112: Murder In The Bayou and Betting On Zero

Dr. Marcia Chatelain joins me for the first time to talk about a first for Showtime: the network's foray into the true-crime-series space with Murder On The Bayou. The five-part series looks at the so-called "Jeff Davis 8" -- their lives, their deaths, what connected them and what didn't -- as well as at small-town class divisions, the economies of addiction, and the pointlessness of task forces.  Later, we discussed Betting On Zero, the 2016 documentary about Herbalife, and financier Bill Ackman's attempt to kill the MLM off by short-selling the stock. It's hard to say what the real difference is between an illegal pyramid scheme and a legal MLM...and what the ethical difference is between exploiting "the downline" for profit, and exploiting government intervention to back up an investment gamble. Does the doc answer those questions? Listen and find out what we thought on The Blotter Presents, Episode 112.  SHOW NOTES Murder In The Bayou: https://www.sho.com/murder-in-the-bayou Betting On Zero: https://www.netflix.com/watch/80108609 The Waves podcast on Slate: https://slate.com/podcasts/the-waves Support the podcast on Patreon, get extra eps and reviews!: http://patreon.com/blotterpresents