© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Coming Down Fast: The Manson Family Murders, 50 Years Later

Netflix
Damon Herriman as Charles Manson in Netflix's 'Mindhunter.'

Last year, there was a movie about Charles Manson. This year, there was another movie about Charles Manson. Charles Manson is a character in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and in the second season of David Fincher's Mindhunter.

The Manson Family murders were fifty years ago this summer, and Manson still seems to fascinate us and our popular culture.

This hour, we wonder why.

GUESTS:

  • Peter Biskind - The author, most recently, of The Sky Is Falling: How Vampires, Zombies, Androids, and Superheroes Made America Great for Extremism
  • Nick de Semlyen- Features editor for Empire magazine and the author of Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the ’80s Changed Hollywood Forever
  • Aja Romano - An internet culture reporter for Vox

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.

Tags
Jonathan is a producer for ‘The Colin McEnroe Show.’ His work has been heard nationally on NPR and locally on Connecticut Public’s talk shows and news magazines. He’s as likely to host a podcast on minor league baseball as he is to cover a presidential debate almost by accident. Jonathan can be reached at jmcnicol@ctpublic.org.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content