The Crash Program

The Crash Program

Journalist, author and filmmaker Crash Barry podcasts from the foothills of western Maine. Season One features Devils and Dirtbags, his on-going true crime investigation of the criminal priests and bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. Season Two, aka Tough Island, is his comparatively light-hearted but still gritty tales of living and working on a remote Maine island when he was a much younger man. Season Three includes in-depth looks at Disinfomaniacs, along with interviews, conversations and independent journalism focused on the intersection of culture and politics.

Reviews:
October 07, 2019x
1
01:02:5486.41 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 1, The Suspected Murderer, part one.

Thirteen year old altar boy Danny Croteau was murdered on April 14, 1972. And a Catholic priest was the sole suspect.

October 15, 2019x
2
58:2580.25 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 2, The Suspected Murderer, part two

Episode Two begins with an apocalyptic Catholic doomsday cult with odd sexual practices. Meanwhile, the suspected murderer priest continues to molest altar boys.

October 22, 2019x
3
01:07:4290.96 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 3, The Suspected Murderer, part three

Father Richard Lavigne gets arrested for multiple counts of child molestation and child rape. Will he ever be punished?

October 29, 2019x
4
57:5677.9 MB

Devils and Dirtbags #4, The Angry Drunkard

Father Charles Sullivan was punished for his drunkenness, his whore-mongering and for threatening to shoot the Bishop. And he died alone, in disgrace, abandoned by the church.

November 05, 2019x
5
59:2880.05 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 5, Father X, part one

The first of four episodes about a priestly serial molester of altar boys who never was punished and went on to work as a drug and alcohol counselor.

November 12, 2019x
6
01:06:4491.67 MB

Devils and Dirtbags #6, Father X, part two

The second of four episodes about a priestly serial molester of altar boys who never was punished and went on to work as a drug and alcohol counselor.

November 19, 2019x
7
55:4776.64 MB

Devils and Dirtbags #7, Father X, part three

Using the element of surprise, and a bottle of 100 proof bourbon, Crash gets Father X to tell his tale of woe.

November 26, 2019x
8
01:01:5885.14 MB

Devils and Dirtbags #8, Father X, part four

Father X, under the influence of bourbon and a willing listener, reveals all about his sordid family history... and why he turned out to be so evil.

December 03, 2019x
9
01:14:55102.89 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 9,The Depraved Lying Bishop, part one

How could men like Richard Lavigne, Father X and Charles Sullivan, plus dozens of other Springfield priests, get away with such evil criminal behavior? Well, when the person in charge of a group is depraved, then, usually, the whole damn organization is rotten. For over 25 years, Thomas Dupre held a...

December 10, 2019x
10
01:04:0087.92 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 10, The Depraved Lying Bishop, part two

Both Father James Scahill and reporter Bill Zajac knew Bishop Thomas Dupre was evil. How could they stop him?

January 01, 2020x
11
58:3780.53 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 11, The Suspected Murderer, part four

Crash knocks on the door of Richard Lavigne and the child molesting ex-priest has a lot to say.

January 15, 2020x
12
50:4869.79 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 12, Danny Croteau’s sister

We hear from Danny Croteau's youngest sister, an inspirational woman named Cat, on how the 1972 murder of her brother impacted her entire family.

February 11, 2020x
13
51:5671.35 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 13, In Memory of Danny

In the season finale of Devils and Dirtbags, we tie up some loose ends and visit the spot where Danny Croteau was murdered on April 14th, 1972.

June 09, 2021x
14
01:07:5293.23 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 14, Richard Lavigne Got Away With Murder, part one

On the night of May 21, 2021, the suspected murderer Richard Lavigne died at the age of 80 from COVID complications. The local DA claimed he was getting ready to arrest the former priest and charge him with Danny Croteau's murder, but since Lavigne was dead, he now considers the case closed. On this...

June 16, 2021x
15
51:0970.29 MB

Devils and Dirtbags # 15, Richard Lavigne Got Away with Murder, part two

We hear a sad tale from "Sarah," the long-suffering wife of one of Richard Lavigne's victims. She tells us about her husband's abuse at the hands of the murderer priest and the impact it had their family.

December 08, 2022x
1
28:3539.26 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 1

After getting out of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1991, Crash moves to Matinicus, Maine's most remote inhabited island to work as a sternman aboard a lobster boat, The Dotted Eye. And he meets his new boss, Captain Donald, and his wife, Mary-Margaret. She was 100 percent gray. Her short hair. Her sunken ...

December 12, 2022x
2
26:3836.6 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 2

In Chapter 2, Crash moves into his room in Captain Donald’s fishhouse. Also, he goes for a motorcycle ride. And we meet Deputy Jerold Day, the first cop to ever live on Matinicus, Maine's most remote inhabited island.

December 12, 2022x
3
26:1636.1 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 3

In Chapter 3 of Tough Island, Knox County Sheriff’s Deputy Jerold Day gets run off the island and Crash almost crashes Captain Donald’s boat. Plus, an underwater graveyard and how to dispose of an old vehicle or an ancient washing machine, island-style.

December 12, 2022x
4
26:5236.92 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 4

Crash wrestles with a cougar, Captain Donald rescues mariners-in-distress and a flock of puffins surround a shipwreck.

December 12, 2022x
5
27:5438.33 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 5

Crash trades cigarettes with some Russian sailors, scratches Captain Donald’s truck and almost gets stranded on a deserted island.

December 13, 2022x
6
28:1138.73 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 6

The “Perfect Storm of 1991” strikes outer Penobscot Bay, Crash almost dies (a couple of times) and the story of the January 1992 sinking of the tugboat Harkness during a winter gale. Luckily, Captain Vance Bunker, a true hero, willingly heads into the storm.

December 13, 2022x
7
27:1837.51 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 7

Crash realizes he can’t pass the Able-Bodied Seaman’s drug test, Mary-Margaret gets in trouble and so does Captain Donald.

December 14, 2022x
8
26:2536.3 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 8

Crash and Captain Donald have a disagreement, Crash ends up working on a presidential campaign and someone Crash loves, dies.

December 14, 2022x
9
28:3639.29 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 9

One of Crash’s partying pals decides to return to church, only to experience God’s wrath. Thanks to Captain Edward and Nan, (and some psychedelics) Crash’s life gets better.

December 14, 2022x
10
27:4938.23 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 10

CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains cats, poetry and a bizarre suicide. Also, Crash's wife sings a sonnet by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

December 14, 2022x
11
28:2339 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 11

A tragedy strikes the sheep living on Wheaton Island and a perfect Matinicus wedding where Captain Edwin and Crash show up wearing the same outfit. Content warning: this episode contains the death of animals and domestic abuse.

December 14, 2022x
12
27:4838.2 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 12

While camping with Alice on an even more remote Maine island, Crash is introduced to Carlos Castaneda. Then Crash’s parents visit Matinicus. Also, a scary Halloween tale of gunfire and whiskey.

December 14, 2022x
13
27:1237.37 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 13

In this penultimate chapter, Crash hitchhikes to Portland and gets a sweet lift. Also, we learn how radio ruined the island. And Crash shaves his beard and moves off Matinicus, headed to the University of Southern Maine.

December 14, 2022x
14
28:4439.47 MB

Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 14 The Finale

In the series finale, Crash returns to Matinicus, twice. Also, Mary-Margaret confronts Crash again, 20 years later.

December 16, 2022x
1
01:32:39127.25 MB

Season 3: Disinfomaniacs Episode 1

Disinfomaniacs is a podcast about the liars, grifters and fascist charlatans intent on destroying democracy and, ultimately, civilization. Crash Barry, Nathan Bernard and Andy O'Brien report how propaganda trickles down to negatively impact local communities so they can expose, debunk and pre-bunk t...

January 03, 2023x
2
28:3139.18 MB

Season 3: In Memoriam: Maine Storyteller John McDonald

Crash and John McDonald were pals for a quarter century, first working together in talk radio back in the mid-1990s. John died on Dec. 20, 2022. This is Crash's tribute to him, one Maine storyteller to another.

January 23, 2023x
3
28:4039.4 MB

Season 3: Coastie- salty tales from a drunken sailor fighting the war on drugs

Coastie is the prequel to Crash Barry's Tough Island. During Coastie, you’ll sail from the Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico aboard a 210 foot Coast Guard cutter, during the late 1980s drug war and war on Haitian refugees and witness the misadventures and mistakes of Seaman Barry, a 20-year-old st...

February 11, 2023x
4
01:26:39119.01 MB

Season 3: Disinfomaniacs Episode 2

In the second episode of Disinfomaniacs, we take a deep dive into the group of Christian Nationalists who staged a coup d'etat on January 28 and seized control of the executive committee of the Maine Republican Party. Andy O'Brien explains the background of new chairmen Joel Stetkis, while Nathan Be...

March 08, 2023x
5
01:42:36140.93 MB

Season 3: A conversation with Dave Gutter

Crash interviews his pal, Maine rock icon (and Grammy-winning songwriter) Dave Gutter, after they both smoked a bunch of OG Kush. Topics included Dave's musical relationships with David Bowie, Aaron Neville and Eric Krasno. Also, stories from the road with his band Rustic Overtones and the REAL reas...

March 20, 2023x
5
01:27:20119.96 MB

Season 3: Disinfomaniacs Episode 3

Here's the story of a neo-Nazi influencer and itinerant tattooist who goes by the name “Hammer” who claims to have plans to build a “tiny house compound” for neo-Nazis and their families, in Maine, on 10 acres of land he owns in a little town an hour northeast of Bangor. Also, Hammer is the dude spo...