Amory Sivertson's 'Beyond All Repair' May Be the Best True-Crime Podcast Since 'Serial' Season 1

By Dustin Rowles | Podcasts | April 11, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | Podcasts | April 11, 2024 |

I’ve been a longtime listener of Amory Sivertson and Ben Brock Johnson’s Endless Thread podcast, so much so that it made me nervous because Sivertson has missed a few episodes in the last year. It appears, however, that she may have been working on a different project — Beyond All Repair, a true-crime podcast that is genuinely the most gripping, engaging, and twisty I’ve heard in years, maybe even since the first season of Serial.

I don’t typically listen to true-crime podcasts, but I decided to sample this one out of loyalty to Sivertson (and because it popped up in the Endless Thread feed). It took only five minutes for me to get completely sucked in.

I don’t want to reveal too much about Sivertson’s three-year investigation as it may diminish some of the more jaw-dropping moments for listeners. The barebones is this: The podcast grew out of an Endless Thread story about Shane Correia and his experience with homelessness. Correia had another story about his sister, Sophia Johnson, who had been arrested and convicted of the murder of her mother-in-law. Johnson was six months pregnant when she went to jail, and she hasn’t seen her son since giving birth to him in prison. That was 20 years ago.

For reasons that become clear over the course of the podcast, Johnson speaks to Sivertson about the murder from an undisclosed location. While I don’t think it gives too much away, I’ll also say that Sivertson does not believe Johnson committed the murder. Like the Adnan Syed case in the first season of Serial, I’ve gone back and forth on it, so I’m not yet sure what makes Sivertson so convinced of Johnson’s innocence, especially given some of the admitted lies Johnson has told in court.

That’s about all I want to say for now, though I may revisit the podcast when it’s complete (episode 7 of a planned 10 just dropped). In the meantime, I cannot recommend Beyond All Repair enough — it’s not just great true crime but exceptional journalism. Sivertson brings the same energy of deep curiosity and a desire to uncover the truth to Beyond All Repair that she brings to Endless Thread, making this podcast a must-listen.

Here’s the trailer: