Almshouses in the 19th and early 20th centuries were meant to help society's most vulnerable, but in the 1880s, one in Tewksbury, Massachusetts was accused of such shocking treatment that the governor ordered a months-long investigation that dominated headlines nationwide. Among the claims: that the skin of patients who died was tanned and turned into curiosities for sale.



"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history.



Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @centuriespod

S2 Ep10: Terror at the Tewksbury Almshouse

Crime is so commonplace that it takes something particularly shocking to be labelled the “crime of the century.” Even so, there are a lot of cases that have earned the distinction. In each episode of Crimes of the Centuries, award-winning journalist Amber Hunt will examine a case that’s lesser known today but was huge when it happened. The cases explored span the centuries and each left a mark. Some made history by changing laws. Others were so shocking they changed society.

History

Society & Culture

True crime

On September 6, 1949, 28-year-old World War II veteran Howard Unruh ate the breakfast his mother made him, then armed himself with a Luger pistol and walked calmly through his Camden, New Jersey, neighborhood, shooting everyone in sight. He told police afterward he'd had a kill list of specific people he'd felt had wronged him, but by the end of his 12-minute rampage, 13 would be fatally wounded, three of them innocent children.



"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history



DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE CRIMES OF THE CENTURIES BOOK!  Order today at www.centuriespod.com/book (https://www.centuriespod.com/book)!



Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @centuriespod



Episode sponsors:



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S4 Ep10: The Walk of Death: Howard Unruh

While the grift he deployed had been named for another man, Bernie Madoff took the concept of a Ponzi scheme and pumped it full of steroids, allowing it to keep him -- and plenty of others -- filthy rich for literally decades. In the end, Madoff bilked some $65 billion from thousands of clients, all while maintaining such a sheen of respectability that he was charged with helping write the very rules he himself eschewed.



"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history



DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE CRIMES OF THE CENTURIES BOOK!  Order today at www.centuriespod.com/book (https://www.centuriespod.com/book)!



Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @centuriespod

S4 Ep9: The Monster of Wall Street

Italian-born Charles Ponzi had grown up hearing from his mother that he was destined for greatness, so it was no surprise to her when she visited him in America to find him wealthy beyond her wildest dreams. Ponzi had come up with a get-rich-quick scheme that he insisted was legal. To his credit, it took federal authorities a good seven months to figure out how it wasn't. In this episode, meet the man whose name would go down in history to be synonymous with "grifter."

 

"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history



DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE CRIMES OF THE CENTURIES BOOK!  Order today at www.centuriespod.com/book (https://www.centuriespod.com/book)!



Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @centuriespod



• Hiya Health Products. Get 50% off your first order of Hiya Health’s best-selling children’s vitamin by going tohiyahealth.com/COTC



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S4 Ep8: Charles Ponzi's Scheme

In the midst of nationwide bombings that pit union backers against anti-union bosses, an explosion at the Los Angeles Times building crossed a line that changed everything. At 1:07 a.m. on Oct. 1, 1910, a blast tore through the Times building, killing 21 people. Times officials immediately blamed organized labor, which ultimately bore out: Not only were three union-affiliated co-conspirators convicted soon after the bombing, but nearly 40 other union officials would eventually be convicted on charges related to that and other bombings that had been plaguing the country.



"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history



DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE CRIMES OF THE CENTURIES BOOK!  Order today at www.centuriespod.com/book (https://www.centuriespod.com/book)!



Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @centuriespod



Episode sponsor:



• Ritual. Synbiotic+ and Ritual are here to celebrate, not hide, your insides. Get 25% off your first month for a limited time at ritual.com/cotc. 






S4 Ep7: The Los Angeles Times Bombing

In September 1944, a 24-year-old married woman named Recy Taylor was walking home with friends from church when a carload of seven men stopped her. Forced into the car, Recy, a Black woman, was repeatedly raped by six white men at gunpoint, then tossed roadside with a warning: Tell anyone about this, and you're dead. Recy ignored the threats and her tale soon galvanized activists throughout Alabama -- including a woman whose name would eventually become synonymous with the Civil Rights movement.



Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history



AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE CRIMES OF THE CENTURIES BOOK - NOW AVAILABLE!  Order today at www.centuriespod.com/book (https://www.centuriespod.com/book)!



Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @centuriespod



Episode sponsors:



• Smalls. Get 50% off your first order of protein-packed, preservative-free cat food by going to Smalls.com/cotc and use promo code COTC. 



• Wildgrain. Get $30 off your first box of bake-from-frozen breads, pastries and pastas plus free croissants in every box when you go to Wildgrain.com/cotc to start your subscription. 



• For Wellness. Get 25% off your first order from this functional food brand when you go to ForWellness.com/cotc and use code COTC.






S2 Ep10: Terror at the Tewksbury Almshouse

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