Villains

Introducing Conspiracy Theories: CIA Edition

July 01, 2021 07:01 - 14 minutes

This summer, sift through the files of America’s most covert organization in a special collection from Parcast Network. From secret alliances to global cover-ups, uncover the cold, hard facts and unproven theories surrounding the CIA. Listen to a clip from the first episode here, on the domestic mind control program known as Project MK-Ultra. Then search and follow “Conspiracy Theories: CIA Edition” for declassified episodes every Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

Introducing Devious Dads

June 07, 2021 07:01 - 1 minute

Revisit ten of the worst fathers in true crime history in this special collection from Parcast Network. From the father who turned his son into a spy, to the dad whose long business trips turned out to be mafia hits, these dads will definitely not be getting any Father’s Day gifts this year. Devious Dads is a Spotify Original from Parcast. Listen free on Spotify! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Introducing: Impostors

May 03, 2021 07:01 - 11 minutes

Wayne Simmons had a dramatic 27-year career with the CIA taking down cartels and busting arms smugglers — or did he? The ex-CIA military analyst and cable news star stands accused of being a fraud. Hosted by the reporter who broke the story, Impostors follows the investigation into who Wayne Simmons really is… Hero, or conman? Impostors is a Spotify Original from Parcast. Produced by Topic Studios and Transmitter Media. Hosted by Alex French. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

Welcome to Hollywood Scandals

April 19, 2021 07:01 - 38 minutes

This awards season, pull back the curtain on Tinseltown’s most infamous controversies in the new Spotify Original from Parcast, Hollywood Scandals. You can hear the first episode on Hollywood’s sordid beginnings right here, then follow Hollywood Scandals for an episode every Monday. Listen free, only on Spotify!

Welcome to Obsessed

March 29, 2021 07:01 - 20 minutes

In the newest Parcast Original from Spotify, comedians and best friends Benito Skinner and Mary Beth Barone discuss all the trends, scandals, pop culture icons and personal stories they can’t shake from their minds. And they have a lot to cover! Listen to their debut episode right here, where Mary Beth shares her top 5 most iconic SNL musical performances and Benito shares how he got the “thank u, next” treatment from pop superstar Ariana Grande (and why he’s the opposite of mad about it). Th...

A Bram Stoker Classic from Haunted Places: Ghost Stories

February 25, 2021 08:01 - 31 minutes

Dracula wasn’t the only frightful fiction conjured by Irish author Bram Stoker… In this retelling of “The Judge’s House,” a Cambridge student is overcome with curiosity — then dread — as he faces an evil man’s terrifying legacy. Listen to Part 1 right here, then search “Haunted Places: Ghost Stories” to hear Part 2, when the Judge himself comes calling… Haunted Places: Ghost Stories is a Spotify Original from Parcast. Every Thursday, find a new tale of terror from some of history’s greatest a...

New Limited Series: Criminal Couples

February 01, 2021 08:01 - 1 minute

This season, “L” stands for love… and lawless… and lethal. Beginning February 1st, uncover history’s most infamous couples in this collection of episodes from across Parcast Network. Follow the misdeeds of married mafiosos. Enter the transgressions of casanova cult leaders. And demystify the lives of coupled kingpins, pirates, and spies… Because in this limited series, romance takes a sharp turn into the radical. Get a preview of Criminal Couples right here, then search “Criminal Couples” t...

Villains Now Exclusively on Spotify!

May 08, 2020 07:01 - 2 minutes

You can find all past and future episodes of Villains exclusively on Spotify! And best of all, they’re free! Just download the Spotify app and simply type “Villains” in the search bar to start listening. No payment is required! Follow Villains only on Spotify to get new episodes as soon as they come out every Friday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Villains of Star Wars, Exclusively on Spotify!

May 04, 2020 07:01 - 2 minutes

Star Wars is the second-highest-grossing movie franchise of all time, and that success is on the backs of its iconic villains: Boba Fett. Kylo Ren. Darth Vader. Beginning May 8th, we’ll cover these famous foes from the dark side in our new Star Wars-themed season of Villains. You can find new episodes every Friday, exclusively on Spotify.

Chaos: Adrian Veidt & Harry S. Truman

May 01, 2020 07:01 - 53 minutes

In the cynical alternate 1980s of Alan Moore's Watchmen, Adrian Veidt is the only one looking with hope toward the future. He has a plan for saving the human race from itself. The lines he crosses in order to make his dream a reality give even the most jaded superhero pause.

Sneak Peek: DAILY QUOTE, A Parcast Original Series!

April 26, 2020 07:01 - 3 minutes

Whether you’re jumpstarting the morning, searching for that midday pick-me-up, or trying to finish the evening off strong… Daily Quote offers some of history’s most inspirational quotes whenever you need them—365 days a year. In this 2-3 minute podcast, you’ll be given a quote that will motivate, uplift, and renew your outlook on life. You’ll also dive deeper into the context surrounding the quote—learning more about its origin and the meaning behind it. Enjoy this sneak peek of Daily Quote ...

Chaos: Poison Ivy & The Earth Liberation Front

April 24, 2020 07:01 - 42 minutes

Like her best friend Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy has developed and changed since her 1966 debut—appearing in a plethora of DC comics, films, and animated series. But some things have stayed consistent: She loves plants more than people…and throws the world into chaos with her astonishing powers over nature.

Chaos: Tyler Durden & The Unabomber

April 17, 2020 07:01 - 47 minutes

He is as pure an agent of chaos as they come: a soap-toting, bomb-making, anti-authoritarian terrorist with a chip on his shoulder and a vendetta against the capitalist system. By the time audiences were introduced to Fight Club’s Tyler Durden, they were already familiar with a similar real-life character… His name was Ted Kaczynski.

Chaos: Godzilla & The Hydrogen Bomb

April 10, 2020 07:01 - 50 minutes

You know he's coming when you hear the sound of his massive footsteps. You know it's the middle of the movie when he starts to use his fire breath. You know it's the '70s when he becomes a Saturday morning superhero. Godzilla may be a larger-than-life villain, but did you know he was conceived as a metaphor for nuclear weapons?

Introducing SUPERNATURAL WITH ASHLEY FLOWERS, A Parcast Original Series!

April 08, 2020 07:01 - 15 minutes

Join Parcast and Crime Junkie’s Ashley Flowers as they dive deep into the strange and surreal to explain some of the world’s most bizarre true crime occurrences in the new series, Supernatural with Ashley Flowers. Every Wednesday, Ashley digs into a different mystifying crime—where the most fitting theory isn’t always the most conventional. Was there a special committee formed under President Truman to recover and investigate alien spacecraft? Sort through the details with Ashley and decide ...

Stephen King: IT & John Wayne Gacy

April 03, 2020 07:01 - 47 minutes

The 1980s were rife with depictions of evil clowns—and for good reason. John Wayne Gacy and others like him were terrorizing minors across the country. On top of this, Stephen King created one of the most iconic villains in fiction: Pennywise from the 1986 novel IT.

Stephen King: The Outsider & El Cuco

March 27, 2020 07:01 - 46 minutes

It is a literal boogeyman taken from the nightmares of children across the globe. And when it decides to kill, there is nothing modern police methods can do to convict the actual suspect—because it wears the face of an innocent. In Stephen King’s The Outsider, it is known by the Spanish name of the boogeyman, El Cuco.

Stephen King: Annie Wilkes & Genene Jones

March 20, 2020 07:01 - 41 minutes

She is an innocent looking romance novel fan—as well as a baby-killer who tortures her favorite writer. As the antagonist of Stephen King’s 1987 novel Misery, Annie Wilkes’ story is unusual in that it doesn’t rely on the supernatural to create horror. One of the reasons King may have decided to examine the possibility of this human evil is the existence of one real-life woman: Genene Jones.

Stephen King: The Overlook Hotel & The Stanley Hotel

March 13, 2020 07:01 - 50 minutes

It’s the setting and villain of Stephen King's 1977 novel The Shining. The Overlook Hotel seeks to harness its guests' weaknesses and inner demons to turn them into the worst versions of themselves. In today's episode, we examine this unforgettable villain alongside the building that inspired it, the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park Colorado.

Albert Anastasia, The One-Man Army

March 06, 2020 08:01 - 42 minutes

If you were a longshoreman from the 1920s to the 1950s, you lived in fear of this man. Though his reign and reputation were barely a footnote in history, the power Albert Anastasia wielded over the New York harbor was absolute. Anastasia proved that if no one is willing to testify against you… you can get away with just about anything.

FICTION: Johnny Friendly, Corruption on the Waterfront

February 28, 2020 08:01 - 43 minutes

For 1950s movie audiences, Johnny Friendly was a disturbingly real depiction of a gangster—one with no moral code to speak of. The corrupt union boss from Elia Kazan’s iconic film On the Waterfront cares about two things: money and his own reputation.

Virginia Hill, “The Queen of the Mob”

February 21, 2020 08:01 - 49 minutes

The preeminent 20th-century mafiosa, Virginia Hill worked with gangsters from New York to Chicago to LA, making—and spending—money every step of the way. Maintaining her power as a woman in a man’s world wasn’t easy. Still, she wasn’t about to let anything stop her from achieving her goals.

FICTION: Harley Quinn, DC’s First Lady of Crime

February 14, 2020 08:01 - 41 minutes

She’s best known for her role as the submissive girlfriend and sidekick to the DC Universe’s Joker. But Harley Quinn, like her namesake “Harlequin,” is full of surprises. As she’s appeared in everything from cartoons to comics to live action films since the 1990s, she has changed with the times—getting more manic, and more independent, too.

Eugenio Berríos, “Hermes”

February 07, 2020 08:01 - 41 minutes

South America in the 1970s was a period which gave birth to both the Mexican drug cartels and the career of a man who bears many similarities to Breaking Bad’s Gus Fring: Augusto Pinochet’s drug dealer, Eugenio Berríos—a man responsible for an unknown number of horrifying deaths.

FICTION: Gus Fring, Breaking Bad-Guy

January 31, 2020 08:01 - 45 minutes

Gustavo “Gus” Fring was introduced in the second season of Breaking Bad at the height of his power—a drug lord masquerading as the owner of a modest but successful chicken restaurant chain called Los Pollos Hermanos.

Al Capone, Chicago’s Real-Life Kingpin

January 24, 2020 08:01 - 52 minutes

As the head of the Chicago Outfit, he was one of the most powerful men in the midwest at only 30-years-old. He was a bootlegger, a racketeer, a philanthropist, Public Enemy Number One—and his name is practically synonymous with the mob: Al Capone.

FICTION: Kingpin, Marvel’s King of Crime

January 17, 2020 08:01 - 54 minutes

Weighing in at 450 lbs of solid muscle, this crime lord is larger than life in just about every way imaginable. With a brilliant mind, untold wealth, and a sprawling criminal organization at his fingertips, he's a formidable foe even for super-powered heroes. He's Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of the Marvel Comics Universe.

Frank Costello, The Prime Minister of the Underworld

January 10, 2020 08:01 - 42 minutes

Before Don Vito Corleone made offers that couldn’t be refused, there was real-life mafioso Frank Costello. As inspiration for Corleone, Costello made his mark in New York in the ‘20s and ‘30s using money, power, and influence.

FICTION: Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather

January 03, 2020 08:01 - 46 minutes

His killings were cloaked in honor, and his crimes were for his family. Don Vito Corleone’s story was the coveted success story of every American immigrant—despite his line of work. But violence is violence, and crime is crime...something Vito’s family learned the hard way.

Octave Garnier and the Bonnot Gang

December 27, 2019 08:01 - 50 minutes

The Joker may be the fictional embodiment of chaos, but what was the true inspiration behind his evil? Delve into the history of anarchy, and the real-life criminals that may have directly inspired the creation of “the Clown Prince.”

Jeffrey Dahmer Special Pt. 3

December 23, 2019 08:10 - 50 minutes

Parcast Exclusive! DAHMER: A SERIAL KILLERS 3-PART SPECIAL While on probation after an early release from prison in March of 1990, Jeffrey Dahmer continued his wave of sadistic violence. A chance event would finally lead to his arrest, and a media spectacle would bring Dahmer to the masses.

Jeffrey Dahmer Special Pt. 2

December 23, 2019 08:05 - 41 minutes

Parcast Exclusive! DAHMER: A SERIAL KILLERS 3-PART SPECIAL It was a murderous rampage that could have possibly been stopped. Although Jeffrey Dahmer failed numerous times to turn his life around, his multi-year killing spree also went ignored by his family, neighbors, sentencing judges, and court-appointed therapists.

Jeffrey Dahmer Special Pt. 1

December 23, 2019 08:01 - 38 minutes

Parcast Exclusive! DAHMER: A SERIAL KILLERS 3-PART SPECIAL You know the name, but do you know the whole story? Jeffrey Dahmer—one of history’s most notorious serial killers, and our most requested episode, is now the subject of an exclusive 3-part special event. You can now listen to all 3 episodes within SERIAL KILLERS, and all of Parcast’s true-crime related feeds. He was one of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th century, murdering 17 young men between 1978 and 1991 through a va...

FICTION: The Joker, DC Comics’ Batman

December 20, 2019 08:01 - 57 minutes

This comic book villain has been around for 80 years, appearing in countless works of literature, as well as many movies, television shows, and video games. No evildoer has a stronger grip on pop culture.

John List, The Inspiration Behind Söze

December 13, 2019 08:01 - 38 minutes

Keyser Söze’s most sinister traits are not difficult to find in reality. He was inspired by real-life murderer John List. But the real-life murder is not the only real-world parallel. Söze is a villain we see in every powerful man who gets away with horrific crimes and vanishes without a trace.

Only on Spotify! FAMOUS FATES, A Parcast Limited Series!

December 11, 2019 08:01 - 9 minutes

Discover the stories of incredible people whose grandiose lives were matched only by their shocking demise in Parcast’s new limited series, FAMOUS FATES. With 5 episodes released every Wednesday, each group will center around a common theme, such as Hollywood Icons, Influential Women, Music Legends, and more. Check out this exclusive clip chronicling the impact of larger-than-life Hollywood icon, John Candy. To finish this episode, subscribe to FAMOUS FATES, free and only on Spotify.

FICTION: Keyser Söze, The Usual Suspects

December 06, 2019 08:01 - 43 minutes

No one knows what he looks like, or his true name. But when a group of low level hijackers find themselves working for him, it's impossible to escape Keyser Söze’s influence. Is he just a ghost story invented to frighten criminals? Or has he been hiding in plain sight the whole time?

The Reality of Alex DeLarge

November 29, 2019 08:01 - 48 minutes

The dystopian future of A Clockwork Orange seems like total fantasy. But attempts to brainwash criminals and even innocent people were commonplace in the 20th century. These controversial therapies were rarely effective and often led to even greater crimes.

FICTION: Alex DeLarge, A Clockwork Orange

November 22, 2019 08:01 - 47 minutes

Thieving, raping, murdering—just in a day’s work for this ultra-violent crew. Take a trip into the retro future to meet the most sinister teenagers in fiction: Alex DeLarge and his gang of “droogs” from Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange, and the Stanley Kubrick film.

Ed Gein, “The Butcher of Plainfield”

November 15, 2019 08:01 - 44 minutes

A house of horrors that served as inspiration for the book and film, Psycho: After his mother’s death in 1945, Ed Gein was left totally alone in his family’s isolated Wisconsin farmhouse. To fill the void, he began robbing graves and crafting things out of human corpses.

FICTION: Norman Bates, Psycho

November 08, 2019 08:01 - 45 minutes

An icon of horror cinema, what makes Norman Bates such a compelling character is that he is both villain and victim. The mother and the son. The crazed murderer and the helpless bystander.

Angela, Tillie & Darya, The Three Killers

November 01, 2019 07:01 - 47 minutes

Three real-life killers from different time periods whose similarities to fictional assassin Villanelle lie not in their methods or body counts, but in their psychopathic tendencies brought on by oppressive societal structures.

FICTION: Villanelle, Killing Eve

October 25, 2019 07:01 - 44 minutes

Charming. Funny. Psychopathic? Meet the unstoppable assassin, Villanelle, from the mind of author Luke Jennings and the hit-show, Killing Eve. She bears many of the traits we have come to recognize in a contracted killer—namely, a complete lack of empathy and a fondness for murder.

Richard Kuklinski, “The Iceman”

October 18, 2019 07:20 - 44 minutes

An American hitman convicted in 1988 of murdering six people, but confessing to many more—Kuklinski had an unorthodox way of doing things when it came to his victims, much like fictional villain Anton Chigurh.

FICTION: Anton Chigurh, No Country For Old Men

October 18, 2019 07:01 - 45 minutes

With the release of No Country for Old Men, the world was introduced to Anton Chigurh—a cold-blooded killer who allowed his victims to decide their fate with a flip of the coin. To listen Part 2 along with more episodes, head over to Spotify and follow VILLAINS for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Villains

October 01, 2019 23:41 - 2 minutes

Villains is Parcast’s new original series exploring everybody’s favorite fictional and real-life bad guys. We’ll discuss the social influences that led to the creation of characters such as “The Joker” and No Country For Old Men’s Anton Chigurh, while also unraveling the true stories behind real-world criminals like Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski and Al Capone. Villains premieres October 18th. New episodes available every Friday on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe today!

Episodes

Books