Criminalia

Criminalia episodes:

• 04.23.2024

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

  Norman Baker was an entrepreneur, a pioneering radio personality, and a fake doctor. He was a masterful propagandist, and through his radio station and multiple tabloid publications, he manipulated American anxieties about everything from politics to alleged ills of vaccinations....

  
• 04.16.2024

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

  Though the Pink Pills couldn't stand up to the wild advertising claims that the product was a cure-all, the pills were actually potentially medically beneficial to some people with a certain -- common -- condition; in theory. Maybe. Hey, we're...

  
• 04.09.2024

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

  William Bailey called himself a doctor, but his career was as a shady businessman, not a medical professional. In the early 20th century, he launched a series of start-up companies, capitalizing on the new discoveries of radioactive elements, and sold...

  
• 04.02.2024

  How Perkins Tractors Taught Us the Placebo Effect

  Today, if you’re asked to think of a tractor, most of us probably imagine farm equipment. But in the late 18th century, a physician named Elisha Perkins made and sold a different kind of tractor – a device consisting of...

  
• 03.26.2024

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

  When Maude Mayberg was 38 years old, this was back in 1890, she 'discovered' an elixir that transformed her life. It was called Fruitcura, she said, and it cured her ailments when medical doctors could not. Two years later, she...

  
• 03.19.2024

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

  Clark Stanley was a silver-tongued Texas cowboy who called himself the ‘Rattlesnake King’. Back in the late 19th century, he wasn’t the first charlatan going from town to town in the American West, hawking quack products -- during this time...

  
• 03.12.2024

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

  From illicit love letters to political bribes, everyone has a secret, and it’s the threat of exposure that’s key to this crime -- and we discovered a whole lot of surprising examples along the way -- including a man who...

  
• 03.12.2024

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

  Snake oil. Today the term describes any worthless remedy that's promoted as a cure-all. And, by extension, snake oil salesmen are considered a bunch of rip-off artists who peddle fraudulent goods. We’re rolling straight from the criminal world of blackmail...

  
• 03.05.2024

  When Blackmail Accidentally Uncovers Political Corruption

  This is a story of a Texas oil tycoon, a congressman from Idaho, and a financial commodities broker in Oklahoma City. It’s a story of blackmail, yes. But it’s also a story of political corruption and ethics uncovered by that...

  
• 02.27.2024

  Duke of York and Mary Anne Clarke

  Mary Ann Clarke attempted to blackmail her ex-lover, the Duke of York — who led the British army — by threatening to publish his letters. Sounds similar to Wellington but it takes a turn: His political enemies took notice, and...

  
• 02.20.2024

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

  Milwaukee Magazine once described Walter Minx as slender and fidgety, with, "the kind of sharp-featured handsomeness that the movies had taught people not to trust." He was German-born, and immigrated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his parents, his brother, and his...

  
• 02.13.2024

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

  When All-American footballer George Ratterman announced his candidacy for sheriff of Campbell County, Kentucky, in April of 1961, he said, “I am told that if I run for sheriff, I will be the victim of all sorts of personal slanderous...

  
• 02.06.2024

  Inheritance Lost: The Murder of Captain Joseph White

  Joseph Jenkins Knapp, Jr. was expecting to receive a sizable inheritance upon the death of his 82-year-old great uncle, wealthy retired shipmaster and trader Captain Joseph White. But with debts piling up, Knapp decided he couldn’t wait for natural causes;...

  
• 01.30.2024

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

  It started just after Labor Day, with an envelope postmarked September 13, 1935, sent special delivery, addressed to Miss Mae West of 570 N. Rossmore, Ravenswood Apartments, Hollywood, California. There was nothing unusual about the envelope, but its contents were...

  
• 01.23.2024

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

  Described by some as a, “charming rogue,” Charles Augustus Howell was a dodgy figure in Victorian art circles, in particular London’s Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood movement. There was extortion. There was forgery. And just a whole lot of unsavory bits. Howell was...

  
• 01.16.2024

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

  This is a story of controversy; actually, more than one controversy. It’s a story of medieval kings and queens, of revenge, and of a letter that challenges the circumstances historians thought they knew surrounding King Edward II’s death – including...

  
• 01.09.2024

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

  Philandering husband Edwin Main Post found himself blackmailed by a scorned mistress who threatened to go public with their affair unless he paid her and her publisher to stay silent. This is a story about blackmail, yes, but it isn't...

  
• 01.02.2024

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

  Regency courtesan Harriette Wilson exposed in her memoirs the names of royal, aristocratic, and political men, whom she then blackmailed to keep their names out of those memoirs. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was, famously, one of those influential names....

  
• 12.26.2023

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

  Thomas Neill Cream graduated with honors from Montreal's McGill medical school in 1876. His thesis had been about the effects of chloroform; and he would soon demonstrate just how devastating he could be with toxic compounds. Several people died under...

  
• 12.19.2023

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

  “I got a revolver to protect us, and I soon had use for it,” stated Constance Kopp when interviewed about the intruders intimidating her family under the cover of darkness at her home. Her assistance with solving the case led...

  
• 12.12.2023

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

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

  
• 12.12.2023

  Welcome to a New Season of Criminalia: THE BLACKMAILERS

  Welcome to a brand new season of Criminalia, where we'll be talking about blackmail throughout history. We’re rolling straight from the criminal world of forgers to one of blackmailers -- we’ll see you there, not only with some very real...

  
• 12.05.2023

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

  During the 18th century, early animatronics were hot. They were featured in circuses, carnivals, and other touring exhibitions, and were usually built and operated with various parts like axles, chains, cogs, gears, levers, pulleys, wheels, wind-up keys – you get...

  
• 11.28.2023

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

  When a group of miners uncovered a skull deep in a mine shaft on the western slopes of Bald Mountain in Calaveras County, California, it was believed, at least initially, to be a history-changing discovery. The owner of the mine...

  
• 11.21.2023

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

  In the summer of 1917, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths convinced a whole lot of people, including the famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, they'd seen fairies neat their home -- and they had photographic evidence to prove it. After decades...

  
• 11.14.2023

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

  In the early 1970s, McGraw-Hill Book Company landed what could have been the literary scoop of the 20th century: A writer named Clifford Irving pitched them that he'd obtained the permission of the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes to write a...

  
• 11.07.2023

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

  In April of 1896, the Louvre announced it had purchased a tiara they believed must have been from the treasure house of a great Scythian king -- and that it had the exciting potential to rewrite ancient history. But only...

  
• 10.31.2023

  False Impressions: Frederic Spitzer and His Master Forgers

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

  
• 10.24.2023

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

  "Done to death by slanderous tongues," wrote William Shakespeare in his play, 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Shakespeare may be a renowned English playwright, poet, and actor, but, he has a bit of a credibility problem among some circles, and he...

  
• 10.17.2023

  Eugène Boban and the Real Story of the Crystal Skulls

  The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. has a fake crystal skull. And so does the British Museum in London, as does Paris's Quai Branly Museum. As of 2019, it was estimated there are more than a dozen crystal skulls known...

  
• 10.10.2023

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

  Sculptor Alceo Dossena was an impactful figure in the art world of the early 20th century because he created forged masterpieces capable of fooling even the most expert of experts. Critics attributed his pieces to famous classical and Renaissance artists,...

  
• 10.03.2023

  Violin Virtuoso Fritz Kreisler's Great Musical Hoax

  Virtuoso Fritz Kreisler was known and is remembered for his artistry as a violinist and composer -- and, also, as an unashamed showman. He was one of the most beloved and best known of the early recording-era artists, and a...

  
• 09.26.2023

  League of Lady Poisoners: Interview with author Lisa Perrin

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

  
• 09.19.2023

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

  Millions of people around the world collect, preserve, and trade or sell postage stamps; the hobby, or investment, is known as, philately. The first stamp forgeries began to show up, well, when the first stamps showed up. The Penny Black,...

  
• 09.12.2023

  The Nicotra Forgeries

  Some historians believe Italian forger Tobia Nicotra may have produced hundreds of document and signature forgeries attributed to names like Mozart and Galileo, before he was caught in the 1930s. He faded into obscurity, but his forgeries didn't. And for...

  
• 09.05.2023

  'Lincoln the Lover': The Wilma Frances Minor Collection

  Wilma Minor's 'Lincoln the Lover' forgery has been called one of the most audacious literary hoaxes of all time, and involves an alleged love story between a young Abraham Lincoln and a woman named Ann Rutledge. There was never any...

  
• 08.29.2023

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

  It's said his own handwriting was a neat and graceful script, not unlike Abraham Lincoln’s. He could fake the hand of Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Baker Eddy, and dozens of other historical figures. In fact, experts believe that a large...

  
• 08.22.2023

  The Fake Etruscan Terracotta Warriors in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  On Valentine's Day of 1961, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York had to, for the very first time, announce they were housing a fake. Three fakes, actually. After nearly three decades as a prized exhibit, their Etruscan Terracotta...

  
• 08.15.2023

  Han van Meegeren's Fake Vermeers

  Dutch painter Han van Meegeren has often been described as a dapper man, with, quote, “a small, birdlike frame constantly aflutter, and irreverent sense of humor.” His life story is anything but small. It's not just about art; it's about...

  
• 08.08.2023

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

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

  
• 08.08.2023

  Welcome to a New Season of Criminalia: The Forgers

  Some estimates suggest that as much as 50 percent of all artwork on the market today is likely forged or misattributed. It can be difficult to verify what is authentic and what is counterfeit, from art to music to archaelogical...

  
• 08.01.2023

  Stories of Arson as Homicide in Medieval Scandinavia

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

  
• 07.27.2023

  Introducing: The Laverne Cox Show Season 2

  Listen up, Criminalia fans! Shondaland Audio and iHeartPodcasts have some exciting news, The Laverne Cox Show is back for season two. Get a spiritual makeover each week as actress and activist Laverne Cox goes with her guests. We think you'll want...

  
• 07.25.2023

  Meet James Aitken, Patriot Sympathizer and Dockyard Incendiarist

  Opposition to the British crown began years before the battles of the American Revolutionary War broke out in the Thirteen Colonies, and that opposition took many forms, like riots and boycotts. A Scotsman named James Aitken sympathized with the rebels,...

  
• 07.18.2023

  The Execution of Rose Butler

  Rose Butler was a teenager performing domestic services for the Morris family of Manhattan when early one morning a small fire broke out. Though no one was injured, and the fire was quickly extinguished, the family accused Rose of intentionally...

  
• 07.11.2023

  All the Times San Francisco Burned Down During the Gold Rush

  Between 1849 and 1851, peak years of the Gold Rush, San Francisco was almost entirely destroyed by fire seven times. And there was something about these fires, at least the majority of them, that seemed somehow not accidental. Some were...

  
• 07.04.2023

  Firefighter Firebugs: The Small but Impactful Phenomenon

  Firefighters who set fires, officially called 'firefighter arsonists', may be small in number, but they definitely make an impact. While things like insurance fraud and covering up another crime are common motives for arson outside the firefighting community, experts say...

  
• 06.28.2023

  Introducing: The Flaky Biscuit Podcast

  Hi, Criminalia fans! We're excited to tell you about The Flaky Biscuit, the newest podcast from Shondaland Audio and iHeartPodcasts. Hosted by baker and cookbook author Bryan Ford, we think you'll enjoy this show's infusion of cooking and connection. You...

  
• 06.27.2023

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

  The Bronx in the 1970s was a perfect storm of things going wrong in New York City: poor urban planning, white flight, budget cuts to municipal and social services, and discriminatory practices coverged into a pressure cooker -- and the...

  
• 06.20.2023

  The Drunken Night When Alexander the Great Burned Persepolis

  Alexander the Great burned Persepolis to the ground during a night of drunken revelry, after being encouraged to do so by a Greek courtesan named Thaïs. It's said she told Alexander torching the royal palace would be among his crowning...