Subscribe for ad-free listening at IntoHistory.com/shipwreckspod.

August 1903. The famous Annie Oakley is arrested in Chicago for theft, a crime committed in order to obtain money to fuel her cocaine habit. And what a headline that made. America’s original sweetheart, the tiny sharpshooter who once entertained kings and queens, now reduced to petty thievery. Wasn’t long before newspapers throughout the country began to report on this fall from grace.

Enter in William Randolph Hearst, son of mining tycoon George Hearst, who ruled a media empire and had his eye on the white house. There was no story too sensational or salacious for him to print, the truth be damned.

What happened when the darling of the Wild West Show goes to war with one of the most powerful men in the country? A man with very deep pockets and an army of Pinkertons? Did Annie Oakley even have a chance at clearing her name? Find out on this girl power episode of The Wild West Extravaganza!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices