Criminalia

Farewell, From Criminalia, and Thanks for All the Crime

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Thank you for joining us for the final episode of our season of stray heists AND the finale of Criminalia. This is goodbye, but it's also thank you – thank you for supporting us as we walked in and out of historical crime scenes, nefarious cocktails, and we are grateful you took this adventure with us. And always remember: There’s no such thing as cocktail jail.

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'America': The Stolen Golden Toilet

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 01:00:23 +0000

The plan was to keep the 18-karat-gold toilet called 'America' on display indefinitely at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. But it did go out on loan, once, to Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Winston Churchill, in 2019, as part of an exhibition of Maurizio Cattelan's works, titled 'Victory is Not an Option'. 'America', a participatory piece, was fully plumbed and installed in a restroom cubicle at the palace -- and on September 14, 2019, the one-of-a-kind toilet was stolen from the venue.

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Mayhem, Madness, and Marshmallow the Bunny: When the World Lost Its Mind Over Beanie Babies

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0000

When Beanie Babies hit the scene in 1993, the original line of stuffed toys featured nine characters -- but that number would grow to hundreds. The brainchild of Ty Warner, and made by his company, Ty Inc., they were one of the hottest toys of the 1990s -- but they also inspired an underground economy that dealt in fraud and many, many thefts.

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Piano 'Movers' Play a Felonious Tune

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 15:37:51 +0000

Just after lunch on July 14, 2013, a white van drove away from Toronto General Hospital. Its cargo? A stolen Boston Steinway baby grand piano, taken from the hospital's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. Of the bold heist, Todd Milne, director of security operations for the hospital, told the media, quote, “I’ve been managing security since 1999, and have not experienced a theft as ballsy and as crazy as this one." He continued, quote, “The reason they were probably successful in removing the piano is that nobody would have thought a crime like this would ever take place.”

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California Nut Crimes: Nuts Cases Can Be Difficult to Crack

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Tree nuts have become are a hot commodity on the black market, and thieves have been making off with shipments of California-grown nuts to cash in. Of the phenomenon, Mike Boudreaux, the sheriff of Tulare County in California’s Central Valley, stated, “It’s not your guy on the corner in the long jacket, selling knock-off Rolex watches.” Why steal nuts? Let's talk about why – and how – these California nut crimes have been happening.

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Opening the Lid on Manhole Cover Capers

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

In the spring of 2008, 12-year-old Shamira Fingers was walking down a street near her home in South Philadelphia when she suddenly and surprisingly fell into an open sewer hole -- the manhole cover, missing. Once a rare crime, disappearing manhole covers has become an expensive and dangerous problem for cities around the world, with thieves swiping dozens to hundreds – sometimes thousands – of them at a time. Let's pry open the lid on manhole cover capers.

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Big Syrup': The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

"You can't prove what tree the syrup came from," stated one of the accomplices in The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist during his trial. Over the span of several months, thieves staged a multi-million dollar heist from Québec's Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve, making off with about 3,000 tonnes of the stuff. Totaling about $18 million worth of maple syrup, this heist is one of the largest agricultural thefts ever.

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Welcome to the Season Finale of Criminalia: THE GENTLEMEN ROBBER

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Stand and deliver! Welcome to the final episode of our season about highway robbery and the outlaws who preyed upon road travelers. There were plenty of flinklock pistols, plenty of executions by hanging -- and plenty of confusion over who pulled off what crime. Don't forget to join Holly and Maria as they share their top shows and drinks inspired by these brigands' crimes.

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The Guillotine's First Victim: French Highwayman Nicolas-Jacques Pelletier

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 17:59:33 +0000

French highwayman Nicolas-Jacques Pelletier rode and robbed the streets around 18th-century Paris, but didn't come to the attention of French authorities until October of 1791, after he was accused of a violent robbery. Among highwaymen, his crimes didn't really stand out; but what does stand out is that his execution was the first use of the guillotine, at the Place de Grève, on April 25, 1792.

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Tom Cox: The 'Handsome' Highwayman Who Robbed the King's Jester

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Tom Cox began his life as a gentleman with a small estate inherited from his father -- but he spent that small fortune in the blink of an eye with his, “riotous living.” Broke, Cox went to London to find work; and, he did find work, though it wasn't legal work. Tom fell in with a group of highway robbers, and quickly made a name for himself as bold, cunning, and … handsome.

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Jonathan Wild: The Thief-Taker or Thief? Or Both?

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

People thought Jonathan Wild was a fine, upstanding kind of a guy: he was a thief-taker who was very good at catching criminals. The Privy Council, advisers to the Crown, consulted with him on methods of controlling crime in London. Highway robbers, a scourge on the city, feared him. But what most people did not know was that Jonathan, himself, was actually a very bad guy.

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Juraj Jánošík: How a Slovak Bandit Became a National Hero

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

England has Robin Hood. Australia has Ned Kelly. Japan; Goemon Ishikawa. There are many legendary heroic outlaws in many cultures. Juraj Jánošík has, over the centuries, become known as the Robin Hood of Slovakia – and a symbol of Slovak resistance. Unlike some of these Robin Hood figures, Jánošík was 100 percent a real person, a real bandit who became a folk hero – and legend after his death. This is the story of Juraj Jánošík, an ordinary 17th century highway robber who became an enduring national hero.

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William Davis: Farmer by Day, Highwayman by Night

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

William Davis led a double life. He was a successful highway robber by night, and a respectable farmer by day. Farming was honest work, but, it was also a clever way to distract others from noticing that he had another life, that he was one of the most notorious highwaymen of the 17th century. He kept that criminal career secret for four decades, even from his wife and family. Let's talk about William's adventures -- good or bad, fact or fiction -- and how he got the nickname, the Golden Farmer.

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The Life and Death of the Laughing Highwayman: Jerry Abershawe

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Never confused with the legend of Robin Hood or a 'gentleman robber' among highwaymen, there was really nothing to admire about Jerry Abershawe. He was a thief and he was a cold-blooded killer – several times over. Ruthless and intimidating, he was a "nightmare for travellers on those approach roads to London." There are stories boasting of Jerry's numerous and daring highway robbery acts – but, it's his behavior from capture to execution that gives us a chance to see who he was without his flintlock pistol.

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The First and Final Crimes of Jocelin Harwood

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 10:30:00 +0000

Jocelin Harwood was a highwayman who committed such “Barbarous Murders” – and he was just so ...wow – that his fellow criminal associates betrayed him and gave him up to the authorities after they couldn't stomach his depraved behavior the night of his final crime. Described as "a degenerate plant from a good tree," which seems like a pretty apt description, Jocelin's story has never been confused with the legend of Robin Hood. He was insolent; he was violent; and, this is his bloody story.

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The Tale of Highway Robber William Spiggot and His Death

Tue, 27 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

William Spiggot was an 18th century English highwayman and the leader of a gang of at least eight men. While he may have started out as an apprentice cabinetmaker in London, he didn't end up following his family's legit path in life, instead deciding on a more... felonious one - as a robber, poacher, burglar, and murderer -- until he was sentenced to peine forte et dure.

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Scoop: John Nevison Was Not Dick Turpin and Dick Turpin Was Not John Nevison

Tue, 20 May 2025 12:04:13 +0000

John Nevison was a very good highwayman, though you may not recognize his name. And that's largely because his crimes have, over the years, gotten attributed to the stories of other notorious highway robbers, notably Dick Turpin – who hadn't yet been born when Nevison was prowling the roads. Turpin's romanticized legend seems to be a magnet for many things he didn't do. Much about Nevison's life is a bit of a mystery, partly because of that confusion with his cohorts. Let's look at those conflicting tales.

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The Adventures of Robber Lewis: Counterfeiter/Robber/Jailbreaker

Tue, 13 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Though dealing in counterfeit currency may have been David 'Davy' Lewis' first criminal efforts, he eventually added highway robbery as a lucrative gig – and that's when he gained the nickname, Robber Lewis -- and as a highwayman, he also came to be known as the “Robin Hood of Pennsylvania". Was he? Well, that may be a stretch – maybe a big stretch -- but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a good story, right?

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Joan and Edward: The Bonnie and Clyde of Highway Robbery

Tue, 06 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Joan Phillips was a known beauty with an artful and cunning mind -- and both her looks and the famiy's money attracted the attention of many suitors – suitors that Joan wasn't interested in. But all that stuff about engagement, marriage, and relationships changed when Joan met Edward Bracey, the only suitor who caught her eye.

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Not Every Tom, Dick, and Harry Were Highwaymen; But These Were

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 18:04:32 +0000

This is the tale (and legend) of the Dunsdon brothers: Thomas, Richard, and Henry – yes, a real life Tom, Dick and Harry. Known as the Burford Highwaymen, they terrorized the locals between Glouster and Oxford. But the crime the brothers are best known for committing actually had nothing to do with highway robbery -- but it did include amputation.

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Claude Duval: The First Gallant Highwayman

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Some highwaymen were straight-up thugs. But some, like Claude Duval, were highwaymen who were polite, chivalrous, and sometimes portrayed as a version of Robin Hood – although none of them gave their loot to those less fortunate. Opinions differ among biographers and historians when it comes to Claude's life, but he ultimately became a folk legend – with some truth and some truth-is - and in the end, it's believed he was the 'Gentleman Robber' who paved the way for future depictions and adventures of the chivalrous highwayman.

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Lady Ferrers: An Heiress Turned Highwaywoman

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000

English gentlewoman and heiress named Lady Katherine Ferrers who, as a highwaywoman known as The Wicked Lady, terrorized England in the mid-1600s. Her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death -- though it may be a bit embellished.

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Welcome to the Season Finale of Criminalia: COLD CASES

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the final episode of our season about cold cases -- unsolved crimes, where the perpetrator was never identified and there are no active leads. Whether it’s murders, robberies, or kidnappings, this season was full of all types of unresolved crimes. There were plenty of investigations, and a few acquittals, but no known offenders were ever brought to justice -- still today. And, don't forget to join Holly and Maria as they share their top shows and drinks inspired by these crimes.

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The Tragedy That Inspired AMBER Alerts

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Amber Hagerman had long brown hair and freckles. She liked playing with her Barbie dolls, and was a Girl Scout. But on the afternoon of January 13, 1996, everything changed. Amber, age 9, was abducted while riding her pink bicycle in an abandoned Winn-Dixie parking lot in Arlington, Texas; only two-tenths of a mile from her grandparents' house. It only took eight minutes for Amber to disappear. This episode is about the legacy of third-grader Amber Hagerman, who inspired America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, popularly known as AMBER alerts.

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A Tennis Tragedy: The Murder of Andrea Buchanan

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 10:00:00 +0000

It was her smile, everyone said, that was the first thing you noticed about Andrea Buchanan. People called her "Miss Personality," and spoke of her as being a “free spirit with much energy and vitality.” Andrea was a rising professional tennis star who was murdered, at age 26, while she was working in a restaurant in Los Angeles. Here's what happened.

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The Unsolved Murder of Jean Townsend

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 15:18:50 +0000

Twenty-one-year-old Jean Townsend's body was discovered the morning of September 15, 1954, around 7 a.m., in an empty lot just 600 yards from where she lived on Bempton Drive in South Ruislip. She had spent the evening at a party with friends at a nightclub called the Pyramid Club, not far from her work in London's West End -- but she never made it home.

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Cleveland's 'Torso Murders': Who Was the 'Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run'?

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The press nicknamed the killings, 'the Torso Murders'. They called the killer, who had murdered, dismembered, and decapitated at least a dozen people, 'The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run', an area of Cleveland where most of the victims were found. The majority have never been identified -- and neither has the killer. Brace yourself for some ugly details.

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Who Killed the Sheriff Who Killed Billy the Kid?

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Las Cruces, New Mexico, newspapers reported on March 1, 1908: "Pat F. Garrett ... fulfilled his own prophecy ... that he would die with his boots on. Garrett was killed ... between 10 and 11 o'clock on the road to his Bear Canyon ranch at a point five miles from [Las Cruces]." Best known as a lawman and the guy who fatally shot Billy the Kid, Pat's life was high-profile. When it comes to his death, though, a lot of questions remain. Was it a conspiracy? Or was he shot in self-defense? People had thoughts about what happened – and still do.

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The Mysterious Disappearance of Ambrose Bierce

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Ambrose Bierce was an American Civil War veteran, and he was also a writer: he was one of the most famous journalists of the late 19th century; he was a literary critic, a poet and a short story writer (primarily exploring themes of war, death, and the general absurdity that is life). And he is also one of the biggest disappearing acts of the 20th century. When he was 71 years old, Bierce rode into Mexico, and that's about the last anyone ever heard from him. Of course, there are plenty of theories about what happened.

Follow Brandon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonkylegoodman Join the C'Heauxmunity at https://brandonkylegoodman.substack.com/ Submit your own messy story or question at TellMeSomethingMessy@gmail.com or call ‪(669) 696-3779

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The Phantom Killer: The Unsolved Texarkana Moonlight Murders

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Texarkana was a bit of a bustling town back in 1946, but it wasn't a particularly dangerous town. But beginning in February that year, a series of brutal attacks occurred over a span of 10 weeks. Three victims were seriously wounded and five were killed; and they were all attacked at night. Let's talk about who they were and the investigations that led ... no where.

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The Death of Robert Pakington: England's First Murder By Gun

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 13:08:17 +0000

It was early morning, about 6 a.m., on November 13, 1536, when Robert Pakington, a London merchant, was fatally shot while on his way to attend early Mass. It was the first recorded firearm crime in London's history, and a crime that has never been solved -- though there are some theories to talk about, even this long time later.

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The Lovers' Lane Murders of Rev. Edward Hall and Mrs. Eleanor Mills

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Edward Hall, a minister, and Eleanor Mills, a member of his choir, were found together, dead, on an improvised 'lovers' lane' near an abandoned farmhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in September of 1922. Edward had been a popular minister at St. John’s Episcopal Church, and was the husband of Frances Stevens Hall, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. Eleanor was a working-class homemaker married to Jim Mills, the parish sexton; and, she sang soprano in the choir at St. John's. Hall and Mills had been having an affair for a few years; and it had been a poorly kept secret. But the best kept secret is: who killed them?

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The Murder of Mabel Greenwood

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This is the story of the unsolved death of Mabel Greenwood; who killed her, and why no one knows what really happened 100 years later. The prime suspect in the case? Harold Greenwood, her husband of more than 20 years, was arrested on June 17, 1920, accused of fatally poisoning her. Let's look at what happened, the messy trial, and the one detail that got Harold acquitted.

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Elma Sands and the Manhattan Well Murder

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 14:25:35 +0000

If there had been true crime podcasts in the year 1800, this sensational murder trial would have been a hot topic under discussion: a young woman was killed just before Christmas in New York City, on the night she was to elope with her lover. The prime suspect was Levi Weeks, her presumptive fiancé, but he denied to authorities they had any relationship – and his defense team was the hottest trio of lawyers in town. This is the story of Elma Sands, and how the criminal justice system never established what really happened to her or who was to blame.

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Who Shot Belle Starr, Outlaw Queen of the Old West?

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Belle Starr, 'Petticoat Terror of the Plains', once said of herself, quote, “I regard myself as a woman who has seen much of life.” On the American frontier, she was thought of as “a demon with a bloody knife between her teeth and a pistol in each hand terrorizing whole communities and making deputy marshals hit the high places.” She lived a larger-than-life life, that's for sure. But there's one big missing detail: what no one knows is, who shot her in the back? And why?

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The Chicago Tylenol Murders and Their Aftermath

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Tylenol has been for decades the best-selling, non-prescription pain reliever in the United States. It used to come as gelatin capsules, pills that were possible to open, and that meant anyone could remove its active ingredient, acetaminophen, and replace the contents with ... anything else. And someone did, resulting in the deaths of seven people by cyanide poisoning. Holly and Maria look at how the case unfolded, and how more than 40 years later, the identity of the person who tampered with Tylenol is still unknown.

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Was Jeannette DePalma's Death an Occult Sacrifice, a Crime of Opportunity, or Something Else?

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000

On August 7, 1972, Jeannette DePalma disappeared in Springfield, New Jersey, four days after her 16th birthday. That afternoon, she told her mom she was going to see friends, but when she didn't return later that evening, her mother called the police; the police discovered she never made it to her friend's house. When her body was discovered six weeks later, investigators suspected she may have overdosed; many others suspected she was sacrificed in an occult ritual. Five decades later, it's still a mystery. Welcome to a new season of Criminalia, where we're exploring historical cold cases.

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Welcome to the Season Finale of Criminalia: PARTNERS IN CRIME

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the final episode of our season about partners in crime -- some of whom were criminal duos, some of whom worked in gangs, but, unlike what we've found in some of our previous seasons, most of these people were absolutely guilty as charged. This season had quite a variety of crimes and criminals, everything from dirty cops who moonlighted with the mob to America's first serial killers. Join Holly and Maria as they share their top shows and drinks inspired by these criminal duos.

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The 'Last of America's Classic Train Robbers' Weren't Train Robbers at All

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000

“Two gaudily-dressed 'Brooklyn cowboys' attempted a desert train robbery”, reported the Associated Press on November 25, 1937. Henry Loftus and Harry Donaldson have been referred to as, "the last of America's classic train robbers," but the pair weren't professional criminals. This is the story of two men who wanted their lives to be like those they read about in Western-dime novels – but didn't realize they were decades too late.

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Prohibition Outlaws: The Rise and Fall of the Kimes-Terrill Gang

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Led by Matthew Kimes and Ray Terrill, the Kimes–Terrill Gang were known for successfully pulling off some very high-profile bank robberies -- but they may have been better known for their daring prison escapes. In the lore of their gang it's said that each member swore a blood oath promising to free other members from their prison cells – even if it meant they, themselves, were apprehended or killed while trying to spring a fellow associate. While that may be just part of their legend, it does very much seem to be true when you hear their story. Prison, say modern historians, was nothing more than, quote, “just another occupational hazard.”

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Serial Killers on the American Frontier: "Big" and "Little" Harpe

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Herman Webster Mudgett of New Hampshire, better known by the alias H.H. Holmes, was responsible for anywhere from 20 to 200 killings before he was apprehended in 1894, and is known as one of America’s first serial killers. But ... not THE first. That title -– at least on record -- belongs to the Harpes: "Big" and "Little" Harpe, who killed at least 40 men, women, and children – and likely more. Be warned, this may be the most violent episode we have yet told.

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Samuel Green and William Ash, the 'Terrors of New England'

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000

When the priest asked, "Are you penitent, my son?", Samuel Green, with the rope around his neck and standing at the gallows, said with a smirk, "If you wish it." On their best days, Samuel Green and William Ash were burglars, highway robbers, and counterfeiters. On their worst; violent murderers. This is the story of their criminal career.

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The Reluctant Blanche Barrow: Bonnie Wasn't the Only Dame in Clyde Barrow's Gang

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000

In the Ambush Museum in Gibson, Louisiana, hangs a copy of a poem written by a woman named Blanche Barrow, and it reads: "Across the fields of yesterday / She sometimes calls to me / A little girl just back from play / the girl I used to be / And yet she smiles so wistfully / once she has crept within I wonder if she hopes to see / the woman I might have been." For four months, Blanche found herself a member of the outlaw Barrow gang – along with the famously known, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. The story of Bonnie and Clyde is woven into American lore; but there was more than one criminal in the Barrow family: Clyde's long-time outlaw older brother Marvin 'Buck' Barrow AND his reluctant-criminal ride-or-die wife, Blanche.

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Where Prohibition-era Gangsters Went to Hide: The Farmer's Farm

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000

'Pretty Boy' Flloyd. John Dillinger. The Barkers. A lot of well-known gangsters emerged in the 1920s and 1930s; all of them criminals known as 'public enemies' to the government, and highly sought after by authorities, as you can imagine. But lesser known are the hideouts these criminals used -- and the people who ran those illegal safe houses. This is the story of husband and wife, Herb and Esther Farmer, who ran such an establishment.

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The Black Widows of Liverpool: Sisters Catherine Flannagan and Margaret Higgins

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000

When Catherine Flannagan and her younger sister Margaret moved to Liverpool from Ireland in the late 1800s, they were among the tens of thousands of poverty-stricken Irish laborers and their families who left Ireland during the potato famine to find work in Britain during the Industrial Revolution. To make their money, Catherine and Margaret established and ran a boarding house. In short time, the house was filled to capacity with lodgers. But there was one problem: guests were dying in suspiciously similar circumstances.

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The Trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants who were – controversially – convicted of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a security guard and a payroll clerk, during an armed robbery of the Slater and Morrill Shoe Company in Massachusetts. About a century has passed and experts -- and armchair experts, too! – continue to debate this case, but not whether they did or didn't do it. They continue to debate one very big thing: whether or not Sacco and Vanzetti received a fair trial.

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Did Mary Blandy Know the 'Love Powder' She Gave Her Father Was Arsenic?

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Mary Blandy was desperate to marry, but none of her suitors met the stringent standards set by her father -- until she met William Cranstoun, son of a Scottish peer. But her engagement to him turned out to be her downfall; William was already married. When it was divulged, her father did not approve the engagement, but William "had a method of conciliating [her father's] esteem" -- and it involved feeding her father a 'love powder' to soften him up a bit. The love powder turned out to be arsenic, and Mary killed her father by administering it. Though she claimed she didn't know, there were clues she maybe did. The question remains: Was she a partner to this crime, or wasn't she?

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Verne Sankey and Gordon Alcorn and Their Depression-Era Kidnappings

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

When Verne Sankey told his wife he and his gang were planning a kidnapping, he said, if “I don’t come back, don't identify my body.” Verne and his accomplice, Gordon Alcorn, were a pair of Depression-era outlaws whose successful high-profile kidnappings of Haskell Bohn, heir to Bohn Refrigeration, and millionaire Charles Boettcher II turned them into two of the most wanted criminals in the United States – in fact, their success inspired other gangsters to try kidnapping as a lucrative gig, and prompted FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to name Verne America's very first 'Public Enemy'.

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The Story of Suburban Chicago Booksellers and Bank Robbers, Jeff and Jill Erickson

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 11:20:56 +0000

On January 9, 1990, a bank robber nicknamed the Bearded Bandit entered the First Nationwide Bank in Wilmette, Illinois, disguised with a false beard, a baseball cap, dark sunglasses, and driving gloves. He carried a gun and police radio scanner, and threatened bank employees that he'd, ”blow their brains out.” While he collected from the vault, his wife prepared their getaway. The Ericksons, a husband-and-wife bank robbing duo, committed a series of armed robberies in the Chicago area in 1990 andd 1991. And when it ended, it was in a dramatic and desperate way.

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Public Enemies No. 1 and 2: Bank Robbers Bennie and Stella Dickson vs. the G-Men

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

A man walked into the Corn Exchange Bank at Elkton, South Dakota, on the afternoon of August 25, 1938, and announced, quote, “This is a holdup.” Bennie and Stella Dickson were Depression-era bank robbers and outlaws who successfully stole what authorities then estimated to be more than $50,000 over an eight-month period. They were tagged by the FBI as Public Enemies No. 1 and 2., and J. Edgar Hoover, who led the bureau at that time, compared them to other notorious criminals of the era including John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, “Babyface” Nelson, and “Pretty Boy” Floyd. That's quite a cast of crooks. But were they?

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Lester Brockelhurst and Bernice Felton and the 'Crime Tourist' Murders

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Lester Warfel Brockelhurst, Jr. was the president of the Mormon church's Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association and he was a Sunday school teacher -- he was generally and genuinely known as a, “good boy.” But in his early 20s, he picked up a new nickname: "crime tourist,” after he and his girlfriend, Bernice Felton, pulled off multiple robberies and killed three men during a six-week crime spree that spanned across more than a dozen states in 1937.

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How Her Illicit Love Letters Got Edith Thompson Hanged for a Murder

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 10:00:00 +0000

This story is one of murder, but it's also a tale of woe. It begins when a young ship's steward named Frederick 'Freddy' Bywaters became involved with a married woman named Edith Thompson. They had known each other growing up in the same London suburb as her husband Percy Thompson; and, it was generally considered that Freddy would marry Edith's sister, Avis. But life doesn't always work out the way you think it will -- and he ended up being executed for Percy's murder. And so did Edith. History now suggests maybe she wasn't a woman who killed for her lover, but, rather, a witness to the event. Were Freddy and Edith partners in murder, or was Edith sentenced to death for adultery?

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The Disappearance of Ted Cole and Ralph Roe From Alcatraz: Dead or Alive?

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 11:41:56 +0000

Joseph Bowers is considered the first prisoner to try escaping Alcatraz, but was killed during his attempt. The next to attempt it was a pair of conspiring inmates named Ted Cole and Ralph Roe. Both men had long rap sheets and were known escape risks -- including from high security facilities. As a last resort, each was sentenced to time at the most inescapable prison in the United States: Alcatraz. With hindsight, and it's easy for us to say with time on our side, maybe they should have been kept apart, because these prisoners-in-crime totally escaped Alcatraz Island, and were never seen again.

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The Black Widow Murders: The Story of Septuagenarian Killers Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 11:52:49 +0000

Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt were sentenced in July of 2008 to life in prison for the murders of Paul Vados and Kenneth McDavid. The women, who were both in their 70s, appeared to be in the business of rescuing down-on-their-luck men in Los Angeles, but it was a deadly ruse. Instead, theymanipulated their marks with offers of free food and housing, and then manipulated them into helping them open life insurances policies – with the women listed as beneficiaries. Helen and Olga then killed these men in staged hit-and-run car accidents, on which they collected payouts totaling in the millions. Let's meet these Black Widow murderers and their victims.

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Paid Hitmen Stephen Caracappa + Louis Eppolito Were Also NYPD Detectives

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 11:16:52 +0000

Federal prosecutor Daniel Wenner described the case as, “the bloodiest, most violent betrayal of the badge this city has ever seen.” Two decorated New York City police detectives, Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito, committed various illegal activities on behalf of the Five Families of the American Mafia, spanning from the mid-1980s to 1990. This is the story of how their moonlighting gig was discovered by efforts of the FBI, DEA, as well as prosecutors, investigators, and staff of the United States Attorney’s Office – and a woman named Betty Hydell.

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Ray and Faye Copeland: America's Oldest Serial Killers

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Ray and Faye Copeland were husband and wife serial killers and the oldest couple ever sentenced to death in the United States. Their known victims include at least five farmhands -- more men are still considered missing and likely also murdered, though their remains have not been found. This is a story about nearly a dozen hired laborers who disappeared from the Copeland farm in the 1980s.

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The Day the DeAutremont Brothers Bungled the Robbery of Southern Pacific Train No. 13

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Train robberies are often thought of as a 19th century problem, like when Jesse James and his gang of outlaws famously pulled off the world's first robbery of a moving train, on July 21, 1873, in Iowa. And, of course, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, who liked to rob banks and trains -- and famously blew up the a Union Pacific Railroad train the morning of June 2, 1899. The business of train robbery was BIG business in post-Civil War America. But robberies did continue into the 20th century. And we’re going to talk about three Oregon brothers who botched one, in an attempt to steal currency that may or may not have been on board. Let us introduce you to Ray, Roy, and Hugh DeAutremont.

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The Lonely Hearts Killers Lured Single Women to Their Death

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

One of Truman Capote's most famously told anecdotes about his childhood involves his running away with his neighbor, Martha Seabrook, when he was about 10 years old and she, roughly 15. They made a break to a town near where they lived, but were returned home in a day or two. Thirteen years later, Martha met Raymond Fernandez and became one half of the murderous duo known in the press as, The Lonely Hearts Killers. Welcome to a brand new season of Criminalia, featuring partners in crime.

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Welcome to a New Season of Criminalia: PARTNERS IN CRIME

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Welcome to a brand new season of Criminalia, where we'll be talking about criminal duos. Partners in crime. Now, your partner in crime could be platonic; others may be romantic. They're someone who has your back no matter what. This season's partners in crime wait outside in the getaway car. They plot and commit illegal acts with you.In this season, it's fair to say, it’s someone you'll probably be arrested and go to prison with. We’ll see you there, not only with some very real stories about some very shady things, but also with the cocktails and mocktails made to go with them.

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Welcome to the Season Finale of Criminalia: 'THE SNAKE OIL SALESMEN'

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the final episode of our season exploring worthless and often dangerous remedies that were promoted as good for whatever may ail you – and, by extension, the patent medicine salesmen, a bunch of quacks and rip-off artists, who advertised and peddled those fraudulent goods. We went into this season assuming the worst; and … it was pretty bad news, to be honest. Listen as Holly and Maria share their favorite shows and drinks from snake oil season.

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Pinkham's Cure for 'Female Complaints' and Other Remedies for Women

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 12:24:21 +0000

In the Victorian era, the menstrual cycle was considered a disease. A Victorian era woman going through menopause was considered to be emotionally unstable, and a physician would likely have prescribed bloodletting to treat its symptoms. He also would have advised her against reading novels, going to parties, and dancing. If you were a 45- to 50-year-old woman in the 19th century, developing this “madness” was considered inevitable. The lucky underwent bloodletting; the unlucky were confined to what were then-called ‘insane asylums’. Where conventional medicine failed the so-called weaker sex, the Victorian view of females as weak, fragile, and childlike actually served as both cause and effect when it came to .., that's right: patent medicines.

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Angelo Mariani's Cocaïne Wine : Vin Tonique Mariani à la Coca de Pérou

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Known as tonics, cocaine wines were a hit when introduced in the late 1800s -- Angelo Mariani, a wealthy chemist from the island of Corsica, formulated his popular version, Vin Mariani -- in 1863. Cocaine wine is exactly what you think it is – a concoction of cocaine and wine -- and, it had an incredible fan base that included – spoiler alert – TWO popes.

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Harry Lewis Kramer: The Ad Man Who Marketed Medicine As Candy

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 11:53:32 +0000

In the mid-1890s, Harry Kramer’s Sterling Remedy Co. introduced a product called, Cascarets Candy Cathartic. Cascarets were just laxatives, but the product blew away the competition. And a lot of that had to do with how it was marketed (a stroke of brilliance): Harry advertised the product as candy – and historians believe he may have been the first to have marketed medicine in that way. They were brown tablets – nothing special there – but they had a “pleasant taste -- almost as pleasant as chocolate.” In just a few years, by 1899, they’d become so popular that more than 5 million boxes were purchased annually. Harry, an entrepreneur who was adept at advertising – maybe that’s an understatement -- was only 38 years old at the time. So let’s meet this advertising sensation.

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The Shakers: America's Early Pharmacists

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 07:15:00 +0000

Talking about the United Society of True Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing – a religious group commonly known as Shakers -- doesn't mean this is an episode about religion. They were disciplined and hard-working, and they were also innovative -- a good combination of characteristics that helped them finance their communal lives in a few successful ways. Their most successful business didn’t come from their famous furniture or inventions like the clothes pin, though. It was their knowledge of herbs and their practice of botanical medicine -- and what it was like for them to practice patent medicine in a time of snake oil sales.

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Who Really Made the Real ‘Daffy’s Elixir’ and What Was Really In It?

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Daffy's Elixir was one of the most popular patent medicines in Britain -- and it sold for nearly 300 years, which is amazing considering these types of products were often a flash in a pan. But what makes this product different than others we’ve talked about this snake oil season, other than its longevity, is that its ingredients list wasn’t kept secret -- it was a novel idea to publish ingredients for patent medicines at a time when most products didn’t even put that information on the label. And manufacturers seemed to be okay with that -- maybe because no one could actually prove ownership.

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What Happened When – and After -- Dr. S. Andral Kilmer Founded His Laboratory and Remedy Company

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:47:31 +0000

According to the Vermont State Pharmacy Association in 1921, quote: "Dr. Kilmer's SWAMP-ROOT Kidney, Liver and Bladder Medicine … is a medicine of genuine merit. Thousands of letters we have received from druggists indicate that it has won the confidence of the people. We believe that the druggist who recommends it thereby helps his own reputation for reliability and truthfulness as his customer is usually satisfied with the results obtained from the use of Swamp-Root. …[The] preparation … is made upon honor and always kept up to its high standard of purity and excellence." They weren’t wrong; Swamp-Root was a very popular patent medicine product. But … made with honor? A reputation for … truthfulness? Aren’t we in snake oil season? Let’s meet this Dr. Kilmer and the Kilmer family, and talk about how Swamp-Root made them a ton of money.

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Herbert E. Bucklen, Patent Medicine and 'Axle Grease Salesman'

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Herbert Elijah Bucklen made himself one of the wealthiest businessmen in both Elkhart, Indiana, and Chicago, Illinois, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And his patent medicine business, The H.E. Bucklen & Company, had a lot to do with that -- but he didn't rise to millionaire status with just snake oil products and lies, although that was a big part of it.

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Patent Medicine Evolution: No Beer? ‘Let Them Drink Sarsaparilla’

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Many patent medicines may have done more harm than good -- or at the very least, nothing at all -- and we’ve been talking about a good many of them so far this season. Ingredients in patent medicines were unregulated and manufacturers weren’t required to list ingredients on the label. Most didn’t help your problem, but there were several products that originated in that era that we still use to this day, believe it or not, although these modern versions typically don’t include exactly the same ingredients as their predecessors – which is often a good thing – and many are no longer claim to be cure-alls – which, too, is a good thing. Let’s talk about a few of those patent medicine products that have persisted over the years.

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‘EAT! EAT! EAT!’ Fat ‘Banished’ With Tapeworm Diet

Tue, 28 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Getting yourself a parasitic buddy will help you lose weight; the idea here is that the tapeworm lives in your intestines and eats whatever you’re eating, meaning you can go for seconds or thirds without feeling guilty about any of the calories. Doesn’t sound so bad, right? Until the tapeworm part, that is. Tapeworms shouldn’t be inside your body unless it’s by accident, but if you lived in Victorian England, you might have intentionally swallowed one for weight loss.

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‘A Niagara of Curls’: The Story of the Seven Sutherland Sisters

Tue, 21 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

“It’s the Hair – not the Hat That Makes a Woman Attractive,” read one ad for the Seven Sutherland Sisters’ scalp cleaner. Sisters Sarah, Victoria, Isabella, Grace, Naomi, Dora, and Mary Sutherland were performers who sang and played instruments, but what the crowds came to see was their hair; primarily because there was, collectively, 37 feet of it. By 1880, they were billed as the "Seven Wonders" – and just four years later, their patent hair tonic had made them a fortune. This is a Victorian rags-to-riches story. Well, it’s more of a rags-to-riches-to-rags story. As it goes.

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Asthma and Smoking: When Cigarettes Were Medicine

Tue, 14 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In 1946, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company launched an ad campaign with the slogan, “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” Long before Camel cigarettes became the doctor-approved cigarette of choice, at least in advertising, people living with asthma were often instructed to inhale smoke to relieve their symptoms. And that advice was for asthmatic adults – and children. ‘Asthma cigarettes’, as they were called, and related products, weren’t packed full of tobacco, though many did include it; they were, essentially, psychotropic drugs from the nightshade family that people inhaled in hopes of finding respiratory relief. Let's take a look at what kinds of quack – and, to be honest, some not-so-quack – products for asthma before the invention of the modern inhaler.

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That Time Perry Davis Trademarked ‘Pain Killer’ and Then Took It Global

Tue, 07 May 2024 11:49:20 +0000

By the time he was in his 40s, Perry Davis was an entrepreneur who had tried, unsuccessfully, to start multiple businesses; and those failures had left him $4,500 in debt – roughly more than $160,000 today. In 1839, his bad luck continued when he then became ill with debilitating pain. Seeking even just any little bit of relief, he mixed up a concoction, containing mostly opiates and alcohol – a mix that would later become known around the world as, “Perry Davis’ Vegetable Pain Killer.” And Davis would become known as the guy who trademarked the word, ‘painkiller’.

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How the Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company Had Nothing to Do With 'American Indians' or 'Medicine'

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

John Healy wasn’t a real doctor. Charles Bigelow was never a scout in the United States Army. And, the products they sold weren’t actually based on healing secrets of the Kickapoo people. Yet, the two men made a fortune from their Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company patent medicines – which, while named for them, not a single Kickapoo was involved with the company or its remedies. The story of Healy and Bigelow is one of quackery, lies, native cultural appropriation, and ... wait, did we call out the cultural appropriation? Yes? Well, then, let's talk about this.

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‘Where Sick Folks Get Well’: Norman Baker Couldn’t Cure Cancer. Period.

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Norman Baker was an entrepreneur, a pioneering radio personality, and a fake doctor. He was a masterful propagandist, and through his radio station and multiple tabloid publications, he manipulated American anxieties about everything from politics to alleged ills of vaccinations. But his biggest claim was that he could cure cancer, in just six weeks, with his own elixir -- and your money.

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Spoiler! Dr. Williams Pink Pills for Pale People … May Have Worked

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Though the Pink Pills couldn't stand up to the wild advertising claims that the product was a cure-all, the pills were actually potentially medically beneficial to some people with a certain -- common -- condition; in theory. Maybe. Hey, we're not doctors. Let's talk about, how despite that, why this potentially potent patent medicine was under fire from the U.S. government.

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Radioactive Quackery: 'Doctor' Bailey and His Jaw-Dissolving ‘Energy Drink’

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

William Bailey called himself a doctor, but his career was as a shady businessman, not a medical professional. In the early 20th century, he launched a series of start-up companies, capitalizing on the new discoveries of radioactive elements, and sold patent medicine products with lethal radioactive substances with unproven promises to cure everything from arthritis to impotence – it was said they could help you regain your youth. But instead, they were deadly.

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How Perkins Tractors Taught Us the Placebo Effect

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today, if you’re asked to think of a tractor, most of us probably imagine farm equipment. But in the late 18th century, a physician named Elisha Perkins made and sold a different kind of tractor – a device consisting of small metal rods that could cure what ails you simply through touch. And for several years, people were mad for the Perkins Patent Metallic Instruments, or Perkins Tractors as they became popularly known -- even though it all turned out to be what we now know as the placebo effect.

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Madame Yale Made a Fortune as America’s 19th-century ‘Wellness Guru’

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

When Maude Mayberg was 38 years old, this was back in 1890, she 'discovered' an elixir that transformed her life. It was called Fruitcura, she said, and it cured her ailments when medical doctors could not. Two years later, she was a patent medicine entrepreneur and saleswoman going by the name, Madame Yale. Let’s talk about how that’s code for, snake oil peddler.

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How ‘Rattlesnake King’ Clark Stanley Became King of Snake Oil Sales

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Clark Stanley was a silver-tongued Texas cowboy who called himself the ‘Rattlesnake King’. Back in the late 19th century, he wasn’t the first charlatan going from town to town in the American West, hawking quack products -- during this time when patent medicines were gaining popularity, American consumers could buy all sorts of fraudulent snake oil products like his. But Clark had a certain flair. A certain charisma and showmanship others didn't. And, for a few years, he really was the Rattlesnake King -- and king of the snake oil salesmen.

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Welcome to a New Season of Criminalia: 'THE SNAKE OIL SALESMEN'

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Snake oil. Today the term describes any worthless remedy that's promoted as a cure-all. And, by extension, snake oil salesmen are considered a bunch of rip-off artists who peddle fraudulent goods. We’re rolling straight from the criminal world of blackmail and extortion into a new season -- we’ll see you there, not only with some very real stories about some very bogus things, but also with the cocktails and mocktails made to go with them.

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Welcome to the Season Finale of Criminalia's 'BLACKMAILERS'

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

From illicit love letters to political bribes, everyone has a secret, and it’s the threat of exposure that’s key to this crime -- and we discovered a whole lot of surprising examples along the way -- including a man who built his own submarine, hoping to escape with his payout under Lake Michigan; it sounds made up, but we speak the truth. We have enjoyed sharing these sometimes-almost-unbelievable stories of crime and criminals with you. Listen as Holly and Maria share their favorite shows and drinks from the season in our 'Blackmail' season finale.

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When Blackmail Accidentally Uncovers Political Corruption

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 08:00:00 +0000

This is a story of a Texas oil tycoon, a congressman from Idaho, and a financial commodities broker in Oklahoma City. It’s a story of blackmail, yes. But it’s also a story of political corruption and ethics uncovered by that blackmail. There’s a lot going on here, and pretty much everyone’s guilty.

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Duke of York and Mary Anne Clarke

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Mary Ann Clarke attempted to blackmail her ex-lover, the Duke of York — who led the British army — by threatening to publish his letters. Sounds similar to Wellington but it takes a turn: His political enemies took notice, and they discovered that Mary Ann was selling army commissions (meaning, men who wanted a military rank or promotion would pay off Clarke, who would then demand that the Duke give her clients what they wanted).

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The Story of Walter Minx, the Sears Extortionist and His Homemade Submarine

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 14:42:47 +0000

Milwaukee Magazine once described Walter Minx as slender and fidgety, with, "the kind of sharp-featured handsomeness that the movies had taught people not to trust." He was German-born, and immigrated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his parents, his brother, and his sister in 1925. He aspired to be a successful American businessman; he wanted to make a fortune -- and a name for himself. He did make a name for himself, but not quite the kind as he’d hoped for.

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Blackmail Fail: What Happened When George Ratterman Reformed 'Sin City of the South'

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

When All-American footballer George Ratterman announced his candidacy for sheriff of Campbell County, Kentucky, in April of 1961, he said, “I am told that if I run for sheriff, I will be the victim of all sorts of personal slanderous attacks, but I say to our opponents, let the attacks start now, if they must.” And, well, the attacks did start – culminating in a high-profile set-up of Ratterman in a compromising position with a woman named April Flowers.

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Inheritance Lost: The Murder of Captain Joseph White

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Joseph Jenkins Knapp, Jr. was expecting to receive a sizable inheritance upon the death of his 82-year-old great uncle, wealthy retired shipmaster and trader Captain Joseph White. But with debts piling up, Knapp decided he couldn’t wait for natural causes; in April of 1830, he and his brother, John Francis Knapp, hired a hitman to murder him, faked some blackmail letters, and, in the end, didn't get any inheritance at all.

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‘Acid Burns’: That Time Mae West Was Blackmailed, Know What I Mean? See?

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 12:05:47 +0000

It started just after Labor Day, with an envelope postmarked September 13, 1935, sent special delivery, addressed to Miss Mae West of 570 N. Rossmore, Ravenswood Apartments, Hollywood, California. There was nothing unusual about the envelope, but its contents were a different matter. It was the first of what would become a series of extortion letters threatening disfigurement by acid if she didn't pay $1,000. This wasn’t about keeping secrets or giving favors; it was about taking money from Mae West.

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Why Charles Augustus Howell Was Called the Worst Man in Victorian London

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 13:32:36 +0000

Described by some as a, “charming rogue,” Charles Augustus Howell was a dodgy figure in Victorian art circles, in particular London’s Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood movement. There was extortion. There was forgery. And just a whole lot of unsavory bits. Howell was an art dealer by trade who was also known to manipulate those around him so he could acquire works that would establish and increase his reputation – and his financial security. When that didn’t work, in the words of biographer Humphrey Hare, "Howell did not hesitate to blackmail." So let’s get to know this charming-yet-unsavory character.

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A Murder, a Letter, and the Questions Surrounding King Edward II’s Death

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

This is a story of controversy; actually, more than one controversy. It’s a story of medieval kings and queens, of revenge, and of a letter that challenges the circumstances historians thought they knew surrounding King Edward II’s death – including possible blackmail. Or maybe not blackmail. Stick with us while we try to sort it out.

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How Emily Posts' Philandering Husband Was the Catalyst for Her Career Success

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Philandering husband Edwin Main Post found himself blackmailed by a scorned mistress who threatened to go public with their affair unless he paid her and her publisher to stay silent. This is a story about blackmail, yes, but it isn't actually a story about Edwin, not really; this is the story about how his wife, Emily Price Post, suffered the humiliations of his actions and the blackmail that ensued, and then rose above it. Let’s hop back to Manhattan during the Gilded Age for this story of adultery, blackmail, and bestselling books about etiquette.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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‘Publish and Be Damned!’; and, Harriette Wilson Did

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Regency courtesan Harriette Wilson exposed in her memoirs the names of royal, aristocratic, and political men, whom she then blackmailed to keep their names out of those memoirs. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was, famously, one of those influential names. Arthur was a national hero and wasn’t the kind of man who was easily intimidated; and when Harriette threatened to name his name, he was outraged, leading him to roar the now-famous quote: "Publish and be damned!" Let's talk about what happened next.

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Horrific Murderer and Half-Hearted Blackmailer: Meet Dr. Cream

Tue, 26 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Thomas Neill Cream graduated with honors from Montreal's McGill medical school in 1876. His thesis had been about the effects of chloroform; and he would soon demonstrate just how devastating he could be with toxic compounds. Several people died under his 'care.' But we’re not here to talk about Dr. Cream the murderer; we’re here to talk about his other criminal offense: extortion. Thomas was ultimately undone when he attempted to frame and blackmail other people for his murders. Let’s meet the doctor.

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How Constance Kopp Become New Jersey's First 'Plucky Girl Sheriff'

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 12:05:42 +0000

“I got a revolver to protect us, and I soon had use for it,” stated Constance Kopp when interviewed about the intruders intimidating her family under the cover of darkness at her home. Her assistance with solving the case led to her role as the first female appointed deputy sheriff of Bergen County, New Jersey. Let's talk about how Constance got there in a time when women were not-so-much welcomed into such work.

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Welcome to a New Season of Criminalia: THE BLACKMAILERS

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to a brand new season of Criminalia, where we'll be talking about blackmail throughout history. We’re rolling straight from the criminal world of forgers to one of blackmailers -- we’ll see you there, not only with some very real stories about some very shady things, but also with the cocktails and mocktails made to go with them.

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Welcome to the Season Finale of Criminalia's 'FORGERS'

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the final episode of our season of forgers, where we've been exploring the stories of some of the most amazing forgeries – and those behind them -- throughout history. But it wasn't all about fakes and forgeries. There were plenty of cocktails and mocktails to go around, too.

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The Mechanical 'Turk': Wouldn't You Prefer a Good Game Of Chess?

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

During the 18th century, early animatronics were hot. They were featured in circuses, carnivals, and other touring exhibitions, and were usually built and operated with various parts like axles, chains, cogs, gears, levers, pulleys, wheels, wind-up keys – you get the point. For Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, in 1769, Hungarian inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen’s created the Mechanical Turk, a chess-playing machine that could beat almost any person who played against it. The Turk appeared to be a fully functional artificial intelligence to those who saw and interacted with it. It left audiences delighted, but baffled as to how it worked -- until a young poet named Edgar Allan Poe convinced many audiences it was not what it seemed.

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The Calaveras Skull: The Practical Joke That Almost Changed Human Evolution

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

When a group of miners uncovered a skull deep in a mine shaft on the western slopes of Bald Mountain in Calaveras County, California, it was believed, at least initially, to be a history-changing discovery. The owner of the mine didn't know at first what it was that he'd dug up that day in 1866. And when he shared it with those who might, including the State Geologist of California, things went a bit, well, off the rails.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Truth Behind the 'Cottingley Fairies'

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

In the summer of 1917, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths convinced a whole lot of people, including the famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, they'd seen fairies neat their home -- and they had photographic evidence to prove it. After decades of keeping their ruse a secret, they admitted their "joke was to last two hours, and it has lasted 70 years.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Fake! The Story of Clifford Irving and the Howard Hughes Literary Hoax

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

In the early 1970s, McGraw-Hill Book Company landed what could have been the literary scoop of the 20th century: A writer named Clifford Irving pitched them that he'd obtained the permission of the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes to write a tell-all memoir of the mogul. That manuscript, though, turned out to be one of the biggest literary hoaxes of the 20th century, and it landed Irving in prison.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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The Tiara of Saitaphernes: How Much Art in Museums Is Not What It Seems?

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

In April of 1896, the Louvre announced it had purchased a tiara they believed must have been from the treasure house of a great Scythian king -- and that it had the exciting potential to rewrite ancient history. But only a few days after putting it on display, there were questions about its authenticity. The tiara, they would come to learn, was a fake. And in this episode, we're talking about it as part of a larger conversation of, how much art in museums is not what it seems?

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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False Impressions: Frederic Spitzer and His Master Forgers

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

A 19th-century German goldsmith famous for his forgeries of Renaissance objects, including jewelry and vessels. His fakery was discovered after his death, during a major archive by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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To Be or Not to Be Shakespeare: The Forgeries of William-Henry Ireland

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

"Done to death by slanderous tongues," wrote William Shakespeare in his play, 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Shakespeare may be a renowned English playwright, poet, and actor, but, he has a bit of a credibility problem among some circles, and he has for quite a long time. It's known as the 'Shakespeare Authorship Question', and we're going to talk about some theories that suggest Shakespeare was a fake -- before we talk about a man who wrote a five-act play pretending to be the Bard. That could not have been easy. So, how now, good friends, and welcome.

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Eugène Boban and the Real Story of the Crystal Skulls

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 11:58:22 +0000

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. has a fake crystal skull. And so does the British Museum in London, as does Paris's Quai Branly Museum. As of 2019, it was estimated there are more than a dozen crystal skulls known to exist. Long considered pre-Columbian relics, they've also inspired theories about the occult, aliens, and psychic abilities. But the reality is, none of it's true. Meet Eugène Boban, the real provenance of crystal skulls.

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Alceo Dossena: The Forger Who Sued the Men Who Sold His Forgeries

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Sculptor Alceo Dossena was an impactful figure in the art world of the early 20th century because he created forged masterpieces capable of fooling even the most expert of experts. Critics attributed his pieces to famous classical and Renaissance artists, and his works were sold through dealers and purchased by museums and collectors. But in an unexpected turn of events, the forger sued the dealers who sold his work.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Violin Virtuoso Fritz Kreisler's Great Musical Hoax

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 11:18:13 +0000

Virtuoso Fritz Kreisler was known and is remembered for his artistry as a violinist and composer -- and, also, as an unashamed showman. He was one of the most beloved and best known of the early recording-era artists, and a household name in his day. In fact, he was so adored by his audiences that when he revealed some of the pieces he'd performed and attributed to composers such as Vivaldi, Pugnani, and Couperin were, actually, his own compositions, the critics were irate, but his fans continued to pack concert halls.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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League of Lady Poisoners: Interview with author Lisa Perrin

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Things are a little different on today's episode of our show. Today we're talking to Lisa Perrin, an award-winning illustrator, designer and entrepreneur. Lisa stops by to chat about her new book, “League of Lady Poisoners.” Enjoy!

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Giovanni (Jean) de Sperati: Legendary Philatelic 'Artist'

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Millions of people around the world collect, preserve, and trade or sell postage stamps; the hobby, or investment, is known as, philately. The first stamp forgeries began to show up, well, when the first stamps showed up. The Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive stamp, was issued in 1840, and the world’s first forged stamps followed later that year. Stamp collecting has been called, quote, "the hobby of kings and the king of hobbies." And for a time in the early 20th century, a man named Jean de Sperati was king.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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The Nicotra Forgeries

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 12:06:17 +0000

Some historians believe Italian forger Tobia Nicotra may have produced hundreds of document and signature forgeries attributed to names like Mozart and Galileo, before he was caught in the 1930s. He faded into obscurity, but his forgeries didn't. And for more than 80 years the University of Michigan housed a Galileo manuscript they didn't know was fake -- until a historian named Nick Wilding called its bluff.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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'Lincoln the Lover': The Wilma Frances Minor Collection

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Wilma Minor's 'Lincoln the Lover' forgery has been called one of the most audacious literary hoaxes of all time, and involves an alleged love story between a young Abraham Lincoln and a woman named Ann Rutledge. There was never any conclusive evidence the two had a romantic relationship; there was nothing in the historical record – no letters or notes between them, for instance -- that showed any indication of their love. Until 1928.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Joseph Cosey: 'Yrs. Truly, A. Lincoln'

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 11:48:57 +0000

It's said his own handwriting was a neat and graceful script, not unlike Abraham Lincoln’s. He could fake the hand of Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Baker Eddy, and dozens of other historical figures. In fact, experts believe that a large number of the documents he produced in the early 20th century are still circulating today -- and inaccurately regarded as genuine. This is the story of Martin Coneely, alias, Joseph Cosey, who could sign Benjamin Franklin's name perhaps better than Ben, himself.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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The Fake Etruscan Terracotta Warriors in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 07:00:00 +0000

On Valentine's Day of 1961, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York had to, for the very first time, announce they were housing a fake. Three fakes, actually. After nearly three decades as a prized exhibit, their Etruscan Terracotta Warriors, as they'd become known, were determined to be inauthentic -- but here's the story of how and why The Met should have know that fact before they ever put them on display.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Han van Meegeren's Fake Vermeers

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Dutch painter Han van Meegeren has often been described as a dapper man, with, quote, “a small, birdlike frame constantly aflutter, and irreverent sense of humor.” His life story is anything but small. It's not just about art; it's about deception, fortune, Bakelite, and … Nazis. And, it has an unexpected twist at the end. Welcome to a new season of forgery and forgers, here on Criminalia.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Welcome to a New Season of Criminalia: The Forgers

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Some estimates suggest that as much as 50 percent of all artwork on the market today is likely forged or misattributed. It can be difficult to verify what is authentic and what is counterfeit, from art to music to archaelogical findings. In this new season, we'll talk about who makes these fakes.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Season Finale of Criminalia's 'Firebugs'

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the final episode of Firebugs season, where we've been telling the stories of some of the most destructive blazes and those who set them throughout history. But it wasn't all about fires. There were plenty of cocktails and mocktails to go around, too.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Stories of Arson as Homicide in Medieval Scandinavia

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 07:00:00 +0000

In Old Icelandic,'hús-brenna' means 'house burning', and it was a form of homicide by arson used to settle a vendetta, and sometimes used during political conflicts in medieval Scandinavia. Its sole purpose, make no mistake, was assassination. And it's terrifying.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Meet James Aitken, Patriot Sympathizer and Dockyard Incendiarist

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Opposition to the British crown began years before the battles of the American Revolutionary War broke out in the Thirteen Colonies, and that opposition took many forms, like riots and boycotts. A Scotsman named James Aitken sympathized with the rebels, and stood by them by setting British dockyards on fire – if the Royal Navy didn't have any ships, then England couldn't go to war with the colonies, he believed. Let's talk about who James was, and how he wanted to be an American hero.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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The Execution of Rose Butler

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 10:10:21 +0000

Rose Butler was a teenager performing domestic services for the Morris family of Manhattan when early one morning a small fire broke out. Though no one was injured, and the fire was quickly extinguished, the family accused Rose of intentionally setting it. A capital crime in New York, she was executed, making her the last person hanged for arson in the state. But her story involves something much deeper than a book of matches. Let's talk about what really brought Rose to the gallows.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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All the Times San Francisco Burned Down During the Gold Rush

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 08:14:36 +0000

Between 1849 and 1851, peak years of the Gold Rush, San Francisco was almost entirely destroyed by fire seven times. And there was something about these fires, at least the majority of them, that seemed somehow not accidental. Some were suspicious because they seemed to start at odd times, or when someone's temper was flaring, or they seemed to break out when, what locals reported as "odd people" were hanging around.

Seven's a lot of fires, and we'll talk about some additional smaller blazes, too.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Firefighter Firebugs: The Small but Impactful Phenomenon

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Firefighters who set fires, officially called 'firefighter arsonists', may be small in number, but they definitely make an impact. While things like insurance fraud and covering up another crime are common motives for arson outside the firefighting community, experts say those aren't what drive firefighter arsonists. So how does this happen? How does a firefighter turn into arsonist? Well. Let's take a look.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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'Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning': New York City in the 1970s

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 10:51:57 +0000

The Bronx in the 1970s was a perfect storm of things going wrong in New York City: poor urban planning, white flight, budget cuts to municipal and social services, and discriminatory practices coverged into a pressure cooker -- and the outcome was fiery and devastating. But we can't talk about the Bronx burning without ending on the phoenix that emerged from the rubble: the birth of hip-hop.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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The Drunken Night When Alexander the Great Burned Persepolis

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 07:06:39 +0000

Alexander the Great burned Persepolis to the ground during a night of drunken revelry, after being encouraged to do so by a Greek courtesan named Thaïs. It's said she told Alexander torching the royal palace would be among his crowning achievements, and it's said she inspired his soldiers and followers to take up torches. That is, at least, according to legend. Let's talk about the downfall of the Persian Empire and why anyone would have wanted to torch Persepolis.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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The Night Herostratus Destroyed One of the Seven Wonders of the World

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 08:08:26 +0000

On the night of July 21, in 356 BCE, a man named Herostratus took a walk to the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus … and burned it down. "First," he said of his crime, "I was very scared, then it all went away once I imagined the fame I would have … ." In this episode we're shining the spotlight on the ancient Greek who burned one of the Seven Wonders of the World to the ground.

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The Dramatic Life and Death of a Scuba-Clad Arsonist: Michael Marin

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 07:07:34 +0000

"Michael Marin couldn't pay his mortgage, so he burned down his house," began Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Chris Rapp in the prosecution's opening statements at Mr. Marin's arson trial. In this episode about firebugs, Holly and Maria talk about a convicted arsonist who used arson with the intention of committing insurance fraud. But when the case went to court, things took an unexpected turn.

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Les Pétroleuses: 'Savage Hordes of She-Devils'

Tue, 30 May 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Join Holly and Maria for a new season of Criminalia, one that's all about arson. In this episode, get introduced to a creature known as the 'pétroleuse', and why according to the rumors around Paris in May of 1871, these 'unruly' female incendiaries were to blame for burning down much of the city.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Season Finale of Criminalia's 'Confidence Artists'

Tue, 23 May 2023 07:07:57 +0000

Welcome to the final episode of our season on grifts and grafts here on Criminalia, where we've been exploring the stories of some of the most notorious swindles and swindlers throughout history. And, of course there were plenty of cocktails and mocktails to go around, too. Listen as Holly and Maria continue their tradition, highlighting their Top 3 shows and favorite drinks of the season.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Season 10 of Criminalia: THE FIREBUGS

Tue, 16 May 2023 07:00:00 +0000

They're called arsonists, torchers, pyromaniacs, and firebugs – and each of their stories is unique, in technique, in damage, and in motivation to set things aflame. Welcome to a new season of Criminalia, where we're talking about arson and the firebugs responsible for igniting illegal blazes throughout history.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Famous Landmarks for 'Sale': For You? Half Price.

Tue, 16 May 2023 07:00:00 +0000

The phrase, "There's a sucker born every minute," is attributed to P.T. Barnum, but it could be about this episode: We're talking about con artists who swindled people into buying some really famous landmarks. George C. Parker sold the Brooklyn Bridge. Among Victor Lustig's most audacious scams was when he sold the Eiffel Tower. And a man known as Natwarlal made a name for himself selling the Taj Mahal among other famous landmarks in India. Let's look at what happened when each of these guys dipped a toe into real estate.

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Leo Koretz and the Bayano River Syndicate

Tue, 09 May 2023 07:06:27 +0000

Those who considered themselves financially savvy in Chicago in the early 1920s wanted in on one investment: the Bayano River Syndicate. It was an exclusive investment, and centered around oil-rich lands in Panama. And a mild-mannered, balding, and bespectacled lawyer named Leo Koretz was the guy who held the key to investing in it. But Koretz wasn't who he seemed, and neither were his oil fields in Panama.

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Inheritance Cons: Meet the Bakers and the 'Drakers'

Tue, 02 May 2023 07:06:38 +0000

In this 2-for-1 inheritance scam special, Holly and Maria talk about William Cameron Morrow Smith and Oscar Hartzell, who, separately, bilked thousands of people out of millions of dollars, just by telling them they might be in line to receive a huge fortune. Spoiler alert on that: There was no fortune.

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There’s Something About Mary -- But It’s Not Royal Blood

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 07:00:00 +0000

There was something about Mary, but despite her claims, it wasn't an inheritance, prestigious titles, peerage, or any aristocratic honors. Mary Carelton became famous-for-being-famous when the paparazzi and media of her day caught wind of a scandal involving her. It wasn't about her penchant for pretending to be a princess -- as it turns out, it was for bigamy.

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How “Dr.” Samuel Bennett Became the 'King of the Thimbles'

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 07:19:01 +0000

You can't talk about confidence artists and their games without talking about one of the classics: the shell game. It's been called a lot of things over the decades, and during the time and place we're going to visit in this episode, it was 'thimblerig'. It's often portrayed as a gambling game, but it's actually a con used to fleece unsuspecting bettors. Samuel Bennett was one of the best-known 'thimbleriggers' – perhaps ever, depending who you ask – and he made a fortune scamming passengers on steamboats along America's waterways in the 19th century.

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The So-Called 'Dr.' Blood and His 'Oxygenized Air' Cure

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 09:37:57 +0000

In January of 1881, the Cincinnati Examiner described Charles Lewis Blood as a "very affable" man, but questioned his right to the title M.D. And the Boston Globe described him as having a, "national reputation for crooked work.” In fact, he did have career in crooked work. "Dr." Blood ran a long con peddling patent medicine he called, oxygenized air -- which was actually nitrous oxide. And it's not the only crime he was involved in during his confidence career.

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The Legend of Jefferson 'Soapy' Smith, Uncrowned King of Skagway

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Jefferson 'Soapy' Smith had a different sort of destiny than his siblings, who were doctors and lawyers. Soapy led a dishonest life that included bribery and graft, fraud, theft, and extortion. When he discovered that he could make more money with less effort by being clever, he changed his line of work to running confidence games on gullible westerners, from soaps scams Colorado to fleecing prospectors in Alaska.

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The Miners Who Fooled Millionaires: The Great Diamond Hoax

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 07:00:00 +0000

During the 19th century it seemed like the American West held endless possibilities for great wealth, and Americans were looking for that next big thing. Two Kentucky swindlers, taking advantage of gemstone fever, lured some of the country's biggest bankers and businnessmen -- and the founder of Tiffany & Co. -- into a jewel con with claims of having discovered a large deposit of diamonds. The value of their diamond mine would have exceeded $86 million in today's money. If it had been real.

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Sarah Emily Howe and the Ladies' Deposit Company

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Calling herself a financial agent, Sarah Emily Howe introduced the women of the greater Boston area to the Ladies’ Deposit Company, which potentially sounds a lot better than what it really was: a swindle. The Ladies' Deposit was a savings bank that promised women a very high interest rate on deposits – so high, it seemed to impossible. It relied on referrals, and Sarah used the deposits she collected from those new customers to pay the large returns she'd promised to early customers. If that sounds like a Ponzi scheme to you, you're right -- but it happened about 40 years before Ponzi, himself, tried it.

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Reed C. Waddell and the Goldbrick Game

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 10:23:12 +0000

Psst, buddy, want to buy some cheap gold? It may appear to be a gold bar on the surface, but in reality, what's for sale is something far less valuable. American Reed C. Waddell is credited with one of the most celebrated cons among cons – the goldbrick swindle. You'll never find a better deal!

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'Cazique' Gregor MacGregor, the Man Who Fabricated a Country

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Poyais: a magical place, and the picture of Caribbean paradise. And according to Scottish swindler Gregor MacGregor, it could all be yours … if you invested in his land, Poyais. In the early 19th century, MacGregor invented his own country, and then conned investors into buying the bonds of a country that did not exist.

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Lord Gordon-Gordon, the Robber of Robber-Barons

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 12:00:40 +0000

Between the years 1869 and 1874, a man calling himself Lord Gordon-Gordon swindled the wealthy populations of Scotland, England, the United States, and Canada. Until he began pulling cons in the late 19th century, though, there isn't much information about this guy. We don't even know what his real name was. But we do know he had endless charm and charisma that helped him bilk people out of millions of dollars, including one of the richest and most ruthless railroad tycoons in American history.

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Ann O'Delia Diss Debar, Spirit Princess and Worst Woman In The World

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Ann O'Delia Diss Debar was a medium and a fortune teller who was once described by the famous performer Harry Houdini as, quote, “one of the most extraordinary fake mediums and mystery swindlers the world has ever known.” She made her name -- well, her many names -- as a spiritualist with occult powers, but she was 100 percent fraud. And from 1870 to 1910, she bilked people for millions of dollars around the world.

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Lonely Hearts: 'They're Not Your Honey if They're Asking for Money'

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 13:55:46 +0000

Back in the mid-20th century, a widow named Susanna Mildred Hill began placing newspaper ads posing as a much younger woman looking for love. Once she had fraudulently won the affection of hundreds of pen pals, she asked each for a gift of money -- and she successfully did so for years. Known as the Lonely Hearts Scam, this con continues to be big criminal business. We're going to talk about romance scams, and how to keep yourself safe from falling for it.

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William A. Rockefeller Sr.: The Vagabond Lothario of the Family

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 11:01:55 +0000

Bill Rockefeller Sr. once bragged that he taught his sons about business by swindling them: "I trade with the boys and skin 'em. I want to make 'em sharp.” But the Rockefeller name and money were established not by Bill, but by his eldest son, John D. Rockefeller Sr., who founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870. Bill, himself, had no interest in things like family or work. He liked to roam, and created a career on the road, peddling worthless trinkets and miracle elixirs. This is the story of the thorn in the side of the Rockefeller family.

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'May I Borrow Your Watch?': William Thompson, America's Original Confidence Man

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 08:17:08 +0000

William Thompson certainly was not the first person involved in the con game. We can assume people have been tricking and cheating each other likely since there were people to trick and cheat. We really don’t know a whole lot about William’s life. He just sort of pops up in the historical record when he starts getting noticed around the streets of New York City -- which, as you might imagine, is not good for the con business. He may have been small time, but he was the guy responsible for helping coin the term, confidence man -- or con man.

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Bertha Heyman: America's 'Confidence Queen'

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Legendary New York City police detective Thomas F. Byrnes once described Bertha Heyman as "one of the smartest confidence women in America." And she was considered among New York City police to be, “the boldest and most expert of the many female adventuresses who infested the country” at the close of the 19th century. Let's meet this so-called Confidence Queen.

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Dr. Albert Abrams and His Oscilloclast: Charlatan or Visionary

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 08:00:00 +0000

His medical contemporaries once considered him to be a "clever, money-mad neuropath." But what makes Dr. Albert Abrams a bit different than other charlatans we’ll meet this season is that though he was dismissed within the medical community for quackery in his time, he probably wasn’t a guy running a con – at least not on purpose.

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Madame Rachel: the Victorian Swindler Who Sold Bogus Beauty

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Their crimes may vary, but con artists have this one thing in common: the power of persuasion to take advantage of people. And in this episode, we’re talking about how one woman known as Madame Rachel took advantage of Victorian high society with her pricey promises of eternal youth.

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Welcome to the Season 8 Finale of Criminalia: The Artnappers

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Despite the fact that many priceless works are today carefully preserved and placed under heavy security and surveillance, there are numerous examples in history of thieves simply finding a way. Although the methods used to conduct art heists have evolved, sometimes it doesn’t take an ingenious Hollywood-esque plan involving rappelling through a skylight to make your mark. Sometimes, thefts are opportunistic – say, someone didn’t turn the security alarm on at night, or someone left the bathroom window open. And it wasn't just all about the heists. There were plenty of cocktails and mocktails to go around, too. Listen as Holly and Maria continue their tradition, and talk about their Top 3 favorite shows and favorite drinks of the season.

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Welcome to Season 9 of Criminalia: The Art of the Con

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 08:56:26 +0000

It was a charming and persuasive man named William Thompson who is considered to have been the original confidence artist – although that’s a title that’s probably difficult to pin down. Welcome to a new season of Criminalia, where we'll be talking about master swindlers, offering things too good to be true throughout history.

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The Night the Nazi’s Stole Michelangelo’s Mask of a Faun

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 08:52:25 +0000

Mask of a Faun may not be a piece that first comes to mind when you think of Michelangelo’s portfolio of work. But it’s an important one, because it's the first marble sculpture he made. And more than 450 years after Michelangelo chiseled the details, Mask of a Faun was looted by the Nazis, and it hasn’t been seen since.

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The Day the Dalí Escaped From Prison

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 12:39:47 +0000

The one thing that might be weirder than an original Salvador Dalí painting being stolen from the walls of the New York City Department of Corrections, is the fact that an original Salvador Dalí painting hung for nearly 40 years in the lobby of the Rikers Island jail complex in the first place.

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Small Talk With Mo Rocca: 'Mobituaries' and Perspective on Historical Crimes

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 10:47:09 +0000

Things are a little different on today's episode of our show: Today we're talking to Mo Rocca. Among the many interesting things he's involved with, Mo is the host and creator of the hit podcast "Mobituaries" and author of the New York Times bestselling book, Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving. Join us as we talk about historical crimes, obituaries, and Mo's favorite cocktail/mocktail.

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The Legend of The Horses of St. Mark’s

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 08:00:00 +0000

No one knows when Emperor Constantine installed the gilded Triumphal Quadriga sculpture in his new capital city, Constantinople, near the triumphal arch which led to the Hippodrome. How it got to Constantinople has been lost to the ages, and, so is its origin story. What we do know is these four horses have traveled from Chios to Constantinople; to Venice, Paris, and back to Venice again, with some interesting stops along the way. This sculpture is best known as The Horses of St. Mark’s, and what we do know about it begins after it was stolen during the Sack of Constantinople, in April of 1204.

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The Ghent Altarpiece: Chasing the Lost 'Just Judges' Panel

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Napoleon once stole several of its panels. The Nazis; they took the whole thing. The Ghent Altarpiece, also known as Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, has been the victim of more than a dozen crimes, including several thefts. Commissioned in the 15th century, it is, today, considered the most famous Flemish painting from the Renaissance period. Since it's completion, though, the work has been cut in half, nearly damaged in fire, and hidden in salt mines -- and part of it's still missing today. It's kind of a miracle it's made it this far through history.

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The Skylight Caper: Canada's Biggest Unsolved Art Heist

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 08:00:00 +0000

One the world's greatest unsolved art thefts happened in Montréal, Québec, Canada, in 1972. Seventeen paintings remain missing, and the cat burglars behind the incident have never been apprehended. In fact, the story sounds a lot like a Hollywood script. Under the cover of darkness, three men entered the building through the one skylight that was under repair, and rappelled into the museum galleries below. It was, it's agreed, a very cinematic theft.

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Who Was Jacob de Gheyn III and Why Do People Keep Stealing His Portrait?

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 11:33:40 +0000

“We have some bad news, sir. The Rembrandt is gone again,” the investigating officer told the gallery director at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Rembrandt painted during the 17th century, and as part of his completed works you’ll find a portrait of a man named Jacob de Gheyn III, an engraver who commissioned the painting. The piece has since been nicknamed, the Takeaway Rembrandt, because it’s been stolen so many times – four times, so far, and from the same gallery. And here's its story.

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Title Who Really Stole Goya's 'The Duke'?

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 11:49:04 +0000

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, is probably best remembered for his defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. A military general, he became a leading military and political figure of 19th-century Britain. And, his portrait, painted by Goya, also became a target of theft from the National Gallery in London – though not for reasons any of us might image. The Duke was once quoted as saying, “The only thing I am afraid of is fear.” We wonder, though, how he felt about ... ransom?

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The Day Polish Pirates Pinched the Last Judgment

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 06:56:21 +0000

For some, the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian bible is an apocalyptic prophecy, involving the second coming of Christ and the judgment of souls. And the imagery for that interpretation is seen in artwork over the centuries, including The Last Judgment triptych. You may wonder, but which one? And you're right -- there are actually several Last Judgments. But only one has been stolen -- by pirates.

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The Heist That Turned the Mona Lisa Into a Star

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa has been described as, “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world.” She's been immortalized in everything from Andy Warhol’s pop art to Dan Brown’s bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. But there was a time when the Mona Lisa was not well known, if you can imagine – and it took a man named Vincenzo Peruggia to launch her into stardom.

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The Time 5 Thieves Paid an Entrance Fee to Steal 9 Paintings

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Art heists can often look and sound like something out of a Hollywood script. One time, two thieves lifted two Van Gogh paintings from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and they entered the premises through the roof -- Mission Impossible-style … ish. In this new season of Criminalia, we’re telling the stories of, and looking at the motivations for, art heists throughout history. In this episode, we’re talking about five men who were brazen enough to buy tickets to a museum and pull off an art heist in broad daylight.

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Did the Sicilian Mafia Really Feed Caravaggio’s Nativity to the Pigs?

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence considered a 17th century masterpiece, created by Italian painter Caravaggio in 1609. Nativity has been missing since it was nicked by thieves in Palermo in 1969. No one for sure knows who stole it, or why they stole it, but what might have become of it has sparked dozens of tales. One prominent theory is that it was stolen by the mafia – and, quite possibly, eaten by pigs.

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Welcome to Season 8 of Criminalia: THE ARTNAPPERS

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

The most famous art heist happened in 81 minutes, when two men dressed in law enforcement uniforms stole 13 masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990. But the art heist isn't a recent phenomenon; in fact, it's been part of Western culture since the 1400s. Welcome to a brand new season of Criminalia, where we’ll be telling the stories of bold art thieves who took priceless paintings, sculptures, and other forms of visual art from galleries, museums, as well as from other public and private locations.

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Welcome to the Season 7 Finale of Criminalia: The Treasonists

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Author and historian Andro Linklater once said, “Some people are born to treachery.” It seems like it. It was an season of interesting moments, for sure. Treason, pretty generally, is the crime of betraying a nation or a sovereign by acts considered dangerous to security. A cursory glance suggests … well … that there were a lot of variables from show to show, not only in regard to treasonous activities, but also when it came to motivations. And there were plenty of cocktails and mocktails to go around, too. Listen as Holly and Maria continue their tradition, and talk about their Top 3 favorite shows and favorite drinks of the season.

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Kōtoku Shūsui Wasn't Part of the Kōtoku Incident; Or Was He?

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 07:00:00 +0000

It began with the discovery of bomb-making materials at the home of a man named Miyashita Takichi, in the Nagano Prefecture. And it resulted in what became known as, the High Treason Incident, a socialist-anarchist bomb plot to assassinate Japanese Emperor Meiji in 1910. The fall-out led to the convictions of 26 people on charges of high treason against the Imperial family, including well-known anarchist, Kōtoku Shūsui.

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No Comment From the Bug House: When Ezra Pound Was Charged With Treason

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 12:50:27 +0000

“Europe calling! Pound speaking! Ezra Pound speaking!” came over the airwaves in more than 100 shortwave broadcasts from Rome, directed toward America during WWII. Ezra Pound was an American ex-pat, poet, and intellectual who was a major figure of the Modernist literary movement in early-to-mid 20th century -- and was also a fascist collaborator and anti-Semite arrested for treason against the United States for his radio broadcasts.

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Will the Real Sidney Reilly Please Stand Up?

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Many knew this man as Sidney Reilly, but his real name was Sigmund Georgievich Rosenblum -- probably. Historians do know he was a British intelligence officer, and he’s considered the most accomplished spy in history. But, most of Reilly’s account of who he was and what he did was probably a lie. We can be certain of one thing; he was executed for treason, on the order of Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union.

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John Brown: The First American to Hang for Treason

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 07:00:00 +0000

He was arrested in 1859 for his role in the Harpers Ferry raid – an event that set the stage for the American Civil War. He was convicted of treason, as well as for murder, and for instigating insurrection. We’re talking about American abolitionist John Brown, the first person executed for treason in the United States.

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Lavrentiy Beria, the Chief of Stalin's Secret Police Who Was Executed as a Traitor

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

“Let me have a man for one night, and I’ll have him confessing he’s the king of England,” Lavrentiy Beria bragged to his colleague, Nikita Khrushchev. He was intelligent and intriguing and cynical. He was also violent, unethical, and prone to using ruthless measures, including kidnapping, torture, rape, and murder. And he was almost the ruler of the Soviet Union after the Second World War – until his former colleagues executed him for treason.

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The Political and Rebellious Life of Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 11:21:11 +0000

The first time Robert Wilcox incited rebellion was in an effort to overthrow the so-called Bayonet Constitution and the newly-formed provisional government of Hawaii. The second time was when he tried to restore the deposed monarch, Queen Liliʻuokalani, and the Native Hawaiian government. His revolts led to his arrest on charges of treason – treason, technically, against an illegitimate government.

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The Complicity of Magdalena Rudenschöld in the Armfelt Conspiracy

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

This is the story of a noble woman convicted for crimes against her country because of her devotion to the wrong person. To talk about how Magdalena Rudenschöld found herself a traitor to the Kingdom of Sweden and imprisoned for it, we need to talk about that wrong person -- a Swedish courtier and diplomat named Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, and the conspiracy that was named for him.

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The Execution of Mary Surratt

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

More than a century after these events unfolded, there continues to be debate among historians as to whether or not Mary Surratt was or was not involved in the plot to assassinate U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. What we know for sure, though, is Mary was hanged for treason in the summer of 1865.

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Chidiock Tichborne: The Poet Who Fell in With a Regicidal Crowd

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Chidiock Tichborne was a poet raised Catholic among Protestants. He is known to history as one of the conspirators involved in a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant, and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic. Let's talk about how his involvement in what was called the Babington Plot led to his execution for high treason.

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The United States v. Douglas Chandler: America's ‘Lord Haw-Haw’

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 07:00:00 +0000

This American traitor used the pseudonym 'Paul Revere’ when he broadcast over the airways. But it was the pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic agenda that dominated Douglas Chandler’s radio show that was problematic for the United States government, not his nom de plume.

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'Down With the Coal Barons!': When the Red Neck Army Went to War

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 12:12:34 +0000

The New York Times published daily news on the events, reporting “Fighting continues in mountains as federal troops reach Mingo; planes reported bombing miners.” Just about 100 years ago, the conflict between West Virginia coal miners and mining companies escalated to violence not seen in the United States since the Civil War -- and it resulted in multiple charges of treason.

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Thomas Dorr and the Time When Rhode Island Had 2 Governors

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Once, the state of Rhode Island had two governors at the same time. True story. Thomas Wilson Dorr was elected governor under a new state constitution. The problem with that, though, was that Rhode Island already had a governor.

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Vice President Aaron Burr and the Burr Conspiracy

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 07:00:00 +0000

"We of the jury say that Aaron Burr is not proved to be guilty under this indictment by any evidence submitted to us. We therefore find him not guilty [of treason]." But how did a vice president find himself in that position, to begin with? Welcome to the first episode in our new season, The Treasonists.

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Welcome to Season 7 of Criminalia: THE TREASONISTS

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 08:23:59 +0000

“Some people are born to treachery,” and it’s those people we’re interested in, in this brand new season. The treasonists. The traitors. Welcome to season 7 of Criminalia.

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Welcome to the Season 6 Finale of Criminalia

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 08:22:08 +0000

This season there were plenty of stories of those who dug up the dead for cash -- for various reasons, but really, two primary: to sell them to medical schools, or to maybe get something for it, like ransom. And there were plenty of cocktails and mocktails to go around. Holly and Maria continue their tradition, and talk about which were their favorites shows and favorite drinks of the season. See you there.

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How Andreas Vesalius Proved Women Have Just as Many Teeth as Men

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Andreas Vesalius (Andries van Wesel) was a 16th-century Flemish anatomist whose work revolutionized the study of the human body. And he was able to do so because he was also a body snatcher -- and though he never would have called himself one, he was known to share hands-on tips for how to find fresh corpses. He used human cadavers for hands-on observations, and published groundbreaking, forward-thinking works about how our bodies function. And in doing so, he became the father of modern anatomy.

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Dr. Joseph Warren: American Revolutionist and Secret Spunker

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 07:00:00 +0000

No one truly knows the identities of those who participated in the Boston Tea Party, but one man’s name always ends up on the usual suspects list -- and that's Dr. Joseph Warren: physician and revolutionist. And, resurrection man. Warren, along with some very well-known names, founded an illicit secret society at Harvard in the late 1700s -- the Spunker Club.

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Lead By Crime Boss James “Big Jim” Kennally

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 07:00:00 +0000

The first attempt at snatching and ransoming Abraham Lincoln's body was in 1876. It didn’t work out, as you’ll see. But it wasn’t the only attempt at snatching Lincoln’s remains -- and, as it turns, none of them worked out. Lead by counterfeit crime boss James “Big Jim” Kennally, here's what really went down when the Kennally gang tried to snatch Lincoln and spring their man Benjamin Boyd from prison.

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Meet the So-Called Night Doctors: Chris Baker and Grandison Harris

Mon, 30 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

The stories of both Chris Baker and Grandison Harris take place during the American Civil War and period of Reconstruction. Both were body snatchers, or night doctors as they were known in the south, and each worked exclusively for a medical school -- and both men were enslaved.

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William Cunningham, the Ghoul of Cincinnati

Tue, 24 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Resurrectionist William Cunningham was actively stealing bodies from grave sites around Cincinnati from 1855 to 1871. He was well known, and he was something of a legend. He once returned to the same gravesite at which he had earlier been caught digging – after he’d bought those who had detained him a drink. He dressed the bodies he stole. And, he had a “villainous bald head.”

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Cranioklepty, Skulduggery, and the Time of Phrenology

Tue, 17 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Snatching bodies from graves to sell them to medical and anatomy schools was once a super-common reason for disinterring corpses, but it’s definitely not the only reason people have disturbed the dead. And as strange as this may sound, it turns out many people have had their skull stolen from their grave -- sometimes for research, sometimes for ransom, and sometimes, because they were considered prized possessions.

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Meet John Hunter, the Patron Saint of Body Snatchers

Tue, 10 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

So far in our season of body snatching, we’ve been looking at things mainly from the point of view of the snatcher. But we’re going to change that up a little. Scottish surgeon John Hunter was “the patron saint of the body snatchers.” What do you have to do to earn that title? Well. Let’s find out.

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Burke, Hare, and the Anatomy Murders of Edinburgh

Tue, 03 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Contrary to popular belief, the famous body-snatching duo of William Burke and William Hare were not actually body snatchers. They never robbed graves at all -- they had their own way of supplying anatomists with fresh corpses, and it didn’t involve the graveyard. They simply killed people. And a new word was coined from the pair’s murderous practices: ‘burking'.

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William Jansen, a King Among Ghouls

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

He was hardly the only professional body snatcher in Washington, D.C. in the late 19th century, but William M. Jansen is definitely one of the most colorful. He snatched the body of Charles Shaw, and sold it. And then he stole it a second time. And it all happened within 36 hours of Shaw’s death. Here's how it went down.

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The Body-Snatching ‘Borough Gang’ of London

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Welcome to first episode of a new season of Criminalia. This season we're talking about body snatchers, and the bodies they snatched. Ben Crouch was the son of a carpenter, and was a well-known prizefighter in his day. He’s described as a tall, flamboyantly-dressed man with a pox-marked face who loved to wear gold jewelry, especially gold rings. He could be violent and intimidating -- and he was the leader of London's most notorious group of body snatchers in the 1810s.

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Welcome to Season 6 of Criminalia: The Resurrectionists

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

In season 6 of Criminalia, you can expect to hear about those who dug up the dead for cash. Grave robbers dug up graves to steal valuable items that had been buried with the deceased. As did tomb raiders. They were known to take everything but the body. Body snatchers and resurrectionists, though, stole bodies from graves. The first recorded case of body snatching is attributed to four medical students in Bologna, Italy, in 1319 -- and we'll start there, to find out why.

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Welcome to the Season 5 Finale of Criminalia: Top 3s

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Holly and Maria continue their tradition: At the end of each season, they pick their favorites shows and favorite cocktails and mocktails. Tell us about the stories and drinks you liked best on social media – #criminalia. Let's see which ones we have in common.

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Defamation and the Devil: False Accusations of Witchcraft

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Let’s talk about witch panic. If your crime is not of being a witch, but rather of falsely accusing and then punishing an alleged witch, what led up to that moment? Well, probably more than one thing. There’s a lot of talk about the religious factors that have long been part of purging witches, and while that’s often a fair explanation based on the time and place, it’s not the only explanation. Misogyny. Jealousy. Dreams. Lots of things are in this cauldron.

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April Fools' Day: Did Alchemy Prank the Modern Sciences?

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

There’s no mistaking that alchemy laid a foundation for the modern science of chemistry. And though the contributions of alchemists have been dismissed by scholars for years – centuries, to be more accurate -- some of the names we recognize as being influential in the early days of our modern sciences were also alchemists. Whether it was known they were practicing alchemists, that’s a different story.

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Aristotle, al-Fārābī, and the Dawn of Arabic Alchemy

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Al-Fārābī learned from the Greeks, but he wrote for Muslims. This polymath translated Greek works on science and philosophy, offering important commentaries on both Aristotle and Plato -- in the Arabic language. You might be thinking, neither Plato nor Aristotle were nor are considered alchemists. Yes, but they formulated some ideas that went on to become part of the fabric of the traditions of alchemy, not only Arabic alchemy. And al-Fārābī is responsible for showing us that.

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Agnes Sampson and the Plot to Assassinate the King

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Agnes Sampson was a midwife and local cunning woman in a small village in Scotland at the end of the 16th century when she was accused of practicing witchcraft and conspiring with the devil. After extreme torture, she confessed to 53 indictments against her -- including a plot to assassinate King James VI.

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How Mary the Jewess Helped Your Hollandaise

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 08:00:00 +0000

"One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the One as the fourth.” That’s the most famous axiom attributed to Mary the Jewess, who, it’s said, is the first known alchemist of the Western world. She is known to have invented processes and apparatus that went on to be used for centuries, both in and out the scientific community – in fact one of them, you may have used in your home kitchen.

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Dee, John Dee: Codename 007?

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 08:00:00 +0000

John Dee: scientist, or sorceror? Much evidence suggests he inspired Marlowe’s Faustus, Shakespeare’s Prospero, and Ben Johnson’s The Alchemist. He spent much of his life studying alchemy, divination, mathematics, and Hermetic philosophy -- and his library, it's said, housed an amazing 4,000 works. He was accused of using mathematics, of being a conjurer, and of spying for the English crown - which makes sense, because it's rumored John influenced the character of James Bond.

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Theoris of Lemnos, and the Criminalization of Magic

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

The idea of magic wasn’t strange in ancient Greece. But it has a noticeable overlap with what we’d consider science or religion today – with a dash of superstition thrown in for flavor. Magic, it was believed, could provide protection. It was a source of healing. It was a way to ensure you were successful in business, in love, and really in anything you wanted to be successful doing. It could also be used as a method for viewing and predicting the future. But it could also get you arrested, sentenced, and executed -- sometimes.

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Did Mother Shipton Predict the Internet?

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Her real name was Ursula Southeil, but she was known about town as Mother Shipton (and also “Hag Face”). She was believed to be the love child of a 15-year-old girl and the devil, himself. She was known as a powerful prophetess. While some scholars have argued that she a work of fiction, there are those, however, that argue she was an actual person, with her story embellished through local tradition into a folk legend.

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The Tale of William Butler and the Fake Philosopher’s Stone

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Eccentric alchemist Dr. William Butler is described as being a "well-known alchemist, the pretended discoverer of the philosopher's stone and of a powder for bringing the dead to life.” In this episode, we're serving up a case of alchemy with a side of lies.

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The Extreme and Brutal Pappenheimer Witch Trial

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 13:26:00 +0000

The Pappenheimers were an itinerant family from Bavaria. Accused of murder and practicing black magic by just one person, a known thief, the family was tried and executed for having been instruments of the devil. Their trial was of one of the most well-publicized witch trials in German history, and it also exhibited sadistic accounts of torture.

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Georg Honauer and the Counterfeit Gold

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Georg Honauer was maybe a scientist. He was maybe a goldsmith. He was definitely, a fraudulent alchemist in the service of Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg. And when he couldn't fulfill the sensational promises he made -- turning 2 tons of iron into 2 tons of gold, the duke ordered his execution. Welcome to Criminalia, where all that glitters is not gold.

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Matteuccia di Francesco: The Woman Who Could Fly

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Imagine one day your local pharmacist is arrested and accused of drinking the blood of infants and flying on the back of a goat to an orgy involving the devil. From the 14th through the 18th century, there were some wild superstitions about witches. The first witch to confess to riding a broom was a man: Guillaume Edelin. But it was Matteuccia di Francesco who was the first accused and tried for flying.

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Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, the 'Scientific Swindler'

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 08:00:00 +0000

More than 500 years after his death, Heinrich Agrippa is considered one of the most influential occult philosophers of the early modern period. But not everyone in his lifetime was pleased with his theories and experimentation. While his work was denounced as heretical, it, and the work of fellow alchemists, laid the foundation for what we now call chemistry.

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Agnes Waterhouse and Her Cat, Satan

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Agnes, also known as Mother Waterhouse, was accused of bewitching to death William Fynne. In the bigger picture, she was accused of using witchcraft to cause illness -- and her 18-year-old daughter was accused of the same crime. Agnes was hanged for a crime you may not guess, becoming the first woman executed for witchcraft in England.

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Stedelen: Swiss Sorcerer or Village Scapegoat?

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000

A man named Stedelen was accused of practicing witchcraft between the years 1397 and 1406, in Switzerland. His was one of the earliest trials for maleficium and diabolism in Europe, and for certain, in Switzerland – at least according to the historical record.

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Ursula Kemp and the St Osyth Witches

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000

For centuries according to the historical record, it was midwives who were most often prosecuted for witchcraft. Often in the historical record, midwives were written of as, quote, "unwomanly." And of course not assuming all 16th --century midwives are alike, many were considered suspicious for such things as being unmarried, or for their sexual behavior. Ursula Kemp made a living as a midwife -- and that made her a good choice as a scapegoat.

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Welcome to Season 5 of Criminalia: Witches and Alchemists

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 20:56:45 +0000

Season 5 is going to be all about witchcraft and alchemy, and the fate of many who practiced such things – or, who maybe didn't. And just like we always do, we'll look at the lives and motivations of some of women and men who were accused of using the so-called 'black arts' throughout the centuries.

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Season 4 Finale: Walking the Plank

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000

One of the problems with uncovering the real stories of pirate legends is that there isn't always much historical evidence about many of them, especially if they never were captured or put on trial. If there is evidence of their lives, the stories often – but not always -- have been embellished. Embellished or not, though, they did all have interesting stories. Among the pirates, we did definitely had our favorites – as we're sure you have, too.

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The Unrepentant and Really Good Pirate, Charles Vane

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Charles Vane has been described as good, but unlucky, in his career of piracy during the Golden Age of Piracy. He's often spoken of as being one of the most skilled pirate captains among his peers, which included men such as Blackbeard and Black Bart. He was also known as a cruel and ruthless pirate who tortured and murdered his prisoners. And as captain, he preferred punishing his crew with extreme tortures. And he was unrepentant of his life as a pirate.

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Lioness of Brittany: Jeanne de Clisson and Her Bloodthirsty Revenge

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 12:14:00 +0000

We recently talked about Stede Bonnet, a wealthy landowner who ditched it all for a life of piracy. Bonnet though was not the only aristocrat to turn his back on his life for a life plundering the high seas. Jeanne de Clisson is another noble-turned-pirate who got into the revenge business - upon her husband Olivier's execution by the King of France.

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Sayyida al-Hurra, the Muslim Pirate Queen

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Sayyida al-Hurra -- which translates roughly as "Lady who is free and independent" in Arabic -- was born as Lalla Aicha bint Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami. Aicha was queen of Tétouan from 1515–1542 -- and she was a pirate queen. And she is considered to be one of the most important female figures of the Islamic West in the modern age.

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A Pirate’s Life for Gentleman Stede Bonnet

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Stede Bonnet was not really your typical pirate, if there is such a thing. Many pirates, such as unemployed sailors or laborers, chose the lifestyle because they didn't have many options. But Bonnet chose piracy over a wealthy and a respectable life. Was he was just looking for something bigger and more adventurous, or was there more to it?

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Meet Lady Killigrew, the Aristocratic Pirate

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 08:00:00 +0000

When Mary Wolverston married Sir John Killigrew, she married into a pirate family, and was very hands-on with the family business. She would ultimately be accused of preying on shipping vessels that passed along the coastline, arrested, and convicted -- yet not executed. Holly and Maria talk about why.

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Fab Four: The Only Real Female Pirates of the Golden Age

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Sometimes, and it happens with all scurvy sea dogs, male or female, there just isn't enough evidence left behind to know for certain that a person was a real part of history, or if they're just a fictional composite of several people. And because of that, there are just four confirmed female pirates from the Golden Age of Piracy – and one on that list is marginal.

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Trick or Treat: A Pirate in Sheep's Clothing

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 07:00:00 +0000

As long as there have been pirates, there have been people hired to make them stop what they're doing. And, sometimes, those individuals hired to catch pirates are, themselves, pirates. From Woodes Rogers to Benjamin Hornigold, Holly and Maria tell the stories of the influential pirate hunters of the Golden Age of Piracy.

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Was Sir Francis Drake Just In It For Revenge?

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Sir Francis Drake was a politician, a naval officer, a sea captain, an English explorer, and the second person to circumnavigate the globe. He was also a pirate -- disguised as a privateer. Drake considered King Phillip II, the King of Spain, a life-long enemy, and he especially targeted their possessions and colonies. There was a rumor among Spaniards, and especially sailors who fought in the Spanish Armada, that Francis Drake had supernatural powers, and nicknamed him El Draque, or The Dragon.

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Captain Henry Every: The Pirate Who Got Away With It

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery, Jack Avery or John Avery, as well as Benjamin Bridgeman or Long Ben OR The Arch Pirate or The King of Pirates, was an English pirate who apparently looted names. But he also became the most prosperous pirate when he took down the Gunsway -- it's estimated his treasure would be at least $60 million if not considerably more after inflation.

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The Tale Of The Barbarossa Brothers

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Hayreddin Barbarossa was a pirate and a privateer. But he wasn't just looting ships and enslaving people. He was a skilled warrior, and an admiral in the Ottoman navy. And he had a certain political sensibility that helped him navigate not just alliances but kingdoms as well.

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Was Lagertha the Female Viking Pirate Real?

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Valkyrie, she-warrior, pirate, shield-maiden – whatever the name you call her, stories about strong women including Lagertha are mentioned in lore dating centuries back. But, as we'll see, history can get in the way of itself.

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Rachel Wall: New England’s Only 'Lady' Pirate

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Rachel Wall may have been the first American-born woman to become a pirate – but she most certainly was the last woman to be hanged in Boston, though the specific crime that landed her that fate wasn’t actually piracy at all.

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Pirate Talk And Other Falsehoods About Pirates

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Welcome to our Talk Like a Pirate Day celebration! Although pirates didn't actually use words like Arrr and Matey, that doesn't mean it isn't a lot of fun to throw that lingo around, right? Just like we speak in pirate talk that doesn't have much to do with real pirate talk, some famous pirates themselves are just as fake as that vocabulary – although many of us may think it's all real.

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Queen Teuta the Untameable

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Queen Teuta is often considered the “Pirate Queen” of antiquity, but that's actually a bit misleading -- Teuta was not actually a pirate. In line with her expansionist policies, she encouraged and sanctioned her tribe's piratical activities. This queen led an army of pirates.

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Grace O’Malley: The Sea Queen of Connacht

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Legend says that Grace refused to bow before Elizabeth because she did not acknowledge her as Queen of Ireland. Maybe she did, or maybe she didn't. Now she's considered a famous, feminine sea captain, and the most notorious woman in all the coasts of Ireland.

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Season Finale: The Greatest Imposters of All

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Imposters are people who dishonestly pretend to be someone else for their own gain. Some do it in order to circumvent rules they feel are unjust. And some are simply criminals looking for an easy way to evade capture. And we talk about it all.

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The Pseudo-Nero: When One Nero Isn't Enough

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Emperor Trajan, who came to power 30 years after Nero's death, spoke about the “quinquennium Neronis,” which means, the five good years of Nero’s 14-year rule. When Nero died by suicide, three documented Pseudo-Neros attempted to take his place.

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Welcome to Season 4 of Criminalia: Pirates

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey are coming back with season four of Criminalia! Tune in for the new season starting August 31.

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When Norway's Infamous 'False Margaret' Claimed the Throne

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Margaret, Maid of Norway, ascended to the Scottish throne on March 19, 1286, when she was just shy of three years old, and living in Norway. Ten years after the real Margaret, Maid of Norway's death, a Norwegian woman claimed Margaret’s identity.

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How Frederick Emerson Peters Charmed the Rich and Naive

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 07:00:00 +0000

His love for financial fraud may have been matched by his love of impersonation. Frederick Emerson Peters is regarded as one of America’s most infamous imposters. He posed as ordinary Americans, but also once pretended to be a Roosevelt -- actually, two different Roosevelts.

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Princess or Pretender? The Curious Story of Princess Olive of Cumberland

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Olivia Serres was an accomplished British landscape painter and published writer. She was also an imposter, pretending to be the legitimate daughter of Prince Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland. She insisted on being addressed as Princess Olive of Cumberland, and claimed to be of royal birth.

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False Dmitry: False, or Heir to the Russian Throne?

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 07:00:00 +0000

A False Dmitry refers to all the individuals who claimed to be Dmitry Ivanovich, son of Tsar Ivan IV, and heir to the Russian throne. Between 1605 and 1612, three men made the claim. Only one made it to the throne, but all met violent ends.

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Was Queen Elizabeth I a Man?

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 07:00:00 +0000

It was unlikely she would rule England, but she Elizabeth Tudor did ascend to the throne, and became Queen Elizabeth I. There are often conspiracy theories when you're talking about royalty. But, was Queen Elizabeth I swapped with a boy when she was a child? Holly and Maria talk about the life story of the famed monarch, and delve into a persistent rumor of imposterism regarding her true identity.

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Frédéric Bourdin: The Chameleon from Nantes

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Frédéric Bourdin, nicknamed "The Chameleon" by the media, began his impersonations as a child, and claimed to have assumed between 40 to 500 false identities, some of which were actual missing people children and teens.

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Stephen Weinberg: The Man With So Many Aliases We Couldn't Count Them All

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000

When Stephen Weinberg was a child, he wanted more than anything to be a doctor. When his parents couldn't afford tuition, Stanley began his path to becoming on of the greatest impersonaters. As Stanley Clifford Weyman, he pretended to be a lot of things -- none of whom were real people.

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Will the Real Anastasia Romanov Please Stand Up?

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Anna Anderson claimed she was Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of the Romanov dynasty, after rumors swirled that one of Tsar Nicholas II's daughters had survived the execution of the family. Her real name? Neither Anna nor Anastasia.

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Was Perkin Warbeck a 'Sham' Duke, or the Real Thing?

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Upon Richard III's death in 1485, a man named Perkin Warbeck saw an opportunity. Since there was no firm evidence as to the fate of either of the Princes in the Tower, what should stop him claiming one of their identities? So he laid claim to the throne of the first Tudor King of England, Henry VII.

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A Victorian Mystery: Was Arthur Orton the Tichborne Claimant?

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000

This episode is a story about a shipwreck, a contended inheritance, and a butcher. You'll meet three men: Arthur Orton, Thomas Castro, and Sir Roger Tichborne, who was the man at the center of this whole affair and a man lost at sea.

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Elizabeth 'Betty' Bigley: The Lady of the Hypnotic Eye

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Betty Bigley's biggest fraud of all began when she convinced the world that she was the daughter of Andrew Carnegie, although born out of wedlock. She let the word spread, while she ran up debts totaling in the millions. She became known in the papers as "the Queen of Ohio" -- that is, until her secret was discovered by a banker in Boston.

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FRED DEMARA, Known for His 'Rascality, Pure Rascality'

Tue, 25 May 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Using a series of stolen identities -- many of whom were still living -- Ferdinand Waldo Demara, aka Fred Demara, built a lengthy résumé as an imposter. But unlike many other imposters, his goal wasn't money. It was to attain prestige and status. Time magazine called him, we quote, "audacious, unschooled but amazingly intelligent pretender."

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Barry Bremen, 'The Great Imposter': No Guts, No Glory

Tue, 18 May 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Barry Bremen was a novelty goods salesman, but between 1979 to 1986 he was known in the sports world as The Great Imposter. He posed as a player and umpire in the MLB, a player in the NBA, a PGA golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader -- among others. He also accepted an Emmy award meant for Hill Street Blues actress, Betty Thomas.

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Christian Gerhartsreiter: The Man They Called 'Crockefeller'

Tue, 11 May 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Some people knew Christian Gerhartsreiter as Chris Gerhart, a University of Wisconsin film student. Others knew Christopher Chichester, a descendant of British royalty. Still others knew him as Christopher Crowe, a film and TV producer. But most people knew him as Clark Rockefeller, who claimed to be heir to the Rockefeller dynasty. And he pulled it for three decades.

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Meet the Real 'Wolf of Wall Street': David Lamar

Tue, 04 May 2021 07:00:00 +0000

David Lamar was known for walking about Manhattan with his diamond-studded walking stick, for being brash and cutthroat in his dealings, and went on to become a legend for his financial scams as well as impersonating powerful and influential people.

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Who Wears the Pants? Sarah Emma Edmonds, That's Who

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

On May 25, 1861, Emma Edmonds became Private Franklin Thompson and was mustered into Company F of the Second Michigan Regiment of Volunteer Infantry as a 3-year recruit. Fueled by love of her country and a see slavery's end, Emma, as Frank, volunteered to fight for the Union armies.

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I know You're a Fraud, But What Am I?

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Mary Baker adopted a disguise that she hoped would make her more interesting to those she considered commoners. She became Princess Caraboo, a fictional royal pretending to come from the far far away island of Javasu.

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Every Breath You Take: The Season of Stalkers

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

We were curious if some historical stalking crimes would seem different today, and whether any of these stalkers would emerge as, perhaps, sympathetic characters. What we found was that yes, a modern look does often cast a different light.

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Welcome to Season 3 of Criminalia: Imposters

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey are back with season three of Criminalia! Tune in for the new season starting April 20.

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My Guitar Gently Weeps: George Harrison's Stalkers

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

When Cristin Keleher broke into George Harrison's Maui estate, she ate frozen pizza, did a load of laundry, and called her mother. Two weeks later, Michael Abram broke into Harrison's Friar Park estate, stabbing Harrison repeatedly.

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Olga Janina: “La Cosaque”

Tue, 30 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Olga “Janina,” a protofeminist and Polish pianist, was known for stalking Hungarian composer Franz Liszt.

Franz’s name may or may not ring a bell, but he was recognized as a musical “rockstar” during the Romantic era. He composed a number of popular classical pieces that are still heard of today (“Hungarian Rhapsody”).

Sure, fans may have screamed and thrown their undergarments at the composer during his performances back in the day. But from writing “fictional” stories about Liszt, to threatening homocide and suicide, Olga took what is called “Lisztomania” to a whole new level.

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Adele Hugo: “La Misérable”

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Adele Hugo (1830-1915) was the youngest child of Victor Hugo, a major French writer of the Romantic era. She also was known for stalking a British officer known as Lieutenant Albert Pinson in the mid-1800s.

The lieutenant at one time asked for Adele’s hand in marriage, but Adele declined the proposal. As Pinson moved on however, Hugo’s daughter displayed obsessive behaviors, from wearing disguises, to renting rooms near where he would stay.

Though tragic, Adele’s tale displays a good breakdown of the characteristics of Erotomania.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Jane Bigelow: “The Bigelow Terror”

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 08:45:00 +0000

Jane Bigelow (1829-1889) goes down in history as a socialite who once stalked the great English writer Charles Dickens.

As the “Oliver Twist” author toured the U.S. in the late 1860s, Jane displayed obsessive efforts that went far beyond the actions of other screaming fans.

From threatening individuals who got close to Dickens, to even assaulting an elderly widow, spectators all agreed that Jane was quite the “incubus” - er, “succubus.”

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Alexander Main and Edith Simcox: The Passionate Worshipers

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Mary Ann Evans, better known under the pseudonym George Eliot (1819-1880), was a major Victorian novelist and poet. As her popularity grew, so did her admirers.

Two in particular - Alexander Main and Edith Simcox - started to cross the line as far as “passionate devotion.”

One sent numerous gushy letters. Another recorded her unreciprocated love for the novelist in a secret journal. Both made George Eliot pretty uncomfortable.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Georgiana Fane: “The High Society Stalker”

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Georgiana Fane (1801-1874) was an English heiress, most famously known for being featured in a portrait as a peasant girl (painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence). She also gained a reputation for her harassing pursuits of the Duke of Wellington.

From what once was a secretive love affair, Georgiana’s later threats and angry letters turned out to be more than the Duke bargained for.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Léa-Anna B.: King George V’s Admirer

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Holly and Maria continue the topic of erotomania this week with the story of Léa-Anna B.

Léa-Anna B. is best known for stalking England’s George V.

Criminalia’s two co-hosts cover everything about the delusional disorder, from the curtain “messages” that Léa-Anna B. thought were from the king, to learning about who clarified the term (psychiatrist Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault).

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Erotomania: Stalking for Love

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Surprise - Criminalia is back again this week with a bonus episode!

Erotomania is a condition where someone obsessively believes a person is in love with him or her.

From outlining movie examples to providing tips on how to approach such a stalker, co hosts Holly and Maria explain the term: just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Edward Jones: “The First Celebrity Stalker”

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Edward Jones (1824-1893) as a teenager became best known for stalking Britain’s Queen Victoria during the 1800s. “The boy Jones” made numerous (successful) attempts at sneaking into the official residency of the Queen. Though each of the teen’s “visits” turned out to be harmless, overtime, the monarchy was not amused.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Lady Caroline Lamb: “Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know”

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Lady Caroline Lamb (1785-1828) was a novelist best known for her affair with Lord Byron.

In spite of the poet “ending” the relationship in August 1812, Lady Caroline’s pursuits were far from over.

From learning Lord Byron’s handwriting to sending him interesting “gifts,” the novelist revealed a disturbing pattern of obsession.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Rufus Griswold: Poe’s Petty Stalker

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Holly and Maria are back with season two of Criminalia! This season is all about stalkers.

The co-hosts start things off by discussing anthologist Rufus Griswold, Edgar Allan Poe’s not-so-well-known rival.

The critic’s angry, obsessive (and petty) tendencies over the famous poet stayed strong throughout the years - even long after Poe’s death.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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Arsenic and ... Arsenic: Criminalia's Season 1 Final Episode

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Holly and Maria were curious if poisoners and their crimes would look different with a little distance on the timeline, and even whether any of the perpetrators would emerge as sympathetic characters. And in season 1 they found out, YES. On both counts.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

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"The Poisoner's Handbook" with Author Deborah Blum Pt. 2

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Criminalia hosts Holly Frey and Maria Trimarchi continue their conversation with "The Poisoner's Handbook" author and Pulitzer Prize recipient Deborah Blum.

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"The Poisoner's Handbook" with Author Deborah Blum Pt. 1

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 23:00:00 +0000

Hosts Holly Frey and Maria Trimarchi are joined by "The Poisoner's Handbook" author and Pulitzer Prize recipient Deborah Blum.

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Amy Archer-Gilligan: Sometimes Predators Look Like Pious Grandmas

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 20:00:46 +0000

Amy Archer-Gilligan was the proprietress of The Archer Home for Elderly People and Chronic Invalids, in Windsor, Conn., one of the first nursing homes in the U.S. But she may have been responsible for the intentional deaths of as many as 48 residents.

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Mary Ann Cotton: 'She's Dead and She's Rotten'

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 11:00:00 +0000

Mary Ann Cotton was convicted of, and hanged for, the lethal poisoning of her stepson Charles Edward Cotton. But it's likely that she murdered as many as 21 people, including three of her four husbands and 11 children, apparently in order to collect on their insurance policies. Local children would recite this disturbing nursery rhyme about her, “Sing, sing, oh, what can I sing? Mary Ann Cotton is tied up with string. Where, where? Up in the air, sellin’ black puddings a penny a pair.”

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Belle Gunness: Comely Widow Who Wants You to Stay Forever

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 04:00:51 +0000

Belle Gunness wanted what every American wants: the American Dream. And through insurance fraud and murder, she eventually found it. "Hell's Belle," as she was known, used strychnine -- and a meat cleaver -- to kill an estimated 40 victims she met through personal ads, almost all in Indiana. The popular theory about Belle? That she managed to elude authorities for years by transforming into a woman named Esther Carlson.

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Hieronyma Spara and Her Secret Society of Poisoners

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 22:50:00 +0000

Hieronyma Spara, known as "La Spara," organized instruction in the uses of arsenic for married women who were considering bettering their station in life by becoming wealthy widows. After the church became suspicious of this secret society, they infiltrated her group -- and La Spara was hanged in 1659.

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Bertha Gifford: Angel of Mercy or Good Samaritan?

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 11:00:00 +0000

Bertha Gifford was well-known throughout her community for her cooking skills and her compassion. She acted in the role of nurse for her sick family and neighbors, and was eventually accused of murdering with arsenic a total of 17 people in her care. But what's most interesting about Bertha is that she also became one of America's first female serial killers.

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Velma Barfield: Death Row Granny or Just Mama Margie?

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Velma Barfield is probably better known for her execution than for her murders. She became the first woman to be executed in North Carolina after the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. She was also the first woman to die by lethal injection in the United States.

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Locusta: Ancient Assassin-for-Hire

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:00:00 +0000

Locusta, herself, wasn't a poisoner. She was a maker of poisons – think of her more like a botanist or chemist. But she was actually more like an assassin-for-hire – she provided poisons because she was hired to do so.

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Lucrezia Borgia: Depraved Murderess, or Political Pawn?

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Italian noblewoman Lucrezia Borgia was the illegitimate daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who would later become Pope Alexander VI. Considered a famous beauty during the Italian Renaissance, she also notoriously rivaled her family members in jealousy, intrigue, and homicide -- but history may have it all wrong.

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Lydia Sherman: Connecticut's 'Lucrezia Borgia'

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Also known as "The Derby Poisoner," Lydia Sherman poisoned, in total, her three husbands plus as many as eight children in her care --- six of whom were her biological children. She confessed to her murders, showing no remorse, was convicted of second-degree murder in 1872.

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Yes, You CAN Drink Charcoal: Happy Halloween From Criminalia

Fri, 30 Oct 2020 11:00:00 +0000

This season we may be exploring the lives and motivations of some of the most notorious lady poisoners throughout history. And while almost all of the victims we've talked about this season have been fatally poisoned, not all poisonings have a fatal outcome. In today's bonus episode, we're instead inspired to talk about everything from mithridate to unicorn horns to activated charcoal ... the antidotes.

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Roberta Elder, Atlanta’s Rare Black Female Serial Killer

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Dubbed Atlanta’s "Mrs. Bluebeard," a pejorative term referring to women who killed their own family members, Roberta Elder was suspected of killing three husbands, four of her children, three step-children, her mother, her grandchild, a cousin, and even probably more.

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Did 'Sally Arsenic' Really Poison Her Family?

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Sarah Chesham, or “Sally Arsenic” as she became known, was convicted of a single count of poisoning with intent -- the victim, her husband. But the evidence indicates, and the public certainly believed, that she was responsible for several poisoning deaths including two of her children.

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La Voisin: Poisoner-for-Hire and Provider of Alleged Sorcery

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Catherine Monvoisin, known as "La Voisin," was accused of witchcraft, found guilty, and executed in 1680 when she was about 40 years old. She practiced medicine, specifically midwifery, and performed abortions which were illegal in France at that time. But she was known as the local fortune teller, and was a commissioned poisoner, said to help women trapped in abusive marriages.

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Madam de Brinvilliers: The 'Wickedest Woman in the World'

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Marie-Madeleine-Marguerite d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers was found guilty of poisoning her father and two brothers -- and maybe her husband and daughter. Because her conviction was based on the strength of letters written by her dead lover and a confession that was obtained by torture, her guilt remains uncertain.

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Catherine de Medici: We Heard She Ate Babies for Breakfast

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 07:00:00 +0000

French Queen Catherine de Medici may or may not have introduced the artichoke to France. And yes, she may be at least partly responsible for starting the French Wars of Religion. But were the accusations Catherine was a homicidal poisoner true?

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Marie Besnard: Undertaker's Best Friend?

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 07:00:00 +0000

The most interesting thing about Marie Besnard might not be that she was accused of poisoning about a dozen people. It's that she got away with it -- and got wealthier with each murder.

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Sally Bassett: Symbol of Resistance or Murderer?

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Sally Basset was an enslaved woman who was executed in 1730 for allegedly attempting to poison her granddaughter’s enslavers. She is known throughout Bermudian folklore, where she is, to many, a hero.

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Giulia Tofana: World's Most Dangerous Apothecary

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Giulia Tofana was an Italian apothecary known for her beauty, her secrecy and her poisonous proclivities. If the numbers are all to be believed, she may be the most successful serial killer you’ve never heard of.

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Marie LaFarge: Pretty Little Poisoner

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Marie was convicted of murdering her husband by poisoning him with arsenic. But what's most notable about that in doing so, she became the first person ever to be convicted based on direct forensic toxicological evidence, like on Dexter or CSI.

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Julia Agrippina: Mother to Nero and Ambitious Broad

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Julia Agrippina was a power-hungry Roman empress – power-hungry even by Roman standards – who is said to have poisoned her husband (who also happened to be her uncle) to ensure her only son's succession to the throne.

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Tillie Klimek, the 'Black Widow' of Chicago

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 07:00:00 +0000

On Criminalia, hosts Holly Frey and Maria Trimarchi explroe the intersection of history and true crime. This season is all about lady poisoners. During the time that Chicago’s most visible criminal element was organized crime, Tillie Klimek was quietly becoming the city’s most prolific female serial killer. She allegedly killed between six and 20 people, all through arsenic poisoning.

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Introducing Criminalia Season 1: Lady Poisoners

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 13:40:50 +0000

Humans have always committed crimes. What can we learn from the criminals and crimes of the past, and have humans gotten better or worse over time?

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