Podcast Summary:

Culpable - Truer Crime Season 3: Vanished. Vilified. Voiceless.
Host: Dennis Cooper (Culpable), Celicia Stanton (Truer Crime)
Date: August 6, 2025
Podcast: Culpable, Tenderfoot TV & Audacy, featuring Truer Crime trailer

Episode Overview

This special episode of Culpable introduces listeners to the upcoming season of the podcast Truer Crime hosted by Celicia Stanton. Rather than single-episode coverage, this podcast adopts a deep-dive format by dedicating an entire month to each case. The focus isn't only on the crime itself, but on the lasting effects of the investigation, media scrutiny, legal fallout, and the lives impacted. In Season 3, titled "Vanished. Vilified. Voiceless.", each case is united by stories of missing persons and the complex, often overlooked human dimensions behind the headlines.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Truer Crime's Distinctive Approach

• Unlike most true crime shows, Truer Crime spends a full month on each story, dissecting the case, the investigation, the legal process, media involvement, and social impact ([00:02-00:47]).
  • Quote [00:18]: "Instead of covering a case in a single episode, True or Crime spends a whole month on each story, breaking it into multiple parts to dig even deeper." — Dennis Cooper
• Host Celicia Stanton is praised for her empathetic storytelling style, offering unusual depth and care in an often sensationalized genre.

2. Season 3 Preview: Central Theme

• All six cases this season revolve around individuals who have "vanished, been vilified, or rendered voiceless" — underscoring how victims and their families can become collateral damage in the pursuit of sensation and closure.
  • Quote [00:47]: "You never think it's gonna be in your small town. It's gonna be someone you know. On a missing poster. Vanished, vilified, voiceless." — Celicia Stanton

3. Investigations and Hijacked Narratives

• The trailer references high-profile cases like Molly Tibbetts, highlighting how quickly a personal tragedy can become a national spectacle—and how stories get "hijacked" by outside interests or agendas ([00:47-01:15]).
  • Quote [01:11]: "There were death threats, people threatening to burn down our buildings." — Interviewee (C)
  • Quote [01:15]: "And her case is just the beginning. This is one of the most sensational crimes ever to explode in Hollywood." — Celicia Stanton

4. Voices from Inside the Storm

• Clips from subjects and interviewees communicate the real fear, chaos, and emotional devastation experienced—not just by victims, but by entire communities.
  • Quote [01:22]: "If we die, we die. One of those dead bodies could be ours. Everybody knew that. I wanted it to stop." — Interviewee (C)

5. Season Scope & Call to Listen

• The season promises six gripping stories that are "not just about crime, but about the people caught in the middle" ([01:30]).
  • Truer Crime aims to delve beneath headlines, exposing the toll on those silenced or misunderstood.
  • Quote [01:30]: "From hijacked headlines to buried truth. Tackling six gripping stories not just about crime, but about the people caught in the middle of it all." — Celicia Stanton

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dennis Cooper [00:15]:
  "Celicia is an engaging storyteller with a knack for cutting to the heart of things. She brings a level of care and depth that can be hard to find in this space."

• Interviewee [01:11]:
  "There were death threats, people threatening to burn down our buildings."

• Interviewee [01:22]:
  "If we die, we die. One of those dead bodies could be ours. Everybody knew that. I wanted it to stop."

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:02] – Introduction to Truer Crime and its distinctive format (Dennis Cooper)
• [00:47] – Season three trailer begins: Thematic overview ("Vanished, vilified, voiceless," Celicia Stanton)
• [01:11] – Audio clips from people impacted by cases (mention of Molly Tibbetts case and community fallout)
• [01:22] – Testimony on the fear and reality of living through a crime-turned-media-sensation
• [01:30] – Stanton's closing narrative, setting the tone for the season and inviting listeners to follow

Tone & Style

• The episode is empathetic but direct, emphasizing the wider human and societal consequences of unsolved or mishandled cases.
• Dennis Cooper's introduction is supportive and earnest, while Celicia Stanton's narration is evocative, compassionate, and grounded in firsthand experience.

Conclusion

This episode serves as both a recommendation and a thematic preview for Truer Crime's third season, illustrating the show's commitment to justice, truth-seeking, and giving a voice to those erased by noise, negligence, or deliberate malice. Listeners are encouraged to seek out the new season for its in-depth, human-centered storytelling—challenging the true crime genre to do better by those it covers.