Curator 135

Send us Fan Mail

Los Angeles, 1936. After a night out, retired organist Samuel Whittaker and his wife, Ethel, returned home to find an armed stranger waiting inside their apartment.

Shots rang out. Ethel lay dead. The mysterious gunman escaped with bullets in his body.

At first, Samuel Whittaker looked like a grieving husband who had bravely fought back against his wife’s killer.

Then police found 23-year-old drifter James Fagan Culver bleeding nearby.

And Culver had a very different story to tell.

What followed was one of the strangest murder cases to come out of Depression-era Los Angeles—a bizarre plot involving a fake robbery, life insurance, a gun hidden inside an old mattress, a tenacious female crime reporter, and one tiny wink that threatened to expose everything.

But Samuel Whittaker’s story had one final twist.

After his conviction, the retired organist issued an extraordinary challenge to God.

Less than a year later, Samuel would discover just how careful you should be about what you ask for.

This is the strange murder of Ethel Whittaker.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

When we left sixteen-year-old John Paul Getty III, he had been struck in the head, bound, blindfolded, and driven away from the streets of Rome.

Now the kidnapping begins.

Paul awakens in the hands of masked men who have taken him south to Calabria, where they believe the grandson of the richest man in the world must be worth a fortune.

There's just one problem.

His family isn't convinced he's actually been kidnapped.

As Paul is moved between remote hideouts, chained, threatened, and slowly deteriorating in captivity, rumors spread that the rebellious teenager may have staged the entire thing. Police are skeptical. The press speculates. Even members of Paul's own family aren't sure what to believe.

Then the ransom demand arrives.

The kidnappers want millions.

J. Paul Getty refuses to pay, arguing that giving in would make his other grandchildren targets. Negotiations drag on for months while Paul waits in captivity—and his kidnappers become increasingly desperate to prove that they are not bluffing.

Eventually, they decide to send proof that no one can ignore.

In Part Two of the extraordinary kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, we follow the five-month ordeal through the ransom negotiations, Paul's increasingly brutal captivity, the package that finally changes everything, and the strange circumstances of his eventual release.

But Paul's story didn't end when he came home.

We'll also look at his marriage and family, the lasting effects of the kidnapping, the catastrophic overdose that left him severely disabled at just twenty-four, and the complicated final decades of a life forever divided into two parts:

Before the Ear.

And After the Ear.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In 1973, sixteen-year-old John Paul Getty III had one of the most recognizable surnames on Earth.

His grandfather, J. Paul Getty, was known as the richest man in the world—an oil billionaire famous not only for his staggering fortune, but for his eccentricity, complicated family relationships, and legendary reluctance to part with his money.

But being a Getty didn't necessarily mean having money.

Living in Rome, Paul was rebellious, restless, frequently broke, and already notorious enough that the Italian press had nicknamed him “The Golden Hippie.” He'd been expelled from schools, arrested at a political demonstration, crashed more motorcycles than any teenager reasonably should, and spent his nights drifting through Rome's clubs and piazzas among artists, actors, models, and celebrities.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles to the south, another kind of family had discovered a lucrative business: kidnapping.

In Part One, we trace the rise of the extraordinary Getty fortune, the tragedies that would inspire talk of a “Getty curse,” and the history of Calabria's powerful ’Ndrangheta. Then we follow Paul through the streets of Rome on a hot July night in 1973.

At around three in the morning, a large white car slows beside him.

Three men get out.

Paul sees guns.

He is struck in the head and manages one question:

“Oh, please, what have I done?”

Then everything goes black.

This is Part One of the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III.

Part Two continues with Paul's disappearance, the extraordinary ransom negotiations, a family that initially refuses to pay—and the horrifying package that finally convinces everyone that the kidnapping is real.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Lake Lanier is one of the most popular lakes in America. It is also one of the most feared.

Beneath its waters lie old roads, foundations, forgotten pieces of communities, and a history far darker than the ghost stories suggest.

In Episode 109, we travel back long before the lake existed. We explore the Native American history of the land, the forced removal of the Cherokee, and the racial violence that drove more than a thousand Black residents from Georgia's Forsyth County in 1912. Then, decades later, the federal government arrived to build Buford Dam, flooding thousands of acres and creating the lake we know today.

But the story didn't end when the water stopped rising.

Hundreds of deaths have been connected to Lake Lanier over the decades. Search-and-recovery divers regularly descend into its dark, debris-filled depths. Meanwhile, stories persist of submerged ruins, unexplained encounters, a mysterious woman in blue, and a lake some believe has been cursed from the beginning.

How much of the legend is folklore?

How much can history explain?

And what really lies beneath the surface of Lake Lanier?

Join Curator135 as we separate documented history from enduring legend and descend into one of America's most mysterious bodies of water.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

What if a single footprint could reveal where someone had been, what they were carrying, and where they were headed?

In this episode of Curator 135, we explore the remarkable story of the Shadow Wolves—an elite Native American tracking unit composed primarily of members of the Tohono O'odham Nation. For more than five decades, these extraordinary trackers have used skills passed down through generations to pursue drug traffickers, dismantle criminal organizations, and protect one of the most challenging stretches of the U.S.–Mexico border.

Drawing from historical newspaper archives, government records, and congressional documents, this episode traces the origins of the Shadow Wolves, their evolution from Customs trackers to Homeland Security Investigations special agents, and the enduring value of Indigenous knowledge in modern law enforcement.

Along the way, we'll explore the rich history of the Tohono O'odham Nation, the unique challenges of an ancestral homeland divided by an international border, and why the Sonoran Desert tells a story that few people ever learn to read.

This is more than a story about border security.

It's a story about tradition, resilience, and the timeless power of observation.

In this episode:

The origins of the Shadow Wolves
Traditional tracking in the Sonoran Desert
The history of the Tohono O'odham Nation
Major narcotics investigations and cartel interdiction
The evolution of the unit within Homeland Security
The 2022 Shadow Wolves Enhancement Act
Why ancient skills remain indispensable in the modern world

If you enjoy Curator 135, please follow the show, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who loves history, true stories, and the fascinating people who often go unnoticed.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Most horror movies begin as fiction. But sometimes the truth is even more terrifying.

In April 1990, Marilynn DePue, a respected Michigan high school guidance counselor and mother of three, vanished after an encounter with her ex-husband, Dennis DePue. What followed was a shocking murder investigation, a terrifying eyewitness account involving a body dumped behind an abandoned schoolhouse, and a desperate cross-country manhunt that captivated the nation.

Along the way, we'll explore the chilling encounter experienced by Ray and Marie Thornton, the role that Unsolved Mysteries and legendary host Robert Stack played in helping bring the case to national attention, and the dramatic police pursuit that brought Dennis DePue's flight from justice to an end.

We'll also examine how these real-life events inspired the unforgettable opening sequence of the 2001 horror film Jeepers Creepers, and discuss the controversial history of the film's director, Victor Salva.

This is the tragic story of Marilynn DePue—a story that proves real life can sometimes be more frightening than fiction.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

For eleven weeks, I had the opportunity to step inside the world of the Livonia Police Department through the 2026 Livonia Citizen Police Academy — and this episode documents the entire experience.

From SWAT demonstrations and accident reconstruction to crisis negotiations, K9 training, ride-alongs, use-of-force policy, crime scene investigations, active shooter response, and virtual reality scenario training, this program offered an unfiltered look at the realities of modern policing and the people behind the badge.

In this episode, I share:

What I learned during all eleven weeks of the academy
My ride-along experience with Officer David Wohlgemuth
Meeting Kasimir, Livonia PD’s K9 German Shepherd
Behind-the-scenes insight into specialized police units
Reflections on officer wellness, mental health, and de-escalation
The emotional Honor Guard presentation
Graduation night with Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan and Chief Thomas Goralski
And how the experience changed my perspective on law enforcement and community engagement.

This wasn’t a political experience.
It wasn’t a PR stunt.
It was an educational opportunity that provided context, nuance, and firsthand exposure to work most people only ever see through headlines or social media clips.

I’m incredibly thankful to the Livonia Police Department, the instructors, officers, dispatchers, clinicians, and fellow classmates who made the academy such a memorable experience.

Additional photos, videos, audio clips, and behind-the-scenes content from the academy will be available soon at: 🌐 Curator135.com

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

What if the end of the world wouldn’t begin with a decision… but with a misunderstanding?

In Drawn to the Stars, a single moment of uncertainty triggers a chain reaction that leads to nuclear war. It’s fiction—but it may be closer to reality than we’d like to admit.

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union came dangerously close to nuclear conflict more than once. Not always because of aggression—but because of fear, miscommunication, and systems that weren’t as reliable as they seemed.

In this episode, we explore the moments where everything almost went wrong. From global crises to chilling false alarms, and finally to one man—Stanislav Petrov—who made a decision that may have prevented catastrophe.

This isn’t just history.

It’s a reminder of how thin the line between survival and disaster has always been.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when you leave Earth—and take the human mind somewhere it was never meant to go?

After diving back into space while writing Drawn to the Stars: Book One – The Exchange (now available on Amazon), I found myself drawn not just to the missions we all know… but to the moments we don’t talk about as often. The strange ones. The quiet ones. The ones astronauts themselves struggled to explain.

In this episode, we explore real accounts from spaceflight that blur the line between science and perception. From Edgar Mitchell’s profound experience looking back at Earth, to the eerie “music” heard by Apollo 10 behind the Moon… from Story Musgrave’s encounter with a strange, eel-like object in orbit, to Yang Liwei hearing unexplained knocking on the outside of his spacecraft.

And finally, we confront the sobering reality of Soyuz 11—a mission where nothing mysterious happened… and yet, everything changed.

These aren’t stories about aliens or conspiracy. They’re something more grounded—and in many ways, more unsettling. They’re about what happens when human perception meets an environment that doesn’t play by Earth’s rules.

Because in space, even the ordinary can feel… extraordinary.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

What makes science fiction so powerful? And why do these stories stay with us long after we’ve finished them?

In Episode 103, we explore the minds that helped shape the genre. From early works like New Atlantis and Somnium to the groundbreaking stories of H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Philip K. Dick, this episode dives into the ideas, predictions, and strange realities that define science fiction.

Then, for the first time, I share my own journey into the genre—what inspired me, how the story developed, and what it took to bring my first novel to life.

Featuring a live reading from Drawn to the Stars: Book One — The Exchange.

Two planets. Two wars. One connection that could decide everything.

Support the show