American Shadows

From investment schemes to fake car warranties, there’s never a shortage of scammers eager to fleece people out of their life savings and hard-earned cash. The story of Gaston Bullock Means, one of the most notorious con artists of all time. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was a time when hijackings in America reached epidemic proportions. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to murder, some things aren't as they seem. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story and history behind Boston's most bizarre disaster. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Madison Washington led eighteen men to the most successful slave uprising in American history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have a deep fascination with murder from the safety of our homes. But when the crime goes unsolved, we feel less safe that a killer walks among us. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thomas Edison believed direct current was the future of electricity. Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse championed alternating current. In the late 1800s, things were about to get ugly. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes, the most inhumane acts are the ones we do to each other. The story of Red Summer and how fear became a dangerous, blinding hatred that caused unspeakable violence across the nation. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A man dedicated to keeping Boston safe from burning finds himself at the center of a firestorm when his prediction comes true. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we think of pirates, Blackbeard comes to mind. But there's a whole other group who sailed the seas — women. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reputations are everything. When they're gone, they're hard to rebuild. Harder if you're a woman. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Envious of Chicago's announcement they were hosting the 1904 Olympics, the mayor of St. Louis come up with a plan to steal the show. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Italian immigrant George Sodder was living the American Dream. When his home caught fire on Christmas Eve 1945, that dream became a nightmare. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1900, one man controlled the weather bureau. When he ignored the experts about the path of a monster hurricane, the people of Galveston Texas paid with their lives. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Robert Smalls went from stealing a Confederate ship to gain his freedom, to owning the very mansion he'd been enslaved in. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Though there have been several attempted coup d'états on American soil, this is the story of the only successful one to date. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Believing they'd found peace on land no one else wanted, the Osage soon became more hunted than ever. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George Parrott claimed to have ridden with Butch Cassidy and Jesse James, but his legendary status has nothing to do with being an outlaw. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An inoculation for smallpox should have been something to celebrate. Instead, it caused outrage and violence. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life on British Prison Ships during the Revolutionary War, and the horrifying tale of a man who spent time aboard the most notorious of them all: the HMS Jersey. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story about how stolen corpses played a crucial role in the development of Western medicine -- and how one man made a living at the center of the trade. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A life insurance scheme involving murder, fraud, and a whole lot of alcohol. But some things just don't go the way they're planned. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How one woman found God, murder, and the Anti Christ -- multiple times! -- in 1850s Connecticut. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One man's quest to control the weather in Southern California -- with disastrous results that would change a city forever. Weather control has always been a vestige of the gods -- or so we've always thought. But there way one man at the turn of the century who convinced people otherwise -- with disastrous results. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a long time before President Abraham Lincoln would finally rest in peace -- his corpse would first have to survive counterfitters and grave-robbers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political intrigue and murder in the aftermath of an American invasion of Canada in 1866. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The darker side of American horse racing, and the shadows cast by some of the tragedies along the way. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One man's obsession with lonely hearts ads of a century ago, and his abuse of the false trust they engendered. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the intersection of scientific advancement and tragedy is the story of US Radium and the young women who stood up to them. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

American Shadows is a bi-weekly podcast from iHeartRadio and Aaron Mahnke’s Grim & Mild. The show focuses on the darker stories from American history: the people, places, and things that are hidden and forgotten in the shadows. From better-known tales like the conspiracy to steal Lincoln’s body, to less-known stories, like the rainmaker who flooded San Diego. Join host Lauren Vogelbaum as she spans two centuries of omitted lore from our country’s history books. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.