Understanding the effects of sin

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, August 30th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Today, we begin something new. And fair warning: this segment may not be appropriate for young ears, so if that’s the case for you, now’s the time to hit pause and come back later.

With more than two million podcasts worldwide, it takes discernment to know what’s worth your time. We want to help with that.

REICHARD: Today, we review a podcast that tells the story of serial killer Kermit Gosnell. It’s a horrible story but one that can help Christians better understand the real-world effects of sin.

Here now is WORLD’s Leah Savas.

CLIP: He's got medical waste in the basement and in the freezer, body parts that are decomposing. And she says it's from the abortions.

LEAH SAVAS, COMMENTATOR: That’s a clip from the six-episode podcast series, Serial Killer: A True Crime Podcast, by journalist Ann McElhinney. It’s a well-researched, deep dive into the investigation, trial, and lies of Kermit Gosnell. The abortionist is now serving three life sentences in a Pennsylvania state prison.

Before I started reporting on abortion in 2019, I didn’t pay much attention to abortion-related news, but I had heard of Gosnell. The man operated a filthy abortion facility on Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. State officials had not inspected it for over a decade—despite numerous complaints. Even after the death of one woman in 2009, officials didn’t shut down his facility until a drug investigation spurred a 2010 raid. Investigators then uncovered evidence of killings of infants born alive. That led to murder charges in 2011 and a 2013 trial that should have been front-page news… but many media outlets failed to cover it.

One thing I appreciate about the podcast is the creators’ close connections with the story. McElhinney’s husband and co-­producer, Phelim McAleer, was one of the few journalists to attend Gosnell’s trial early on. Their familiarity with the story shows: The podcast is thorough. It features reenactments of grand jury proceedings and the trial, as well as interviews with the people involved. Investigators recall vivid ­memories, including what Gosnell did during the initial raid.

CLIP: JAMES WOOD: and he asked if he could eat. So he whips out his teriyaki salmon and starts to eat with these bloody gloves.

McElhinney and McAleer also interviewed Gosnell himself. To me, the recordings of their phone calls with him were the most striking part of the podcast. They gave me a sense of Gosnell’s charismatic personality and exposed his dishonesty. He also insists on his innocence, despite overwhelming evidence.

This reminded me of how quick people are to justify sin—how quick I am to cover up my own sin. Even if we conceal it from our friends and family and convince ourselves that we’re in the right, God ultimately knows and will expose wrong in the end. That’s why you and I—just as much as Gosnell—need Christ’s atoning work on our behalf. Without that when we stand before God, we’ll all face eternal condemnation.

This podcast Serial Killer is not for everyone. It includes gruesome, true-to-life details that listeners should approach soberly—not with the goal of being entertained. But it’s a story that many people should hear because it exposes the depths of human sin and the violence of abortion.

CLIP: It was horrible. I've seen five babies born and listening to the matter of fact description of people who either witnessed or participated in the killings of babies the same size as my babies, fully born, moving, breathing, screaming, the matter of fact way that their deaths were described. And the joy that was described in the way Gosnell did it. I don't, I never had a case that bothered me as much as this.

I’m Leah Savas.

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