The Dirty John franchise, clumsily named though it is, is back -- and Marcia Chatelain is back to talk about it. It doesn't feel "necessary," in These Times...and yet we're both planning to keep watching, thanks to Amanda Peet's fearless performance; the comparisons we can make with Mrs. America; and the fond memories it recalls of Meredith Baxter's definitive version.

Later, we're digging into a Lifetime movie about another '80s true-crime icon: Laurie "Bambi" Bembenek, whose quest to unmask corruption in Milwaukee law enforcement (yes, she was kind of trying to defund the police) got her embroiled with a bad husband and a worse frame job. We don't agree on Tatum O'Neal's performance; we do agree that this early-nineties movie was ahead of its time in its takes on stalking, feminist whistle-blowers, and the awesomeness of Victor Garber. That ominous piano can only mean one thing...The Blotter Presents, Episode 146.

SHOW NOTES

The Marshall Project
The Equal Justice Initiative
Dirty John on USA
Woman On Trial on YouTube
Marcia Chatelain on Twitter…
...and her book, Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America
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