Welcome to Episode 50! When Mount Vesuvius unexpectedly erupted in 79 CE, it decimated and buried Pompeii and other nearby towns. Anyone who had not evacuated by the following morning faced a sudden death by thermal shock. Also, a recipe for fish sauce.

Leopold and Loeb thought they had it all figured out. They would commit the perfect murder for no reason but to get away with it. And, with a better plan and completely different circumstances, maybe they would have. Instead, they were part of a highly publicized trial. Clarence Darrow reappears!

Today’s episode features the story of Mary Mallon. She was an immigrant and cook who just wanted to make peach ice cream and not be asked for samples of her feces all the time. Unfortunately, this was not to be. She turned out to be a carrier of typhoid who spread the disease wherever she went.

Ever persevering, Florida Man returns in this episode of Antemortem. His crimes include robbery, burglary, grand theft, trespass, and first and second degree murder. There’s a bonus digression on the wacky world of bath salts.

No one in the early 1970s guessed that Dean Corll, the bachelor who owned a van and handed out free candy to strange children would own a homemade torture board. He did though. Corll murdered at least 27 adolescent males in Houston with the aid of two young accomplices.

In this episode, Antemortem introduces you to some of the world’s lesser-known horrifying diseases. You’ll come out with both a vague idea of what a prion is and concerns about your family history of sleeplessness. I googled ‘FOP flare up’ so you don’t have to.

Franz Ferdinand and Sophie arrive in uneasy Sarajevo. The six assassins are armed and arranged along their route. After a failed attempt, Princip gets very lucky. Europe changes forever.

This episode on the assassinations of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie Chotek introduces the players. The empires of Europe squabbled over colonies while Serbian and Bosnian nationalists struggled for independence. Six young Bosnians spotted the perfect opportunity to strike a blow against Austria-Hungary. And if that that sounds too boring, come for the murder-suicide.

By the time Challenger had its 1986 liftoff, NASA could boast of 23 successful space shuttle missions. Challenger’s 10th voyage would have seen the first civilian, a teacher, go to space. When launch day came, it was cold and a critical failure in the right-hand solid rocket booster led to a shocking tragedy.

The Order of the Solar Temple is one of the lesser-known suicide cults of the 20th century. Its members believed in a composite of old and new religious tenets. They thought their souls would find a permanent home amongst the stars following a fiery death on earth.