American Criminal

In 1647, Alse Young became the first person executed for the crime of witchcraft in the American colonies. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be the last. As the 17th century progressed, ignorance, fear, and religious fervor led to the persecution and deaths of innocent men and women. Thankfully, society evolved.

But in the 1980s, there were at least two people who were very afraid of witches. And they thought our ancestors had the right idea: kill them all.

This Halloween on American Criminal: the story of a husband and wife who decided it was their job to rid the world of witches one by one.

Don’t miss the latest season of American Criminal – The San Francisco Witch Killers, beginning October 22nd.

Listen to American Criminal’s Halloween Horrors: The San Francisco Witch Killers wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to the entire season first, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at americancriminal.com

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Between 1991 and 1993, New York City was home to an active serial killer: Richard Rogers. But his first kill came long before he made it to the Big Apple. In 1973, University of Maine student Frederic Spencer was found beaten and strangled to death near a forest outside of Orono. Richard readily admitted to killing his roommate, but he had every certainty he'd get away with it.

Listen to all 4 episodes of 'Serial Killer: Richard Rogers' wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to the entire season first, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠Americancriminal.com⁠

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Fresh out of his stint in Green Haven State Prison, Nicky Barnes gets to work rebuilding his drug business. He takes the advice of Matty Madonna, and models his growing empire on the structures of the Five Families of the American Mafia. But his rapid success puts a huge target on his back, and he won't be able to stay ahead of the law forever.

*Our survey ended on Sept. 17th; tune in to Season 30 to find out the story that you, our listeners, chose!

Listen to all 4 episodes of 'Nicky Barnes: Mr. Untouchable' wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to the entire season, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠Americancriminal.com⁠

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There's corruption, and then there's corruption.Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito rise through the ranks of the NYPD while secretly working for the Mafia. Protected by their reputations and a culture where cops protect cops, the two men think they’re untouchable—until a small team of honest investigators comes together to take them down.

From American Scandal, you can listen to the entire season of 'Mafia Cops: The Thin Blue Line' on Audible

*Our survey ended on Sept. 17th; tune in to Season 30 to find out the story that you, our listeners, chose!

Listen to all 4 episodes of 'Nicky Barnes: Mr. Untouchable' wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to the entire season, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠Americancriminal.com⁠

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In the early ‘90s, someone was taking men home from Manhattan’s gay bars, killing them, and mutilating their bodies. As pieces of victims turned up outside the city, panic set in for a community already in turmoil. 

Could authorities catch the killer before he struck again? Or would he always be one step ahead?

They called him the ‘Last Call Killer,’ and as investigators finally started to put together the pieces, they wondered if New York City was his only hunting ground…

This season on American Criminal: the killer who terrorized New York City, the men who fell prey to him, and the outside forces who teamed up to bring him down.

Don’t miss the new season of American Criminal – Serial Killer: Richard Rogers beginning September 24th.

Listen to American Criminal - Serial Killer: Richard Rogers wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to the entire season first, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at Americancriminal.com

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Jeremy and Joel get together for a casual and illuminating conversation about the complicated world of Nicky Barnes, the legacy he left behind, and the many stories that didn't fit into our full series.

*Our survey ended on Sept. 17th; tune in to Season 30 to find out the story that you, our listeners, chose!

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When a low-level grunt in the Council's orbit gets picked up for running a telephone scam, he offers to help the feds get to Nicky Barnes. And over a period of months, he does just that. But Nicky's mighty tumble isn't what upsets him the most, its the betrayals that come after that make him angry. And before long, he decides he wants revenge on the partners who've taken him for granted all this time.

*Our survey ended on Sept. 17th; tune in to Season 30 to find out the story that you, our listeners, chose!

Listen to all 4 episodes of 'Nicky Barnes: Mr. Untouchable' wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to the entire season, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠Americancriminal.com⁠

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In 1972, Nicky Barnes assembles "The Council" -- a Mafia-inspired syndicate of Black heroin dealers. They establish a partnership with supplier Matty Madonna, and quickly flood the streets of New York with their product. And although investigators will continue trying to bring Nicky down, he'll prove a tricky man to prosecute, earning him the nickname "Mr Untouchable."

*Our survey ended on Sept. 17th; tune in to Season 30 to find out the story that you, our listeners, chose!

Listen to all 4 episodes of 'Nicky Barnes: Mr. Untouchable' wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to the entire season, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠Americancriminal.com⁠

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Long before he became "Mr Untouchable" -- one of the biggest drug dealers in the country -- Nicky Barnes was just a kid growing up in Harlem. But he would eventually gather together a group of other Black men to control the flow of heroin across New York City, challenging the dominance of the city's existing crime families.

Listen to all 4 episodes of 'Nicky Barnes: Mr. Untouchable' wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to the entire season, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠Americancriminal.com⁠

We’ve covered dozens of stories here at American Criminal, and we always love hearing which ones are your favorites. Now we want your help to choose some of our upcoming seasons. We’ve put together a list of stories we think you’ll really enjoy, and now the final say is yours. Click the link below!

americancriminal.com/vote

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In the 18th century, it was an open secret that new corpses would often be taken from graves and used as teaching aids for medical students. Not the most pleasant thing to think about, but much of society was pretty happy to ignore the elephant in the room. But in April of 1788, something changed, and it suddenly brought a lot more attention to the cottage industry of body snatching.

Listen to all 4 episodes of 'William 'Boss' Tweed' wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to the entire season first, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠Americancriminal.com⁠

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.