SVU21: The celebrity faked his own hate crime

SVU S21 E3 “Down Low in Hell’s Kitchen”

“Did you really pay your brother to taser you and stick a beer bottle up your butt? Because I know a lot of brothers who…if given the opportunity…would do that for free.”

A hip hop artist is the latest victim of a serial predator. But when the squad busts the actual culprit, they discover the celebrity faked his attack to get attention.

We're talking about the very latest episode in historic Special Victims Unit season 21, episode 3 "Down Low in Hell's Kitchen."

Our returning guest is Margo Donohue from the Book vs Movie podcast.

This episode was inspired by the Jussie Smollett case. 

SVU's FIRST EPISODE: The castrated cabbie!

SVU S1 E1 “Payback”

CELEBRATING SVU'S 21 SEASON!

“Lady, don’t get your bloody hand on my suit. I’m filled with anger, not Tide sticks.”

In honor of SVU's TV milestone, we look back at the episode that started it all. Veteran cop Elliot Stabler and his rookie partner Olivia Benson, along with a squad room of crazy characters, investigate the murder of a cabbie who got his junk cut off. But they soon discover the victim might be a war criminal accused of raping dozens of women. 

We're talking about SVU season 1 episode 1 Payback. Our returning guest is Diana Goodman from the ThirtyTwentyTen podcast. This episode is inspired by stories of war atrocities during the Bosnian War. 

SVU: Kathy Griffin tries to kiss Benson

SVU S11 E13 “P.C.”

CELEBRATING SVU'S 21 SEASON!

“More flies with honey than vinegar? Fuck that! Who wants flies?”

Someone is raping lesbians! Brash activist Babs Duffy insults everybody, makes a pass at Benson, and swaps spit with Stabler. But to get a confession, Liv swings the other way.

(Plus, there’s a vampire.)

Pucker up. We're talking about SVU season 11 episode 13 “P.C.” Our guest is Haley Manrique from the "We're Not Together" podcast.

This episode takes cues from the political movement known as Radical Lesbianism. 

SVU: A family is held in a basement for years

SVU S15 E2 “Imprisoned Lives”

I know I’m not supposed to displace all my anger and pain on you during an interrogation…because then it’s more about me than it is you…but grab your socks cuz here we go…

Detectives learn a boy abandoned in Times Square had been part of a family kept locked in a basement for years. Now the hunt is on to find their captor. Meantime, Olivia returns to work after her own kidnapping…and is not adjusting well.

We’re talking about SVU season 15 episode 2* “Imprisoned Lives.” Our guest is Steven Pappas from the “Is This Adulting” podcast. This episode is inspired by the real-life case of Ariel Castro.

*This episode is part two of a two-parter, and is sometimes listed as episode 1 on streaming services.

L&O: A girl dies in a botched exorcism

Law & Order S9 E15 “Disciple”

“You say Saint Michael made you perform an exorcism to drive the devil out of a rambunctious teenager? Hold on while I pretend that’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard on this TV show.”

How else do you deal with a daughter who is hell on wheels? You perform an exorcism, of course. Carmichael wants to convict the former nun who hears the voice of Saint Michael...but McCoy isn't so sure it's an act.

We're talking about Law & Order season 9 episode 15 Disciple. Our returning guest is Lawrence Tucker from the Awesome 80s podcast.

This episode is inspired by the 1998 death of Charity Miranda Martin.

SVU: There are pedophiles in the chat rooms!!!

SVU S1 E18 “Chat Room”

You’re looking for pedophiles online, Dad? Hang on. I know exactly where they are.

The squad hunts down a chat room predator and convinces him to throw a party for all the pedophiles he knows so they can arrest them as well. Meantime, Elliot is losing his mind because HIS CHILDREN HAVE A COMPUTER TOO!

Plug in your dial-up modems. We're going back to SVU season 1 episode 18 Chat Room.

Our guest is Isaac Butler from Slate's "Lend Me Your Ears" podcast. This episode is inspired by real life tales of Internet predators. 

That guest who thought Hudson was a real school

You think you know who solved it, but you don’t know who solved it.

It's our season three finale!

To mark the end of the season of These Are Their Stories, we're going to revisit some of our favorite moments from this year's podcasts. We'll hear from those who've had brushes with stardom, get advice on what to do at a swingers' club, discuss the wildest ripped-from-the-headlines stories, and hear everyone's favorite detective team. 

L&O: Dad injects his son with a deadly virus

Law and Order S9 E4 “Flight”

“We’ll be safe Rey, so long as nobody sneezes on us.”

A dad who wants out of his marriage injects his son with a deadly virus (no, not that deadly virus). But when the bio-supplier won't turn over their records, McCoy charges the corporation as an accomplice to murder.

We're talking about Law & Order season 9 episode 4 Flight.

Our guest is Isaiah Headen from the Sketch Nerds podcast. 

This episode is inspired by the real-life case of Brian Stewart.

SVU: The kidnapped girl will die in three days

SVU S2 E15 “Countdown”

“Someone stuffed the landlady in the closet. Phew…at least it wasn’t a little kid.”

The squad works around the clock to find a girl snatched by a kidnapper who kills his victims on the third day. And the long hours are making everybody tired and cranky (no, you may not use Fin’s eyedrops).

We’re looking at SVU season 2 episode 15 “Countdown.”

Our guest is Carolyn Paine from the Big Little podcast.

This episode was inspired by the real-life case of Robert Black.

SVU: The rapist says porn made him do it

SVU S10 E10 “Smut”

“Of course I like looking at naked ladies. What am I, a robot?”

Kelly can’t remember being raped. Fortunately Eric videotapes himself assaulting all his victims. His defense: he’s addicted to porn and the cross-examination boner proves it. (Plus there's dolphin porn!)

We’re talking about SVU season 10 episode 10 Smut with Repy Hattersley from the Hell and High Horror podcast live at PodX in Nashville.

This episode was inspired by the ripped-from-the-headlines story of Andrew Luster.

SVU: A diplomat rapes a hotel maid and Stabler quits

SVU S13 E1 “Scorched Earth”

“I can’t believe I have to do this crazy-ass show by myself now.”

Benson and newbie Rollins investigate a suave Italian diplomat who raped a chambermaid, but their victim has serious credibility issues. Then Olivia learns her BFF Stabler is quitting the force.

We’re turning the page on SVU in season 13 episode 1 “Scorched Earth.” We’re joined by Stuart Rice from the Sketch Comedy Podcast.

 This episode is inspired by the case of French diplomat Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

L&O: Someone stole that guy's kidney!

Law & Order s1 e21 “SONATA for Solo Organ”

“I just lost 0.327 pounds! Ask me how!”

They didn't just pick his pocket. This guy wound up in Central Park with his kidney stolen. Logan and Greavey find the doctor, but Stone and Robinette want the billionaire who paid him to do it. We're going old school Law & Order with season 1 episode 21 "Sonata for Solo Organ."

Our guest is Dan Taberski from the Headlong podcasts "Missing Richard Simmons" and "Running from COPS."

The TV episode was inspired by the 1989 organ scandal involving Amhet Koc.

L&O: John Slattery puts a woman in a coma to steal her money

Law & Order S10 E23 “Stiff”

“Lawyer? What I need is a booze-soaked advertising agency. That’s what I need.”

How did rich Mrs. Moore wind up in an insulin-induced coma? A sex game called “necrophilia without tears.” McCoy and Carmichael find out the insulin was spiked with a drug that has left her “frozen.” Is the doctor who wants her money to blame?

We’re talking about Law and Order season 10 episode 23 Stiff. Our guest is Dr. Kelly Jones from the Still Pretty and Awegasm podcast.

 This episode is inspired by the case of Claus and Sunny von Bülow.

SVU: Was Amaro inappropriate with that hot mess actress?

SVU S16 E3 “Producer’s Backend”

[Actual dialog]

Amaro: Hands on the hood!

Tensley: How about the shaft?

After a washed-up teen star accuses Amaro of coming on to her, the squad discovers a powerful Hollywood producer has been abusing underage actresses for years.

We’re talking about Special Victims Unit season 16 episode 3 “Producer’s Backend.”

Our guest is Matt Reuter from the podcast Law & Order: Special Viewers Unit.

This episode is inspired by the sex accusations against director Bryan Singer.

SVU: The victim's false memory leads to her father's murder

SVU S3 E1 “Repression”

Daddy's dead, one sister accused him of rape, another one shot him. This isn't my idea of a "Modern Family."

A woman's recovered memory of her father's abuse rips her family apart and leads to a frame-up. But when the father is murdered, Benson and Stabler learn the memory was false all along!  

We're talking about SVU season 3 episode 1 "Repression" with Kimberly from the podcast A Date with Dateline.

Some inspiration for this episode comes from the real life case of Cheryl Pierson.

SVU: A fake child sex ring leads to a real child sex ring

SVU S18 E17 “Real Fake News”

“Oh, no! This child prostitution ring is particularly heinous. If only there were an elite squad to investigate these felonies.”

A fake news story links a congressman to a sex ring run out of a Chinese restaurant. No sooner does SVU debunk the rumor then they stumble across a real child sex ring on the Internet. And once again Noah is...IN DANGER!

Join us, snowflakes. We’re talking about SVU season 18 episode 17 “Real Fake News.” Our guest is Jessa Nicholson Goetz from the Getting Off Podcast.

This episode is inspired by the ripped from the headlines controversy around Pizzagate.

L&O: Ellen Pompeo kills her mother because she doesn't like her boyfriend

Law & Order S6 E16 “Savoir”

“You’re going to charge me with murder? Seriously? Seriously?!”

Mom and son killed, daughter shot, Olivet says dad could be a "family annihilator." But when she changes her diagnosis, it looks like before-she-was-famous Ellen Pompeo orchestrated the whole thing. Plus, Briscoe eats a baked potato covered in peanut butter.

We're talking about L&O original recipe season 6 episode 16 "Savoir." Our guest is podcaster and sports journalist Sonja Missio.

This episode takes some plot points from the case of John List.

SVU: Robin Williams is basically a super villain

SVU S9 E17 “Authority”

I can’t wait for the public radio podcast about my crime spree.

In SVU's 200th episode, Robin Williams scams a burger manager to strip search an employee, defends himself at trial, appears on Morning Joe with a sheep named Elliot, organizes a Grand Central Station flash mob, kidnaps Benson and threatens Stabler to administer electrical shocks, blows up a recording studio, then disappears in the East River while still handcuffed.

We're talking about SVU season 9 episode 17 “Authority” with Michelle Rubenstein from the It Takes Three podcast network.

This episode was inspired by a 2004 phone scam at a Kentucky McDonalds.

SVU: The State of the Unit Address

How you like us now?

We're declaring a national emergency. Halfway through season 20, we hear from listeners and past guests about what's working and what isn't on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Then we'll ask the question: should SVU be renewed for a 21st season?

We'll hear from Rebecca Lavoie, Vaya Pashos, Margo Donohue, Henry Lavoie, Kimberly, and Sarah D. Bunting, plus Kevin Flynn will give the State of the Unit Address.  

SVU: Benson goes into virtual reality to rescue Vixy Platinum by turning on the sun

SVU S9 E2 “Avatar”

We have to find who kidnapped this avatar. Bring in Donkey Kong for questioning.

How do you find a vanished woman whose online avatar is teen stripper Vixy Platinum? Go INTO the game and locate the kidnapper's virtual cabin by making the sun come out at night. Also there's a sleepwalking rapist and a girl who's been missing for 25 years and still carries a torch for her pedophile kidnapper. 

We turn the bat-shit-crazy to 11 with Sarah D. Bunting as we talk about Special Victims Unit season 9 episode 2 "Avatar."

The story takes plot points from the online world of Second Life.