Monday, July 27, 2026

Whither Alibis?

The title card of the 1932 British film "Alibi"
(There will be not discussion about the 1931 film. Title card found here.)

So yeah I kinda sorta gave away the reason for this theme yesterday, when I talked about the Kinsey Millhone series of detective books by Sue Grafton, the first of which is A Is For Alibi. I was so charmed by the series that I read the first four books in succession, stopping only because I thought I should read some other books in-between. But looking at the cover of the first installment one day I wondered to myself if there were enough songs about alibis to do a radio show about them. & boy were there!

In my own experience, I don't think I've ever really had to establish an alibi for something - or had to have an alibi to prove I was innocent. The closest I probably came was when I spoke to fire inspectors for the KOOP fire of 2008, which was arson. I never thought I had to establish an alibi because I didn't do it, & anyway, they never asked me about my whereabouts on the night in question nor did they (as far as I know) do any investigating related to me. From what I understand, they asked questions of everyone about the space & they had four or five facts that only the arsonist would have known, & I didn't know any of them. I didn't need an alibi!

Also you don't need an alibi when you forget to listen - I understand! The show is on quite late! It's happening tonight from midnight to 2am on 90.7fm in Portland & everywhere at kboo dot fm. & if, as many believe, the show is a crime, I have no alibi - I'm there every damn week.

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