Podcast Review: Death By Unknown Event by Pamela Adlon

This is so wild – every time I thought I’d gotten to the worst part, it took another turn.

I listen to a lot of podcasts – in all kinds of genres. Some of my favorites are No Such Thing As A Fish, Twenty Thousand Hertz, Lore, Vanished, and Serial – amongst others. And since I also listen to a lot of audiobooks, and use Audible to do so, I also have access to their selection of original podcasts.

Some of my favorites from their catalogue are Body of Proof, Ghosthunter, The Last Days of August, and Evil Has A Name, and when I recently stumbled across Death By Unknown Event I knew I was going to love it. Even just the name had me hooked, I didn’t even need to read what it was about – and by the time I finished it, I knew I needed to write a review because this is just too good.

To make it easier for you, I’ll give you the short story: during the 1980s, Cindy James, a Canadian nurse from Vancouver, reported over 100 incidents of harassment, threats, violence, and assault. The kicker? There was almost no evidence that any of it actually happened. Then, after seven years, she was found dead, bound and naked.

What? Over 100 reported incidents without proof? How does that even work? How… I had so many questions. And the more you listen, the crazier it gets. So many people were involved with investigating Cindy and her claims, and a lot of the people came up with totally different answers to what was going on. It truly is a crazy ride.

And the production is really good – that’s always a major factor in enjoying any podcast. I don’t know how many times I’ve been turned off from a really good show because of bad sound quality or an annoying or unengaging narrator. But that’s not the case here – Pamela Adlon is magnificent.

The real twist is the end – where one insane theory about what might have happened is brought into the light, and with it the realization that maybe this theory isn’t as crazy as it seems…

The only sad thing about this is that there isn’t more of it I suppose, but then again that’s perhaps the hallmark of a good podcast. What have you been listening to lately? Do you have any good True Crime recommendations? Let me know in the comments!