What should you not do if you commit crimes? Write a book where the main character is someone just like you doing the very crimes you are doing. John Leonard Orr, fire captain and arson investigator, wrote a book about a serial arsonist in LA County while he was being that very serial arsonist. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly talk about the strange crime of arson in today’s weekly/bimonthly podcast. Thanks for sticking with us!

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands.

Cite your sources:

Antholis, Kary. “A Convicted Fireman-Arsonist and Me: The Facts As I Knew Them.” Crime Story, 24 January 2020, https://crimestory.com/2020/01/24/a-convicted-fireman-arsonist-and-me-the-facts-as-i-knew-them/. Accessed 18 May 2024.   Hesse, Monica. American Fire: Love, Arson, And Life in a Vanshing Land. WW Norton, 2017.   “INVESTIGATOR CHARGED IN 3 ARSON CASES.” The Washington Post, 6 December 1991, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/national/1991/12/07/investigator-charged-in-3-arson-cases/cb86ce32-f4fc-40ba-9cd7-21104b1f4e0c/. Accessed 18 May 2024.   Ricapito, Maria. “My Father John Orr Got Sexual Thrills from His Murderous Arson.” A&E, 5 June 2018, https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/john-orr-arsonist-father-firefighter-murderer-family-lori-orr-kovach. Accessed 18 May 2024.   Wambaugh, Joseph. Fire lover. HarperCollins, 2002.