A shocking public shooting at New York City Hall leaves the ambitious, charismatic City Councilman James E. Davis dead, before his assailant is gunned down by a New York City cop. It turns out that Davis had been murdered by his political rival, Niel Askew. And yet all that summer, the two men had been seen around Brooklyn together, been together in James’ office, sat side by side at a barbershop. Despite the shock waves this murder sent through New York City in the summer of 2003, the story is now forgotten, along with the mystery of what really happened between these men. RORSCHACH: MURDER AT CITY HALL recounts their final fateful day through eye-witness accounts, and then traces the path that led James Davis and his killer Niel Askew to their deaths.

Listen here and subscribe to Rorschach: Murder at City Hall on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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In this episode, we look all the way back to seventeenth century Scotland, to Jenny Geddes and her revolutionary acts. It's the story of the butterfly effect, the impact one voice can have on a nation, and empires' intent on controlling us.

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• Explore more: diversionaudio.com

This series is hosted by Mary Kay McBrayer. Check out more of her work at www.marykaymcbrayer.com.

This episode was written by Mary Kay McBrayer

Developed by Scott Waxman, Emma DeMuth, and Jacob Bronstein

Associate Producer is Leo Culp
Produced by Antonio Enriquez
Theme Music by Tyler Cash
Executive Produced by Scott Waxman and Emma DeMuth

Special thanks to:
Carter, Stephen L.. Invisible. Henry Holt and Co.. Kindle Edition.

Order Mary Kay's true crime book 'Madame Queen: The The Life and Crimes of Harlem’s Underground Racketeer, Stephanie St. Clair' here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we examine the story of Sarah Cornell, a young Methodist textile worker who was the inspiration for Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. The difference, of course, is that Hester Prynne wasn’t murdered. And she certainly didn’t kill herself.

• Follow Diversion Audio on Instagram

• Explore more: diversionaudio.com

This series is hosted by Mary Kay McBrayer. Check out more of her work at www.marykaymcbrayer.com.

This episode was written by Mary Kay McBrayer

Developed by Scott Waxman, Emma DeMuth, and Jacob Bronstein

Associate Producer is Leo Culp
Produced by Antonio Enriquez
Theme Music by Tyler Cash
Executive Produced by Scott Waxman and Emma DeMuth

Special thanks to:
Carter, Stephen L.. Invisible. Henry Holt and Co.. Kindle Edition.

Order Mary Kay's true crime book 'Madame Queen: The The Life and Crimes of Harlem’s Underground Racketeer, Stephanie St. Clair' here

Check out Kate Winkler Dawson's book The Sinners All Bow at Penguin Random House

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we look at the underground world of Sister Ping. It's a story about desperation, ambition, and the shadowy world of human smuggling. It’s about the lengths people will go in search of a better life—and those who build their empires by making that journey possible.

• Follow Diversion Audio on Instagram

• Explore more: diversionaudio.com

This series is hosted by Mary Kay McBrayer. Check out more of her work at www.marykaymcbrayer.com.

This episode was written by Grace Heerman

Developed by Scott Waxman, Emma DeMuth, and Jacob Bronstein

Associate Producer is Leo Culp
Produced by Antonio Enriquez
Theme Music by Tyler Cash
Executive Produced by Scott Waxman and Emma DeMuth

Special thanks to:
Carter, Stephen L.. Invisible. Henry Holt and Co.. Kindle Edition.

Order Mary Kay's true crime book 'Madame Queen: The The Life and Crimes of Harlem’s Underground Racketeer, Stephanie St. Clair' here

Sources

Check out Patrick Radden Keefe's book 'The Snakehead' at Pan Macmillan

Read 'A Path out of Purgatory' by Patrick Radden Keefe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, a woman comes back from the dead to solve her own murder, something beyond the realm of what most people consider possible. And yet, the story of Teresita Basa was credible enough to appear in a U.S. court of law, come before a judge and jury, and send a man to jail for murder.

• Follow Diversion Audio on Instagram

• Explore more: diversionaudio.com

This series is hosted by Mary Kay McBrayer. Check out more of her work at www.marykaymcbrayer.com.

This episode was written by Zoe Louisa Lewis

Developed by Scott Waxman, Emma DeMuth, and Jacob Bronstein

Associate Producer is Leo Culp
Produced by Antonio Enriquez
Theme Music by Tyler Cash
Executive Produced by Scott Waxman and Emma DeMuth

Special thanks to:
Carter, Stephen L.. Invisible. Henry Holt and Co.. Kindle Edition.

Pre-order Mary Kay's forthcoming true crime book 'Madame Queen: The The Life and Crimes of Harlem’s Underground Racketeer, Stephanie St. Clair' here

SOURCES

General

https://books.google.ca/books?id=CM4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=allan%2Bshowery%2Bjob%2Bedgewater&source=bl&ots=dS98q23rpz&sig=ACfU3U3EjQ7VZNBaUSThOMZEh_O0gVvLGQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwisuLnG-b72AhUGa80KHd84DwYQ6AF6BAg0EAM#v=onepage&q=allan%20showery%20job%20edgewater&f=false

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/09/17/voice-from-the-grave-evokes-a-murder-trial/13b6d805-2413-4015-b70a-b9b28ab5d40d/

https://jimharold.com/the-strange-and-sad-case-of-teresita-basa-by-em-hilker/

Chuas Obituary

https://legacy.suntimes.com/us/obituaries/chicagosuntimes/name/jose-chua-obituary?id=30203

Possession in the Philippines

https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/central-luzon-state-university/psychological-assessment/understanding-spirit-possession-in-the-philippines/67778613

https://www.aswangproject.com/spirit-possession-sapi-in-the-philippines/#google_vignette

https://pssc.org.ph/wp-content/pssc-archives/Philippine%20Journal%20of%20Psychology/2004/Num%202/05_Dissociative%20Symptoms%20in%20Filipino%20College%20Students.pdf

https://www.iheart.com/content/2023-10-17-classes-cancelled-at-high-school-in-philippines-following-mass-possession/

https://www.newsflare.com/video/520014/seven-students-exorcised-after-being-possessed-by-evil-spirits-in-the-philippines

Edgewater Hospital

https://www.edgewaterhistory.org/ehs/local/rise-and-fall-of-edgewater-hospital

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we examine the story of Rebecca Vance: one of a mother’s misdirected love, the line between self-determination and mental illness, and the way conspiracy theories can compel us to make very dangerous decisions, even in the name of safety.

• Follow Diversion Audio on Instagram

• Explore more: diversionaudio.com

This series is hosted by Mary Kay McBrayer. Check out more of her work at www.marykaymcbrayer.com.

This episode was written by Grace Heerman

Developed by Scott Waxman, Emma DeMuth, and Jacob Bronstein

Associate Producer is Leo Culp
Produced by Antonio Enriquez
Theme Music by Tyler Cash
Executive Produced by Scott Waxman and Emma DeMuth

Special thanks to:
Carter, Stephen L.. Invisible. Henry Holt and Co.. Kindle Edition.

Pre-order Mary Kay's forthcoming true crime book 'Madame Queen: The The Life and Crimes of Harlem’s Underground Racketeer, Stephanie St. Clair' here

SOURCES

The Women Who Walked Away, Elizabeth Weil

“Please I Will Give Anything for You to Come Back,” Ted Conover

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we look at the collegiate tragedy of Sinedu Tedesse: friendship gone wrong, the limits of human ambition, and the dark underbelly of the American dream. Because the thing they don’t tell you about having your greatest dream come true, is what to do with yourself afterwards.

• Follow Diversion Audio on Instagram

• Explore more: diversionaudio.com

This series is hosted by Mary Kay McBrayer. Check out more of her work at www.marykaymcbrayer.com.

This episode was written by Mary Kay McBrayer

Developed by Scott Waxman, Emma DeMuth, and Jacob Bronstein

Associate Producer is Leo Culp
Produced by Antonio Enriquez
Theme Music by Tyler Cash
Executive Produced by Scott Waxman and Emma DeMuth

Special thanks to:
Carter, Stephen L.. Invisible. Henry Holt and Co.. Kindle Edition.

Pre-order Mary Kay's forthcoming true crime book 'Madame Queen: The The Life and Crimes of Harlem’s Underground Racketeer, Stephanie St. Clair' here

SOURCES

1. The Harvard Student Who Killed Her Roommate, Melanie Thernstrom
2. Harvard Deaths Leave a Puzzle Whose Central Piece May Never Be Found, Fox Butterfield
3. Hostage to The Past: The 1995 Murder Suicide in Dunster, Hillary A. McLauchlin
4. Rethinking the American Dream: The Cost of Coming to America: Immigration and Depression in the Case of Sinedu Tadesse, Menna Demessie
5. Halfway Heaven: Diary of a Harvard Murder, Melanie Thernstrom

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.