The big question remains: does incarceration as a punishment work? As we currently handle crime and punishment, are inmates rehabilitated to the point where they can safely be returned to society? We can tackle these quandaries in an abstract way in the safety of our locked homes, digging out statistics and data to answer our burning questions. But…

There are couples who seem to have all "The Things." Successful careers, a family they’ve lovingly created, social connections, important charity work--the kind of people who do good things for the right reasons and leave behind a positive legacy of well remembered contributions, the kind we tend to admire and remember fondly as a community. When t…

After Christmas of 2016, Shannon didn’t check in with her family. What would happen next is the stuff of nightmares...By Amanda Daniels

The most dangerous times in a woman’s life are when she is in the company of men. That may seem like a dramatic overstatement, but if you think about it, it’s true. This is the story of a young woman named Angel.By Amanda Daniels

America has a self-created mental health crisis, and state and federal prisons are dominated by populations of the mentally ill, where resources are few and treatment is non existent. Our story involves a family struggling to deal with a very sick young man, culminating one Halloween night when people asked the question: Is this a sick prank, or so…

You don't know anything about the people who live next door.By Amanda Daniels

When we think of a crime committed by someone who is truly, demonstrably, certifiably insane, an image of such a person may come to mind. We imagine someone who has seen lengthy periods of institutionalization, in cells designed for their own, and their caregivers, protection against violence. You may imagine straight jackets and electric shock the…

When a child commits a murder, and the victim’s surviving family members rightfully want the killer to be punished, the age of a youthful perpetrator can automatically dial down how severe that punishment is, because we, as a society, don’t hold children to the same standard of accountability as adults. Then there’s the general public squeamishness…

When you hear of a home invasion, the words likely conjure a scenario in which one or more people enter a home forcibly, seeking to rob the inhabitants and perhaps relieve them of their lives. And you’d be right. Such home invasions are rare, rare enough that when something like that appears to have occurred, law enforcement is generally suspicious…

Join us for part two of this amazing story about love, loss, and forgiveness, as we sit down with Mrs. Reiser while she talks about her beautiful and talented daughter, Liz.By Amanda Daniels

When we hear the story of a life that has been taken, we can feel empathy and share in the family’s grief in a small way, but can never really know what that experience is like. Early this year, we spent several hours with Becki Reiser of Dover, Ohio, who generously spoke about that experience in detail. It’s a story of a child who is loved and for…

By Amanda Daniels

It really doesn’t matter whether the desire to lend a hand to a young person in need comes from. Maybe it’s a sense of duty. Maybe it’s rooted in your faith or belief system. Maybe you just want to pay it forward. Foster families, and we know successful ones, are a vital, loving part of the societal puzzle. But we also know of those who are less su…

This story looks at several people whose lives intersected on a stretch of interstate highway late one night in 1986. Two of them just happened to arrive at a certain place in space and time at just the right moment. Or, more properly, just the wrong moment.By Amanda Daniels

You’ve probably known a couple who just can’t seem to make things stick, you know? They’re together, they’re apart, they make up, they split up, and all the while, they seem to generally get along. They seem like a good match, but there’s something… some important piece of the puzzle, that’s missing or that they can’t get a good grip on. Eventually…

On the face of it, Circleville is just another quiet, sleepy, Ohio town, but if this podcast has taught you anything, it’s that…not all small towns are safe. In 1976 someone started a terror campaign against the residents of Circleville. And this is their story.By Amanda Daniels

Learning about relationships, and how that all works, is a part of becoming an adult. It’s an experience that is common to all of us, and though it may be difficult, most of us emerge with no greater harm than a temporarily broken heart, and we get on with our lives. Jodi Blankenship was ready to move her boyfriend into that “used to know” category…