Cops and Writers Podcast

Cops and Writers Podcast

Cops and Writers is a podcast hosted by retired police sergeant and author, Patrick O'Donnell. The podcast provides valuable insights and humor for crime writers who want to create accurate and believable police stories. O'Donnell conducts in-depth interviews with members of law enforcement and civilian experts, discussing police procedures and culture. He also interviews crime fiction writers and writers from different genres, discussing what works in the ever-changing landscape of book sales and publishing. The podcast offers candid stories told with cop humor and technical details about the world of law enforcement.

Episodes

August 3, 2025 79 mins

Welcome back to the conclusion of my interview with Author and retired FBI Forensic Artist Lisa Bailey.

Just a heads up, today's interview consists of two separate interviews. The first part is more about her exciting career as an FBI forensic Artist. The second half of our interview will expose the dark side of the FBI and how Lisa, a woman who devoted her life to service to this great country, was harassed, bullied, and d...

Mark as Played

On today’s episode of the Cops and Writers Podcast, I have with me Author and retired FBI Forensic Artist Lisa Bailey for this special two-part interview that will conclude next Sunday.

Lisa Bailey spent most of her adult life serving our country. She enlisted in the United States Navy after high school and served for six years as a linguist translating Russian during the Cold War. Armed with a top-secret security clearance...

Mark as Played

Welcome back to the conclusion of my interview with Author and Retired DEA Special Agent Léo Silva.

Leo Silva spent over twenty-eight years on the frontlines of the global war on drugs as a special agent with the DEA. Leo’s journey took him from the alleyways of Fronton Street to some of the most dangerous corners of North America, leading high-impact investigations against the Zeta and Gulf Cartels.

He served as the Residen...

Mark as Played

On today’s episode of the Cops and Writers Podcast, I have with me, Author and Retired DEA Special Agent Léo Silva, for this special two-part interview that will conclude next Sunday.

Leo Silva spent over twenty-eight years on the frontline of the global war on drugs as a special agent with the DEA. Leo’s journey took him from the alleyways of Fronton Street to some of the most dangerous corners of North America, leading hi...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Have you ever known someone who is a bit off? It could be a boss, co-worker, or your significant other. It can start with someone too good to be true, filled with charm and fake empathy. Then, they begin to show their true colors by controlling, manipulating, and destroying your life, or worse, ending it. Well, today we are going to be talking about psychopaths and how we can hopefully identify the red flags ...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Welcome back everyone for the conclusion of my interview with former Ventura Chapter President of the Hells Angels, George Christie. But first a disclaimer. I do not and never have condoned criminal behavior. I was a cop for 25 years and my heart is with the men and women who enforce the law and bring criminals to justice. 

That being said, I wanted to bring you the listener/viewer a different kind of perspect...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

I wanted to start the show today with a disclaimer. I do not and never have condoned criminal behavior. I was a cop for 25 years, and my heart is with the men and women who enforce the law and bring criminals to justice. 

That being said, I wanted to bring you, the listener/viewer, a different perspective. One from an unapologetic outlaw living out the last chapters of his life (who knows, maybe he will live t...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Welcome back for the conclusion of my interview with Professor, bestselling Author, and Retired ATF Special Agent Jay Dobyns. If you're enjoying this episode, you'll love my interview with ATF Special Agent Ken Croke from episode 120, where he chats about his deep undercover mission taking down the outlaw motorcycle gang, The Pagans. I thought it would be interesting to get a different perspective on these cl...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Do I have a treat for all of you! On today’s episode of the Cops and Writers Podcast, I have with me Professor, Bestselling Author, and Retired ATF Special Agent Jay Dobyns for this special two-part interview that will conclude next Sunday.

Jay Dobyns spent over two decades as a federal agent embedded in the dark heart of America’s violent crime, participating in more than five hundred undercover missions targ...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Welcome, everyone, to a special bonus edition of the Cops and Writers Podcast. A few weeks back, it was my pleasure to be a guest on the Ireland Crimes and Mysteries Podcast hosted by the wonderful Nules Ní Chleirigh. Being a child of two Irish immigrants, I jumped at the opportunity to be on her show. Her podcast is recorded over in the Emerald Isle in County Tipperary. I had so much fun talking to her about...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Welcome everyone to the conclusion of my special two-episode conversation with Author and Retired DEA Special Agent Jaime Forza! Here are just some of Jaime’s career highlights. 

After serving eight years in the U.S. Navy, Jaime joined the U.S. Department of Defense, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) as a Special Agent serving for two years. In 1989, he became a Special Agent with the DEA, first in C...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Welcome to part one of my special two-episode conversation with Author and retired DEA Special Agent Jaime Forza! Here are just some of Jaime’s career highlights. 

After serving eight years in the U.S. Navy, Jaime joined the U.S. Department of Defense, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) as a Special Agent serving for two years. In 1989, he became a Special Agent with the DEA, first in Charleston, Sout...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Hey everyone, thanks for joining us as we’re going the back to west coast today for the conclusion of our interview with Author and Retired Los Angeles Police Department Lieutenant Jeff Wenninger!   

Jeff is a retired LAPD lieutenant with more than 33 years in law enforcement. He started with L.A. County Sheriff in 1991 and worked the Rodney King riots on the street and jail, where he and his coworkers were no...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Hey everyone, thanks for joining us, as we’re going west coast today! Welcome to part one of my two-part conversation with Author and Retired Los Angeles Police Department Lieutenant Jeff Wenninger!   

Jeff is a retired LAPD lieutenant with more than 33 years in law enforcement. He started with the L.A. County Sheriff in 1991 and worked the Rodney King riots on the street and jail, where he and his coworkers w...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Welcome back everyone to the conclusion of my conversation with the amazing Nick Chiarkas! I was so excited about this interview I didn’t want you guys to wait for next Sunday! I really enjoyed talking to Nick and I think you guys are going to feel the same about this episode.  

Nick grew up in the Al Smith housing projects on Manhattan's Lower East Side. When he was in the fourth grade, his mother was told by...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Welcome to part one of my two-part conversation with the amazing Nick Chiarkas! I really enjoyed talking to Nick and I think you guys are going to feel the same about this episode.  

Nick grew up in the Al Smith housing projects on Manhattan's Lower East Side. When he was in the fourth grade, his mother was told by the principal of PS-1 that "Nick was unlikely ever to complete high school, so you must steer hi...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Welcome back for the conclusion of my interview with Author and Retired DEA Special Agent Chris Feistl. 

Chris Feistl served with distinction for 26 years with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), retiring in 2014 as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division.

After serving an initial six-year assignment in Miami, Florida, Chris was sent to Colombia in July 1994 and assigned to a s...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Welcome to a bonus episode of the Cops and Writers Podcast, with me being interviewed on the Things Police See Podcast hosted by Steve Gould!

We talk about everything from rectal hot sauce to a last-second murder confession. 

Check out the most awesome Steve Gould's Things Pollice See Podcast!

Check out the new Cops and Writers YouTube channel!
Check out my newest book, The Good Collar (Michael Quinn Vigilant...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

Welcome to part one of my interview with Author and retired DEA Special Agent Chris Feistl. 

Chris Feistl served with distinction for 26 years with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), retiring in 2014 as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division. 

After serving an initial six-year assignment in Miami, Florida, Chris was sent to Colombia in July 1994 and assigned to a special Task...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.

    The Bobby Bones Show

    Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.

    24/7 News: The Latest

    The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.