The Last 12 Weeks
Serial Productions & The New York Times
SummaryIn the high-stakes world of capital punishment, justice is rarely a straightforward path—it is a brutal, exhausting race against the clock. The Last 12 Weeks invites listeners into the intense, pressure-cooker environment of a legal team fighting to halt the execution of David Wood, a man who has spent over thirty years on Texas death row for a series of desert murders he maintains he did not commit. Journalist Maurice Chammah takes you behind the scenes, shadowing lead attorney Greg Warchuck as he maneuvers through a labyrinth of long-shot leads, skeptical courts, and fading memories. This isn’t just a look at legal strategy; it is an intimate study of human endurance. Each episode peels back layers of a decades-old conviction, examining the reliability of informants, the limitations of forensic evidence, and the crushing emotional toll on everyone involved—from the exhausted defense attorneys and their client to the families of victims who have been waiting a lifetime for closure. By balancing the frantic energy of last-minute court filings with quiet, reflective interviews, the series captures the moral complexities of the justice system. It asks difficult questions about whether a system built on past findings can ever truly see the truth in the present. If you are interested in true crime that moves beyond sensationalism to explore the deep, cyclical nature of grief and the fight for life, this series offers an immersive, unflinching, and essential perspective.
Updated Jun 18, 2026
Episodes
Episode 5: A Quiet Morning
With execution days away, David Wood’s defense team secures an unexpected stay from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Episode 4: David Wood
David Wood faces imminent execution for murders he claims he never committed despite his history as a serial rapist.
Episode 3: The Mother & The Informant
Defense attorneys scour for leads and confront victims' families in a desperate final push to stop an execution.
Episode 2: The Whataburger Declaration
Defense attorneys scramble to uncover new evidence in a race against time to halt David Wood's upcoming execution.
Episode 1: What If I Follow You Around?
A death penalty lawyer with seventeen weeks left to stop an execution invites a reporter to shadow his final appeal.
Trailer
The Last 12 Weeks introduces listeners to the complex and high-stakes world of capital defense. The podcast centers on the case of David Wood, who has spent over three decades on death row following his 1992 conviction for the murders of young women and girls in the desert outside El Paso. This inaugural episode sets the stage for a tense narrative as a dedicated legal team battles against an impending deadline to halt an execution that has been looming for thirty years. Listeners can expect an immersive, behind-the-scenes look at the grueling preparation, moral dilemmas, and intense pressure involved in death penalty defense. Through this series, the program explores the intricate intersection of justice, history, and the finality of the legal system, offering a compelling investigation into a case that has remained unresolved in the public consciousness for generations.
Listen to The Last 12 Weeks with Podtastic
Smart Skip for The Last 12 Weeks
Smart Skip automatically skips past the interruptions listeners skip in The Last 12 Weeks episodes, using aggregated listener data.
Smart Summaries for The Last 12 Weeks
Podtastic generates evolving AI summaries for The Last 12 Weeks and every episode. Know what's worth listening to before you press play.
Smart Topics in The Last 12 Weeks
Podtastic highlights key topics in The Last 12 Weeks episodes so you can jump straight to the sections that interest you most.
Skip Silence for The Last 12 Weeks
Skip Silence auto-removes silences from The Last 12 Weeks episodes — saving you 5–15 minutes per hour.
Enhance Voices for The Last 12 Weeks
Enhance Voices in The Last 12 Weeks episodes — voice-tuned EQ and compression that makes voices clearer and evens out loud and quiet podcasts.
Listen to The Last 12 Weeks in Podtastic
For listeners, not advertisers
Related Podcasts
All podcast names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Podcasts listed on Podtastic are publicly available shows distributed via RSS. Podtastic does not endorse nor is endorsed by any podcast or podcast creator listed in this directory.