Ridiculous Crime

He was America's first super-wealthy faith healer. You could also say he was America's first religious robber baron. His name is John Alexander Dowie. After many arrests, lawsuits, and court fights, Dowie decided it would be best if he and his thousands of followers started their own town. And he named it Zion City. He ran his spiritual utopia like a company town in coal country. Things worked well for the wannabe Old Testament-style patriarch, right up until Dowie decided to lead a holy crusade to save the people of Gotham from their wickedness. They say if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere. John Alexander Dowie certainly put that to the test!

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A prototype for generations of crooked politicians and media figures to come, Horatio Bottomley knew how to work the public. Whether defrauding them with fake sweepstakes or holding boisterous hate rallies, Bottomley was a pro at making a name for himself while making plenty of coin, as long as there was plenty of the right champagne on hand.

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In the days of apartheid South Africa, no one expected a young white man who was a former South African soldier to turn rebel and to then help Nelson Mandela and the ANC conduct a super-secret sabotage operation. But that's exactly what Rodney Wilkinson did. And his target? The new Koeberg nuclear facility. With the help of a lot of luck and his steely nerves, he planned to blow it all up. The question is: can a dope-smoking, bike-riding, commune-dwelling hippie turned fencing instructor get the job done?

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If you're going to break the law, you might as well do it in style. And be polite, too! Arthur Barry robbed from the rich while pretending to be one of their own. In a bespoke suit with a martini in hand, he scoped out mansions and returned later to relieve the swells of their precious jewels. A truly ridiculous way to live! 

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Sometimes in this world you're confronted with a choice. One that, years later, you'll look back at and recognize that choice was a key moment in your life. Because that choice catapaulted you forward where you eventually get slammed into the consequences of your actions. Whenever that moment comes, hope you don't look back and think: I should not have chosen the stupidest crime or the dumbest lie I could think of... because that's what the crimers in this episode did. Just one ridiculously criminal choice and their whole life changes!

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We all need escapes from this crazy world, and one way to do that is to meet up with like-minded folks and enjoy your shared, niche interests. Whether it's a magical world of candy, the finery of the Gilded Age, or the fantasy realm of dragons and otherkin, getting together and reveling in a breakaway from dismal reality is pretty satisfying. But what happens when the ones who are meant to facilitate flights of fancy drop the ball? Listen and find out.

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Hello, Ridiculous Crime Listeners! We want to share a new show you might enjoy, it’s DISGRACELAND!!!

About the Show: You know the myths. You’ve seen the biopics. But if you’re the kind of music fan who craves the rest of the story—the stuff they buried or cleaned up for streaming and theaters—this is your podcast. DISGRACELAND is the award-winning show that reveals the deeply human, highly dramatic, true crime–fueled chaos behind legendary musicians like Amy Winehouse, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sean “Diddy” Combs, the Grateful Dead, Blondie, and more. While we dig into the dark side, we do so with reverence for the artists—and an understanding of the extreme highs, lows, and personal costs that come with fame and making great art. This is music history like you’ve never heard it—edge-of-your-seat stories exploding with drama and the kind of information that’ll make you dangerous at dinner parties.

New, fully scripted and sound-designed episodes drop every Tuesday. On Thursdays, we hand the mic to you—and feature listener voicemails, texts, and emails in our interactive bonus episodes. And on Fridays, we revisit the wildest stories from our 250+ episode archive with “Rewind” drops that’ll transport you back into music history’s most entertaining moments.

DISGRACELAND is not a journalistic podcast—it’s an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. Certain dialogue and scenes are occasionally fictionalized for dramatic effect, as is common in scripted entertainment based on real stories. Sources and credits for each episode are available at www.disgracelandpod.com 

Listen here and subscribe to DISGRACELAND on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Once upon a time, some British hard men decided to steal some gold. They went out to an airport, worked their way into a bullion room, and lifted the gold. It was a classic heist for the ages. Here's the thing: they took a taxi home. The black cab was a cool ride, but it also left a witness in the form of the driver, a man chock full of "The Knowledge" and then some. The driver became the key to this case, but also somehow the lock. Figure that one out. 

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Using the nooks and crannies of Puget Sound as cover, Roy Olmstead ran a massive bootlegging empire during Prohibition. He was nonviolent, creative, and a whole lotta fun. And on top of that, he managed to have a lasting impact on the US legal system. Not bad for a former cop. 

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Often times the crimers on this show come up with audacious plans for their capers, heists and cons. But far too often they forget the other half of the equation: how to get away with their crimes. That's the theme of this episode! It features a single mother who tries to dig a tunnel to her child in prison, a techno DJ who sells phony airplane engine parts to major airlines, and a French academic who makes up an academy to give himself an award.

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