Claudia Rowe (Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care) is a decorated journalist, advocate, and author. Claudia joins the Armchair Expert to discuss making the shift from using long-form journalism to a book to tell a story, touching off a five-year correspondence with a confessed serial killer, and confronting why she became fixated on what causes a person to commit murder. Claudia and Dax talk about her harrowing experience writing a true-crime memoir, realizing that this trial of a teenager in foster care actually corresponded to all the reporting she’d done, and how the failures of the foster system factored into the case of Maryanne. Claudia explains collaborating with incarcerated individuals to articulate thoughts about the carceral system, how poverty can often look like neglect, and her argument for a rehabilitative system of child care. Watch the Claudia Rowe Fact Check, now as a standalone video: https://youtu.be/AoL4GzTqbPg Watch Armchair Expert episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzPEuwClyOzDdlrAmU-IwKncG87qrF7Vw Follow Armchair Expert on social: https://www.instagram.com/armchairexppod https://www.facebook.com/ArmchairExpPod/ https://twitter.com/armchairexppod Connect with Wondery https://wondery.com/shows/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ https://www.facebook.com/WonderyMedia https://twitter.com/WonderyMedia https://www.instagram.com/WonderyMedia https://www.tiktok.com/@wonderymedia About the Show: Hi, I’m Dax Shepard, and I love talking to people. I am endlessly fascinated by the messiness of being human, and I find people who are vulnerable and honest about their struggles and shortcomings to be incredibly sexy. I invite you to join me as I explore other people’s stories. We will celebrate, above all, the challenges and setbacks that ultimately lead to growth and betterment. What qualifies me for such an endeavor? More than a decade of sobriety, a degree in Anthropology and four years of improv training. I will attempt to discover human “truths” without any laboratory work, clinical trials or data collection. I will be, in the great tradition of 16th-century scientists, an Armchair Expert. Watch Armchair Expert every MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, and FRIDAY here on YouTube! Listen to episodes ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting https://wondery.com/shows/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ Chapters: 0:00 - Claudia's Background 8:25 - Serial Killers Aren't Magic, They're People 17:01 - A 5-Year Correspondence With a "Monster" 26:28 - The Seattle Teenage Homicide 29:47 - This Isn't a Crime Story, It's a Foster Care Story 35:05 - The Failing System 44:22 - You're 18, Goodbye 53:18 - Why Foster Kids Don't Have Goals 1:03:49 - The System is Not Built for Brain Development 1:10:33 - They Say Some Kids Are Unsaveable 1:18:20 - The Results are Just the Proof of the System #armchairexpert #daxshepard #claudiarowe #fostercare