When Fannie Davis and her family moved to Detroit in the mid-1950s, they hadn't prepared themselves for how hard it would be. They had trouble finding steady work. So, Fannie found a way to take care of her family. She started small, but built a robust and lucrative operation… a business that a lot of people knew about but no one talked about. Bridgett Davis' book is The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers. For a transcript of this episode, send an email to transcripts@thisiscriminal.com with the episode name and number. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Criminal is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Please review us on Apple Podcasts! It’s an important way to help new listeners discover the show: iTunes.com/CriminalShow. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.
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The Numbers

Criminal is the first of its kind. A show about people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. Hosted by Phoebe Judge. Named a Best Podcast of 2023 by the New York Times. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Documentary

True crime

When he was 14 years old, Ron Bishop testified in a murder trial. Decades later, he told an investigator everything he said on the stand was a lie – and that it was just what he was told to say.
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Episode transcripts are posted on our website.
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Under Oath

When people started saying that John D. Rockefeller Jr. was responsible for the deaths of two women and 11 children near a coal mine in Colorado, he decided to do something unusual. He hired “the father of public relations.”
Scott Martelle's book is Blood Passion: The Ludlow Massacre and Class War in the American West.
Amy Westervelt's podcast is called Drilled.
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Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.
Episode transcripts are posted on our website.
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The Strike

Sultan Alam was the first Pakistani officer to join the traffic department of the Cleveland Police in the UK. He was harassed at work and complained to his senior officers about it. Then his coworkers showed up at his house to arrest him.
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Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.
Episode transcripts are posted on our website.
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An Officer's Arrest

For almost thirty years, Adolfo Kaminsky lived quietly, forging documents for people all over the world. It started when he was 18.
Sarah Kaminsky’s book is Adolfo Kaminsky: A Forger’s Life.
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Listen back through our archives at youtube.com/criminalpodcast.
We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.
Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.
Episode transcripts are posted on our website.
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Indelible Ink

As the famous English actor William Macready was preparing to go on stage in New York, over 300 police officers were placed in and around the theater. “But the head of the police said, ‘I don't know that that's going to be enough people.’”
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Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal, ad-free listening of all of our shows, members-only merch, and more. Learn more and sign up here.
Listen back through our archives at youtube.com/criminalpodcast.
We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.
Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.
Episode transcripts are posted on our website.
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The Numbers

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