2026 Nominees

Criminal

Production Company: Vox Media

Produced for: Vox Media

Executive Producer (Production Company): Vox Media, Lauren Spohrer and Phoebe Judge

Executive Producer (network/platform): N/A

Country or Territory where first released: USA

Synopsis:

In July 2010, a woman was on vacation with her boyfriend of six years — they were traveling around Italy in a van. One day, she was looking for a pair of sunglasses in the glove box, and she found a passport. It had her boyfriend’s photo — but a different name. In this shocking story, a group of women discover that the men they’ve been in serious relationships with weren’t who they thought they were – they were police working undercover and using fake identities, spying on the women and their friends because they were anti-capitalist and environmental activists. Criminal host Phoebe Judge speaks with two of the women about their personal experiences, and uncovers the scandal more broadly.

“By Any Means Necessary” is an episode of Criminal, which is one of the largest U.S. podcasts, and a trailblazing show. One of the first true crime podcasts, it has inspired a generation of shows, changed the way we think of crime storytelling, and brought narrative audio to a mass audience.