Criminal Appeal Podcast
Premiering November 4, 2025
Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Patreon
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Every case has a story. But not every story tells the truth.
Criminal Appeal peels back the layers of America’s most compelling crimes to reveal what really drives human behavior, justice, and judgment. From infamous cases to overlooked trials, Dr. Casey Jordan brings her unmatched expertise to every episode, exposing the patterns, the motives, and the psychology that the headlines miss.
About the Podcast
Crime doesn’t know what time it is,
…and justice doesn’t care
Criminal Appeal is not your average true crime podcast; it’s a masterclass in real-world justice. Each episode pulls listeners into the heart of a case, where law meets psychology, and theory meets the raw reality of human behavior.
Hosted by Dr. Casey Jordan, a criminologist and attorney with more than two decades of on-air experience at CNN and HLN, and joined by Dr. Colleen Butler-Sweet, sociologist and professor at Sacred Heart University, the show cuts through sensationalism to deliver depth, accuracy, and empathy.
Together, they confront tough questions about the justice system, media influence, and the gray areas of morality that surround every verdict. It’s smart, bold, and unflinchingly honest, true crime with intellect and heart.
Meet the Host
🎙️ Dr. Casey Jordan
When it comes to understanding the criminal mind and dissecting justice in real time, no one does it like Dr. Casey Jordan.
A powerhouse in the field of criminology, Dr. Jordan has spent over two decades as one of America’s most trusted voices in true crime. She’s served as the in-house criminologist and legal analyst for CNN and HLN, appearing in more than 3,000 national newscasts, documentaries, and investigative reports. Between 2012 and 2017, she hosted 40 episodes of Investigation Discovery’s hit series Wives with Knives, where her signature mix of intellect, empathy, and fearless curiosity captivated millions.
As a professor, criminologist, attorney, and media commentator, Dr. Jordan brings an unmatched depth of experience to Criminal Appeal. Each episode reflects her unique ability to merge psychology, law, and storytelling, taking listeners behind the headlines and into the heart of America’s most complex cases.
Her mission is clear: to replace speculation with substance and deliver the truth that lies beneath the surface of every crime.
“Nobody dissects a crime like Dr. Casey Jordan.” — Ashleigh Banfield, Drop Dead Serious Podcast
Meet the Co-Host
🎙️ Dr. Colleen Butler-Sweet
Joining Dr. Jordan is Dr. Colleen Butler-Sweet, whose powerful sociological insight adds depth and humanity to every conversation. As a professor of sociology at Sacred Heart University, Dr. Butler-Sweet explores how society, identity, and inequality shape our understanding of crime and justice.
Her voice balances the podcast with critical questions that go beyond the courtroom, addressing race, gender, media, and the broader social systems that influence how justice is delivered.
Together, Dr. Jordan and Dr. Butler-Sweet form a dynamic on-air partnership that challenges assumptions, provokes thought, and gives listeners a deeper understanding of both the human condition and the systems built to contain it.
Criminal Appeal isn’t just a podcast about crime; it’s an intelligent conversation about truth, morality, and the complexities of justice itself.
Why Listen
What makes Criminal Appeal different is simple: the expertise is real.
Host Dr. Casey Jordan isn’t just another armchair detective; she’s a criminologist, licensed attorney, and legal analyst who has spent her career inside the justice system itself. Casey has worked on real criminal cases, consulted for defense teams, profiled defendants, and analyzed live trials on CNN and HLN. Her work has given her access to confidential case files, courtroom strategies, and unreleased evidence that the public has never seen.
On Criminal Appeal, she finally brings that insider perspective to the mic — revealing the truth behind the cases she’s studied, covered, and in some instances, personally worked on as an attorney. Each episode delivers not just a retelling, but a forensic-level breakdown of why crimes happen, how investigations unfold, and what justice really looks like behind closed doors.“When I talk about a case, it’s not theory, it’s experience.” — Dr. Casey Jordan
Joining her is Dr. Colleen Butler-Sweet, a sociology professor whose expertise adds depth, cultural analysis, and critical perspective on how crime and media shape one another. Together, they blend real-world experience with academic insight, creating a show that’s as credible as it is captivating.
Criminal Appeal isn’t gossip, it’s graduate-level true crime with insider access. If you’re tired of speculation without substance, this is the podcast you’ve been waiting for.
Podcast Media
Sizzle Reel
Episode 1 Promo Reel
Dr. Casey Jordan Media
“Jordan is energetic and clearly passionate about her work. Able to cite statistics from memory, she also emphasizes the people behind the stats, the victims and their families. Somehow, she remains positive.
“When darkness falls, two words save me: perspective and prevention,” she says. “Real crime causes unspeakable devastation, which is why I talk to as many crime victims as I do offender-inmates.”
Speaking to victims gives her perspective and fuels her to work harder at prevention. “It drives me to pull up my bootstraps and keep studying those disturbing criminals, so that we can learn enough from them to try, at least try, to identify and foresee the perfect storm of causal factors that can lead to crime,” she says."”