Crime Writers On...True Crime Review
True Crime
“Twin Peaks” actor Kyle MacLachlan had a crazy story for his friend. In the 1980s, kingpin Pablo Escobar bribed an entire North Carolina town to let him land airplanes and smuggle cocaine into the US. The little-known story happened in Varnamtown, population 300. They found that residents, many with the last name of Varnam, got rich as a cog in the cartel's trafficking operation. But one fisherman who refused to be intimidated took on the town in a quixotic effort to stop the smuggling. It took a spate of bad luck and double crosses to bring the whole thing down.
In the podcast “Varnamtown,” MacLachlan and war correspondent Joshua Davis revisit this drug war footnote in a tale that features REO Speedwagon, lawn mowing Playboy bunnies, and an attack turkey. We hear from residents, investigators and drug smugglers while the actor and the journalist banter with each other about the story’s quirky twists and turns.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "VARNAMTOWN" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.
Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com
Who Killed Jill Dando?
Only Murders in The Building s3
Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University
Scouts Honor
Over My Dead Body: Gone Hunting
Dear Alana,
BS High
The Girlfriends
Telemarketers
CWO Classic: Wild Wild Country
Fiasco: Vigilante
CWO Classic: Abducted in Plain Sight
Demons & Saviors
CWO Classic: Accused season 2
Stephenville
CWO Classic: Catch and Kill
Last Call
CWO Classic: Missing Richard Simmons
Where is Baby Gabriel?
CWO Classic: Beware the Slenderman
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Crime Beat
Uncover
Criminal
Serial
48 Hours