The Hall Closet Podcast
The Hall Closet Podcast is true crime like you've never heard it before - told from the inside. I grew up in the 1980's and 90's in a lower tier crime family outside of Philadelphia. We weren’t the Corleone’s, but we made national headlines! My mom – Phyllis - went from flirting with criminality to actually sleeping with it. She spent 6 months in prison for child endangerment. My stepdad – John Hall – was the Philadelphia PD’s favorite snitch. By the time he was done, he’d insert my family into two of Philly’s biggest unsolved murders, put an innocent man on...
Episodes
Hall Closet S2E1: The Couch
IN THIS EPISODE: Season 2 begins with a testament to the healing power of storytelling and a therapeutic (therefore "the couch") conversation between Donna and The Hall Closet's other executive producer, Alan Katz. Both know from life exper…
The Hall Closet BONUS EPISODE: "That Coulda Been ME!"
THE BLUB: In this BONUS EPISODE of The Hall Closet, Donna talks to Kathy Sherlock who turned unspeakable tragedy into meaningful legislation that has saved many lives already. Unfortunately, KAYDEN'S LAW (which seeks to prevent violent pare…
How This Podcast Helped Me Survive
IN THIS EPISODE: John Hall was a MASTER CRIMINAL. And yet, DONNA HALL's mom, PHYLLIS managed to break him and turn him from the PHILLY PD's favorite SNITCH into a homeless dead guy. If there's really a master criminal here, it might just be…
How My Brother Herb Survived John Hall
IN THIS EPISODE: It's TRUE CRIME served up FAMILY STYLE! You've heard DONNA HALL's side of what it was like growing up in a lower tier CRIME FAMILY. Now Donna's brother HERB tells his side of the John Hall story - and in incredible detail, …
How I Survived John Hall, Part 2
IN THIS EPISODE: Not only did MASTER CRIMINAL John Hall change the Halls when he hooked up with DONNA HALL's mom PHYLLIS, he nearly destroyed them. But then, that's life in a lower tier TRUE CRIME family. Because Herb had ratted out my mom …
How I Survived John Hall, Part 1:
IN THIS EPISODE: The Hall's TRUE CRIME Saga continues. DONNA HALL's stepdad - MASTER CRIMIINAL John Hall - plunged the Halls into two of Philadelphia's most notorious UNSOLVED MURDERS. The Philly PD's favorite snitch, John Hall concocted h…
How I Survived Failing My Younger Sister
IN THIS EPISODE: Every TRUE CRIME family needs a leader. The Halls had JOHN HALL, a veritable MASTER CRIMINAL. When Donna's mom PHYLLIS hooked up with John Hall, The Halls went from being petty criminals to the criminal big time. John Hall …
How I Survived Feeling Like I Didn't Belong
IN THIS EPISODE: It was hard enough that DONNA HALL grew up in a lower tier TRUE CRIME FAMILY where the adults committed one crime or another almost every day. But Donna also grew up feeling deep down inside that SHE DIDN'T BELONG. She lear…
How I Survived My Mom
IN THIS EPISODE: Meet DONNA HALL's mom PHYLLIS, maybe the WORST MOM EVER. If there's a reason The Halls were a TRUE CRIME family, it's mostly because of Phyllis. Surviving one's mother is a universal experience - if one survives. But, how D…
Welcome To The Hall Closet
IN THIS EPISODE: Meet DONNA HALL and enter a world where TRUE CRIME happened nearly every single day. The Halls were a lower tier CRIME FAMILY who lived in and around PHILADELPHIA, PA in the 1980's and 90's. The Halls weren’t the CORLEONE'S…