Morally Indefensible

Many podcasts in the True Crime genre simply repeat known facts with a lot of useless yapping in between. This podcast dives into never before known information about a journalist who writes a book about a crime after being in the thick of the defense preparing and going through a trial, and in the aftermath is as deceptive as the subject of the book he writes. This is a story about a pot who calls the kettle black. One fascinating fact about Fatal Vision is how McGuiness coerced MacDonald to basically write the book for him by deception with the jailhouse letters. Call it clever, smart, deceptive, or call it indefensible. This podcast isn’t about guilt or innocence. Rather it’s about falsely believing that you actually have the power to convince someone that your narrative is the truth if you present yourself to be sincere regardless of whether you actually are or not. In this scenario it worked both ways…. at least for a little while.

I just finished this excellent podcast, and I’m happy to recommend it to anyone who enjoys true crime stories well told, as well as intelligent discussions of journalistic ethics. Bravo!

I found myself offering to run errands just so I could get back in the car and listen to this series! I’ve followed the MacDonald case for decades but did not know of the story between him and Joe McGinnis. Fascinating listen. Keep ‘em coming!

This story grabs you in chapter 1… and won’t let you go. Mark Smerling is amazing. His homework has been thoroughly researched. His team is spectacular. Whatever they do, is done well. Take a listen.