Every other week, married couple Kevin Flynn and Rebecca Lavoie gather in their basement closet studio, affectionately named Studio C, to talk in-depth about an episode of Law & Order — preferably an episode ripped from the headlines, with a fascinating, real-life story behind it.
All the while, people around the globe listen in.
These listeners hail from Ireland, Brazil, Japan, England, Australia, France, Germany, Denmark, and all over the United States, says Flynn, who tracks these stats and frequently mails to these listeners bumper stickers that say “I watched 26.2 hours of Law & Order.”
It’s been six years since he and his wife started their podcast, … These Are Their Stories: The Law & Order Podcast, and 165 episodes later, the basic recipe remains the same. Flynn says it’s a fun comedy show made for serious and casual Law & Order fans, with recaps, backstories, and an in-depth discussion about a featured episode. What’s different now are the nuances with which they tackle each episode – there are jingles, audio elements, and regular bits – and what they notice culturally about the early days of Law & Order.
“We have more of a philosophy now to be irreverent but also talk about the smart things the show does and discuss the crazy plot holes that are often left. We’re not afraid to talk about where the show falls short as a form of entertainment or cultural commentary,” Flynn said via phone last week.
Policing has changed since Law & Order first aired, and in those older episodes, the wrong person is frequently arrested, something you won’t see on network shows today.
“Back in 1990, we thought if a cop roughed somebody up during an interrogation, that was a great way to do it. We don’t think that now,” Flynn said. “It’s hard in 2022 to cheer for a cop on TV that you think is corrupt or racist, or something like that.”
The latest development to their podcast: a live show on the Bank of NH Stage this Friday, where they’ll discuss Law & Order: SVU Season 9, Episode 14, “Inconceivable,” alongside Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodic from the NHPR podcast Civics 101.
“As many people will remember, this is the episode where somebody stole frozen embryos from a clinic and the squad has to recover them. It’s pretty crazy, with a lot of [Olivia] Benson’s baby drama; she always wanted to have a baby and can’t, so here she is, chasing some frozen embryos,” Flynn said.
He says the live show starts with a Law & Order lesson focusing on eight noteworthy truths – for example, a famous guest star is almost always the killer. Flynn says this background information is the equivalent to a Law & Order bachelor’s degree from Hudson University. “If you’re a fan of Law & Order, you’ll get that reference,” Flynn said. Following the lesson is a live episode that will become part of the … These Are Their Stories podcast feed.
When Flynn and Lavoie started podcasting in 2014, it was a side hustle. Both were employed full-time elsewhere, and their first podcast, Crime Writers On…, stemmed from their dual interest in true crime, having written several books together, including Our Little Secret, Legally Dead, Notes on a Killing, and Dark Heart. One of the Crime Writers On … episodes was Law & Order-themed, and listenership was so high the couple decided to create a special podcast just for these superfans.
From there, the business grew, and today, both are full-time podcasters, Flynn focusing on their shared business and Lavoie splitting her time between this and overseeing the podcast unit at NHPR. One of their contracts is through Netflix – You Can’t Make This Up, about the real stories behind the biggest documentaries and films on Netflix, which Lavoie hosts and Flynn executive produces.
For Flynn, taking the leap made both financial and creative sense.
“I love being able to create stuff. I love the way podcasts sound when you put it all together. I love doing all the art associated with the episodes for promotions, and I love sending out the marathon sticker decals we have to people around the world,” Flynn said.
He also loves that, with podcasting, you can produce high quality on a small scale. It used to be that special guests to their shows were fellow podcasters who had access to advanced sound equipment, but since the pandemic, Flynn says everybody has gotten used to remote recording. They can connect with all kinds of people now.
“I’m here, literally in a closet in my basement, and I can put something together that sounds as good or better than something by NPR or WNYC or by podcast giants. The technical barrier for entry now is very low,” he said. “It comes down to, do you have a good idea? Do you have something to say? And can you be entertaining while you do it?”
Sharing this passion with his wife is pretty fun too.
“We both have similar senses of humor. We may bicker about different things creatively, but she’s definitely the best partner I’ve ever had,’” Flynn said.
These Are Their Stories: The Law & Order Podcast Live! is Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased at ccanh.com. For more on the podcast, visit lawandorderpodcast.com.