We’re looking forward to introducing you to Robert Riggs. Check out our conversation below.
Robert, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Getting into the flow when I am writing. The world around me stops.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter who has pursued serial killers and criminals of every stripe from crime scenes to prison cellblocks.
On my True Crime Reporter® podcast, you ride shotgun on stories few others can tell.
Decades of trust and reputation grant me access to investigators, inmates, and those who have been wronged by crime. And you’re right there with me.
For those who want to go deeper, my eBooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks provide in-depth accounts of these cases, drawing on decades of reporting.
Unlike standard audiobooks read in a single voice, mine are produced as immersive documentaries. We layer the stories with music and sound design that heightens the tension and pulls you inside the investigation.”
What drives every story I tell is a mission to reveal how criminals operate, informed by years of investigations, so you come away safer and sharper than before. I carry that same mission into my newsletter, Stories To Keep You Safe, which delivers practical lessons drawn from real cases.
Beyond my investigations, I bring listeners into conversations with journalists and respected authors who have written some of the most compelling true crime books about infamous cases.
I’ve earned three “ Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Awards for Investigative Reporting” — the broadcast equivalent of a Pulitzer for going toe-to-toe with the powerful and the dangerous.
The Dallas Crime Commission and the FBI honored me with their first-ever “Excellence in Crime Reporting Award” after I exposed identity theft kingpins and Mexican drug cartels. The American Bar Association’s “Silver Gavel Award” recognized my investigation that exposed systemic corruption inside the Texas parole and prison systems.
I’ve pried truth from mountains of records others tried to bury, faced threats hurled in my face, and sat in courtrooms as juries delivered justice to violent criminals and stared down the worst of the worst behind bars.
My reporting has also taken me far beyond America’s streets, under fire in Iraq while embedded with U.S. troops, chasing terrorists across Europe, inside the White House press corps covering presidents, and into disaster zones where survival hung by a thread.
I’ve been in the eye of the storm for some of the nation’s most harrowing breaking news stories, from the mass shooting at Luby’s Cafeteria in Texas and the 51-day Branch Davidian siege in Waco, to the Oklahoma City bombing, the standoff with the Republic of Texas separatists, and countless natural disasters.
Before journalism, I served as an investigator for the legendary Congressman Wright Patman of Texas, spearheading inquiries that reached into the Watergate scandal and exposed Pentagon bribery schemes.
In 2001, Texas A&M University honored me with its College of Architecture’s “Outstanding Alumnus Award”, a distinction given to less than one percent of graduates.
In addition to my reporting, I’m a recognized expert in AI-assisted storytelling and a member of the FBI-affiliated InfraGard National Members Alliance, which is dedicated to protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure.
Grounded in Texas grit and guided by an unwavering belief in truth, I tell the stories that matter — with the courage to go where they lead and the resolve to see them through.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
A small town boy from Paris, Texas, reared by children of the Depression and veterans of World War II.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
After receiving dozens of rejection letters while trying to break into television news as a reporter. The legendary television producer Bob Squier told me a story from his career that motivated me to continue.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Truth and honesty.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
He told stories that often changed people’s lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.truecrimereporter.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertriggstv/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/truecrimereporter
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeReporterRobertRiggs
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-Riggs/author/B0DSTJ9JCN?ref_=pe_2466670_811284380&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
Image Credits
Robert Riggs
