Three - Podcast Rankings and reviews

This is one of the best true crime podcasts, bar none, that I’ve ever had the privilege of listening to. It is so well done and enjoyable, with empathy, intricate, and precise storytelling, and emotional intelligence woven into the creators’ careful delve into the mindset of those involved. The chronology and ordering of interviews and narration are near perfect. Kudos to the creators and producers for this masterpiece, and my heartfelt prayers to the family and friends of Skylar.

WOW, this isn’t just a “True Crime” podcast—this is a MUST for anyone interested in human psych and the dangers of social media to our kids. This pod is so well reported and written and narrated with empathy. I was in tears so many times. I feel like I lived this story. My heart goes out to Skylar’s mom Mary and dad Dave. Skylar may forever be 16, but she will NEVER be forgotten‼️

I ended up reading a summary of the crime online after getting half way through episode 2, I’m glad I continued to listen to the entire series though. They did an excellent job highlighting the individuals touched by this horrific crime as well as the buildup to the confession.
While it may seem lengthy I kept reminding myself that the until the confession this was a 6mth long investigation from 10yrs ago. There’s a decade worth of interviews, thoughts, and emotions to unpack here and it was beautifully done and respectful to the family.

The writing is skillfully composed with respect and sincerity, while the audio clips and interviews engage the audience effortlessly. It's a definite must-follow.

I had to stop listening to this podcast in the middle of episode three because the sexist shaming of the young women involved in the story became unbearable. Wearing makeup and high heels and (gasp!) having sex with boys doesn’t make a young woman more or less capable of murder. The way the narrators breathlessly reported the totally normal sexual activity the girls engaged in and strongly implied that it was evidence that they were “bad seeds” capable of murder is disgusting internalized misogyny at its absolute worst.

This show takes very odd turns into some really irresponsible places. There are at least two detectives interviewed who admitted on the podcast to doing some outrageous misconduct and one of them even admitted to repeated instances of police brutality unrelated to the topic. The creators cast these officers in a very sympathetic light and don’t question anything they say, and this type of bad reporting is present throughout every interview included in the series. There is almost no evidence or testimony from the case included. It was as if the creators thought that because there was a verdict and conviction in the case that their speculation about the murderers’ motives were just as valid as anything that could be found in court records. The whole production seems like an attempt to make the perpetrators in this case look as monstrous and inhuman as possible. They do this through the creator’s speculation about the three girl’s social media posts and through the speculation of the people the creators interviewed and present all of it as fact. This might have been an interesting new take on a very popularly known true crime story if they looked at the murder through the lense of social media what role it might have played, but the only message I got was ‘social media bad’.