Free Daily Podcast Summary
The First Degree: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Alexis Linkletter, Jac Vanek
Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be friends with a murderer? Or escape a kidnapping? Or have a father who was a serial killer? Join Jac Vanek and Alexis Linkletter on a chilling ride into the darkest corners of your worst nightmares. Murders, cults, kidnappings, and conspiracies—all told through the eyes of a guest who is one degree of separation from the story itself. From infamous serial killers to the unbelievable unknown murder in your own backyard, The First Degree delivers a new perspective to the already fascinating true crime landscape. And who knows... you may be our next guest.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- Yesterday43 min
DEEP DIVE: MISSING AND MURDERED SCIENTISTS
You asked for it….get ready for the ultimate deep dive digging into the over 13 missing and murdered scientists over the past few years. We are starting with the most infamous, disturbing, and head scratching case of Amy Eskridge. Get ready to go down the rabbit hole with us. It’s a wild ride. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree 📓 Substack: http://thefirstdegree.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- Yesterday42 min
Episode 405: Amber Arnett
On June 23rd, 2023, a 39-year-old woman messages her mom asking if she can come to her home because she doesn’t feel safe where she is staying. Unfortunately, her mom is out of town but she tells her daughter she can come over when she is back on the 25th. However, the woman never shows up that day. Even more concerning, in the days that follow, no one could get in contact with her and her social media is completely silent. With no help from law enforcement, the woman’s mother takes matters into her own hands and investigates her disappearance. In episode 405, Jac and Alexis explore the disappearance of Amber Arnett, and just how far her mother Marty is willing to go to try to find out what happened to her daughter. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree 📓 Substack: http://thefirstdegree.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 2 days ago42 min
Episode 405: Amber Arnett
On June 23rd, 2023, a 39-year-old woman messages her mom asking if she can come to her home because she doesn’t feel safe where she is staying. Unfortunately, her mom is out of town but she tells her daughter she can come over when she is back on the 25th. However, the woman never shows up that day. Even more concerning, in the days that follow, no one could get in contact with her and her social media is completely silent. With no help from law enforcement, the woman’s mother takes matters into her own hands and investigates her disappearance. In episode 405, Jac and Alexis explore the disappearance of Amber Arnett, and just how far her mother Marty is willing to go to try to find out what happened to her daughter. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree 📓 Substack: http://thefirstdegree.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago44 min
DEEP DIVE: MACKENZIE SHIRILLA
Today we’re deep diving everything that the Netflix documentary The Crash missed about the Mackenzie Shirilla case. From scouting out LA modeling agencies while in the hospital, to jail house calls about Kim Kardashian, to selling feet pics, there is a LOT you don’t know about Mackenzie Shirilla and we are ready to discuss it all. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree 📓 Substack: http://thefirstdegree.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago39 min
Episode 404: Sons Of Sam, Part 2
In episode 404, Jac and Alexis are joined by Josh Zeman for Part 2 of their coverage on the infamous Son of Sam murders—and the man whose relentless obsession with uncovering the truth behind the official narrative ultimately consumed him. As the investigation spirals deeper into alleged cult connections, conflicting witness accounts, and lingering questions that have haunted the case for decades, one unsettling possibility remains: Was it really the work of one man? Or were there Sons of Sam? 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree 📓 Substack: http://thefirstdegree.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago44 min
DEEP DIVE: MEDIA GHOULS
What the hell even happened this week?! We’re diving into it all: Luigi Mangione updates, the James Charles x Gypsy Rose crossover you’d never expect, the SKIMS cocaine bust, the alien files, and an impromptu discussion about the Netflix doc The Crash (which ps is your homework to watch for next week’s Deep Dive). Another crazy week for the books. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree 📓 Substack: http://thefirstdegree.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago35 min
Episode 403: Sons Of Sam, Part 1
In the early hours of July 29th, 1976, an 18-year-old woman sits in her car outside her house chatting with a friend following a night out in New York City. The aspiring emergency medic’s life is brutally cut short when a man suddenly fires through the window, killing the young woman. Her friend is wounded and survives, but over the coming year, five more people will lose their lives to the man initially dubbed ‘the .44 caliber killer’. The city lives in the grip of sheer terror until August 1977, when 24-year-old David Berkowitz is arrested. He soon confesses and later pleads guilty, sentenced to life in prison. But questions remain. Not everyone believes there was one killer. And for one reporter, the case becomes a decades-long obsession. In episode 403, Jac and Alexis discuss the infamous ‘Son of Sam’ serial murders, and how one man’s relentless persistence in questioning the official narrative to uncover the truth completely and utterly consumed him. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree 📓 Substack: http://thefirstdegree.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 3 weeks ago45 min
DEEP DIVE: EPSTEIN STILL DIDN’T KILL HIMSELF
It’s a bizarre variety show kind of week over here on the deep dive! We’re talking Epstein “suicide note”, Brittany Furlan x Ronnie Radke catfish scandal, Alex Murdaugh’s convictions being overturned, the pop up Epstein file museum in NYC, and Michael Jackson’s very weird private jet rider (spoiler alert: the dude lovedddd KFC). 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree 📓 Substack: http://thefirstdegree.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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About The First Degree
Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be friends with a murderer? Or escape a kidnapping? Or have a father who was a serial killer? Join Jac Vanek and Alexis Linkletter on a chilling ride into the darkest corners of your worst nightmares. Murders, cults, kidnappings, and conspiracies—all told through the eyes of a guest who is one degree of separation from the story itself. From infamous serial killers to the unbelievable unknown murder in your own backyard, The First Degree delivers a new perspective to the already fascinating true crime landscape. And who knows... you may be our next guest.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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