This Feels Criminal: A True Crime Podcast (Formerly Killer Queens)

Erica Kinsman accused Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston of rape. As she fought to have her allegation taken seriously, Winston became one of the biggest stars in college football—and won the Heisman Trophy.
Winston maintained that their encounter was consensual. Prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges. But the questions surrounding the investigation, the university's response, and the treatment of Kinsman didn't disappear.
In Part 2 of our examination of The Hunting Ground, Tyrella and Nikita revisit Erica's account and explore what happens when a sexual-assault allegation involves a celebrated college athlete.
Then we go beyond the documentary. What did federal investigators actually find at UNC? What happened at Baylor? How do universities balance the rights of complainants and accused students? And have changes to Title IX made campuses safer—or simply changed the way these cases are handled?
We also examine the difference between an allegation, a criminal charge, a university disciplinary finding, and a civil lawsuit—and why those outcomes don't always tell the same story.
If universities are willing to acknowledge their failures, what would meaningful accountability actually look like?
And why are women taught to fear being vulnerable around men, instead of everyone being taught to respect another person's vulnerability?
This two-part series leads into our upcoming coverage of the Cornell fraternity sexual-assault allegations.
🧵 New to This Feels Criminal? Start with The TFC Essentials—our curated collection of the episodes that best capture what this show is all about. Join our email community and get instant access: https://thisfeelscriminal.link/essentials
 
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© 2026 Killer Queens Podcast. All Rights Reserved
Audio Production by Wayfare Recording
Music provided by Steven Tobi
Logo designed by ⁠Ingrid at Penguin Designing⁠

College is supposed to be a place where young people discover who they are, build friendships, and prepare for their futures. But what happens when the institution they trusted to protect them becomes another obstacle to getting justice?
In Part 1 of our two-part examination of the documentary The Hunting Ground, Tyrella and Nikita explore the experiences of students who reported sexual assault on college campuses—and what happened when they asked their universities for help.
From Annie Clark and Andrea Pino at the University of North Carolina to survivors at some of the country's most prestigious universities, we examine allegations of victim-blaming, institutional indifference, retaliation, and the pressure to protect a school's reputation.
We also look at the culture surrounding fraternities, campus sexual assault, and the students who began using Title IX to demand accountability.
But there's a bigger question underneath these stories: When a university's reputation, money, and influence are on the line, whose interests come first?
And what happens when the students who were supposed to be protected decide to fight back?
In Part 2, we examine what happened after the documentary, including federal investigations, legal battles, and the case involving Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston.

Tennessee tried to execute Christa Pike. She survived. Now comes a question with no simple answer: Can the state try again?
In Part 2 of Cruel and Unusual, Tyrella and Nikita examine what the Eighth Amendment actually prohibits, what the Supreme Court has said about botched executions, and what happened to other people who survived an execution attempt.
From Willie Francis, whose electric chair failed in 1946, to Romell Broom, Doyle Hamm, and Kenneth Smith, these cases reveal just how complicated the law becomes when an execution doesn't go according to plan.
But Christa Pike's situation may be different. She reportedly survived after receiving the lethal injection drugs themselves, raising questions that previous cases haven't fully resolved.
We examine the legal challenges, the medical ethics, the state's responsibilities, and what another execution attempt could mean for Pike and for Colleen Slemmer's family.
Does a death sentence give the government unlimited attempts to carry it out? And is the punishment only the death itself—or does the experience of being executed count, too?
You don't have to sympathize with Christa Pike to ask whether the government should be held accountable for how it carries out a death sentence.
Listen to Part 1 first for the full story of Tennessee's failed execution attempt.
🧵 New to This Feels Criminal? Start with The TFC Essentials—our curated collection of the episodes that best capture what this show is all about. Join our email community and get instant access: https://thisfeelscriminal.link/essentials
 
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© 2026 Killer Queens Podcast. All Rights Reserved
Audio Production by Wayfare Recording
Music provided by Steven Tobi
Logo designed by ⁠Ingrid at Penguin Designing⁠

On September 30, 2026, Tennessee attempted to execute Christa Pike. She was given two doses of lethal injection drugs. But she didn't die.
What happened inside that execution chamber—and how did a state-sanctioned execution go so terribly wrong?
Pike was sentenced to death for the brutal 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Nearly three decades later, Colleen's family arrived expecting to witness the execution of the woman convicted of killing her. Instead, they watched an execution attempt that would raise serious questions about Tennessee's death penalty system.
In Part 1 of Cruel and Unusual, Tyrella and Nikita reconstruct the failed execution, the warnings that preceded it, the emergency response, and the aftermath. We examine the people responsible for carrying out the execution, the state's handling of the crisis, and the questions investigators and attorneys are now trying to answer.
This isn't a debate about Christa Pike's guilt. It's a question about what happens when the government fails at the one thing it has taken absolute responsibility for doing.
And if someone survives an execution, what happens next?
Part 2 explores whether Tennessee can legally attempt to execute Christa Pike again and is available NOW for patrons. 
 
🧵 New to This Feels Criminal? Start with The TFC Essentials—our curated collection of the episodes that best capture what this show is all about. Join our email community and get instant access: https://thisfeelscriminal.link/essentials
 
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© 2026 Killer Queens Podcast. All Rights Reserved
Audio Production by Wayfare Recording
Music provided by Steven Tobi
Logo designed by ⁠Ingrid at Penguin Designing⁠

Aubrey Trail confessed to killing Sydney Loofe. But almost everything else about his story kept changing.
First, he claimed her death was an accident during a consensual sexual encounter. Then he insisted Bailey Boswell had nothing to do with the killing.
But investigators uncovered evidence that told a very different story.
In Part 2 of our coverage of Hulu's Swipe Right on the Devil, Tyrella and Nikita examine the evidence against Aubrey Trail and Bailey Boswell, the disturbing testimony from women who survived their abuse, and the trials that exposed what happened before Sydney's final Tinder date.
Surveillance footage, purchases made hours before the murder, and secret messages exchanged in jail raised serious questions about Aubrey's confessions—and Bailey's role in Sydney's death.
Bailey maintained that she had been manipulated and controlled by Aubrey. But other women described her as an active participant in their recruitment and abuse.
Could Bailey have been both a victim of coercive control and a willing participant in murder?
And when Aubrey finally offered an explanation for why Sydney was chosen, how much of his story could anyone believe?
We break down the evidence, the competing accounts, and the verdicts before returning to the people whose determination helped bring Sydney's killers to justice.
Based on Hulu's three-part documentary Swipe Right on the Devil, with additional reporting and court records.
Content warning: Murder, sexual violence, coercive control, and discussions of abuse.
🧵 New to This Feels Criminal? Start with The TFC Essentials—our curated collection of the episodes that best capture what this show is all about. Join our email community and get instant access: https://thisfeelscriminal.link/essentials
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Bonus Episodes

© 2026 Killer Queens Podcast. All Rights Reserved
Audio Production by Wayfare Recording
Music provided by Steven Tobi
Logo designed by ⁠Ingrid at Penguin Designing⁠