Unscrupulous

This week Adam (he/him) dives right in and tells us all about the brave Mercy Smugglers. People who are unscrupulous in the good way! They risk everything to bring people life saving medicine, crossing borders and engaging in truly dangerous activities all out of the goodness of their hearts.

Then Bec (they/them) who is so exhausted they barely remember recording this at all, tell you the tale of Princess Caraboo. A young woman lost, claiming to be a princess from a far off land, but is there a chance this newcomer is too good to be true?

Adam's Sources:

• 'Mercy Smugglers' Help Alleviate AIDS in Mexico - Los Angeles Times
• 'Dying to Survive': How a Leukemia Patient & an Indian Cancer Drug Rocked China
• The Seattle Nurse Who Risked Everything To Smuggle AIDS Drugs

Bec's Sources:

• https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-mysterious-princess-caraboo/
• https://www.geriwalton.com/mary-baker-princess-caraboo/
• Wikipedia

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Who can you trust if not your own family, right? WRONG! We are here to teach you to trust absolutely no one. Sleep with one eye open, be suspicious of absolutely everyone you come into contact with. Okay, maybe these aren't great lessons, but this week we bring you two tales of some deep deceit that will leave you unsure that you can ever really know anybody.

First Bec (they/them) introduces us to Axton Betz-Hamilton, whose life turns upside down when her entire family becomes victims of identity fraud when she is a young kid. But Axton, being the bad ass she is, dedicates her life to figuring out who did this to them and becomes an award winning professor in the meantime. Truly badass.

Next Adam (he/him) tells us the story of the Bombshell Bandit; a double entendre for a hot lady who threatened explosive results if her demands weren't met. Sandeep Kaur is another incredibly hardworking woman who is willing to do anything to keep up with the life she wants, unfortunately that leads to some questionable, dangerous, and at times illegal decisions.

Sources:

Bec:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/books/review/the-less-people-know-about-us-axton-betz-hamilton.html

https://nypost.com/2019/10/12/i-lived-with-the-identity-thief-who-ruined-my-family-and-didnt-realize-until-it-was-too-late/

https://www.elle.com/culture/books/a29477523/axton-betz-hamilton-identity-theft-less-people-know-about-us-book/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4grClrmKpY

Adam:
The rise and fall of the Bombshell Bandit - BBC News

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

A word of warning for this episode: do not operate heavy machinery while listening because you will swoon HARD at Adam's Irish accent.

First Adam (he/him) takes us to Ireland with his magical lilt when he tells us about Grace O'Malley, The Pirate Queen. She is beyond bad ass;  defending her clan on both land and sea, owning multiple castles and popping out several babies,  sometimes simultaneously.  She was so cool even Queen Elizabeth I wanted to sit with her in the cafeteria.

Next Bec (they/them) takes us to their very own hometown of London, Ontario with the tale of Betty Bigley. The only thing Bec and Betty have in common is that they got out of that town pretty quick. Betty was known by several different monikers, some self appointed, others given to her by the media when her nefarious activities came to light. Find out how she earned titles like "The Lady of the Hypnotic Eye" and "The High Priestess of Financial Fraud".

Adam's sources:

• Grace O'Malley, the Fearless 16th-Century Irish Pirate Queen Who Stood Up to the English | Mental Floss
• Grace O’Malley – Fearless Sea Captain – and Pirate!
• Grace O'Malley: The Pirate Queen Of Ireland – Biography & Facts | HistoryExtra

Bec's sources:
​​https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-high-priestess-of-fraudulent-finance-45/

https://www.grunge.com/419030/the-fake-heiress-who-conned-americas-banks-in-the-1800s/

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

We're gonna need you to start imagining bagpipes right about now.

Bec (they/them) starts us off in Scotland, where four Glaswegian students are ready to take back their nations history as they plan to steal the Stone of Scone...of Destiny.

Next Adam (he/him) introduces us to Sherri Papini, a kidnapping victim who is found wounded by the side of the road. Family and friends are thrilled at her return, until some of the details of her disappearance don't quite seem to add up.

Bec's resources:
https://ultimatehistoryproject.com/an-infamous-theft-the-stone-of-scone.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-63130942

Adam's resources:

• Missing California mother feared abducted while jogging - BBC News
• Abducted California woman Sherri Papini found after three weeks - BBC News
• FBI release sketches of Sherri Papini abduction suspects - BBC News
• 'The Vanishing Act': How Sherri Papini fooled investigators, family with phony kidnap plot - ABC News
• Sherri Papini: US woman who staged her own disappearance sentenced to 18 months - BBC News

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

DOUBLE DIGITS! We made it to episode 10! Pardon us as we scream (internally- so as to not peak the mic, we know terms now!)

First, Adam (he/him) tells us a terrifying and unsolved stalker story. Who is a huge fan of snail mail intimidation tactics. The watcher (self given name) wants the new tenants to know that he is never far and that he isn't happy with their changes to the house. Eeeeek. Solid spooky take for the end of October.

Bec (they/them) then takes us to the high seas, where we meet two women dressed as men who start the sexiest and most terrifying gender bending throuple pirate crew you've ever heard of.

Adam's sources:
 The Watcher: The True Story of the Haunting of 657 Boulevard by Reeves Wiedeman, republished in The Cut, originally published in New York magazine as “The Haunting of a Dream House,” by Reeves Wiedeman

Bec's sources:
https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-anne-bonny-mary-read-2136281

https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/anne-bonny-mary-read-female-pirates-lives-crimes/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/if-theres-a-man-among-ye-the-tale-of-pirate-queens-anne-bonny-and-mary-read-45576461/

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Our last episode in single digits!

This week Bec (they/them) takes us to 18th Century Versailles, where history does Marie Antoinette dirty (once again) and wrongly associates her with in the Diamond Necklace Affair. All she did was say no to an obnoxious diamond necklace originally made for her father-in-law's mistress. Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy did the rest to drag Marie's name through the mud.

But we kinda like her.

Next Adam (he/him) introduces us to a modern day Robin Hood. Eddie Sandifier dedicated his life to his beliefs. Right before his death, he does the ultimate mic drop and admits to committing thefts. But he truly only gave to those in need. We love Eddie so much!!


Bec's Sources:

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1970/affair-of-the-diamond-necklace/

https://www.refinery29.com/en-ca/2021/02/10328513/confident-women-by-tori-telfer-book-excerpt-jeanne-st-remy

Adam's Sources:

• Mississippi gay rights advocate Eddie Sandifer dies
• Civil rights movement's 'Robin Hood' unmasked
• Sandifier: the Robin Hood of Civil Rights
• Jewel Thief Was The "Robin Hood" Of Gay Liberation - Queerty
• Eddie Sandifer, Jackson Free Press
• For more on the Sandifer House for HIV/AIDS patients, have a read of the 2018 article by Brian Gordon, also writing for the Jackson Free Press: Beyond Stigma: Helping the Jacksonians Others Reject | Jackson Free Press
• A lovely video featuring this lovely man, briefly telling just one of his 8 trillion amazing stories: Eddie Sandifer at the March on Washington FilmFest, 2014 

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

This episode went off the railsssss. See what happens when tech issues cause us to go loopy and can't stop giggling. Jocko Blood!! ifkyk. We accidentally chose to cover very similar men, centuries apart.

First Adam (he/him) introduces us to Col. Thomas Blood, who after a life of bumbling through crime decides to bumble through an attempt of stealing the crown jewels. He befriends an unassuming guard just hoping to marry off his daughter.

Next Bec (they/them) takes us to this century where we meet another deceitful dude. Jeremy Wilson must have the best memory of all time because he has upwards of 27 identities he is operating under. So you think he'd be smarter about a trap left by the cops.

Adam's sources:
Irish adventurer “Colonel Blood” steals crown jewels - HISTORY

Colonel Blood and the theft of the Crown Jewels

Attempt to steal the Crown Jewels - The National Archives

Thomas Blood - Wikipedia 

Bec's sources:
 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/nyregion/jeremy-wilson-a-compulsive-con-man.html

https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/where-is-jeremy-wilson-from-generation-hustle-now-prison

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

This week Bec (they/them) tells us a wild story that no one knows but everyone should! Did you know John Lennon and Yoko Ono were flying around the world trying to find Yoko's kidnapped daughter? Well is it kidnapping when the person who took them is their father?! (the answer is yes) Oh, and he made her join a forest cult. Seriously, this story is nuts.

Next Adam (he/him) gives us THREE interesting tales of people who we applaud as heroes today but were *technically* going against "the man". if that man is a small, evil, moustached hitler. 

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Welcome to another wonderful week of misdeeds!

Adam (he/him) starts us off in Mexico where he tells us the story of the largest accidental radioactive contamination in the history of North America. And the worst part of this story is truly how easily it could be happening around us and we don't even know. Thanks Adam for unlocking a new fear for us all!

Next Bec (they/them) tells us the story of young Ukrainian student Artur Samarian, who loved America so much he pretended to be a minor and allowed himself to be adopted just to stay. 



Adam's Resources:

https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/01/science/nuclear-spill-at-juarez-looms-as-one-of-worst.html

https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-54429012

https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2020/07/the-widespread-nuclear-disaster-everyone-promptly-forgot-about/


Bec's Resources:

https://www.gq.com/story/the-great-high-school-impostor

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5680329/The-story-high-school-impostor.html

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Ooky Spooky season is upon us. So naturally Bec (they/them) had to start us off with a tale of sister's who spoke with spirts. The Fox sister's are credited with creating the Spiritualism movement, for good or for bad. Did they really talk to ghosts or were they just suffering from early arthritis?

Next Adam (he/him) gives us his most recent story to date- Ireland in the 80's. But it's not what you think! There isn't a single mention of Catholic vs Protestant; just a heavily hydrated hijacker who seems to think confusion is the best way to get what he wants. And boy, wait until you hear what it is that he wants.



Bec's Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_sisters

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/11/04/in-the-joints-of-their-toes/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Fox-and-Catherine-Fox

Adam's Resources:
Flashback 1981: Hijack of Aer Lingus flight - Independent.ie

RTÉ Archives | War and Conflict | Aer Lingus Flight EI 164 Hijacked

Looking at the 1981 'Fatima' hijacking

What Really Happened When An Ex-Monk Hijacked A Plane

If you feel like learning more about the Trappists - Trappists.org

WOW BONUS READING HOMEWORK THANKS ADAM: An interesting article about just how common these types of hijackings used to be. Written by Libby Nelson - The US once had more than 130 hijackings in 4 years. Here’s why they finally stopped. - Vox

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]