The Real-Life Lisa Simpson Is Giving Voice To Fascinating True Crime Cases

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First-time listeners of the true crime podcast “Small Town Dicks” might be startled to hear the voice of its host: Lisa Simpson herself, aka Yeardley Smith.

The voice actor famous for “The Simpsons” launched the podcast, which features detectives recounting their most memorable cases, in 2017. Anchoring the show are three retired “dicks” (a slang term for “detectives” that hearkens back to classic Hollywood film noirs): Dan Grice and his twin brother, Dave Grice — Detectives Dan and Dave to their listeners — and cold case investigator Paul Holes.

Smith and Dan aren’t just podcast partners. The couple got married in 2022, years after their fairytale first meeting. Then a plainclothes detective, Dan provided security for Smith — who had been a victim of stalking — at a “Simpsons” event. He was essentially Kevin Costner to her Whitney Houston in a real-life “The Bodyguard.” Dave, who lives near the couple, is now her brother-in-law.

The concept of “Small Town Dicks,” which is now in its 14th Season and has more than 48 million downloads, “devolved quickly” from its original format, Dan told HuffPost before the group took the stage at CrimeCon last month.

“Initially, the concept of the show was Dan and Dave, talking about true crime and cases that we investigated using gallows humor. And maybe having a couple of fingers of Scotch while we retold the story. We tried it one time, and it devolved quickly. It didn’t feel natural,” he said.

They realized they couldn’t “stand behind” a show that was “irreverent about a case where someone was victimized or murdered,” Dan said.

“We couldn’t do it. We wanted to be proud of talking about