Act Two

Reporter Nancy Updike spends two days with Neal Smither, who cleans up crime scenes for a living, and comes away wanting to open his Los Angeles franchise, despite the gore — or maybe because of it.

Sometimes criminals return to the scene of their misdeeds — to try to make things right, to try to undo the past. Katie Davis reports on her neighbor Bobby, who returned to the scene where he robbed people and conned people.

Samantha Broun interviews her mom about surviving a brutal attack by Reginald McFadden 20 years ago, and sets out to interview friends, family and policymakers about how that attack changed Pennsylvania law regarding life sentences at the time.

Joshuah Bearman tells a story that’s a sequel to his memorable episode about his mother and half-brother David.

Julie Snyder talks about a favorite passage from Sarah Vowell's story in episode 107: Trail of Tears: Then she talks about Alex Blumberg's interview with Griffin Hansbury in episode 220: Testosterone: Producer Robyn Semien talks about Ira's interview with Denise Moore, who was trapped in the New Orleans Convention Center after Hurricane Katrina.

Joshuah Bearman tells the story of Pete's ridealong with the PI Moms, and how strange things started to happen.