Kingpins

By Spotify StudiosSociety & Culture True Crime History

Kingpins episodes

December 10, 2020 LA County Sheriff’s Gangs Pt. 3: Wild West Roots/Jump Out Boys
By the 1850s, Los Angeles was one of the most dangerous places to live in the West. Extrajudicial killings, unchecked racial violence, and vigilante groups like the Los Angeles Rangers prevailed. This “Wild West” culture seeped into and was propagated by the Sheriff’s Department — and it hasn't gone away.

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40 min
December 03, 2020 LA County Sheriff’s Gangs Pt. 2: The Lennox Grim Reapers
The community of Lennox in Los Angeles is just one square mile, but it has an enormous problem. Alongside violent gang activity, there’s a secret organization adding terror to the neighborhood. Their symbol? The Grim Reaper. Their ranks? Los Angeles sheriff's deputies.

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43 min
November 26, 2020 LA County Sheriff’s Gangs Pt. 1: Little Devils & Lynwood Vikings
Deputy gangs have been embedded in the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department since 1971. In the first of our five-part collaboration with Parcast series Secret Societies, we delve into the earliest of these violent gangs that shaped the current culture within the LASD.

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45 min
November 20, 2020 Unsolved Murders Crossover: Agents Dale Kearney & Ray Sutton Pt. 2
Today we’re bringing you a special two-part episode from another Spotify Original from Parcast. If you enjoy it, check out Unsolved Murders on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
In 1930, two prohibition agents were murdered in Colorado. Despite strong leads in both cases, a series of missteps and the end of Prohibition brought their investigations to ruin.
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42 min
November 20, 2020 Unsolved Murders Crossover: Agents Dale Kearney & Ray Sutton Pt. 1
Today we’re bringing you a special two-part episode from another Spotify Original from Parcast. If you enjoy it, check out Unsolved Murders on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
In 1930, two prohibition agents were murdered in Colorado. Despite strong leads in both cases, a series of missteps and the end of Prohibition brought their investigations to ruin.
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39 min
November 16, 2020 Dictators: The Rise & Fall of a Roman Emperor
They’re natural-born leaders, hungry for absolute power. Every week on Dictators, delve into the minds and motives of history’s most infamous rulers — people who rose through the ranks toward radicalism, eliminating anyone who stood in their way. This week, track the rise and fall of Nero, an emperor who led Rome to destruction. Hear a clip from Part 1 here, then head to Dictators for the rest of the episode. Dictators is free to listen on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
14 min
November 13, 2020 “Granny Evil” Pt. 2: Kath Pettingill
After two Melbourne constables were gunned down in 1988, police identified the Pettingills as prime suspects. The case against the notorious crime family grew, but changing testimonies, family betrayals, and the idea of a police vendetta complicated the trial.

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49 min
November 06, 2020 “Granny Evil” Pt. 1: Kath Pettingill
She was a young barmaid who rose to be the ruthless matriarch of a Melbourne crime family in the 1980s.

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45 min
October 30, 2020 “The Acid King” Pt. 2: William Pickard
After the 1988 bust of his Mountain View LSD lab, William Pickard turned to academics and convinced his colleagues he was done cooking acid. In truth, he set up a new lab in a retrofitted Cold War silo and started making LSD by the kilo — becoming the drug’s largest producer in the history of the U.S.

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45 min
October 23, 2020 “The Acid King” Pt. 1: William Pickard
What happens when a chemistry genius meets 1960s counterculture? After wunderkind William Pickard began taking psychedelics, he became convinced it was his duty to share his experience with the masses… and he started cooking acid.

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49 min

About Kingpins

From the publisher's feed

Undeniable power. Unbelievable stories. Unlikely origins. Kingpins follows the rise and fall of rulers of the underworld. Every Friday, we examine the leaders of organized crime rings, and how money…