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At the close of 18th century, the Mississippi River ran dark with blood and whiskey. This great artery of North America was a lawless frontier contested by Spain, France, Britain, the United States, as well as indigenous governments like the Choctaw and Chickasaw that had no intention of vacating land that had been theirs for generations. But there was one more ingredient in this cauldron of conflict. River pirates took advantage of this chaos, playing all these sides against each other in pursuit of gold and glory. From the time of the American Revolution up until the 1830s, the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers were dominated pirates just as ambitious and exciting as the buccaneers who ruled the Caribbean a century before.

On this week's Gladio Free Europe, Liam and Russian Sam give an overview of the unique political and social situation that existed on the frontier, with some discussion the nature of outlawry as well as the surprising amount of support the Spanish Empire lent to the American Revolution, particularly on the far-western frontier. Join us for a look at the old old west and the river pirates who once were the true masters of the waters. Characters include gentleman thief turned frontier warlord Philip Alston, Gaelic-Chickasaw freedom fighter James Colbert, the psychopathic hillbilly Harpe Brothers, and an ambitious young pirate named John Murrell who tried to incite a nationwide slave revolt to overthrow the planters and allow his pirates to dominate the South. Expect double-crossings and back-stabbings, a surprising amount of polygamy, and too many severed heads to count.