The Trials of Frank Carson

"Foretold" is the newest podcast from the L.A. Times, and we're sharing a preview of the first episode with you here today. 

In the fall of 2019, reporter Faith E. Pinho received a tip from a woman named Paulina Stevens. Paulina claimed she had grown up in an insular Romani community in California, where she was raised to be a wife, mother and fortuneteller — until she decided to break away. That first call unraveled a story spanning multiple continents, hundreds of years, and complex metaphysical realities. 

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The Letter is a new original true crime podcast hosted by award-winning journalist Amy Donaldson. This 8-part narrative series tells the story of the brutal murder of Zachary Snarr, which took place in Salt Lake City, UT, on August 28, 1996. The Letter weaves a story of forgiveness, guilt, and what happens after the headlines die down and the real story begins.

On Zach Snarr’s last day alive, he got up early to help his father at work, he cleaned the kitchen for his mother and he made his sister laugh. But on August 28, 1996, the 18-year-old never came home from his date with Yvette Rodier at a reservoir outside of Salt Lake City. Instead, two police officers and a chaplain came to ring the bell. It was every parent’s nightmare, a devastating loss that rocked a community and shattered lives. But Zach’s mother, Sy Snarr, finds hope from a most unlikely place and it comes in the form of a weekly phone call. Get more information and photos at theletterpodcast.com.

Head to https://link.chtbl.com/TheLetterPodcast to listen to the second episode. 

Border City is a new L.A. Times Presents podcast from the San Diego Union-Tribune. From Sandra Dibble, a journalist who spent more than 25 years covering the border, comes a story about beauty, violence and belonging in Tijuana, one of the world’s most dangerous cities. Enjoy this sneak peek, and be sure to listen and follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

In Season 1 of “Binge Sesh,” co-hosts Matt Brennan and Kareem Maddox pull back the curtain on HBO’s “Winning Time” series about the L.A. Lakers of the 1980s, one of the sports’ most unforgettable dynasties. Every week, we bring you stories from the locker room, the soundstage, and the L.A. Times archives as we explore how “Showtime” transformed the NBA — and American culture.

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From Focus Features and L.A. Times Studios brand team comes the new podcast series, CONVICTED: ACROSS BORDERS. Hosted by famed lawyer and bestselling author, Marcia Clark, we'll hear straight from the mouths of the men and women who lived through these trials. Through these stories, we'll explore how seemingly benign actions can lead to incarceration in foreign lands, how to navigate different legal systems when you don't even speak the language, and who one turns to when the closest help is thousands of miles away.

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For ten years, a fire bug terrorized Southern California, burning down businesses in broad daylight. Four people had died. Then a manuscript for a novel leads investigators to the last person they would have ever suspected. From Truth.Media, host Kary Antholis and executive producer Marc Smerling (The Jinx, Wilderness of Error, Crimetown) comes the true-crime series Firebug. The series launched July 21st.

Our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to talk about how authorities linked the disappearance of Korey Kauffman to Frank Carson.

This is a subscriber-exclusive bonus episode of “The Trials of Frank Carson.” Subscribe now to unlock all eight of these exclusive bonus episodes — and also enjoy our award-winning journalism and Unlimited Digital Access on our website, mobile app and eNewspaper. https://www.latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts

Our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss the origins of The Trials of Frank Carson.

The fates of Frank Carson and his co-defendants are decided, and jurors explain their reasoning. The DA’s office is sued for malicious prosecution, but prosecutors stand by their case. An interview with the state’s star witness, now out of lockup, raises troubling questions about the state’s handling of the case.

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

Defense attorneys offer alternate theories to explain Korey Kauffman’s death, and the trial becomes an endurance test. As Frank Carson’s health deteriorates, he wonders whether he will live to see a verdict. After more than a year in trial, defendants fear that the jury might give up, forcing a mistrial — and that this is exactly what the DA wants. 

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

As a marathon preliminary hearing continues, the defendants face mounting pressure to climb aboard “the witness bus” and cut a deal. Frank Carson hits rock bottom, and offers his co-defendants a way out. The prosecution belatedly reveals a cache of undisclosed evidence — with major consequences.

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

Frank Carson and his co-defendants confront the charges against them. The government cites years of Carson’s supposedly authority-hating behavior and his “behavioral control issues.” Interviews and wiretap recordings explore how Carson’s wife and stepdaughter, an art student, came to be wrapped up in the case. And former California Highway Patrol Officer Walter Wells endures jail.

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

After a three-year investigation, Frank Carson and his co-defendants are arrested, accused of a complicated murder-and-coverup conspiracy. Among the accused are three men who worked for the California Highway Patrol. How did an attorney famous for his distrust of local cops stand accused of conspiring with three of them?

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

The discovery of Korey Kauffman’s remains gives the investigation new impetus, and a man named Robert Woody offers a methamphetamine-fueled “confession.” Threatened with the death penalty, he cooperates — and becomes the government’s star witness. But his story changes again and again.

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

When a young scrap-metal thief named Korey Kauffman vanishes, local police do not immediately show great interest. Then a parolee named Big Mike Cooley tells a story that gets their attention: Kauffman was last seen venturing onto Frank Carson’s property to steal some pipes. Authorities confront Carson and work to build a case against him.

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

Introducing Frank Carson, Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorney, famous for his high-profile courtroom victories and take-no-prisoners style. A longtime nemesis of local law enforcement, he is representing homicide defendants in the very courthouse where he is on trial for murder himself. 

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

From Christopher Goffard, the Los Angeles Times reporter and host behind the hit podcasts Dirty John and Detective Trapp, comes a new eight-episode true crime podcast, The Trials of Frank Carson. The Trials of Frank Carson is a story of power, politics and the law in California’s Central Valley. Frank Carson was Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorney, a wizard with juries and a courtroom brawler with an unapologetically caustic style. He racked up legal wins for decades. He was the terror of police and prosecutors, often accusing them personally of corruption. When a small-time thief disappeared, police — some of them Carson’s longtime adversaries — launched a massive investigation into a spectral underworld of street hustlers, junkies and snitches. Carson was charged with murder, accused of masterminding a conspiracy. It would be one of the longest criminal trials in California history, with the flinty veteran of so many courtroom wars on trial for his life.