Episode Summary: In our Halloween special, we step into the dark history of women’s mental health in early 20th-century America. Two women — Catherine Ward and Carrie Selvage — entered the asylum system from different directions. One commited a horrific crime. One guilty of nothing. Both lives ended tragically. We explore how fear, misunderstanding, and limited medical knowledge shaped their fates. Themes Included: • Asylums — hope vs. harm • Postpartum mental health • Trauma and “nervo...

🎙️ In this episode, we uncover the chilling truth behind The Amityville Horror — separating fact from fiction in one of America’s most infamous stories. Long before the bestselling book and Hollywood movies, there was a real tragedy inside 112 Ocean Avenue: the DeFeo family murders. Join us as we explore what really happened that night in Amityville, New York — the crime, the haunting that followed, and how a story of horror became a pop-culture phenomenon. Was the house truly cursed, or was it all a hoax? Listen now to discover the real Amityville Horror story and decide for yourself.

On New Year’s Eve, 1947, Winston-Salem was still glowing with Christmas decorations when a tragedy unfolded that shocked Forsyth County and made headlines across the state of North Carolina.   Everett and Margaret Phillips were a devoted couple who waited eight years for their only child, Tommy Lee. They poured their lives into him, indulging him with love, music, and opportunity. But when young love, secrets, and defiance collided, the results were catastrophic.

In the early 1950s, the quiet community then known as Fuquay Springs - today's Fuquay-Varina in Wake County, North Carolina - was shaken by the violent killing of Dr. Cozart, a respected local physician. His sudden death stunned the town and left behind questions that linger more than a century later. In this episode, we revisit the case of Dr. Cozart's murder, exploring the historical records, the small-town setting, and the community impact of a crime that occurred when Fuquay was sti...

In February 1988, a single gunshot shattered the quiet of a Durham, North Carolina, neighborhood. Barbara Stager told police her husband Russ's death was a tragic accident. But as investigators dug deeper, the picture-perfect image of a devoted wife began to crack.  In this episode of Hard Times & True Crimes, we step back into the 1980s Durham - a city caught between its tobacco past and high-tech future, where Baptist faith and family values shaped everyday life, and where appearances mattered. Against that backdrop, the story of Russ and Barbara Stager unfolds: a tale of love, betrayal, financial secrets, and deadly deception.  Was it an accident, or something far more sinister? Join us as we explore the twists and turns of a case that shocked North Carolina and left a community asking how well we ever really know the people closest to us.

In the warm summer of 1955, Judge Curtis Chillingworth, Florida’s youngest ever circuit judge and a man known for his fairness would vanish from his beachside cottage in Manalapan, just south of West Palm Beach. His wife, Marjorie, disappeared with him.  Footprints led to the sea and never came back. What followed was one of Florida’s most shocking  true crime cases: a tale of organized corruption, political ambition, and backroom rackets. The judge had made powerful enemies because he didn’t bend the law for anyone. This episode of Hard Times and True Crimes digs into the Chillingworth legacy, the dangerous underground justice system of 1950s Florida, and how one murder unraveled an entire network of dirty power. If you love true crime stories steeped in Southern history, old Florida glamor, and morally complex characters, this is one you won’t want to miss.

In 1983, a brutal double homicide in Houston, Texas shocked the public—not just because of the violence, but because of who was eventually held responsible. Karla Faye Tucker, a 23-year-old woman with a troubled past, quickly became one of the most controversial figures in modern true crime history. But this isn’t just a story about murder. It’s about transformation. It’s about a young woman who claimed to find God behind bars. It’s about a justice system unprepared for the public outcry that followed. And it’s about the power—and limits—of redemption in the face of execution. In this episode, we take you back to the early 1980s, setting the stage for a crime that would spark national debate and change how many Americans viewed the death penalty. Through historical context, court records, and public reaction, we explore how one case became a cultural flashpoint—and why it still resonates today.