Podcast Episode Details

Lou Schachter, Writer | True Crime, Travel, and Coachella Valley Scandals

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Season 8 Episode 10

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At Skip Paige’s Little Bar in Palm Desert, narrative nonfiction writer and true crime sleuth Lou Schachter unpacks why crimes captivate us—and how travel fuels his reporting on Big Conversations, Little Bar with Patrick Evans & Randy Florence. He traces a personal origin story to his grandfather’s 1933 Los Angeles murder, a saga tangled with Bugsy Siegel and a corrupt DA, now chronicled at LustForPower.com. Lou also dives into two Coachella Valley capers: the 1995 “friends helping friends” pyramid parties that rattled the McCallum Theatre, and a 1986 freight-train crash near Palm Springs tied to bored Marines. Plus, he reveals how obsessive research helped surface stolen art—including a missing de Kooning and works taken twice from the Harwood Museum—and why he writes ten-minute stories at TrueCrimeRoadTrip.com. Expect sharp humor, local history, and a look at greed, obsession, and the very human motives behind notorious cases. We also preview new investigations, possible FBI collaboration, and the lure of mysteries hiding in plain sight.

Takeaways:

·      How travel plus curiosity powers Lou Schachter’s narrative nonfiction true-crime work

·      The family mystery that launched his investigations: a 1933 LA mob killing

·      Bugsy Siegel ties and a corrupt DA explored in Lust for Power

·      1995 Coachella Valley “friends helping friends” pyramid parties and fallout for the McCallum Theatre

·      1986 freight-train crash near Palm Springs traced to Marines decoupling cars for thrills/theft

·      How Lou helped surface stolen art: a missing de Kooning and Harwood Museum recoveries

·      Why he writes ten-minute stories at True Crime Road Trip and avoids gratuitous gore

·      Upcoming digs, possible FBI coordination, and his focus on human psychology over spectacle

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Published on 8 hours ago