American Shadows

By iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild

History

What's American Shadows about?

American Shadows is a bi-weekly podcast from iHeartRadio and Aaron Mahnke’s Grim & Mild. The show focuses on the darker stories from American history: the people, places, and things that are hidden and forgotten in the shadows. From better-known tales like the conspiracy to steal Lincoln’s body, to less-known stories, like the rainmaker who flooded San Diego. Join host Lauren Vogelbaum as she spans two centuries of omitted lore from our country’s history books.

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Introducing: Season 4 of 13...

10.19.2023

Hi, Grim & Mild superfans! We're excited for the season 4 return of 13 Days of Halloween. Subtitled "Penance," this brand-new story unfolds over the span of 13 days and is sure to keep you on the edge of your ...

American Shadows episodes:

10.19.2023 Introducing: Season 4 of 13 Days of Halloween Hi, Grim & Mild superfans! We're excited for the season 4 return of 13 Days of Halloween. Subtitled "Penance," this brand-new story unfolds over the span of 13 days and is sure to keep you on the edge of your ...
07.27.2023 Lavender Haze In the 1950s the United States launched a witch hunt, and it's not at all what you think. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
07.13.2023 Hungry For Justice What would you do when faced with a life-or-death situation? Alferd Packer had to answer this question for himself, and do something that is -- for many -- unthinkable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
06.29.2023 A Morbid Obsession The story of a man who loved his mother. Too much. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
06.15.2023 Like The Wind When the bicycle was invented it did more than simply change people's lives, leisure and mobility. It ignited a controversy over traditional gender roles. One woman set out to change all that. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
06.01.2023 Louder Than A Riot The fight for equal rights was long and slow until one day a fight broke out with police, culminating in a riot. What happened next is history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
05.18.2023 A Deadly Isle Prussian immigrant Louis Wagner came to America hoping to make a better life for himself. Working as a fisherman in the Isle of Shoals it seemed he was living the dream, until he found himself down on his luck. See ...
05.04.2023 Boneheads The Gilded Age was a time of opulence and opportunism, an age that turned businessmen into household names. But it also created some of the biggest rivalries in the rush to unearth the past. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
04.20.2023 Bad Medicine Thomas Neill Cream wanted nothing more than to leave the family shipping business to become a medical doctor. Having graduated with honors, his future seemed promising -- until the bodies began to appear. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
04.06.2023 Anchors Away Spirits were high that summer’s day as everyone boarded the General Slocum. The passengers were looking forward to their annual picnic just up river… but as fate would have it, they’d never arrive See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
03.23.2023 The American Plan In 1918, the US Government created a plan to track, detain, and imprison women for the STIs brought home from soldiers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
03.09.2023 Cold Case In the mid 1930s an unidentified killer stalked Kingsbury Run, Ohio. It's a mystery that even Elliott Ness couldn't solve. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
02.23.2023 Glorified When we think of American outlaws, we often think of cowboys and dusty trails in the Wild West. Meet the Ashley Gang who operated out of the Florida Everglades. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
02.09.2023 Stranger Than Fiction Every once in a while, there are news stories that are stranger than fiction. In this episode, we meet Ruth and Judd, possibly the worst murders of the 1920s. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
01.26.2023 Aloha Hawaii didn't become a state until 1959. Before then, it was a Republic, but not by choice. A coup by an American fruit corporation staged a coupe and took control. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
01.12.2023 Protest The story of Andrew Kehoe and his opposition to taxes, namely school taxes and the disaster that followed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12.29.2022 The Mercy Run Only one thing stood between a town's survival: 674 miles of unforgiving terrain in the worst arctic weather conditions in 20 years. Boats, planes, and trains could not get through. And that left the town with one hope: sled dogs. ...
12.15.2022 Lucky Timothy Dexter was many things — at least to himself. But mostly, he was lucky in the strangest of ways. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12.01.2022 Family Blood William Beadle had everything he'd dreamed of: a pretty and good-hearted wife, beautiful children, social status, and plenty of wealth. But when he lost his fortune, William lost his mind. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11.17.2022 Works of Art Edmonia Lewis always loved art. In the 1800s, there weren't many women sculptors. Edmonia wasn't interested in what she couldn't do. She was only interested in what she could. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11.03.2022 Roses of War When men went off to fight in WW II, women did their own part. They worked in factories, played in a women's baseball league, and raised families. One woman's family was bigger than the rest. Meet Margaret Chung, who called ...
10.20.2022 The Write Stuff The mysogenistic article, 'What Are Girls Good For' infuriated Elizabeth Cochrane. Her well-written response to the newspaper did more than get her point across. It started her career as Nellie Bly, award-winning investigative reporter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
10.06.2022 Ambitions The story of Aaron Burr, who's legendary battle with fellow Founding Father began long before the duel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
09.22.2022 Stolen Lives Georgia Tann believed the rich were better than those without means. She also believed lower-income couples should not have children This is the story of how thousands of children were stolen and sold in the black market. See omnystudio.com/listener for ...
09.08.2022 Night Life During times of war and difficulties, people turned to sports and clubs as a way to enjoy friends, a good time, and to forget about their troubles and the headlines for a while. And sometimes, those same nightclubs made the ...
08.25.2022 Shadow Land For many tourists, Coney Island was the epitome of summer. However, the carnivals and fun houses revealed another side of human nature. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
08.11.2022 The Night Season Before electricity, those who walked the night were looked down on — and feared. Murderers, thieves, and sex walkers were frightening enough. But those who roamed the night involuntarily—they were feared above all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
07.28.2022 Lovesick Our quests for love can be disappointing. Maddening, even. When the love story that plays out is different than the one imagined – or the one you had wished for – the results can be devastating... or even deadly. See ...
07.14.2022 Hell on Earth Sometimes, life will change in an instant, in a flash, or... in the case of the 1944 Hartford Circus... with a spark. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
07.08.2022 Grim & Mild Presents: Season 2 Trailer This summer, Grim & Mild Presents continues its journey into the strange, the unusual, and the fascinating. For our newest season, we’ll be taking to the high seas to explore one of history’s most notorious types of criminal: pirates. From ...
06.30.2022 A Spoonful of Sugar If something seems too good to be true it often is, from snake oil to opiates the American medical system has tried some radical treatments to heal the sick and make a quick buck. But who stands between us and ...
06.16.2022 Of Medicine and Miracles If I were to tell you that some of the things you know about health and wellness come from behind the veil, would you believe me? There was one man -- a reluctant sleeping prophet -- whose lasting imprint is ...
06.02.2022 The Long Con There were those who exploited the cracks in the American dream, and took advantage of others -- and then there was one man who used it to become everyone he wished he ever could have been. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
05.19.2022 Inhospitable Growing old isn't for the faint of heart. It's true that none of us will get out alive -- but we can all hope that no one takes that truth into their own hands for us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
05.05.2022 Cut From a Different Cloth They say that "clothes make the man" -- but in the case of these violent few days in Los Angeles, clothes also became man's undoing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
04.21.2022 Dark Waters There's a darkness in the human soul when it comes to survival. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
04.07.2022 Swindled Get rich quick schemes have been around forever. But one con man not only made history, but became a household name. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
03.24.2022 Daredevils Daredevils. They are on a quest to go higher, faster, and bigger than anyone else. Some think they are foolish for tempting death. But for those in this story, testing their mortal limits has given them reason to live. See ...
03.10.2022 The Primrose Lane Sometimes, it's true what they say about karma. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
02.24.2022 Expendable On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out in the garment district. Within 18 minutes, 146 people were dead. Though the factory owners were acquitted of wrong doing, the fire paved the way for safety regulations.
02.10.2022 Mysterious In 1587, 115 people arrived on Roanoke. The newly appointed governor left for England, promising to return with supplies. When he returned, all that remained of the colony was a single word carved in a wooden gate post: Croatoan.
01.27.2022 Ladies' Choice When life got tough, Kate Warn got tougher. She became a spy and agent at 23. And in 1861, her boss tasked her with saving the president elect's life.
01.13.2022 The Wild, Wild West The Wild West. Home to legends — and one of the most bizarre stories of an outlaw ever told.
01.07.2022 Introducing: Grim & Mild Presents Hi, American Shadows fans! Aaron Mahnke kicks off the new year with a brand-new podcast we think you'll enjoy. Don't just take our word for it, though. Check out the trailer for Grim & Mild Presents to decide for yourself! ...
12.30.2021 Toxic Arsenic was called the inheritance poison - and for good reason. And killers who tried it once were likely to try it again.
12.16.2021 Warning Signs The people of Peshtigo, WI knew the dangers and ignored the signs until it was too late.
12.02.2021 Super Heroes Sometimes, everyday heroes come from the most unusual places.
11.18.2021 Change America's dark history of a time when society turned to eugenics in an attempt to stamp out mental illness.
11.04.2021 Covert In the 1950s, the CIA was on a quest to create a method of mind control using LSD. Over the next 20 years, the experiment added torture, emotional and sexual abuse, and murder to the experiment.
10.21.2021 Murder Inc. Prohibition, extortion, and street gangs were common in New York during the 1930s. But none caught the attention of the American public the way Murder Inc did.

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