WILDCIDE

This Thanksgiving, we’re serving up something sweeter than Aunt Carol’s mystery casserole. When a beloved Texas fruitcake company started bleeding money, nobody expected the sticky fingers behind the mess to belong to the accountant who made the dough.
 
Join us as we unwrap the embezzlement scandal that turned corporate holiday cheer into a true crime feast- complete with shady spreadsheets, fancy cars and one heck of a fruitcake crumble.
It’s a slice of crime that’s nutty, rich and perfect for the holidays.

Last week in Part 1, we sat down with musician, author, and racial bridge-builder Dr. Daryl Davis—a man who has spent decades sitting across from members of the Ku Klux Klan and asking the world’s most disarming question: “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?” Daryl shared how simple human curiosity opened doors that fear had sealed shut, and how that first conversation led to dozens of Klansmen walking away from hate.
In Part 2, we go deeper.Daryl brings us inside the psychology of extremism, the anatomy of white supremacy, and the personal cost of choosing to confront hate face-to-face. He talks about confronting Klan leaders, gaining access to secret meetings, the moment he realized he could influence deradicalization, and the unexpected friendships that formed along the way. We explore what makes people vulnerable to extremist ideology, what pulls them out, and what every one of us can learn from his approach.
This conclusion is powerful, challenging, and unexpectedly hopeful.If Part 1 showed how one conversation can change a person, Part 2 shows how those conversations can change an entire movement.
To purchase Dr. Davis' books, click HERE. 

In Part 2, we pick up inside Durham’s 1971 school charrette — the collision point where a civil rights legend and a Klan leader are forced to sit face-to-face for ten days and decide the fate of the city’s schools. What begins as shouting, sabotage, and years of rage finally cracks open into something neither of them saw coming: recognition.
Across long days and brutal night sessions, Ann Atwater and C.P. Ellis stop fighting at each other and start fighting to be heard. Their defenses crumble, their fears surface, and the truth slips out — their children are suffering under the same broken system. And when integration is finally put to a public vote, every eye in Durham waits for one man to choose who he really is.
Then C.P. Ellis does the unthinkable: he stands, admits he’s been wrong, and tears up his Klan card in front of the entire room.
What follows isn’t a miracle but rather more of a transformation. Durham moves toward full school integration, and Ann and C.P. begin a decades-long partnership that reshapes their city, their families, and ultimately, each other. From enemies to advocates to inseparable friends, their story becomes one of the most unlikely — and important — alliances in civil rights history.
This is the moment hate loses its footing… and history shifts.
**Tune into our Part 2 Interview with Dr. Daryl Davis on Friday 11/20/25**

Dr. Daryl Davis is an international recording artist who has performed and toured all 50 States and around the world. He has performed extensively with Chuck Berry, The Legendary Blues Band (formerly The Muddy Waters Blues Band), Elvis Presley’s Jordanaires, and many others.
He is also a man who has sat across from members of the Ku Klux Klan—by choice. In this powerful first half of our conversation, Daryl Davis takes us back to the experiences that shaped his extraordinary journey into the heart of hate.
From a childhood spent overseas surrounded by diversity to a brutal awakening at age ten in 1968 America, Daryl’s story begins with one haunting question: “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?” That question would lead him into smoky bars, Klan rallies, and face-to-face conversations with men who once wore hoods and carried torches.
In Part 1, we trace how a chance encounter at a Maryland bar set Daryl on a path that would change his life—and hundreds of others. What started as a quest to understand racism became an unexpected lesson in humanity, courage, and the disarming power of genuine curiosity.
Tune in next week for part 2 of this captivating interview with Daryl Davis. 
To purchase Dr. Davis' books, click HERE. 

In 1971 Durham, North Carolina, a civil rights activist and a Ku Klux Klan leader are forced to share a table—and a title. Before that moment, though, their collision was decades in the making.
In this first half of our two-part series, we trace Ann Atwater’s rise from public housing organizer to unshakable community force, and C.P. Ellis’s descent from working-class humiliation to Klan leadership—two lives sculpted by poverty, power, and the machinery of racial division. When a burned school and federal desegregation orders push the city into crisis, officials choose an unlikely fix: a “charrette”—a community planning experiment that will lock Atwater and Ellis in the same room, under the same fluorescent lights, for ten days.
Part One ends where history starts to tremble: Day One of the charrette, when contempt meets contempt and neither side intends to yield.
Part Two drops next week—covering the confrontation, the fracture, and the impossible friendship that followed.
And this Friday, listen to our exclusive interview with Daryl Davis—the man who sits face-to-face with the Klan today, living proof that the same collision still changes people in real time.

This Shortcide is all glitter, salt rims, and felony-level delusion.
First up — Rita Crundwell: the beloved small-town comptroller who quietly drained an entire Illinois city for 22 years to fund her rhinestone horse empire. She stole $53.7 million from Dixon — the biggest municipal fraud in U.S. history — all while winning world championships and convincing everyone she was basically the financial Mother Teresa of the Midwest.
Then — Gina Champion-Cain: San Diego’s self-proclaimed “Queen of Hospitality” who turned liquor license lending into the largest female-run Ponzi scheme in American history. Nearly $400 million moved through her fake escrow world of margaritas, charity galas, champagne fountains, and shredded evidence.
Two women.Two wildly different aesthetics — horses vs. happy hour.Same core plot: white-collar crime dressed up as glamour.
These aren’t bank robbers in ski masks — these are fraud queens in sequins, stilettos, and beachfront branding.
Welcome to Wildcide: where the scams sparkle just as hard as the crimes hurt.

In this episode of Wildcide, we sit down with one of the most influential figures in modern criminal profiling — Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess, the real-life inspiration behind Dr. Wendy Carr from Netflix’s Mindhunter.
Long before Mindhunter brought behavioral analysis into pop culture, Burgess was already inside the real FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, decoding the minds of serial offenders and changing how investigators understood trauma, violence, and victim behavior.
From her pioneering research in victimology to her groundbreaking interviews that helped shape the FBI’s approach to behavioral profiling, Burgess reveals what it really takes to understand both predator and prey. She walks us through the psychology behind notorious cases — including her role in the Ski Mask Rapist investigation — and explains how empathy became one of the most powerful tools in criminal investigation.
This isn’t just a look into the mind of a killer — it’s a look into the mind of the woman who helped the world understand them.
 
About Dr. Burgess:
Ann Wolbert Burgess, D.N.Sc., APRN, FAAN, is an internationally recognized pioneer in the assessment and treatment of victims of trauma and abuse, and author of A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind. She has received numerous honors including the Sigma Theta Tau International Audrey Hepburn Award, the American Nurses’ Association Hildegard Peplau Award, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Episteme Laureate Award. Her courtroom testimony has been described as “groundbreaking,” and she has been called a “nursing pathfinder.”Her research with victims began when she co-founded, with Boston College sociologist Lynda Lytle Holmstrom, one of the first hospital-based crisis counseling programs at Boston City Hospital. She then worked with FBI Academy special agents to study serial offenders, and the links between child abuse, juvenile delinquency, and subsequent perpetration. Her work with Boston College nursing colleague Carol Hartman led to the study of very young victims and the impact of trauma on their growth and development, their families and communities. Her work continues in the study of elder abuse in nursing homes, cyberstalking, and Internet sex crimes. She teaches courses in Victimology, Forensic Science, Forensic Mental Health, Case Studies in Forensics and Forensic Science Lab.
 
To purchase Dr. Burgess' newest book, click HERE.

Between 1978 and 1981, a quiet terror crept through the southern United States.Women and couples were attacked in their own homes—bound, blindfolded, and violated by a man wearing a ski mask who seemed to appear and vanish like a ghost.His name was Jon Barry Simonis, and by the time he was caught, he’d confessed to more than 80 rapes across 12 states. Investigators now believe the real number was closer to 130.
But this isn’t just another case of brutality, it's a case about the science that emerged from it.
When the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit—still in its infancy—noticed the pattern, they turned to a woman who would change criminal profiling forever: Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess, a nurse and researcher whose revolutionary work in victimology helped agents read the psychological signatures buried inside each crime.
Burgess’s insights led the FBI to label Simonis a vindictive rapist—a man driven not by lust, but by power, humiliation, and control. Her method of studying what victims experienced became the blueprint for modern profiling, trauma-informed interviewing, and the way we understand serial offenders today.
In this episode, Bailey and Chelsea unravel how a soft-spoken Army veteran with an IQ of 128 weaponized patience, intelligence, and dominance to terrorize communities—and how Burgess’s collaboration with the FBI finally exposed the mind behind the mask.
Because sometimes the most dangerous predators aren’t the ones who act without thought. They’re the ones who plan every breath of fear you take.
 
Don't miss our mind-boggling interview with Dr. Ann Burgess dropping Friday 10/31/25.
 
Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe, rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app!
Want to recommend a wild case or just give s a shout?Contact us at Wildcidepodcast@gmail.com
For Wildcider Merch, visit www.wildcidepodcast.com  
Find us on Facebook@ Wildcide Podcast. Follow us on Instagram @wildcidepodcast
PS: Don’t forget Wildcide Wednesdays- new episodes drop every Wednesday at 6am EST. Interviews will drop every other Friday at 6am EST.Background music by Brad Parsons at Train Sound Studio. Art for the podcast was created by Kelly Steen. 
 
References:
American Press. (1982, January 18). Mother of ‘Ski Mask Rapist’ says son confessed to spare family. Lake Charles, LA.
Burgess, A. W. (2021). A killer by design: Murderers, mindhunters, and my quest to decipher the criminal mind. Hachette Books.
Burgess, A. W., & Holmstrom, L. L. (1974). Rape: Victims of crisis. Bowie, MD: Charles C. Thomas.
Burgess, A. W., Douglas, J. E., Ressler, R. K., & Hartman, C. R. (1986). Criminal profiling from crime scene analysis. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 4(4), 401–421. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2370040405
California Digital Newspaper Collection. (1981–1982). Court proceedings and sentencing reports: State of Louisiana v. Jon Barry Simonis. University of California Press Archives.
Douglas, J. E., & Olshaker, M. (1995). Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s elite serial crime unit. Scribner.
FBI Behavioral Science Unit. (1981–1982). Interview transcripts: Jon Barry Simonis, Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola). Quantico, VA: FBI Training Division Archives.
Hazelwood, R. R., & Burgess, A. W. (1984). The behavioral analysis of rapists. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 423(1), 115–123. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1984.tb23433.x
Lake Charles American-Press. (1981, December 22). Local suspect confesses to 81 attacks across 12 states. Lake Charles, LA.
Louisiana State Police. (1982). Investigative summary: Jon Barry Simonis case files (1978–1981). Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana Department of Public Safety Archives.
New York Times. (1981, December 20). Around the Nation: Ski-mask rapist suspect said to admit 77 crimes. The New York Times.
NPR. (2021, November 30). Ann Wolbert Burgess on learning from serial killers. [Audio podcast]. Criminal. https://www.npr.org
PBS. (2022, January 14). How a nurse changed the way the FBI profiles criminals. Public Broadcast Service. https://www.pbs.org
The Cinemaholic. (2021, October 10). Where is Jon Simonis now? The Ski Mask Rapist update. The Cinemaholic. https://thecinemaholic.com
The Lantern. (1982, January 15). Ohio man exonerated after Jon Simonis confession. Ohio State University Archives.
United Press International. (1981, December 15). Rapist says own confessions convicted him. UPI Archives.
United Press International. (1982, January 10). Simonis pleads guilty to 81 attacks in 12 states; sentenced to 21 life terms plus 2,690 years. UPI Archives.
Washington Post. (1982, August 22). $2 million rape award. The Washington Post.

Some people will do anything to be noticed — post, pose, or even escape from jail.This week, Bailey and Chelsea dive into the wild world of “Pick Me” criminals — THE MOST obnoxious types of criminals where their egos outweighed any rational thought. 
First up, Bailey unpacks the bizarre case of Antoine Massey, the New Orleans fugitive who escaped jail, then went full influencer-on-the-run — livestreaming his manhunt and turning his capture into a clout-chasing spectacle.
Then Chelsea heads to Colombia- where 'Pick Me' Pablo aka Pablo Escobar- where his ego outlived him — literally — through a herd of illegally imported hippos that now rule rivers like they’re cartel territory.
It’s a double feature of attention addiction: one man desperate to be seen, another so obsessed with being remembered that his chaos keeps breeding decades after death.
Get ready for drama, delusion, and a dash of dark comedy — because in this episode, we're dealing with the MOST Pick Me vibes.
 
Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe, rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app!
Want to recommend a wild case or just give s a shout?Contact us at Wildcidepodcast@gmail.com
For Wildcider Merch, visit www.wildcidepodcast.com  
Find us on Facebook@ Wildcide Podcast. Follow us on Instagram @wildcidepodcast
PS: Don’t forget Wildcide Wednesdays- new episodes drop every Wednesday at 6am EST. Interviews will drop every other Friday at 6am EST.Background music by Brad Parsons at Train Sound Studio. Art for the podcast was created by Kelly Steen. 
​WILDCIDE Podcast and any content posted is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare  professionals for any such conditions. 

Trigger Warning: This interview discusses sexual compulsive behaviors, juvenile sexual offending, trauma, and family dysfunction. Listener discretion is advised.
In this episode, Bailey and Chelsea sit down with Samantha, a Licensed Therapist and Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT), who specializes in treating individuals struggling with sexual compulsive behaviors, pornography addiction, and partners affected by sexual offenses. Drawing on her background in nursing, addiction recovery, and trauma therapy, Samantha offers both clinical insight and personal compassion for clients facing shame, secrecy, and recovery challenges.
Samantha discusses her time working with juvenile sex offenders in a Florida diversion program—where adolescents were treated therapeutically rather than incarcerated. She describes how her perception of these youths evolved from discomfort to empathy, emphasizing that many of them were “damaged at a young age” and required treatment, not lifelong punishment. She highlights the emotional and developmental factors behind harmful behaviors and how accountability and empathy can coexist in treatment.
The conversation expands into prevention and early intervention, addressing the role of family dysfunction, exposure to sexual content, and the accessibility of pornography. Samantha and the hosts explore how shame often fuels secrecy and relapse, and why open communication, education, and trauma-informed therapy are key to preventing future harm.
The episode closes with a message of hope and awareness: there are trained professionals ready to work with adolescents and families navigating these painful realities, and early, compassionate intervention saves lives and futures.
 
About Our Guest: 
Samantha is a Licensed Therapist and Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT) who specializes in treating individuals struggling with sexual compulsive behaviors, pornography addiction, and the partners affected by those behaviors — including partners of individuals who have offended sexually. She provides a nonjudgmental, confidential, and safe environment for clients to explore the areas of their lives where they may struggle.
Her clinical experience spans sexual addiction and compulsivity, substance abuse, dual diagnosis, depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, codependency, and relationship challenges. Samantha also works with clients experiencing chronic pain and tinnitus. She is actively licensed in Florida, New York, and Tennessee.
With extensive experience treating eating disorders such as compulsive overeating, anorexia, and bulimia, Samantha uses a cognitive-behavioral approach and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to help clients process and heal from past and present trauma. She also applies specialized interventions to address chronic pain.
Samantha believes that everyone has the capacity to release addictive patterns and live a life grounded in peace, connection, and purpose. Her passion lies in helping individuals and families overcome struggle, rediscover self-worth, and build a meaningful life of recovery and wholeness.
 
Contact Samantha – Samantha Ammann, RN, LCSW, CSAT, RYT