The Free Press Investigates

4.7 (12K)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
WEEKLY SERIES

Listen to our new series, Spiral: Murder in Detroit, out now. Free Press reporter Frannie Block investigates the murder of a beloved community leader. The Free Press Investigates brings you gripping, deeply reported stories you can't find anywhere else—and the investigations others won’t dare to cover. You can also listen to our first series, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling.

EPISODE 1

Spiral | 1. One of 36 Angels

Samantha Woll, 40, was a beloved Detroit Jewish community leader with her life ahead of her. Tragically, she is found stabbed to death outside her home exactly two weeks after the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. Investigators follow a mysterious figure caught on camera: Is this truly a hate crime, or something else? --- Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press to binge the full series today, and with reduced ads. Click here to subscribe ---- Host: Frannie Block Producer: Poppy Damon Executive Editor: Emily Yoffe --- Contact us at: spiral@thefp.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

42 min
EPISODE 2

Spiral | 2. Wrong Place, Wrong Time?

A man seen breaking into cars near the crime scene is arrested, and he lies to police about what he’s been up to. But does that make him a killer? As the case builds against him, his defense team uncovers a piece of evidence that could change everything. --- Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press to binge the full series today, and with reduced ads. Click here to subscribe ---- Host: Frannie Block Producer: Poppy Damon Executive Editor: Emily Yoffe --- Contact us at: spiral@thefp.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

42 min
EPISODE 3

Spiral | 3. Motive and Opportunity

Samantha Woll’s ex-boyfriend calls 911 in a panic. He tells the police he thinks he might have killed her. When they bring him in for questioning, he explains he was having a drug-induced temporary break. --- Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press to binge the full series today, and with reduced ads. Click here to subscribe. ---- Host: Frannie Block Producer: Poppy Damon Executive Editor: Emily Yoffe --- Contact us at: spiral@thefp.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

39 min
EPISODE 4

Spiral | 4. Bring It On

The prosecution believes the case is airtight, but when the defendant takes the stand, the case takes a turn. With alternate suspects introduced, the jury must decide what they believe really happened to Samantha Woll. --- Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press to binge the full series today, and with reduced ads. Click ⁠here⁠ to subscribe. ---- Host: Frannie Block Producer: Poppy Damon Executive Editor: Emily Yoffe --- Contact us at: spiral@thefp.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

52 min
EPISODE 4 BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Spiral | 4. Bring It On

Listen now (51 mins) | The prosecution believes the case is airtight, but when the defendant takes the stand, the case takes a turn.

51 min
EPISODE 5 BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Spiral | 5. A Beautiful but Imperfect System

Listen now (48 mins) | A startling legal twist changes the case’s outcome, possibly forever.

48 min
SEASON 2 TRAILER

Season 2 Trailer | Spiral: Murder in Detroit

On October 21, 2023, beloved Detroit community leader Samantha Woll was found brutally stabbed to death outside her home—two weeks to the day after the October 7 attacks on Israel. It looks like an open-and-shut case—a hate crime. But swiftly the police rule that out. Instead they eventually find themselves with two unrelated suspects. When they charge one with murder, the case takes a turn that raises questions about antisemitism, race, and justice in America. Hosted by The Free Press’s Frannie Block, this podcast series will be available October 21st 2025. It features exclusive interviews and explores the remarkable, too-short life of Samantha, and the impact she had. And Spiral tells the bizarre twists and turns of one of Detroit’s most haunting recent crimes. ---- Email us at Spiral@thefp.com ---- Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press to binge the full series today, and with reduced ads. Click here to subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 min

See All Season 2 (7)

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4.9 (82)

BOOKS
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4.6 (8279)

SOCIETY & CULTURE
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4.6 (442)

PHILOSOPHY
Sometimes the news moves so fast, you have to look closely to know if you’ve seen it before. And that’s what this show is about. Breaking History breaks down the news, by breaking down history. We cover everything from LBJ and the Roman Republic to Donald Trump and the chaos at Columbia. This twice a month show from The Free Press delivers the best historians, authors, and reporters by mining the archives of human experience to figure out the present. George Santayana wrote, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Tune in to Breaking History to resist the repetition.

4.8 (941)

HISTORY

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Poppy Damon

Host
Frannie Block

Host

4.7

out of 5

11,955 Ratings

Compelling and wonderful storytelling

6d ago

K-187

I sincerely appreciate the time and effort that went into this investigation and the humanizing of the victim, Samantha Woll, as well as the many others who were in her orbit. This is a worthy follow to The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, which was also incredible.
I’m So Grossed Out

1d ago

téa_in_za_house

This coming out after Bari Weiss takes control of CBS is creepy and concerning for real
BIAS Franny Block 🙄

1d ago

Bgisurja

If you let people talk long enough, they’ll tell on themselves. This was an embarrassing attempt at an unbiased journalistic approach. There are too many slanted sentences/ tilted takes to count (do y’all have editors?!) but one of the more offensive ones was something along the lines of racial tensions mucking everything up— for example, the reason he didn’t call the police was because Sam was white. WHAT?! This is outrageous. The reason he didn’t call the police is because he is Black. Have you been paying attention AT ALL or done any research WHATSOEVER regarding overrepresentation of minorities in cases of police brutality. Ugh. What a disservice. Get an OpEd, keep a blog, Substack is great, but please don’t call yourself a journalist. Overall, Frannie came off as young, naive, biased, affected, and racist— literally the last person I want to hear an important story from.
Too One Sided

2d ago

maryg360

I was looking for an interesting true crime story but was met with a very pro-Israel narrative. Maybe research how many people have been murdered by Israeli militants. Granted, this woman did not deserve to be killed, nor does anyone who is the victim of a hate crime. But the narrative you are pushing is very one sided and frankly irresponsible as a journalist. Just looked at season 1 to see if it was anything better but nope. Wow, things are terrible so let’s make them even worse. FREE PALESTINE AND TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS.

Listen to our new series, Spiral: Murder in Detroit, out now. Free Press reporter Frannie Block investigates the murder of a beloved community leader. The Free Press Investigates brings you gripping, deeply reported stories you can't find anywhere else—and the investigations others won’t dare to cover. You can also listen to our first series, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling.