Father Wants Us Dead

About Father Wants Us Dead

In 1971, a mild-mannered accountant and Sunday school teacher from New Jersey named John List murders his wife, mother and three children — only to disappear and begin a new life entirely on the other side of the country. Now, two veteran journalists go inside the mind of the killer, learn about the doomed family, and revisit the 18-year-quest to bring List to justice — a saga even more bizarre and twisted than ever previously reported. Check out our other podcasts: Someone's Hunting Us - The story of a serial killer you've never heard of and the women who took him down. In the Shadow of Princeton - When the grande dame of Princeton is murdered, one investigator sees a conspiracy.

Publisher

NJ.com

Category

news · true crime

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Apr 2022

Latest episode

12 Feb 2026

Latest episodes

5 of 21 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   12 Feb 2026TRANSCRIPT

   SOMEONE'S HUNTING US: A new series from the creators of Father Wants Us Dead

   Daysi Calavia-Robertson and Rebecca Everett introduce "Someone's Hunting Us," a new true crime series investigating Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, a serial killer who preyed on Black women, honoring the victims and examining the investigation.

2. 

   28 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Coming Soon: Someone's Hunting Us

   Here's the trailer for our new podcast, "Someone's Hunting Us," which drops Feb. 10. In 2016, a serial killer was preying on Black women and girls he thought no one would miss — and getting away with it. Police in New Jersey never suspected that Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, a nerdy-looking, polite young man from a law enforcement family, was the one stalking the streets and dating apps for his next target.The journalists behind “Father Wants Us Dead” — called one of the best true crime podcasts of all time by Entertainment Weekly — bring you a deeply-reported true crime story of a serial killer hiding in plain sight and the women who took him down. Follow "Someone's Hunting Us" at the links below to get notified when the episodes drop Feb. 10. Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3. 

   30 Jul 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Feed drop: Introducing 'American Shrapnel'

   From our sister news site AL.com comes 'American Shrapnel.' The Olympics explode on a July night in 1996. The largest pipe bomb the country has ever seen. A string of bombings shakes Atlanta for the next year. Thousands of photos and videos produce one blurry image of the attacker, a photo so grainy the FBI called him “Blob Man.” Agents zero in on the wrong man, the media follows suit, and the real bomber slips away. Until Birmingham. In Alabama, the Blob Man finally makes a misstep. He detonates another bomb, but this time someone sees something. A college student asks himself a question: Why, when everyone else is rushing to see what happened, is that man running away? That curious student breaks open what was then the largest manhunt in U.S. history: the search for Eric Robert Rudolph. Years pass. No trace. Does he have help? Is he planning more attacks? In American Shrapnel, the latest podcast from the Murrow-winning Alabama Media Group, join 2x Pulitzer Prize winner John Archibald and award-winning journalist Becca Andrews as they track the path of destruction — from the bombings, through the manhunt, and back to the twisted politics that fueled it. You’ll hear the stories of survivors, radicals and heroes. This isn’t a story of the past. The anger that fueled it has only grown stronger today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inside a recent episode

SOMEONE'S HUNTING US: A new series from the creators of Father Wants Us Dead

Published 12 Feb 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] It was a tough year for a city that has seen a lot of tough years. But for Janice Jackson and her friends, it was just home. And on that Tuesday in October, it was her first day back in school at East Side High after Columbus Day weekend. I remember it being her spirit. I don't know if it was social studies or global history. 16 -year -old Janice was trying to pay attention. Then suddenly the classroom's phone rings. They want to see her in the main office. She's thinking, what did I do now? But when she gets to the office, Janice sees a police officer and her stomach drops. They called me downstairs and the next one was the last time I seen my wife. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

125,543

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

3,099 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

1,038 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 52 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

30

Social presence

0

YouTube

82

Engagement

100

Contact Father Wants Us Dead

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Father Wants Us Dead