Explore every episode of the podcast CASES OF THE FBI

In 1999, the body of Ricky McCormick was discovered with two cryptic notes—codes so complex that even the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been unable to fully decipher them decades later. This episode dissects the intersection of criminal investigation, behavioral profiling, and code analysis, asking whether the cipher reflects organized intelligence, mental disorder, or a breakdown in forensic interpretation. Through the lens of modern investigative science and legal strategy, we explore how this case exposes the limits of government systems when psychology, linguistics, and law collide.

An armed gunman stormed the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner in a shocking assassination attempt on President Donald Trump and top officials — the third threat since 2024 — sparking urgent questions about political violence and U.S. Secret Service protocols. In this 15-minute deep dive, we deliver the minute-by-minute timeline, suspect Cole Tomas Allen’s profile, and a no-spin assessment of how Trump’s security detail handled the breach with lightning-fast evacuation and zero civilian casualties.

The enduring legend claims that gangster George “Machine Gun” Kelly surrendered to federal agents in 1933 while shouting “Don’t shoot, G-Men!” — a dramatic phrase that supposedly birthed the iconic nickname for FBI personnel. Historical analysis reveals this episode as a masterful public relations construct, amplified by J. Edgar Hoover’s Bureau and sympathetic media months after the arrest, transforming a routine capture into a cornerstone of federal law enforcement mythology. This case exemplifies the psychology of myth-making, media influence on authority perception, and strategic narrative curation, offering enduring lessons in how institutions shape collective memory and public trust long before the digital age

Long before the first shots of WWII were fired, the FBI was already locked in a high-stakes battle against a German espionage ring operating on American soil. This episode details the investigation into Guenther Rumrich and his handlers, who plotted to steal military secrets and kidnap a high-ranking U.S. colonel. Discover how this landmark case shattered American neutrality and forced J. Edgar Hoover’s Bureau to evolve into a modern counterintelligence powerhouse.

This episode dives into the 2020 shooting of Jazmyn Henrion and the subsequent multi-year manhunt for the primary suspect, KaShawn Nicola Roper. Despite ties to several states, Roper’s run ended abruptly in April 2026 when her addition to the FBI’s Top Ten list triggered a wave of high-stakes leads. We examine the seamless coordination between local and federal law enforcement that turned a cold case into a closed one overnight