Firebug, a new podcast from Marc Smerling's Truth Media, unravels stories of serial arsonist in California

Truth Media, in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment, announced today the premiere of its new podcast Firebug, examining the incredible truth behind a serial arsonist in Southern California in the early 1990s. Hosted by Academy Award-winning documentarian and founder of Crime Story Media Kary Antholis, Firebug explores the complex story of how a manuscript for a novel circulating throughout Hollywood helped reveal the true origins behind catastrophic fires blazing through Los Angeles. The first two episodes are available today.

For ten years, a serial arsonist, also known as a firebug, terrorized Southern California, burning down businesses in broad daylight and setting whole neighborhoods ablaze. Four people died. Then a manuscript called “Points of Origin” circulated around Hollywood, telling the story of a fictional arson investigator on the trail for a serial arsonist. The fires described in that manuscript looked a lot like the fires that had been set across Southern California, leading investigators down a path to discover if “Points of Origin” was truly a work of fiction or the confessions of a prolific arsonist and murderer. Using cinematic sound design, combined with archival and newfound footage, Firebug invites listeners to join Antholis as he journeys to figure out where fiction meets reality.

"I have lived with this story for three decades, and I am immensely grateful to the teams at Truth Media and Sony Music Entertainment for making it possible for me to tell it in such an impactful way,” Antholis said.

Firebug is executive produced and edited by Emmy Award winning and Academy Award nominated storyteller, filmmaker, podcaster and pioneer Marc Smerling at Truth Media.

Listeners can subscribe to Firebug on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. Subscribe to Firebug: Uninterrupted on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening. For more information on Firebug and all other Sony Podcast shows, follow @SonyPodcasts.