Episode Details

You'd know a dangerous person if you met one. Wouldn't you? Gary Jubelin spent over 20 years as a homicide detective. He's interviewed murderers and men he calls pure evil. What he learned is uncomfortable: the difference between the people who kill and the rest of us is smaller and more circumstantial than we like to think. In this episode: the red flags that come before violence and why police dismissed them for years. The two tells that give away a liar and why prison makes most people worse. 

In this episode, he explains:

■ The Gut Feeling Trap: A detective’s “instinct” is really years of accumulated experience. It can point you in a direction, but you can’t create the facts to suit it.

■ Prison Without the Monsters: Why a maximum-security prison built on respect, education and a no-violence rule changed his mind about rehabilitation. He also explains why he believes most prisoners can be steered away from reoffending, and a minority never should be released.

■ How People Fall Into Crime: From gang glamour to the search for brotherhood, he explains why role models, boundaries and a sense of belonging can decide which path a young person takes.

■ The Red Flags Before a Murder: Why stalking, breached restraining orders and prior strangulation worry him most, and why he thinks tracking devices could save lives.

■ How to Spot a Liar: Selective memory loss, too much detail, and the power of sitting in silence during an interview.

00:00 Intro
 01:48 Life of a Homicide Detective
 04:46 Why Are We So Fascinated By True Crime?
 07:30 Too Passionate? The Cost of Homicide Work
 10:13 Is the Detective’s Gut Feeling Real?
 12:41 Can You Sense Evil in a Person?
 15:20 Do Prisons Rehabilitate or Create Monsters?
 20:26 Nature vs Nurture: What Makes a Violent Offender?
 24:15 How Role Models and Gangs Lead People Into Crime
 28:23 Substance Abuse and Crime
 30:26 Psychopathy, Prison and the Cost of Locking People Up
 34:17 The Four Motives Behind Murder
 36:40 Why Are Most Offenders Men?
 38:34 The Warning Signs: Stalking and Strangulation
 42:06 Should Offenders Wear Tracking Devices?
 44:03 How Can People Protect Themselves?
 46:18 How to Spot Predators Around Children
 51:41 What To Do If You Feel You’re Being Followed
 54:03 When Detectives Feel Fear
 55:57 The Cases That Never Leave Him
 59:12 The William Tyrrell Case
 01:03:01 How Seeing Evil Changes You
 01:05:14 How To Spot a Liar
 01:08:06 Why Every Case Needs Humanity

Questions asked in this episode (for reference):

• Could you tell us a little about your career and what got you here?
• Do people love true crime to learn how to protect themselves, to watch from a safe distance, or for entertainment?
• Were there cases where you were scared after hours, or too emotionally invested?
• What’s one thing about being a homicide detective that would surprise people?
• Is there such a thing as a detective’s gut feeling?
• Can you feel if someone has evil inside them?
• Do prisons help people, or make them into monsters?
• Is it more nurture than nature (e.g. the “warrior gene”)?
• Beyond that, what other factors increase the likelihood of violent crime?
• Does substance abuse raise the chance of violence?
• Wouldn’t offenders with mental health issues be better helped by psychologists?
• Can you link the reason for a crime to how rehabilitable someone is?
• Why are most murder offenders men?
• Are there red flags in behaviour before someone commits murder?
• How do you make a stalking victim feel safe, and how do people protect themselves now?
• Is there a tip that people tend to get wrong when they feel in danger?
• Was there ever a moment in your career when you w