Shows
History is CriminalLet's be pirates: William Kidd and RedactedJoin us as we jump back to 1700 and the trial of one of the most famous pirates in history. Even if he was not all that successful. It is a story of what can happen if you get caught in the middle of a political game, and you're the one with out power.
2026-02-1828 min
History is CriminalMary Dyer: OG Boss MammaJoin us in 1660s Boston, when how you prey can get you hung. We look at Mary Dyer, a lady who was willing to lay everything on the line for the concept of religious liberty, and freedom of consciousness.
2026-02-1128 min
History is CriminalThe Massie Cases: Race and Rage in ParadiseA world of perfect sunsets and endless summer. But in 1931 paradise would be rocked by crimes and failures of the justice system. A system that, at times, didn't even seem to be trying to get things right.Join Kim and I as we jump back to 1931 Hawaii, and the Massie Trials. That right multiple crimes, and a little history lesson.
2026-02-0435 min
History is CriminalI didn't kill my wife: The Case of Sam SheppardWe jump back to 1950s Ohio and a case that inspired TV shows and movies with some of Hollywood's biggest names. The beautiful young wife of a successful surgeon is found the victim of the brutal murder. Suspicion soon falls on the husband. But did Sam Sheppard kill his wife? And why didn't Tommy Lee Jones care? I didn't do a lot of editing here, so if it sounds like I have the plague, well I do.
2026-01-3030 min
History is CriminalBurn Baby Burn: 1741 New York Slave PlotA city goes up in flames. At first people believe it to be an accident. Then a conspiracy starts to unravel that, if true, could shake the very foundations of New York colonial society. Join Kim and I as we jump back to look at one of the most violent and insane moments of colonial history, one that has been left out of almost all history books. sources for this episode"The New York Plot" TrialsNew York Slave Conspiracy 1741, Summary, Facts, SignificanceThe New York Conspiracy of 1741 | Gilder Lehrman Institute...
2026-01-2132 min
History is CriminalScopes Trial: or My Uncle is a MonkeyA day late but one extra host. Kim and I are joined by our granddaughter, Grace as we just back 100 years to Dayton, Tennessee and a small town's plan to make an easy buck. But like many great plans, they soon find themselves in way over their heads. Come with us as we look at the famed "Scopes Monkey Trial." Trigger warning, this might step on some folk's beliefs.
2026-01-1536 min
History is CriminalLeopold and Loeb: When "supermen" killTwo "geniuses" plan to pull off the perfect crime. But their big ol' brains just can't get out of their way. It was a trial that transfixed Americans in 1924. But it would be just one of many "crimes of the century."Join Kim and I as we jump back to 1924 Chicago and the case of Leopold and Loeb.
2026-01-0733 min
History is CriminalThe Rosewood MassacreNew Year's Day 1923 an accusation causes people to lose all sense of humanity. A quiet small town is erased from the map in an act of racial violence that was itself erased from history for 60 years. Join Kim and I as we dig into the tragic story of Rosewood, Florida. A story some tried to kill, but refused to die.
2025-12-3130 min
History is CriminalCriminal ChristmasIn a slightly shorter episode, we take a look at some of the legal trappings of the yuletide. From Puritans to a tree tax, Kim and I jump around it time to look at some Christmas traditions that were codified into law. It's a very merry criminal Christmas
2025-12-2422 min
History is CriminalSanta Robs a BankFor nearly 1700 years the real Santa has been breaking into homes all around the world and treating traffic law like mere suggestions. But what happens when Santa goes full on Christmas felon. Join Kim and I as we look at four Santas who found their names on the naughty list.I also left in some of the stuff that could have been edited out, let me know if you like the outtakes left in.
2025-12-1828 min
History is CriminalShort Preview: Full episode Wednesday NightKim is down. The Dentist got her, so we are dropping the full episode in 24 hrs. Just a little preview of Santa Robs a Bank.
2025-12-1700 min
History is CriminalA Bad Case of Crabs: Who killed President HardingThe president might be the most documented man in the country. His every move is watched, analyzed, and debated. If a president were to just up and drop dead, you would think there would be no end to the investigation. But when Warren G Harding died nobody looking into anything. Was it his heart, a stroke, a bad case of crabs, or possible suicide or even assassination. The leader of one of the most corrupt administrations in history dies, quickly, with more questions than answer, and they don't even perform an autopsy?Join Kim and I as...
2025-12-1035 min
History is CriminalWilson E Davis: Aging like DynamiteIt has been said that older people are less likely to commit violent crimes because, we all mellow with age. Whoever said that never meet Captain Wilson Ellis Davis. Davis might have been a lot of things, but mellow wasn't one of them. Civil War vet, possible Captain in the Union Army, sharpshooter, and likely murderer he seems to have just gotten meaner with age.Join Kim and I as we jump back to 1914 Sawtelle, California and a murderer with a plan . Just maybe not a great plan.
2025-12-0328 min
History is CriminalA Con Woman and a Royal Face Plant: Jeanne de la MotteWhat do you do when ancient laws and biology cut your family out of the royal line. Well if you are Jeanne de la Motte you fake it until you make. Or until it all come crashing down like a guillotine on Louis XVI oversized neck.Join Kim and I as we jump back to 1790s France and a con artist who would try to make the royal court her mark, and in the process add to the insanity causing the French Revolution.
2025-11-2633 min
History is CriminalJimmy Hope: the Last Gentleman Bank RobberI'm all alone this week as I jump bank to the late 19th century to look at the last gentleman bank robber, Jimmy Hope. Hope was a thief with a code of non-violence and if stories are to be believed a little bit of a softer side. It was a time when many of the bank robbers were seen as Robin Hood figures, without the whole pesky giving to the poor. But boy did they rob from the rich.
2025-11-1930 min
History is CriminalDeath in the Adirondacks (again): Or Tennis anyone?Hopefully the full Episode is there this time. A young couple set out to row across a beautiful upstate New York lake. But when the boat never comes back a poorly planned murder, or horrible accident, is quickly uncovered.Join Kim and I as we take a look at the death of Grace Brown, a story that has fascinated true crime lovers for over 100 years. Just what happened on Big Moose Lake in July of 1906
2025-11-1631 min
History is CriminalA Death in the Adirondacks: Or Tennis on the LakeA young couple set out to row across a beautiful upstate New York lake. But when the boat never comes back a poorly planned murder, or horrible accident, is quickly uncovered.Join Kim and I as we take a look at the death of Grace Brown, a story that has fascinated true crime lovers for over 100 years. Just what happened on Big Moose Lake in July of 1906
2025-11-1231 min
History is CriminalDeath of Christopher Marlowe: Or A Renaissance RumblePlaywright, party boy, spy. Christopher Marlowe was one of the biggest names in Elizabethan England. More successful and famous than William Shakespeare, rubbing elbows with the Queen and Royal Court. But then he dies in a questionable way while day drinking with three friends. Three friends with their own shady back stories. Join Kim and I as we jump back to 1593 Elizabethan England and the mysterious death of Christopher Marlowe.
2025-11-0524 min
History is CriminalA Death in Hollywood's Golden AgeShe was one of the most beautiful women in the world. She had wealth, fame, and talent. What she didn't have was a knack for picking men. And it would lead to a murder!Sound like a Hollywood movie? Well it was really life Hollywood in 1958. Join Kim and I as we jump back to 1958 and the death of a low-level mobster, at the hands of the 14 year-old daughter of Lana Turner.
2025-10-2936 min
History is CriminalThe Borgias: History's OG Crime FamilyWhat do incest, bribery, murder, theft, and a Saint have in common? They are all part of the Borgia family. Join Kim and I as we jump back to the Renaissance to look at Cesear, Lucrezia, and their Dad, Pops the pope as they take on all seven deadly sins, and rip through the 10 Commandments all in route to massive money and power.Its crime family 1500s style.
2025-10-2235 min
History is CriminalGrace O'Malley: A Life Out of OrderPirate Queen, Warrior, Clan Chief: Grace O'Malley never allowed others to define her. Join Kim and I as we jump back to the 1500s to look at the life of one tough mother. Irish folklore and history combine to tell the tale of one of the most fascinating women in history.
2025-10-1521 min
History is CriminalStart Spreading the News ... We Kidnapped Frank Sinatra JrDown on your luck need some quick money? Why not kidnap the 19-year-old son of one of the most famous people in the world? What could go wrong?Join Kim and I as we jump back to 1963 Lake Tahoe and the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. It's a story that comes with a surprise cameo by a famous surf-rocker.
2025-10-0924 minHistory is Criminaloops we broke somethingtechnical issues and my illness means that this week's episode won't drop until the evening of the 9th. So, for our literally 10s of fans hope you will come back tomorrow evening, for the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra JR.
2025-10-0800 min
History is CriminalMa Barker: My Poor innocent babiesIt is great when families share hobbies. But for the Barkers that hobby seemed to be bank robbery, murder, and kidnapping. And according to the FBI's J Edgar Hoover, at the heart of it all was the mama, Kate "Ma" Barker. But just what was the role of Ma Barker, as her boys terrorized the mid-West.Join Kim and I as we jump back to the depression era to tell the tale of Kate "Ma" Barker and her overly stimulated bunch of boys.
2025-10-0127 min
History is CriminalThe Death of Rasputin: Trust Me I'm a MonkMad man or holy man? Grigori Rasputin went from illiterate monk in the wilds of Siberia, to having the ear of the Tsarina. As the empire set on the edge of disaster many felt the only way to save the Romanov dynasty was for the Mad Monk to die. Join Kim and I as we jump back to pre-revolution Russia to look at the life and death of Grigori Rasputin.
2025-09-2431 min
History is CriminalChing Shih: Pirate Queen of ChinaStrong women have often made their marks on history. But Ching Shih might have out done them all. She might have been the most successful pirate of all time. And unlike most other pirates she would walk away with the cash.Join Kim and I this week as we travel to 18th century China to look at the Pirate Queen of the South China Sea.
2025-09-1721 min
History is CriminalToo many Louis: The Lost DauphinAn empire falls prey to the age of revolution, because a man-child king is unable to lead. As the revolution becomes a blood bath, what happens to the royal family? Join Kim and I as we look at Louis Charles (AKA Louis XVII) the lost Dauphin of France. It is a story of con men, desperate hope, and an attempt to claim a crown, decades after the collapse of a monarchy.
2025-09-1032 min
History is CriminalAkira Nishiguchi: Messenger of EvilA serial killer in post WWII Japan works his way across the nation. Using his skill as a conman he keeps one step ahead of the police. But a 10-year-old girl will prove to be his undoing. Join Kim and I as we travel to Japan in the years after the war and take a look at the tale of Akira Nishiguchi, the "Black Gold Metal Killer."
2025-09-0326 min
History is CriminalWhen a town goes nuts: The Brooke Hart MurderIn 1933 a wealthy, popular, All-American young man is taken by two desperate men. Over the next few weeks San Jose, California anger and lust for revenge grows. Join Kim and I as we dig into the events of November 1933, and a town that takes the law into their own hands.
2025-08-2733 min
History is CriminalDeported by God: the attempted assassination of a gilded age millionaireIt was a time of labor unrest in the United States. Socialist and anarchist used the brutal tactics of the robber barons to gain support for their causes. The robber barons used private armies, like the famed Pinkertons, to crush unions. In 1892 these forces would collide at the Carnegie owned steel mill in Homestead Penn. Join Kim and I as we take a dive into the chaos surrounding the Homestead strike and the attempted assassination of one of the most powerful business leaders in the United States, Henry Frick.
2025-08-2024 min
History is CriminalThe Black Dahlia: Cupid's lousy aimIn 1947 a woman walked with young daughter to pick up a pair of shoes. Ahead she was what she thought was a broken mannequin, what it actually was would start one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in the history of Hollywood. Join Kim and I as we look into the story surrounding the Black Dahlia murder.
2025-08-1329 min
History is CriminalThe Indiana Ogress: Belle GunnessWhat is a lonely widow to do when not one but two husbands up and die on her? Well head to the personal ads of course. And that was just what Belle Gunness did, over and over again. Was she an unlucky victim of both fate and an evil man or was she a prolific serial killer. And what really happened to the woman newspapers called the Indiana Ogress. Join Kim and I this week as we look at the tragically horrific life of Belle Gunness.
2025-08-0625 min
History is CriminalThe Over Emotional Benedict: or how to save then sell out a nationHe was one of the greatest heroes of the Revolution, right up until he betrayed it. Why would a man who gave the American cause everything turn traitor? Was it love, money, or something else that drove Benedict Arnold to become the most famous traitor in American History. Join Kim and I as we look into an act of treason that still sticks in the American psyche.
2025-07-3034 min
History is CriminalThe Missouri Kid: Let's Rob a Bank!His was always a troublemaker, even his mama said so. But, was Willie Rudolph, AKA the Missouri Kid smart enough to outwit the private army, that was the Pinkerton Detective Agency. At a time when bank robbers were often viewed as folk heroes and banks the bad guys, Black Frank and the Missouri Kid briefly captured America's imagination, just as the old west was dying out. Join Kim and I as we look at the life of the Missouri Kid.
2025-07-2327 min
History is CriminalDivorce, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived: Or chop, chop goes the QueenMaybe marrying the King of England isn't all that great. For the wives of Henry VIII, it was a dangerous game. Of his six wives it would be Anne Boleyn whose death still sticks with us the most. Maybe because it caused a whole country to change its religion, or maybe because it is hard to know just how much of a role Anne played in her own sad story, but she is the wife that we still fixate on today. Kimberly and I take on the twisted and tragic story of Henry's second wife Anne Boleyn...
2025-07-1630 min
History is CriminalTiny lady, big gun: The Story of Pearl HartThe Bandit Queen of Arizona, Pearl Hart seemed to be all about breaking hearts and breaking barrios as the 19th century came to an end. She would become a nationwide celebrity and even a poster woman for the suffragette movement. All this despite the fact that her only stagecoach robbery ended in a failure and her arrest. Join Kimberly and I as we dive into the wild and sometime confusing story of Pearl Hart.
2025-07-0924 min
History is CriminalYe Olde Dumb Criminals: America's First Bank HeistKim and I jump back to the late 1700's and the City of Brotherly Love, to examine a poorly executed bank heist. 1798 Philadelphia, Yellow fever rips through the city, as people flea two men pull off the first bank robbery in US History. They almost got away with it but turns out they weren't the brightest Philly had to offer. The wrong man will rot in jail, even after it is clear that he didn't do it. So how did Patrick Lyon get out of jail and what did he do next? Listen to this week's episode...
2025-07-0226 min
History is CriminalOne wrong turn and world goes crazy: the Assassination of Franz FerdinandKimberly and I take a look at the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. If it were a Holly wood story it would have too many plot holes and coincidences for anyone to want to produce it. How did a 19 year old Serbian military reject manage to kill the heir to the Austrian throne sparking the First World War?
2025-06-2520 min
History is CriminalHigh Finance Whoopsies, Story of Adele SpitzederIn a new format, my co-host and I look at one on the biggest con artist in history. Long before Charles Ponzi made it famous, Adele Spitzeder was swindling a massive fortune from the folks in Munich Bravia. Even in the world of crime, a woman just can't get the credit they deserve.
2025-06-1818 min
History is CriminalThe Assassination of Garfield - Not the catWhen a man's self-aggrandizing become so extreme that he believes he alone controlled the outcome of a Presidential election tragedy follows. Charles Guiteau decided that President James Garfield had to die. The story of how he came to that conclusion is the tale we tell in this episode.
2025-06-1127 min
History is CriminalTragedy of Charles Hall or Ice, Ice, no babyArtic explorer Charles Hall just wants to plant the Stars and Stripes at the North Pole. But it seems the ice and his crew have another idea. It murder in the frozen North and a 150 year old whodunit. Someone decided that they didn't want to spend years wandering the Artic Circle, and killed Captain Hall to make sure they didn't have to.
2025-06-0423 min
History is CriminalThe Gentler tortures: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder PlotWhen religion and government mix bad things can happen. When religious zealots decide that government need to change by any means necessary really bad things can happen. Remember, Remember the 5th of November ... In this episode we take on Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot, to blow up the whole of the English government.
2025-05-2820 min
History is CriminalLizzie Borden took an axe ...The crime shocked a nation. How could the "Protestant Nun" the refined and gentle, Lizzie Borden have committed such a violent murder. The town of Fall River and nation would divide along socioeconomic lines over the idea of her guilt. Did Lizzie really take a hatchet to the head of her stepmother and then the face of her father? Or might the police have been guilty of confirmation bias and missed the real killer.
2025-05-2126 minHistory is CriminalIntroductionWhat are we all about? True historic crime both the famous and not so famous. If you are a history buff, or a true crime nerd, or both, like me, then give us a try. If you like what you hear tell a friend, and if you don't like it tell and enemy, never suffer alone.
2025-05-1500 min
History is CriminalNever take free lard from a stranger or The Skull in Sir David Attenborough's gardenFamed naturalist Sir David Attenborough found a skull in the garden of an ancient pub he purchased. The skull, found in 2010, renewed interest in a murder from London's Victorian age. The murder of Julia Thomas, by her maid Kate Webster, sent shock waves cross the whole of the British Isles. Get ready for the tale of the Barnes Murderess.
2025-05-1421 minHistory is CriminalThe Big Con: I've got a bridge to sell ya!They will sell you a bridge, a magic box to print money, world famous landmarks, even a whole country. When it comes to conmen George C Parker, Victor Lustig, and Gregor MacGregor might have been the best of the worst. Just how did they manage to get people to hand over money at such insane rates? Take a listen to this week's History is Criminal.
2025-05-0728 min
History is CriminalSerial Killer in Nazi BerlinTrigger Warning: sexual assault: While the war launched, and the Holocaust started a psycho used the S-Bahn trains of Berlin as his hunting grounds. Using the cover of air raid warnings, and police hampered by Nazi officials, his reign of terror would last almost two years, and his victims would number in the dozens.
2025-04-3032 min
History is CriminalPirate Queens of the CaribbeanPIRATES... Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read for a short time were three of the most infamous names in the Caribbean. Just how did two women become notorious swashbucklers, at a time when women weren't supposed to be on board a ship. We take a look at the lives and adventures of two of the pirate queens of the Caribbean. You also have a chance to hear me sing (poorly) in the intro.
2025-04-2319 min
History is CriminalOutlaw or Hero: Ned Kelly Bushranger of AustraliaNed Kelly became a folk hero to the people of Australia. His life was short and violent, but he was a tough and complicated man just like the land of his birth. It would all come down to final showdown in a sight that could easily have inspired Ironman. Childhood hero, rebel, horse thief, and a man that became the inspiration for movies and songs by some of the biggest artist of their time. Buckle up for the life of Australia's Robin Hood, Ned Kelly.
2025-04-1625 min
History is CriminalAssassination or Suicide: The Mysterious Death of Meriwether LewisHe was a national hero. His partner William Clark, and he had traveled across an unknown continent and returned to admiration of a nation. But Meriweather Lewis was a man plagued by personal demons. It is also possible that he had uncovered treasonous acts, by a man in a position of high power in the US government. When he died, by an apparent suicide in 1809, no formal investigation took place. As more information came out over the decades, many began to ask, might the legendary hero have been assassinated.
2025-04-0925 min
History is CriminalDeath of a Starlet: the Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle TrialsIn the golden age of silent movies one of the biggest stars, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, is caught up in a scandal revolves around the death of young beautiful up-and-coming starlet, Virginia Rappe. But what really happened in that hotel room 104 years ago. Who should we believe, Arbuckle or a convicted fraudster and madam.
2025-04-0225 min
History is CriminalKilling Kings, French StyleIn our 25th episode, The French Wars of Religion act as the backdrop for a horrible accident and some grisly murders. In true French fashion they will go over the top as they play hide the knife in the monarch. It will see the end of the Valois dynasty and the start of the Bourbon era.
2025-03-1922 min
History is CriminalWho killed Edgar Allan Poe?Known as the master of the macabre and the father of the detective story, Edgar Allan Poe would himself become a whodunit that have remained unanswered for 180 years. His life was filled with tragedy. It is also odd that the number 24 is attached to some much of this tragedy. But who or what killed the famous author, what led to his being found semi-conscious in a Baltimore tavern?
2025-03-0524 min
History is CriminalBaby Farmers: AKA the absolute scum of the EarthSome crimes are just more horrible than others. The baby farmers or the Victorian Age are truly the worst of the worst preying on the most innocent and the most vulnerable they prove evil people will do anything to make a buck.
2025-02-1919 min
History is CriminalTransatlantic Murder: Story of Dr Thomas Neill CreamSandwiched between HH Holmes and Jack the Ripper is the Lambeth Poisoner, Dr. Thomas Neill Cream. His body count crosses two continents and one ocean. Even a life sentence couldn't stop him.
2025-02-0526 min
History is CriminalThe Many Murders Surrounding Mary Queen of ScotsA beautiful 18 year old takes the throne of Scotland, what could go wrong. Well if it is the 1600s, the answer is, just about everything. Royal rivalries, bad choices in men, and religious and political plotting will cause the bodies to drop like a beat at the club. If you ever wanted to be a medieval member of the nobility, you after hearing about the many murders surrounding Mary Queen of Scots.
2025-01-2220 min
History is CriminalPearls before Swine? The Great Pearl RobberyA gang of thieves almost pulls off the crime of the century, just as the century is starting. A necklace with a value greater than the Hope Diamond goes missing. Insurance investigators and Scotland Yard's greatest detective will have to outsmart England's greatest thief in order to get the pearls back into the hands of their rightful owner.
2025-01-0833 min
History is Criminalthe Puritan War on Christmas AKA Cromwell the GrinchMerry Christmas or if the Puritans had their way, GET BACK TO WORK. A King is deposed and most holidays and fun in general is banned by the Puritans in the culture wars of the 1640s. In this Xmas episode we take a look at how and why the holiday was banned, and how the people reacted.
With intro and outro music from
Halloween Horror Creepy Piano | Horror by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/Creative Commons CC BY 3.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses...
2024-12-2416 min
History is CriminalMurder of Mary Phagan and Leo Frank's Trial by MediaA young girl is brutally murdered in 1913 Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta PD will focus on a "Jewish Carpetbagger" from New York as the killer. But was this a horrible miscarriage of justice. In a case that would highlight the social conflict in a post-Reconstruction New South was Leo Frank railroaded in a show trial by those with political ambitions?
2024-12-1124 min
History is CriminalSaint Nicholas, AKA the real BAD Santa with intro musicPunch a bishop in the face, get some kids out of a pickle barrel, and have your bones stolen, just a day in the life of Jolly old Saint Nick. Just wanted to try it with the music, same episode as 1-15.
2024-12-0319 min
History is CriminalSaint Nicholas, AKA the real BAD SantaA punch in the mouth, and stolen bones. We take a look at the life and after-life of the patron saint of sailors, thieves, and children. Jolly old Saint Nick is the subject of a special Saint Nicholas day holiday episode of History is Criminal.
2024-12-0219 min
History is CriminalAbe Lincoln's bad night at the theaterThe Story every American knows. An actor and southern sympathizer, John Wilks Booth, shoots and kills President Abraham Lincoln. Booth is then hunted down and killed by members of the Union Army. But the rest of the story includes additional assassination attempts, a manhunt, and heroes who might not be playing with a full deck.
With intro and outro music from
Halloween Horror Creepy Piano | Horror by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/Creative Commons CC BY 3.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
2024-11-2727 min
History is CriminalBurke and Hare: Grave Robbing for fun and Profit.What do you do when you can't find enough bodies to meet the needs of the local medical community. The obvious answer create a few more dead. We will take a look at the crimes of William Burke and William Hare two capitalist who will find a way to meet the growing demand for bodies in 1820s Edinburgh.
With intro and outro music from
Halloween Horror Creepy Piano | Horror by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/Creative Commons CC BY 3.0https://creativecommons...
2024-11-1326 min
History is CriminalWitches and more witches: Salem Witch TrialsWhat do you do when young girls start to behave like they are being attacked by invisible tormentors. First pray and starve them, if that doesn't work, hunt some witches.
In 1692 Salem village would lose their collective minds. Happy Halloween, as we look at the witch crazy that swept Massachusetts.
2024-10-3033 min
History is CriminalThe Bloody Countess: Torture and Murder, Elizabeth BathoryA woman of great wealth and power is accused of killing hundreds of young women. Was she a psychotic serial killer, a cautionary tale of power gone unchecked, or the victim of a plot to rob her of her land and wealth? We will attempt to dig past the myth to find the facts about Elizabeth Bathory.
2024-10-1622 min
History is CriminalThe Mary Russell: Crazy, crazy boat time.In our longest episode, just couldn't think what to leave out, we take a look at murder on the high seas. Captain William Stewart in a fit of paranoia will attack his own crew.
2024-10-0235 min
History is CriminalMary Ann Cotton: Black Widow or insanely bad luckShe went through 4 husbands, numerous children and stepchildren, benefiting from many of their deaths. Was she a cold blooded killer for profit, or a woman with poor luck, who loved a little too freely for 19th century England?
Shout to sources used The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians reveled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime, by Judith Flanders. Historyhit.com, and Allthatisinteresting.com.
2024-09-2523 minHistory is CriminalJeramiah Meacham: Axes and paranoia in 1715 Rhode IslandWhat happens when paranoid delusions are treated with nothing but alcohol? The answer in 1715 Newport, Rhode Island is bad things happen.
2024-09-1123 min
History is CriminalAndrew Jackson: Murder and mayhem on the road to the White HouseThe seventh President of the United States is steeped in controversy. Indian removal, a war with the Bank of the United States, and a threatened invasion of South Carolina, all make Jackson a powerful, but questionable chief executive. But his life before the White House borders on pure lunacy. Between gunfights, war, and bigamy allegations it is a wonder he was ever able to get elected in the first place.
2024-09-0130 min
History is CriminalPeter Stubbe: Werewolf of BedbergIn the 1500s in Bedberg, Germany when children and young women go missing the locals believe it to be the actions of a werewolf. After decades of disappearances and attacks they take action, only to find it is one of their own behind the grizzle murders.
2024-08-1538 minHistory is CriminalThomas Blood and the Theft of the Crown JewelsA rapscallion and rogue, Thomas Blood attempted the most outlandish theft, the theft of the Crown Jewels of England. But that is just the beginning of the story for this rebel, spy, and thief.
2024-08-0127 minHistory is CriminalMurder and other nastiness in Plymouth ColonyWe take a look at the first convicted murder in the English colonies, a second murder with a jury trial and crimes involving sex and animals. What fun.
2024-07-1532 minHistory is CriminalJack Sheppard: No Jail Could Keep HImJack Sheppard became the OG escape artist in 1720s London. A charming rogue who thrilled Londoners with his ingenious escapes from prison.
2024-07-0132 minHistory is CriminalRichard III, Worst Uncle Ever?We look at the story of the Princes in the Tower and the role played by Richard III in their deaths. Was Richard the vile Shakespearian troll history has painted him to be or was something else going on?
2024-06-1529 minHistory is CriminalPhilip II and Alexander the Great: Regicide on ParadeIn this our first episode we take a look at the deaths of Philip II of Macedonia and his son, Alexander the Great. Was Alexander murdered, did he play a part in the death of his father, why does everyone seem to have the same name?
2024-06-0125 minHistory is CriminalIntroductionA brief description of what we are all about at History is Criminal. Just think real crime a real long time ago. Welcome to History is Criminal.
2024-06-0100 min