True Crime’s Influence: Inside the Stories That Obsessed Us

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True crime has long fascinated readers and audiences—not just for the who and the how, but for what these stories reveal about power, prejudice, and the societies that produce them. In this gripping opening night event, three remarkable storytellers dissect the scandals, injustices, and dark psychology at the heart of their work, and explore why true crime continues to dominate our cultural imagination. Filmmaker and author Barry Avrich in The Devil Wears Rothko takes us inside the billion-dollar scandal that brought down one of New York’s most storied galleries. Journalist Anaïs Renevier’s 50 States of Crime visits the case of Alice Crimmins, a mother vilified by a justice system shaped by misogyny and moral conservatism; And in Code Name: Pale Horse, journalist Michelle Shephard recounts FBI agent Scott Payne’s time undercover in America’s most violent white supremacist networks. From glamorous deception to moral panic and domestic terror, this panel lays bare the stories behind the headlines and asks why we’re so compelled to look.

Moderated by Terry Fallis.

Renevier’s appearance is supported by Institut français du Canada.

Generously supported by The Goring Family Foundation at Toronto Foundation.

The Devil Wears Rothko charts the explosive demise of Knoedler Gallery, one of New York’s oldest and most prestigious art galleries, with detailed and salacious insight into the art fraud scandal of the century. The Devil Wears Rothko charts the explosive demise of Knoedler Gallery, one of New York’s oldest and most prestigious art galleries, with detailed and salacious insight into the art fraud scandal of the century. From the moment an eccentric woman walked into the Knoedler Gallery with a Mark Rothko painting, everyone was fooled.

Published by Simon & Schuster Canada

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New York, Summer of 1965. Two children disappear . . .

Published by Penguin Random House Canada

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The thrilling true story of one man who risked his life to infiltrate the most dangerous neo-Nazi group in the United States, an “urgent and exciting look into the life of an FBI undercover agent” (Joe Pistone) by “one of the top undercover agents in the Bureau” (Joaquin “Jack” Garcia). When Scott Payne was growing up, an ‘80s kid with a big attitude and a taste for sleeveless shirts, he could never have envisioned where he’d find himself on Halloween night 2019. Having transformed into “Pale Horse” and infiltrated the nation's most dangerous, fastest-growing white supremacy group, The Base, he was huddled with a cell of neo-Nazis in the backwoods of Georgia as they slaughtered a goat and drank its blood in a ritual sacrifice.