Featured Guests:
 Simon Baatz
Author of "For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb,
and the Murder that Shocked Chicago"
www.jjay.com
 Bryce Zabel
Writer and Film Producer
www.brycezabel.com
 Co-host Roger Clark
Partner, Clark, Goldberg & Madruga
www.clarkgoldberg.com
Simon Baatz is a distinguished academic who has taught at universities in Britain and the United States. He returned to the United States in 2000 to take up a research position in the history of medicine at the National Institutes of Health and, subsequently, a three-year appointment as a visiting associate professor of history at George Mason University and also currently teaches at John Jay University. His latest book, For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder that Shocked Chicago, is a critically acclaimed investigation of an infamous crime. Set against the backdrop of the 1920s, a time of prosperity, self-indulgence, and hedonistic excess, For the Thrill of It draws the reader into a lost world, a world of speakeasies and flappers, of gangsters and gin parties, that existed when Chicago was a lawless city on the brink of anarchy. The rejection of morality, the worship of youth, and the obsession with sex had seemingly found their expression in this callous murder. But the murder is only half the story. After Leopold and Loeb were arrested, their families hired Clarence Darrow to defend their sons. Darrow, the most famous lawyer in America, aimed to save Leopold and Loeb from the death penalty by showing that the crime was the inevitable consequence of sexual and psychological abuse that each defendant had suffered during childhood at the hands of adults. Both boys, Darrow claimed, had experienced a compulsion to kill, and therefore, he appealed to the judge, they should be spared capital punishment. However, Darrow faced a worthy adversary in his prosecuting attorney: Robert Crowe was clever, cunning, and charismatic, with ambitions of becoming Chicago's next mayor—and he was determined to send Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb to their deaths. A masterful storyteller, Professor Baatz has written a gripping account of the infamous Leopold and Loeb case. Using court records and recently discovered transcripts, Professor Baatz shows how the pathological relationship between Leopold and Loeb inexorably led to their crime. This thrilling narrative of murder and mystery in the Jazz Age will keep the reader in a continual state of suspense as the story twists and turns its way to an unexpected conclusion.
Bryce Zabel is an extremely talented writer and producer with interests that steered him down a path toward series television, feature films and the chairmanship of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He quickly turned out pilots for “E.N.G” (CTV-Lifetime, 1990-1994), a one-hour drama about the urgency and complexity faced by a team gathering daily news, and “Kay O’Brien” (CBS, 1986), a short-lived medical drama about an 28 year-old surgical resident (Patricia Kalember) who tries to excel in the male-dominated world.
Bryce went on to write and produce for several established television shows: he worked for “Life Goes On” (ABC, 1989-1993), “Equal Justice” (ABC, 1989-1991) and “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” (ABC, 1993-1997). He then developed the short-lived sci-fi adventure “M.A.N.T.I.S.” (1994-1995) for Fox. His fascination with conspiracy theories—particularly JFK and UFOs—led him to create “Dark Skies” (NBC, 1996-1997), a sci-fi thriller about a young couple (Eric Close & Megan Ward) on the run from aliens and government operatives seeking to keep a lid on alternative explanations to historical events. Later in 2001, just a month prior to the terrorist attacks on September 11th, Bryce was named Chairman/CEO of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS)—the first writer-producer to take the position since his childhood idol Rod Sterling. In light of 9/11, Bryce decided to cancel the 53rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards—originally slotted for September 16th—and rescheduled the ceremony for October 7th. The military strikes in Afghanistan, however, forced him to reschedule a second time and the awards finally aired on November 4th. Through it all, Bryce enjoyed positive press and widespread industry support.
After life settled back into something resembling normality, Brycecarried on his duties at ATAS without a hitch. He left in 2003 after one two-year term to continue writing. He wrote the four-part miniseries “The Poseidon Adventure” (NBC, 2006), a remake of the famed disaster film from 1972 starring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine and Shelley Winters. Meanwhile, he began writing “Fall From Grace,” the true story of Neil Goldschmidt, Portland’s youngest mayor and Oregon’s fast-rising political star whose illicit relationship with a 14 year-old girl early in his career comes back to haunt him. A native of Newport, Oregon, Bryce holds an undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Oregon.
Roger Clark is the founding member and managing partner of Clark, Goldberg & Madruga www.clarkgoldberg.com. In his more than 25 years practicing law, Roger has earned a national reputation as a successful trial attorney representing insurers, cable television providers, and small and large businesses in a broad range of business litigation matters. “My philosophy has always been that the attorneys in this law firm must be prepared not just to ‘litigate’ a case, but to try it before a judge or jury, while at the same time keeping the client’s goals and objectives squarely within our sights.” Roger is rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating that can be bestowed upon an attorney.
Hosted by Steve Murphy.
Brought to you by "America's Premier Lawyers"
Contact:
Simon Baatz
Author of "For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb,
and the Murder that Shocked Chicago"
www.jjay.com
Bryce Zabel
Writer and Film Producer
www.brycezabel.com
Co-host Roger Clark
Partner, Clark, Goldberg & Madruga
www.clarkgoldberg.com
Steve Murphy
Executive Producer & Host
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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