In Dispute: 10 Famous Trials That Changed History

The infamous McMartin Preschool trial epitomized the daycare abuse hysteria of the 1980s. What began with unsubstantiated allegations by a mentally ill parent spiraled into a seven-year legal battle, costing $16 million and leaving lives shattered—without a single conviction. Through flawed investigations, suggestive interviews, and sensational claims, the case raised critical questions about justice, credibility, and the power of mass panic. Join us as we explore the events, the fallout, and the lessons learned from one of America’s most controversial trials.   SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR VOICE ACTORS: Frank Pira as Police Chief Lee Rawles as Kee MacFarlane Ken Sutherland as 9th Circuit Appeals Conrad Saam as Professor Douglas Linder Doreen Wiley as Attorney Lael Rubin Jon Enge as Attorney Dean Richard Gits Evan Dicharry as Attorney J. Daniel Davis Gyi Tsakalakis as Dr. Michael Maloney Georgia Well as Peggy Buckey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1980, a family camping trip to Uluru turned into one of the most infamous trials in Australian history. When Lindy Chamberlain cried out, “A dingo’s got my baby,” few could have imagined the twists that would follow. In this episode, we unpack the investigation, trial, and ultimate exoneration of Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, exploring how media frenzy, flawed forensic evidence, and public perception shaped the case. From the courtroom drama to the role of societal bias, discover the heartbreaking story that captivated the world and changed the justice system forever. Join us as we analyze pivotal testimony, scientific debates, and the final vindication years later, as well as the lessons this case teaches about humanity, justice, and media influence. SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR VOICE ACTORS: Ramona Van Rensburg as Lindy Chamberlain Ron Sharp as Ian Barker Amy Allen as Sally Lowe Kira Mead as The High Court Deb Foster as Joy Kuhl Guy Dow-Sainter as John Phillips Trevor Murphy as Dr. James Cameron George Zaj as Prof. Barry Boettcher Adam Dunning as Michael Chamberlain Col Mooney as Justice Trevor Morling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dayton, Tennessee, catapulted into the national spotlight in 1925 after a young teacher challenged a state law banning the teaching of evolution, transforming the town into a chaotic carnival of ideas and fervent beliefs.  Re-live the spectacle as Clarence Darrow, a relentless advocate for scientific thought, squared off against William Jennings Bryan, the stalwart defender of religious tradition. Feel the tension as the courthouse brimmed with heated exchanges, each argument pushing the boundaries between faith and reason. Witness how Darrow’s razor-sharp cross-examination exposed deep questions about literalism and learning, creating ripples that reverberated far beyond the courtroom.  Though Scopes was found guilty, the trial carved out a legacy of debate that echoes in America’s dialogue on education and freedom to this day LINKS: Sign up for our newsletter so that you’re the first to know when new episodes drop! Listen to J. Craig Williams’ other podcast, Lawyer 2 Lawyer. Tell us what you’re looking forward to the most for this show on LinkedIn, Facebook, X or Instagram! Purchase the e-book. SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR VOICE ACTORS: Kevin McGrath as Judge Raulston Ken Sutherland as Rev. Cartwright Scott Well as Clarence Darrow Jon Enge as Rev. J.P. Massingill Darren Aitken as Attorney Malone Troy Starr as Atty General Stewart Jud Pierce as Superintendent White Daniel Singer as William Jennings Bryan Evan Dicharry as The Appeals Court Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The infamous cheating scandal from the 1919 World Series, between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds, broke America’s belief in the purity and innocence of baseball. As the story slowly unfolded, it became filled with all the colorful characters you’d expect from 1920s America: baseball players with catchy nicknames, short-tempered gangsters/gamblers immaculately dressed in business pinstripe suits, newspaper reporters and radio broadcasters with flowery descriptions of the trial as if itself was a baseball game, and even New York mob boss Arnold Rothstein, who was alleged (but never proven …) to be the impetus of the scandal. Unfortunately, the Black Sox trial transcripts were lost long ago, requiring modern-day historians to rely on newspaper reports of trial testimony, which sometimes were sensationalized for their readers and at other times were directly contrary to one another. From this reality, admittedly many of the facts about the scandal we examine in this episode are (true to this show’s title) In Dispute. LINKS: Sign up for our newsletter so that you’re the first to know when new episodes drop! Listen to J. Craig Williams’ other podcast, Lawyer 2 Lawyer. Tell us what you’re looking forward to the most for this show on LinkedIn, Facebook, X or Instagram!  Purchase the e-book.    SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR VOICE ACTORS: Todd Berger as Eddie Cicotte Brandon Harpold as Shoeless Joe Jackson  Adam Lockwood as Carl Victor Little Alan Chudnow as “Sleepy Bill” Burns Chad Trudeau as James “Ropes” O’Brien Dennis Kennedy as David Zelzer  Tom Mighell as Al Spink Jim Brady as Commissioner Landis  Lily Spader as Newspaper Journalist #1 Nathan Todhunter as Newspaper Journalist #2 Thomas Wolfe as Radio Broadcaster #1 Cari Lockwood as Radio Broadcaster #2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thirty shots fired in thirty seconds at the O.K. Corral left three men dead and three more wounded and turned into a month-long trial with some thirty witnesses in late fall 1881. Since then, their legendary gunfight with the Clantons and McLaurys has kept the town of Tombstone, Arizona alive and has been the source of inspiration for many books and films over the years.  125 years later, many questions are still left unanswered: Were the Clantons and McLaurys cattle thieves deserving of their death? Why was Doc Holliday, a gambler and notorious gunslinger, deputized by Virgil Earp? Why did the coroner’s inquest not issue a verdict? And this 1880s criminal trial asked the original Star Wars question: who really fired first? LINKS: Sign up for our newsletter so that you’re the first to know when new episodes drop! Listen to J. Craig Williams’ other podcast, Lawyer 2 Lawyer. Tell us what you’re looking forward to the most for this show on LinkedIn, Facebook, X or Instagram!  Purchase the e-book.  SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR VOICE ACTORS: David Woodham as Wyatt Earp Scott Well as Wesley Fuller Jeremy Brown as Ike Clanton Ken Sutherland as Prosecutor Lyttleton Price J.D. Freedman as Defense Attorney Tom Fitch Jamie Duarte as Sheriff Johnny Behan Hon. Franz E. Miller, ret. as H.F. Sills Wylie Aitken as Judge Spicer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices