Criminal Records Podcast

The Ulysses Trial

April 18, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 48.1 MB

If the obscene material you're distributing is so avant-garde that most readers can't tell it's actually obscene, did you commit a crime or not? This week, we're getting into the trial of the scandalous literary magazine editors who brought the work of James Joyce to America. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

Two small scams

April 04, 2024 12:00 - 59 minutes - 40.6 MB

Not all scam artists prey on suckers’ desire to get rich quick or cheat the system. Some of them prey on their marks’ better impulses, like their love for their pet dogs or their willingness to help a stranger in an emergency. Content note: This episode contains discussion of animal cruelty and inhumane and misguided medical practices. It contains some outdated language about epilepsy. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

British Prison Reform

March 21, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 50.4 MB

With options for getting rid of its convicts drying up, Britain started thinking about reforming both its prisons and the prisoners inside them. The intention behind these prison reforms was great. But attempts to create a better prison system involved wild philosophy experiments in real life, a lot of Bibles, a lot of time to think in silence, and... treadmills? Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

Abortion in Modern Japan

March 07, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 47.8 MB

Is abortion legal in Japan? No, but also yes. Join us on a journey through history to learn about how modern abortion law developed in a legal system that didn't treat fetuses as legal persons but did want to count them as future taxpayers. Content note: This episode is about abortion. It contains discussions of miscarriages, the complications of improper administration of abortifacients, forced sterilization, sexually transmitted diseases, and sex work. Sources and show notes...

The Yakuza

February 22, 2024 13:09 - 1 hour - 42.6 MB

We're out of the country for a family memorial service and didn't have time to record a Criminal Records episode for the week. But that doesn't mean we're out of crime content! This week, we've cleaned up and cut together some of Isaac's very, very old History of Japan audio to bring you the history of Japanese organized crime.

The Bloody Code

February 08, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 43.6 MB

Under Britain's most notorious era of criminal law, you could be sentenced to death for everything from destroying a fishpond to being a particularly malicious 7-year-old. But how many criminals actually died thanks to this wave of harsh legislation? Getting the answer requires a deep dive into the very weird world of crime and punishment in the industrializing United Kingdom. Content note: This episode is about capital punishment in British law and will include a lot of information about ...

Emma Goldman, part 2

January 25, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 48.1 MB

The law was out to take Emma Goldman down on a range of charges from distributing obscene material to assassination to sedition. But did the woman the papers called the Queen of Anarchy deserve her lengthy rap sheet? Sources and show notes (with some excellent political cartoons) at this link Support the show on Patreon

Emma Goldman, part 1

January 11, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 43.3 MB

Something seemed a little less than ideal about governments and economies around the world in the late 1880s. One woman's solution? Anarchy. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

Bonus Episode: Babylon Berlin

December 28, 2023 22:14 - 29 minutes - 20.3 MB

Thanks to Demetria's brilliant decision to get as many vaccines as possible on the same day, there's no new episode this week. Instead, we're releasing a bonus episode from our Patreon archives about one of our all-time favorite works of historical fiction. We'll be back on our regular posting schedule in 2024! Content warning: Babylon Berlin is set in the Weimar Republic and contains some admirably frank depictions of the rise of fascism, so there's a lot of discussion of antisemitism and...

CW "Shorty" Young

December 14, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 48.4 MB

On one side, a crooked saloon owner with a side business running brothels and opium dens. On the other side, a moralistic tycoon with rail car full of beautiful vegetables. Which one of them did more damage to a frontier town in Montana? Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

The Reichsbürger movement

December 01, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 51.3 MB

Want to crown yourself the king of Germany? Want to conquer Europe because you have really strong opinions about public transit? Want to get rich quick selling fake government ID cards? With this one completely nonsense legal strategy, you too can claim the government of Germany isn't real and join the ranks of some very iffy far-right extremists. Sources and show notes Support the show on Patreon

Episode delay this week

November 28, 2023 22:34

Hi everyone, Owing to a bout of illness, we're bumping back the release date for this week's episode by 24 hours. We expect to still be able to get it out there by Friday morning (Pacific Time). Sorry for the delay!

The Stone of Destiny Heist

November 16, 2023 13:00 - 59 minutes - 41.3 MB

To crown the monarch of the United Kingdom, you need a 336-pound block of sandstone. But who really owns that big chunk of stone, and who was the thief who stole it from its rightful place? Sources and show notes at this link Support the show and find our bonus episode about Braveheart on Patreon

The Osaka Incident of 1827, part 2

November 02, 2023 12:00 - 59 minutes - 41.2 MB

If you're going to accuse a gang of spirit mediums of practicing a banned religion on the down low, you have to prove they're actually members of that religion. But what if your only understanding of how this religious group worships comes from stories about outrageous magical villains? Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

The Osaka Incident of 1827, part 1

October 19, 2023 12:00 - 58 minutes - 40.4 MB

A group of spirit mediums found a way to use their psychic prowess to get rich in the physical realm. But when an investigator started looking into a suspiciously successful prosperity scheme, he uncovered a case of divine fraud. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

Lie Detector Tests

October 05, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 44.9 MB

Let's dive into the dangerous, divine, and occasionally kinky history of trying to figure out who's telling the truth. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

James Reavis, Part 2

September 21, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 47 MB

In the second part of our story, the Baron of Arizona has to create a Baroness so he can rise to great heights in Europe and use his connections to keep swindling in America. But while the upper crust in the old country buy into his wild story, Americans are starting to unravel his fraud. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

James Reavis, Part 1

September 07, 2023 12:00 - 54 minutes - 37.6 MB

James Reavis was a failed real estate investor, but he had a knack for document forgery. And if you lose all the land you own legally, why not acquire some more with the help of a few doctored papers? Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

The Bombing of KAL Flight 858

August 24, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.3 MB

A North Korean plot to sabotage the Olympics and possibly derail a crucial South Korean election hinged on a pair of very unusual spies. When one of the bombers survived after swallowing a cyanide capsule, she told investigators her whole world was a lie. Content note: This episode concerns a terrorist attack, a plane crash, mass murder, and a death by poisoning. It also contains discussions of police brutality and torture. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

The death of Thomas Overbury, part 2

August 10, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 48.4 MB

Mirror mirror on the wall, who really killed Thomas Overbury? We're getting deep into what might just be the weirdest trial we've ever covered on this show, with accusations flying about witchcraft, a poisoned enema, Spanish treachery, and a cameo from Sir Francis Bacon. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

The death of Thomas Overbury, part 1

July 27, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.1 MB

We begin a twisted tale of witchcraft, poison, and legal arguing over magically cursed genitals in the court of King James I. Sir Thomas Overbury tried his best to climb to a coveted position at court, but he made a lot of enemies along the way. Content note: I'm going to throw an explicit label on this one just in case because it involves a discussion of a legal case revolving around the mechanics of impotence. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

The Five Men of Naniwa

July 13, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.9 MB

In life, they were poor hooligans. In death, they became five of Japan's greatest folk heroes. Join us for a journey into Japan's 17th-century true crime puppet shows, time-traveling heroic tales, and kabuki romance. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show and find bonus episodes on Patreon

The Iran-Contra Affair

June 29, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.8 MB

You've heard jokes about the Iran-Contra affair, but have you heard the actual legal arguments of the defendants? To understand the true scope and purpose of these complicated financial shenanigans, we've got to cover a whole lot of history. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

Section 28

June 15, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 55.6 MB

This Pride month, we’re gearing up for a fight. As we battle over “Don’t Say Gay” bills in the US today, we’re looking back to the 1980s to see how a similar legal effort played out in the United Kingdom. No one was ever successfully prosecuted under Section 28, but that doesn’t mean it was harmless. Content note: This episode contains in-depth discussion of homophobia and transphobia in the recent past and today. I’m also going to have to throw an explicit label on this episode just to be...

Arnaud du Tilh, a.k.a. Martin Guerre

June 01, 2023 12:00 - 55 minutes - 37.9 MB

A man named Martin Guerre left his wife and child. Eight years later, a man who called himself Martin Guerre returned. Why would his wife accept her not-quite-the-same husband without raising any questions, and what happened when one member of the family became convinced his nephew had been replaced by an imposter? Sources and show notes Support the show on Patreon

Section 230

May 18, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 47.9 MB

Is the rule that made the modern internet to blame for breaking it? Is a forum legally analogous to a bookstore that might have a dirty book in it somewhere? Who's responsible for all this junk everyone's been putting in the internet tubes? And if we're heading for a massive change in the way we handle illegal content online, are we at risk of destroying the best parts of the system we're trying to fix? Content note: This episode contains discussion of illegal speech, including hate speech...

Bo Xilai, Gu Kailai, and Wang Lijun

May 04, 2023 12:00 - 57 minutes - 39.6 MB

We're back with a new recording of one of the first cases we covered on Criminal Records. Bo Xilai was one of the rising stars of China's Communist Party, but his political dreams came crashing down when a close business partner was found dead in mysterious circumstances. Sources and shownotes at this link Support the show and listen to bonus episodes on Patreon

Bonus Episode: Marie Antoinette (2006)

April 20, 2023 12:00 - 24 minutes - 16.5 MB

We're out of the country for the week, so we've released one of our Patreon bonus episodes into the regular podcast feed. We've talked about Marie Antoinette's real life and death, but how does the 2006 Marie Antoinette movie choose to frame her story? This is part of a much longer discussion in our bonus episodes about movies depicting (or claiming to depict) historical events. You can find the full series on our Patreon.

Perkin Warbeck

April 06, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.9 MB

A half-baked plot to replace the true king of England with an impostor involved mind-controlling ointment, a loyalist uprising that never materialized, and some of the biggest political powers in Europe. Content note: The backstory of this episode involves the likely murder of two children, although the focus of this case is a different crime. Sources and show notes Support the show on Patreon

Ovid

March 23, 2023 12:00 - 58 minutes - 40 MB

One of the western canon’s greatest poets was a real horndog. Was his banishment from Rome really about making Rome great again by returning to purity culture, or did Publius Ovidius Naso get caught up in a complicated web of politics at the dawn of the Roman empire? This episode is marked explicit for some seriously steamy poetry quotations. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

James Aitken

March 09, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 51.7 MB

One would-be hero of the American revolution wasn't American, heroic, or particularly good at helping the revolution. His plan to burn down the British navy's most strategic dockyards had just one fatal flaw: he wasn't actually any good at starting fires. Sources and show notes Support the show on Patreon

Naftaly Frenkel (re-record)

February 23, 2023 13:00 - 50 minutes - 35 MB

One Soviet convict impressed his own jailors so much that he ended up completely transforming the Soviet Union's gulag system. But how much of what we know about the life of Naftaly Frenkel is real, and how much is a right-wing attempt to link the Communist party to a conspiracy theory about greedy Jews? Content note: Discussion of mistreatment of prisoners and antisemitism. Sources and show notes Support the show on Patreon

Reynard the Fox

February 09, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 47 MB

We're exploring the history of crime fiction with Reynard, a rascal whose exploits are definitely not the sort of behavior you'd expect from a cute talking fox today. How did our vulpine antihero go from a murderous rapist to a cuddly kids' character? Why did Walt Disney keep trying to make a movie about one of fiction's nastiest criminals? And how long is Isaac willing to listen to descriptions of medieval butt jokes before he begs Demetria to wrap up this episode? Content note: This epis...

Women and the Law in the Late Roman Republic

January 26, 2023 13:00 - 56 minutes - 39 MB

We’re heading to the Roman Republic for two stories about women getting their day in court. Asking the gods to put a supernatural hit out on your illicit lover, that’s a-okay according to the Romans. But being a sugar baby? That’s against the law. Show notes and sources at this link Support the show on Patreon

Hustler Magazine, Inc v. Falwell

January 12, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 44.6 MB

We're starting the year off with a civil law case involving some very uncivil language. One of our nation's most important legal battles over the First Amendment was a battle between a Nyquil-chugging preacher and an American flag diaper-wearing porn publisher. Does the right to free speech protect your right to be really, really gross? Content note: This episode is labeled explicit for graphic descriptions of fictional incest. There will also be some quotes from primary sources containing...

The Pig War

December 29, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 48.8 MB

On a lonely island off the coast of North America, one man shot another man's pig for eating his potatoes. The legal question of who had the right to arrest him nearly upset the fragile peace between two nations. Sources and show notes Support the show on Patreon

The Great Sumo Match Fixing Scandal

December 15, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 45 MB

While Japanese officials were investigating a case of illegal baseball betting, they uncovered a shocking secret about the integrity of one of the country's most famous sports. Who actually runs the world of sumo, and why would some of the most elite athletes in the world feel so much pressure to fix their matches? Sources and show notes Support the show on Patreon

The Murder of Pavlik Morozov

December 01, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 46.9 MB

In the Soviet Union, snitches got statues. But was the story of a brave little Communist who was murdered by his own family just a little too good to be true? And if the famous campfire tale was a fabrication, who really killed the Morozov boys? Content note: This episode contains descriptions of the murders of two children, torture of suspects, execution by shooting, and millions of deaths due to famine. Sources and show notes here

Kinder Egg smuggling

November 17, 2022 13:00 - 57 minutes - 39.6 MB

Are people really being fined thousands of dollars for smuggling a sweet treat across the US border? Demetria goes deep (maybe a little too deep) on an investigation into why American stores can't sell one of Europe's favorite chocolates. Content note: Deaths of children by asphyxiation and poisoning will be mentioned in this story but are not discussed in detail. Sources and show notes here Support the show on Patreon

Starvation Heights

November 03, 2022 12:00 - 55 minutes - 38.4 MB

Was one of Seattle's most notorious killers murdering her patients and stealing their fortunes on purpose, or did she really believe that starvation was the cure for every disease? Welcome to the world of Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard, one of alternate medicine's most notorious quacks, who always seemed to end up with power of attorney over her wealthy victims shortly before they died under mysterious circumstances. Content note: This episode involves detailed discussion of disordered eating,...

John Spano, Jr.

October 20, 2022 12:00 - 56 minutes - 39 MB

One man lived the dream of every hockey fan when he bought a 50% stake in the ownership of the New York Islanders. There were just a few problems with his plan to save the struggling underdogs: He didn’t know anything about how to run a hockey team, he couldn’t fulfil any of his grand promises, and he didn’t actually have any money. Sources and show notes here Support the show on Patreon

Roy Olmstead, the Gentleman Bootlegger

October 06, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 49.5 MB

When Washington State went dry, one baby-faced cop decided to start moonlighting as a bootlegger. His alcohol empire involved crooked mayors, bootlegging conventions, airplane engines strapped to boats, and a conspiracy theory about secret messages for rum-runners hidden inside children's bedtime stories. S.A. Chant generously stepped up to guest while Isaac's out sick this week. I highly recommend checking out their work! S.A. Chant on Twitter Buy Peter Darling, Coffee Boy, or Carolin...

The Kosher Riots

September 22, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 43.8 MB

On one fateful week in 1902, Old Country systems of oversight of meat production met New Country price collusion. With the price of kosher meat skyrocketing in New York City and the Jewish population entering its hangriest period of the year, tensions spilled over into a pandemonium involving naked butchers, flying fish, and cops getting slapped in the face with raw liver. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

Lawnchair Larry

September 08, 2022 12:00 - 49 minutes - 33.9 MB

A man, a plan, a violation of controlled airspace. Larry Walters was an ordinary truck driver, but he hatched an extraordinary scheme to take to the sky in a lawn chair tied to weather balloons. His stunt made international headlines, inspired movies, and launched an extreme sport. Content note: This episode includes a discussion of suicide. Sources and show notes here Support the show on Patreon

The Taiwan Civil Government

August 25, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.8 MB

What should you do when two different governments claim to have authority over your country? Tell everyone that a third government secretly has the real claim to power! Then, start taking people's money so you can issue your own license plates and government ID cards. What could go wrong? Sources and show notes here Support the show on Patreon

The Major League Baseball Steroid Scandal

August 11, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 47.7 MB

An attempt to get to the bottom of steroid abuse in Major League Baseball spun out so badly that one of the lawyers involved ended up in prison. But why is punishing people for the misuse of regulated drugs in sports left up to private organizations in the first place? And wouldn't baseball be so much more fun if everyone was still injecting meth and goat testicle juice? Content notes: Discussion of drug abuse including meth, anabolic steroids, and goat testicle extract (yes, really) So...

Edwin Rist, the Feather Thief

July 28, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.8 MB

The target: The British Museum of Natural History. The payload: A suitcase full of dead birds. The criminal: A flute player obsessed with the rare art of Victorian fly tying. Content note: This episode contains discussion of the "Asperger's defense," a controversial mental health defense in the British court system. We're discussing the legal and medical terminology that was used at the time; understanding of the autism spectrum has evolved since then. Sources, show notes, and a whole lo...

The Chishima Incident

July 14, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.6 MB

We’re tackling one of our most confusing legal systems yet in a case so complicated no one could even figure out which jurisdiction covered it. Because there was no law covering criminal negligence, the accidental sinking of the warship Chishima was tried in a civil court–but Japan’s bizarre treaty system forced the emperor of Japan to personally take his suit to a British court on Chinese soil. Mix in a little debate over maritime law, a dash of confusion over precedent, and a lot of nation...

The Russian Gay Propaganda Law

June 30, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 43.6 MB

We’re closing out Pride month with a look at a country where Pride demonstrations are banned. How did Russia go from relative tolerance to extreme repression? Why did so much Soviet propaganda feature men kissing? And how did a law about kids’ media turn into a human rights violation? Note: While this episode is not particularly sexually graphic, I’ve marked it as explicit just in case because it contains discussion of the legality of performing and depicting sex acts. Special thanks to ...

The 11th Panchen Lama

June 16, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.5 MB

Can you break the law by reincarnating in the wrong body? We get into Tibet’s complicated battle with China over its reincarnation lineages, including a government-mandated ceremonial golden urn, a legal precedent that requires time travel to make sense, and an inheritance dispute involving a parent who’s younger than his own child. Sources and show notes here Support the show on Patreon

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