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DEVIANT

DEVIANT

Written by: Cold Open Media
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 From the award-winning creator of Down The Hill: The Delphi Murders, comes DEVIANT, a new true crime series that dives into the dark corners of what human beings are capable of. Host Dan Szematowicz tells good stories about bad people who do very bad things. Some people are wired for good. Some are wired for bad. And some are wired... to be Deviant. Follow the show wherever you listen and across socials @deviant.podcast (IG, TT, YT)Cold Open Media 2025 Social Sciences True Crime
Episodes
  • Hunter/Hunted: Christopher Dorner - Part 2

    Hunter/Hunted: Christopher Dorner - Part 2
    Dec 31 2025
    (PART 2/2) The manhunt is on. In Part 2 of this DEVIANT series, host Dan Szematowicz picks up the story as Christopher Dorner disappears into the mountains of Southern California, triggering one of the largest and most intense police searches in state history. As authorities flood the Big Bear region, search hundreds of cabins, and warn residents to stay inside, Dorner resurfaces in a series of confrontations that prove he is still armed, mobile, and willing to engage law enforcement directly. What follows is a rapidly escalating chain of events that ends in a violence and fire. This episode examines the final hours of the manhunt, the shootout that leaves officers dead and wounded, and the decisions made by law enforcement as the situation spirals toward its conclusion. It also explores the aftermath, including the questions, controversies, and scrutiny that follow the end of the siege. Part 2 completes the story of the Christopher Dorner manhunt, focusing on what happened, how it unfolded, and the lasting impact it left behind. SUPPORT THE SHOW: http://www.deviantpodcast.com Visit DEVIANT's socials: http://www.instagram.com/deviant.podcast http://www.tiktok.com/@deviant.podcast Copyright 2025 Cold Open Media LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 mins
  • Hunter/Hunted: Christopher Dorner - Part 1

    Hunter/Hunted: Christopher Dorner - Part 1
    Dec 18 2025
    In February 2013, a double murder in an Irvine parking garage sets off a chain of events that quickly spreads far beyond the city. What begins as a quiet, baffling crime soon escalates into a statewide emergency. In Part 1 of this two-part DEVIANT episode, host Dan Szematowicz tracks the story from the killings of Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence through the critical discoveries that identify Christopher Dorner as the suspect. As the investigation unfolds, law enforcement agencies across Southern California move into high alert, protective details are deployed, and Dorner resurfaces violently. This episode covers the first confirmed attacks on police, the widening manhunt, and the moment authorities realize they are dealing with a trained, mobile shooter who is actively engaging officers. Part 1 ends with Dorner vanishing again, leaving behind burned evidence in the mountains and forcing law enforcement into a massive, uncertain search. Part 2 continues with the Big Bear manhunt, Dorner’s reappearance, and the final confrontation. SUPPORT THE SHOW: http://www.deviantpodcast.com Visit DEVIANT's socials: http://www.instagram.com/deviant.podcast http://www.tiktok.com/@deviant.podcast Copyright 2025 Cold Open Media LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 mins
  • Encore: Witness to an Execution

    Encore: Witness to an Execution
    Dec 11 2025
    This encore presentation revisits one of the most unsettling stories ever featured on DEVIANT. It is a firsthand account of the execution of Gainesville Ripper Danny Rolling, as witnessed by veteran South Florida journalist Michael Mayo. Mayo covered two Florida executions in his 31-year career. What he saw, and what he did not expect to feel, stayed with him. In this conversation with DEVIANT host Dan Szematowicz, Mayo walks us through the days leading up to Rolling’s death: meeting the families of the victims, entering Florida’s death chamber, hearing the condemned man sing a self-written hymn moments before the chemicals flowed, and grappling with what executions mean for justice, closure, and the people left behind. It is a stark and unvarnished look at an experience few ever witness. It also raises hard questions about punishment, memory, and the weight of what the state asks us to carry. This is a rerelease of a previous DEVIANT episode. New episodes return next week. SUPPORT THE SHOW: http://www.deviantpodcast.com Visit DEVIANT's socials: http://www.instagram.com/deviant.podcast http://www.tiktok.com/@deviant.podcast Copyright 2025 Cold Open Media LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    28 mins
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