Review of the podcast Deep Cover: The Family Man Rating *****
I lived in St. Louis during the time the string of bank robberies occurred. I followed the story from the first heist to Keith’s arrest and later his sentencing. I was sympathetic to his motivation and felt that the sentence did not match the crime. That doesn’t mean that I condoned his actions. I do not.
When Keith received his lengthy prison sentence, my thoughts immediately went to his twin daughters, Elise and Marissa. What would happen to them? When I heard that there was a book written about the case called Bank Notes: The True Story of the Boonie Hat Bandit, I bought it. It was written by a teacher who worked in the prison and who eventually married Keith. Caroline Giammanco’s book, Bank Notes, offered valuable background – including prison culture, mandatory sentencing, and other systemic issues – but it only hinted at what Elise and Marissa endured. This podcast fills that gap.
As it turns out, the story of what happened to Elise and Marissa wasn’t ready to be told in the immediate aftermath of Keith’s arrest. That story would have to wait until Keith’s eventual release from prison almost two decades later. And while their story could have been told in book format, hearing them tell it directly in a podcast series was the perfect platform. You can hear the wide range of emotions, their humor, and their anxieties as they had to navigate life without support from a responsible adult. You hear the hurt in their voices as they realize that their dad won’t be there for so many important milestones.
The podcast creators do a good job of presenting a balanced story. The narrator, Jake Halpern, doesn’t take sides. Listeners hear how Keith’s actions caused fear in the tellers whom he demanded money from. How one pregnant teller feared for her unborn child and never returned to her job. You relive the anxiety, the financial difficulties, and the poor choices that Marissa made once there were no more guardrails in place. One of the more emotional segments is when Marissa recounts her realization that it would be “thousands” of days that she would be separated from her dad. Halpern’s narration is measured and empathetic, letting the daughters’ voices carry the emotional weight.
When it comes to podcasts, I lean towards investigative series like this one. It’s one thing to write about what someone is thinking or how they reacted to a specific event. It’s a whole other experience when you hear that person tell you directly in their own voice.
Keith Giammanco admits that his decision to rob banks was a bad one that cost him and his daughters dearly. He has paid for those bad decisions. But so too have Elise and Marissa. Keith claims that his motivation for robbing banks was to provide for his daughters and protect their lifestyles, but the end result was the exact opposite.
My only complaint is the volume and placement of ads. A forty‑five‑minute episode can feel like it contains nearly ten minutes of advertising. I understand the production demands of an investigative series, but the ads could have been integrated less intrusively.
If you enjoy investigative podcast series like Deep Cover: The Family Man, then I would like to recommend my own five-episode audio and video podcast series Framed: The Kit Martin Story. This podcast series looks at the conviction of Christian “Kit” Martin for the murders of three of his neighbors and suggests that he was wrongfully convicted. If you ever wanted to be a member of the jury in a questionable murder trial, this podcast is for you. And it is completely ad free.
Framed: The Kit Martin Story – Full Documentary Series – YouTube
If you prefer to listen, just search for Framed: The Kit Martin Story on your preferred podcast streamer.