been a couple of years. You're out
on your own. Are you getting a lot of support
from the people you used to work with or they're
just like, how are you doing this?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well?
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I mean it feels like it's been a long time
since I've had something, you know, out in the public
because for a long time, for years, I was developing
these things, you know, just in my home office, trying
to get them to the point where I could go
out and shop them and take meetings and you know,
sell them. But in order to do that, there's so
(24:00):
much legwork that has to go into it. So it's
definitely been a journey. I've definitely had some dark nights
of the soul and wondering how it's all gonna work out.
And it's just really gratifying to have the book out
in the world and to see it doing well and
getting you know, lots of great feedback from reviewers, and
you know, it was named an Amazon Editor's Best New
(24:22):
Release in Nonfiction, so that was super exciting. I mean,
I'm a I'm a first time author. I don't take
any of this for granted. Like, I am so grateful
for every review, every interview you know, that requests that
I get. I'm just really happy that I get to
live my dream and talk about my book.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yeah, I'm amazed, first time author and you're just blowing
up and people love.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
It and so.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
I'm just excited. I'm here to support your journey.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yeah, what other projects you got going?
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Man?
Speaker 3 (24:59):
I think that's a about it. It's definitely keeping me busy.
So yeah, this is my full time job now.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
So what's next for your book tour? Where are you
headed to next?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
So let's see.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
I have an event coming up on March eighteenth on
Baylor's campus with a journalism department, and then I'm going
to be in McKinney.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
At Neighbor Books.
Speaker 3 (25:22):
And after that, I know I have an event in
San Antonio and San Marcos and I think Grapevine. Yeah,
there's a new bookstore in Grapevine that I just set
up a signing with.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
So I'm going to be a busy girl.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Any chance you're coming to California.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
I would love to. I will keep you posted.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
We get new invites every day, so I would love
to come out to California. Maybe we could do a
joint event together.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Oh that would be fun, it would it would Well,
thank you so much for sharing your story and I'm
excited to promote it for you. And it's been exciting
to meet with you. I know, we chatted for like
almost an hour. The other day and yeah, finally connect
with you in person again. But thank you so much
(26:11):
for your time. Where can people find more about you,
your websites and how to purchase your book? I just
purchased mine from Amazon.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
You can purchase it everywhere books are sold. If you
go to killerstorybook dot com. I have links to all
the different major booksellers. Go to your local bookstore and
ask them for Killer Story and if they don't have it,
they will order it for you.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
I like to multitask. Audiobooks are my favorite, so I'm
glad you did that right away so that people can
access your book through listening.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
So the audiobook is available on Audible and you can
get it there and listen to it right away. And
also the Kindle ebook edition. If you have an eReader,
you can get it right now. You don't even have
to go anywhere.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
Awesome. Thank you so much, Claire, Thank you, thank you,
thank you for listening to Killer Psychologist. To watch full
video episodes or if you want to interact with me,
you can find Killer Psychologists on YouTube. You can also
get notified of new episodes by signing up in my
stand store now if you want to work with me,
(27:20):
you can book a console. My website is psychologydoctor dot com.
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New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!