Criminal Records Podcast

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

Lawrence v. Texas

June 03, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 45.2 MB

Get ready for more discussion of of glory holes than you’ve ever heard in a civics lesson before. This landmark case invalidated sodomy laws across the United States. But did the plaintiffs involved actually commit any sodomy with each other? And is the Supreme Court’s legal reasoning at risk today? Sources and show notes Support the show on Patreon

Update - Episode delayed to Friday!

June 01, 2022 22:31

Hi all, Isaac here! Just a heads up that this week's episode will not come out until Friday. Just a minor technical issue on our end.

The Luddites

May 19, 2022 12:00 - 58 minutes - 40.4 MB

This secret society of criminals had a fake leader, but their grievances were very real. Were the Luddites just a bunch of anti-technology cranks, or was there more to their machine breaking movement? Sources and show notes Support us on Patreon

Jaywalking

May 05, 2022 12:00 - 57 minutes - 39.5 MB

The invention of one incredibly minor traffic offense had massive consequences for legal systems around the world. When did we lose the right to cross the street wherever and whenever we wanted? Sources and show notes Support us on Patreon

Publius Horatius

April 21, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.5 MB

One of the most important trials in recorded history might not have happened. But the story of a Roman hero fighting treason charges is still a wild ride that included public murder, monkey-based punishments, and a legal decision so novel that it changed the western world's court systems forever. Sources and show notes Support us on Patreon

Publius Horatius, hero or traitor?

April 21, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.5 MB

One of the most important trials in recorded history might not have happened. But the story of a Roman hero fighting treason charges is still a wild ride that included public murder, monkey-based punishments, and a legal decision so novel that it changed the western world's court systems forever. Sources and show notes Support us on Patreon

Stede Bonnet, the Gentleman Pirate

April 07, 2022 12:00 - 59 minutes - 40.6 MB

It’s time to take to the sea in style. Why did a gentleman abandon a life of luxury to become a pirate? And how did one of the most incompetent ship captains in history end up sailing with Blackbeard himself? Sources and show notes Support us on Patreon

The White Lotus Rebels

March 24, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 45.6 MB

The interrogation records of three criminals tell part of the story of a secret religious movement that tried to topple a dynasty. This sect of apocalyptic Buddhism was so secretive, and so completely quashed by government authorities, that criminal cases are some of our only sources about the extent of their activity. Sources and show notes Find us on Patreon

Lou Blonger

March 10, 2022 13:00 - 58 minutes - 40 MB

In a follow-up to our episode about one very slick criminal, we're taking listeners through a tour of Denver's seedy side. Learn how to scam people 1920s style with an immersive confidence game that required elaborate acting, money swapping, and fake fights. Sources and show notes here Subscribe to the Patreon here!

Li San (re-record)

February 24, 2022 13:00 - 52 minutes - 35.9 MB

What happens when you put a bunch of philosophers in charge of investigating crimes? You end up with one of the most organized and longest-lasting criminal codes in human history. We're going back to Imperial China to examine the case of a deadly dispute over a handful of beans. Show notes and sources at this link

Richard Lawrence, attempted assassin

February 10, 2022 13:00 - 54 minutes - 37.3 MB

Richard Lawrence was full of lead. On one fateful day in 1835, he decided to fill President Andrew Jackson with lead too. Why did the course of American history nearly hinge on a once-common house paint additive, and why have people throughout history been consuming and working with this poisonous metal? Content note: This episode contains some outdated medical terms about mental illness. Show notes and sources at this link

NHL Star Turned Coke Smuggler - Steve Durbano

January 27, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 44.1 MB

One of the most violent players in the NHL got famous for his illegal moves, bench-clearing brawls, and on-ice mooning. But his real criminal career got started after his hockey career ended. Does he deserve to go down in history as a dangerous goon, or a victim of a sports culture that encouraged players to destroy their bodies for profit? Sources and show notes at the link

Broken Windows Theory

January 13, 2022 13:00 - 53 minutes - 36.5 MB

In 1969, a group of graduate students had a great time smashing up a car. Their very strange psychology experiment is responsible for some of the most racist policing practices in America today. How did the broken windows theory go from textbooks to police departments? And will we ever know what actually solved America's biggest crime wave? Content note: This episode discusses a lot of racist practices specifically targeting Black, Latino, and other marginalized groups in America. Source...

The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist

December 30, 2021 13:00 - 57 minutes - 39.7 MB

A group of thieves set their sights on the greatest wealth stockpile of them all: the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve. All they needed was a network of truckers, black market syrup smugglers, and shady dealers willing to get their fingers sticky for a sweet payoff. Show notes and sources at this link

Adam Worth

December 16, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 42.3 MB

Was a poor Jewish kid from Massachusetts the real inspiration for Professor Moriarty? Meet Adam Worth, the gentleman thief so daring his crimes created fashion crazes, inspired private detectives, and nearly caused an international diplomatic incident. Show notes and sources at this link

The Yakuza Rocket Launcher Case

December 02, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 41.7 MB

Want to take your gang war to the next level? Try buying a rocket launcher! In this wild episode, we learn about the history of one of the world’s best-known criminal organizations, the split that launched a bloody turf war, and the linguistic complications of saying “yes” to arms dealers. Show notes and sources at this link

Nelson Mandela

November 18, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 48.2 MB

How did one of the most famous political prisoners of all time end up in prison? What system did he have a part in taking down? This week, we discuss the strange legal maneuvers South Africa’s racist government used to stay in power, and the court case that changed the way the world reacted to the apartheid system. Content notes: This episode contains discussion of the South African apartheid system, which includes some language in its legal divisions of race which would not be acceptable ...

The Queens of the Forty Elephants

November 04, 2021 12:00 - 57 minutes - 39.6 MB

One gang of women terrorized London's merchants for more than a century. From smashing cars through shop doors to stuffing fur coats down their pants, learn the secrets of the lady gang of master criminals. Content note: This episode includes discussion of domestic violence. Show notes and sources at this link

Operation Wedding

October 21, 2021 12:00 - 59 minutes - 41.1 MB

What do you do when your country won't let you leave? One group of defectors from the Soviet Union hatched a desperate plan: they'd pretend they were on their way to a wedding, then they'd hijack their plane and fly it out of the country. Content note: This episode discusses antisemitism in the Soviet Union and the Zionist movement. Sources and show notes at this link

The Holy Roller Murders

October 07, 2021 12:00 - 50 minutes - 34.6 MB

A Salvation Army-inspired preacher decided to turn a small Oregon town into a new Eden. His method for achieving this: public nudity, floggings, bonfires, and sex rituals. When the worried families of his victims tried to stop him, they set off a chain of deaths. Content notes: Murder, sexual exploitation of women and girls, suicide. In case it's not clear from our discussion in the episode, we don't believe there's anything inherently wrong with the enthusiastic methods of worship that ...

Jacques Le Gris

September 16, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 43.1 MB

What if a legal trial was also a battle to the death? In this episode, we look at the strange phenomenon of the judicial duel, in which a plaintiff and defendant would try to kill each other to win a court case. In the “last duel” of medieval France, one man made his fight for justice into a literal fight, and used his weapons to prove that God was on his side. Content notes: This episode is about a trial for violent rape. It contains discussion of some of the incorrect assumptions that me...

Shi Jianqiao

September 02, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 48.4 MB

We've talked about cultures that had a formalized, bureaucratic process for getting revenge. But what do you do when you're not legally allowed to retaliate against the man who killed your father? Shi Jianqiao devoted her life to revenge, captivating the Chinese populace with her filial piety and her poetry justifying her crime. Show notes and sources at this link

Jonathan Wild, The Thief-Taker General

August 19, 2021 12:00 - 53 minutes - 36.8 MB

London’s greatest thief-taker had a secret: he was also the leader of its best-organized gang of thieves. For years, Wild turned one of the most brutal criminal justice systems in the world to his advantage—but even the self-styled Thief-Taker General ended up on the gallows. Content note: This episode contains a graphic description of execution by hanging. Show notes and sources at this link

Marie Antoinette

August 05, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 44.8 MB

Is it a crime to be well-dressed? In this week's episode, we return to the French revolution to find out why one of the world's most fashionable women became the symbol for everything that was wrong with the aristocratic system. Did Marie Antoinette really bankrupt the country with her dresses and jewels, or was she the victim of an angry, desperate populace looking for a scapegoat? Sources and show notes at this link

Citizen Louis Capet/King Louis XVI

July 22, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 90.3 MB

The people of France tried to do just a little bit of revolution, but things got out of hand when their king didn't play along. Louis XVI's accusers needed to convict France's disgraced figurehead to cement the legitimacy of their own government. They just had one little problem: how do you prosecute a man who committed no crimes, because he was the law? Show notes and sources at this link

The Dreyfus Affair

July 08, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 107 MB

The hunt for a spy within the French military went off the rails when an amateur graphologist fingered the wrong suspect. A closed military trial turned into an national scandal involving forged evidence, multiple moles, and two separate failed assassinations. Content warnings: Discussions of antisemitism, suicide, pogroms, and the origins of the Zionist movement. The show notes contain several antisemitic caricatures of Dreyfus and his family. Show notes and sources here

The Assassination of Kim Jong-nam

June 24, 2021 12:00 - 57 minutes - 79 MB

Two women entered Kuala Lumpur International Airport to film a prank show. Their target: an unassuming business traveler. The result: the assassination of the former heir apparent of the North Korean government. How did two aspiring actresses end up caught in the middle of the biggest diplomatic incidents of the decade? And why did Kim Jong-nam go from North Korea's future leader to its top target?

Black Bart/Charles E. Boles/Charlie Bolton

June 09, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 86.5 MB

One man's quest for vengeance against Wells Fargo turned into a massive crime spree—with occasional poetry breaks. Returning guest Amanda Jean joins us to fall in love with Black Bart, the gentleman robber who bluffed his way through a criminal career with no horse, no accomplices, and no bullets. Show notes, sources, and guest information at this link

Dante "Tex" Gill

May 27, 2021 12:00 - 59 minutes - 82.2 MB

Welcome to the seedy underbelly of Pittsburgh, where the battle for control over the sex trade turned into an all-out gang war. Caught in the middle: A trans horse riding instructor who turned to a life of crime when he needed money to care for his ailing mother. S.A. Chant joins us today for a conversation about money laundering through paint-your-own ceramics, fighting the cops with birthday cake, and the way respectability politics changes the stories we tell about queer history. Many t...

Abe Sada (re-record)

May 13, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.8 MB

One of Japan’s most famous murderesses took a very intimate souvenir from the lover she murdered. Was she the sex-crazed nymphomaniac portrayed in the media? Was she the symbol of female empowerment described by her supporters? Or was she an abuse victim who broke down after making one terrible mistake? Content notes for this episode: Sexual assault, sexual exploitation of young girls, murder, genital mutilation, suicide. Show notes and sources here

The Free Town Project

April 29, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 87.1 MB

If you want to tackle the crime problem, why not just get rid of all the laws? In this episode, a group of free thinkers take a utopian experiment to the extreme, and discover in the process that some laws exist for a reason. One of those reasons: preventing bears from eating everyone. Content note: This episode mentions several instances of libertarians arguing in favor of pedophilia or being caught with child pornography. It also includes descriptions of animal attacks and hunting. Sho...

The Moscow Trials

April 15, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 87.4 MB

While the United States was panicking about a communist conspiracy, the Soviet Union was in the middle of its own panic about a cabal of evil conspirators at the very heart of the communist party. Was Joseph Stalin really surrounded by secret fascists? Or did he perhaps have an ulterior motive for accusing his own party members of murder? Show notes and sources at this link

No episode this week

March 31, 2021 01:04 - 55 seconds - 1.24 MB

Demetria and Isaac are in the middle of a move, and we don't have things set up to record like we normally would! See you in two weeks as we resume our regularly scheduled programming.

Jack Johnson

March 18, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 85.6 MB

Jack Johnson was so good at boxing that he scared an entire generation of racists. White authorities chose to make an example of him with one of America's most infamous laws. Sources and show notes at this link

Augusto Pinochet

March 04, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 88.7 MB

Our first episode about South America gives us a very different perspective on the American fight against Communism. Was promoting America's interests in the Cold War really worth propping up a brutal dictatorship? And why did the international attempt to bring Pinochet to justice involve British Law Lords, a fake case of dementia, and a law that gave Spain carte blanche to prosecute all crimes against humanity... except for the ones that happened in Spain? Content note: This episode inclu...

The Hollywood Ten

February 18, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 100 MB

Get your flags and your bibles, we’re hunting Communists. The Red Menace could be lurking anywhere: in your unions, in your movies, maybe even in the very halls of Congress. Show notes, sources, and patriotic films and sources at this link

Florida Man

February 04, 2021 13:00 - 56 minutes - 77.4 MB

Take a tour around the swamp with America's favorite rascal. Florida Man's always making headlines for punching alligators, stealing meat, and fighting cops in the buff. But does Florida really deserve its reputation as the weirdest state in the union? And is our nation's most beloved rapscallion the villain of our story, or is he the victim of a legal system that accidentally created a media monster? Show notes, sources, and speeches from some of Florida's best humorists at this link

Willem Arondeus (re-record)

January 21, 2021 13:00 - 53 minutes - 73.4 MB

Meet the man who used his artistic talents to resist Nazi occupation, then planned an elaborate scheme to destroy a public records building by posing as a German official. In the occupied Netherlands, a group of artists fought the law with typography and tailoring. Why did Willem Arondeus go from a little-known WII resistance fighter to a hit with Tumblr teens, and what can his story teach us about resisting fascism today? Show notes and sources at this link

Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four

January 07, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 86.1 MB

Was Mao Zedong's fourth wife one of history's deadliest criminals, or was she a scapegoat for a country that needed to preserve the image of its founding father? The answer is complicated, tragic, and involves a surprising amount of high-stakes theater criticism. Show notes, sources, and sacred mangoes at this link

Week off

December 31, 2020 18:42

Happy New Year! We're taking a week off so we can enjoy the end of 2020 (and because Isaac needs to prep for teaching more online courses). We'll be back in the new year with more of history's weirdest criminal cases.

Puyi, the Xuantong Emperor

December 17, 2020 13:00 - 58 minutes - 80.7 MB

China’s last emperor ended up becoming one of history’s strangest political pawns, and ended his life as an avowed communist. How did a man born into unbelievable wealth end up penning a memoir about the evils of the landlord class? And was his disavowal of his privileged upbringing genuine, or was he the victim of a justice system that perfected the art of brainwashing prisoners? Show notes and sources here

Harry Allen

December 03, 2020 13:00 - 57 minutes - 79.6 MB

Meet Harry Allen, the sporty gentleman who scandalized Seattle by wooing ladies, biting cops, and making sure to give his side of the story to the press. Harry left an extraordinary legacy in the public record: He was a transgender man who talked directly to newspapers about his gender identity. But was he really the incorrigible hoodlum the papers made him out to be, or was he forced to the margins of society by police harassment? Content notes: There is one transphobic quote at the begin...

Okamoto Kōzō

November 19, 2020 13:00 - 58 minutes - 79.8 MB

This week, we explore a hapless revolutionary group's failed attempts to start the Communist revolution with pachinko ball bombs, a one-way flight to North Korea, and random attacks on civilians. Why did a group of Japanese students end up deciding that the best way to kick-start the revolution was getting involved in a war in the middle east? And how does an idealistic young student end up believing that mass murder is morally justified? Content note: This episode is about various acts of...

Three short cases: PT Barnum, a pond full of leeches, and Palisade Nevada

November 05, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 87.4 MB

Hey, is anyone having trouble concentrating this week? Maybe there's something in the news that might make it hard to focus on a deep dive into serious crimes? Well, we've got a episode that moves as fast as the news cycle. Take a quick spin through criminal history with us as we cover some short cases about cool bicycle tricks, nasty ponds, and the fine tradition of messing with tourists. Show notes and sources at this link (no actual photographs of leeches, I promise!)

Sabbatai Zevi

October 22, 2020 12:00 - 1 hour - 87.2 MB

Isaac tells a story about Judaism’s weirdest would-be messiah. Demetria adds ambiance by constantly arguing with him. This is the story of Sabbatai Zevi, whose quest to save the Jewish people turned him into a dangerous liability. Show notes and sources at this link

Louis Riel

October 08, 2020 12:00 - 55 minutes - 76.9 MB

Do you think Canada is just America's conflict-adverse northern neighbor? Think again! This week, we go on a journey through some of Canada's strangest history, including a territory governed by an employee handbook, a polite uprising derailed by one rude man, and an exiled politician whose very understandable quest for a fairer legal system spiraled into delusions of messianic salvation. Show notes and sources at this link

Han van Meegeren

September 24, 2020 12:00 - 56 minutes - 77.7 MB

Han van Meegeren might not have been loved by art critics, but his descent into the world of art forgery accidentally turned him into one of his country's least likely heroes. Join us for the twisted tale of an expert art forger, a high-ranking Nazi art thief, and a Jewish Dutch resistance hero whose espionage investigation turned into a friendship with one of the Netherlands' most flamboyant criminals. Show notes and sources at this link

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