True Crime to Stream: The Best of 2025, So Far
'Devil in the Family:The Fall of Ruby Franke'
There have been several recent worthwhile documentaries and docuseries that examine the dark side of social media, but no other true-crime offering this year so effectively exposes the disastrous repercussions when religious fanaticism dovetails with social-media fame.
This three-parter from Hulu is about the disgraced Utah mommy vlogger Ruby Franke, a mother of six who for years shared much of her family's life on YouTube. At one point, she had about 2.5 million subscribers to the account, earning as much as $100,000 a month.
The docuseries makes compelling use of a vast amount of footage, but the previously unreleased outtakes — many of her snapping between personas — are most haunting. Also included are in-depth interviews with Franke's two oldest children, Shari and Chad, and her now ex-husband, Kevin.
When the counselor and YouTube creator Jodi Hildebrandt enters the scene, and the Franke's family home, the story veers into places I could never have imagined. As The Times critic Margaret Lyons put it: ''Devil' is not a sloppy rehash. Instead, it is pointed and insightful.'
Podcast
'Scam Inc.'
It would not be hyperbole to suggest that every American adult should listen to this podcast from the Economist. Over eight episodes, the journalist and host Sue-Lin Wong dives deep into the online scam economy that, according to her reporting, already rivals the size of the illicit drug trade and represents the most significant change in transnational organized crime in decades.
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