Killer Genes

About Killer Genes

Host Melissa McCarty is an Emmy nominated investigative journalist with more than 20 years of true crime experience. Covering both solved and unsolved cases, She traveled the country confronting accused and convicted killers while also shedding light on the heartache violent acts cause. What sets her apart is the compelling storytelling and unique access to the people involved in each case which gives a 360-degree view of the crimes told directly from the source: the victim, their loved ones, experts, law enforcement, and the killers themselves. Melissa had two friends murdered at a young age and lost her brother suddenly and recently, giving her space to personally understand grief and violence.

Publisher

Killer Genes

Category

true crime

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

30 Jul 2020

Latest episode

5 Nov 2025

Latest episodes

20 of 60 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   5 Nov 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Determined: Life Without Free Will (What That Means for Criminals)

   If every choice you’ve ever made was never yours what does that mean for guilt, justice, or redemption? From the moment of conception to prenatal stress, genes, and early environment, each begin shaping who we become. Neuroscientist Dr. Robert Sapolsky explains why we have no free will, why testosterone doesn’t cause aggression, how our biology and upbringing script our behaviors long before we act—and why the concept of free will may be nothing more than a comforting illusion. It will put into question everything we believe about punishment and morality. If no one truly chooses their actions, how should society deal with criminals? Is there room for compassion within accountability when biology writes the story of our lives? This conversation challenges the foundation of justice itself—and asks whether understanding could one day replace blame. Stanford neuroscientist and bestselling author Dr. Robert Sapolsky breaks down the science behind his book Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will.

2. 

   25 Oct 2025

   Before the Suitcase: 86 Calls for Help | Heather Mack Story

   Sheila von Wiese-Mack called the police eighty-six times before her daughter killed her. Each time, it was a cry from inside a house where love had turned into fear. Months later after the last call to police, Heather Mack, would fly with her mother to Bali for what was supposed to be a healing trip—and end it with a body in a suitcase, a pre-meditated plot with her boyfriend. The couple had a secret, one that would spare the teenager the death penalty. This episode unravels the years of control, violence, and silence that led to one of the most shocking mother–daughter murders in recent memory. From Oak Park, Illinois to a luxury hotel in Bali, “Before the Suitcase: 86 Calls for Help” exposes how a bond meant to protect became the one that destroyed them both, plus Heather Mack's video confessions from prison she posted to YouTube.

3. 

   16 Oct 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Toxic Delusion: The Murder of Sophie Lionnet

   #truecrime

Inside a recent episode

Determined: Life Without Free Will (What That Means for Criminals)

Published 5 Nov 2025 · Transcript excerpt

[…] So don't bother trying to change anything. It's already set in stone. And that's totally wrong because change obviously occurs enormously. There's like people who for a living take tattoos off of people because it turned out the love of your life wasn't really the love of your life or turned out that like the swastika you got put on is like not what you want now that you're an ex white supremacist. People change, societies change, but the critical thing is we do not choose to change. That's where this myth of free will comes in. We are changed. We are changed by circumstance. And we are changed by circumstance as a function of who we turned out to be when we experienced that circumstance. […]

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.5 / 5

114 ratings

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Books guests

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