The Clearing

The Clearing is a haunting and deeply personal investigative documentary podcast from Gimlet Media that tells the story of April Balascio, a woman who grew up to realize that her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, may have been one of America's most prolific serial killers. The podcast follows April's extraordinary journey from suspicion to certainty, as she grapples with the devastating realization that the man who raised her was responsible for multiple murders spanning decades. Through April's own testimony and extensive reporting by journalist Josh Dean, The Clearing explores how a seemingly ordinary family man was able to hide a monstrous double life from those closest to him, and what it means for a daughter to reckon with such an unimaginable truth about her own father. The series examines the psychological dynamics of families built on secrets, the ways that denial and compartmentalization allow people to coexist with horror, and the tremendous courage required to come forward with information that destroys your own family's narrative. The Clearing is both a gripping true crime investigation and a profound meditation on memory, identity, and the limits of what we can truly know about the people we love.