Criminal Records Podcast

Isaac tells a story about Judaism's weirdest would-be messiah. Demetria adds ambiance by constantly arguing with him. This is the story of Sabbatai Zevi, whose quest to save the Jewish people turned him into a dangerous liability. Show notes and sources at this link

Do you think Canada is just America's conflict-adverse northern neighbor? Think again! This week, we go on a journey through some of Canada's strangest history, including a territory governed by an employee handbook, a polite uprising derailed by one rude man, and an exiled politician whose very understandable quest for a fairer legal system spiraled into delusions of messianic salvation. Show notes and sources at this link

Han van Meegeren might not have been loved by art critics, but his descent into the world of art forgery accidentally turned him into one of his country's least likely heroes. Join us for the twisted tale of an expert art forger, a high-ranking Nazi art thief, and a Jewish Dutch resistance hero whose espionage investigation turned into a friendship with one of the Netherlands' most flamboyant criminals. Show notes and sources at this link

As we gear up for one of America's most momentous presidential elections, we look back on the man so bad at politics that he changed the way our country's elections worked forever. Meet Aaron Burr, the guy who caused so much chaos that America not only had to amend its own constitution to stop his shenanigans, it had to set its legal definition of treason after he attempted to create a new country just to rule it. Hamilton fans, get ready for the wild story of what happened after the musical ended. Politics junkies, enjoy the story of the man whose misbehavior set many of the precedents we're still fighting about in presidential elections today. Show notes and sources

This week, we're joined by Nikki Brueggeman for a discussion of two horrific hate crimes in early 20th century America. As we discuss the deaths of Mary Turner and Jesse Washington, we look at the way the NAACP worked to publicize the horrific injustice of lynchings, the reason we tell these stories with a focus on the victims first, and the way modern oral historians like Nikki are continuing the work of documenting Black stories. Content note: This episode contains descriptions of two hate crimes against Black Americans. We talk about the intense violence perpetuated against them, including racist violence, mutilation, torture, murder, and the killing of an infant. Some of the sources linked in our show notes contain graphic images of a mutilated corpse. Show notes, sources, and information about where to find Nikki's work

This Italian family's secret recipe requires a special ingredient: a fatal dose of arsenic. Join us for a story of murder most foul, corrupt priests, saleswomen with pockets full of poison, secret cabal of witches moving through European courts, a ceiling alligator, and Santa Claus's special bone juice. Show notes and sources at this link

Did an ancient Greek party girl get off on a capital charge because she flashed the judge? Or was this story just an excuse for artists to get away with painting bare breasts? This week, we dig into trial records, archeological evidence, and ancient gossip to try to get a sense of the woman behind the legend. Content note: This episode is about a historical figure who may or may not have been a sex worker. Some of the sources we quote from translate her profession as "prostitute"–academic translations tend to lag a bit behind commonly accepted language. Show notes and sources at this link (HEADS UP, the images in this are not safe for work)

We're heading back to the wild west to meet one of America's smoothest criminals. Let Charles "Doc" Baggs teach you the art of stealing from the rich, giving great speeches, and staying one step ahead of the law. What do we learn when we listen to a criminal telling his side of the story reporters? Who shaped our understanding of the moral landscape of the American west? How cool is this dude, seriously? Show notes and sources at this link

You've heard of Rosa Parks—but do you actually know the full story? This week, we dig into the brutal history of segregation in the United States, the difficult work of activism, and the way black civil rights leaders' stories are often taught as part of a whitewashed narrative that minimizes their agency and fails to engage with their actual political views. CONTENT NOTE: A lot of the advocacy work that Rosa Parks and other activists we discuss in this episode took on involves attempting to get justice for acts of extreme violence, including sexual violence, against black Americans. We don't go into any graphic details but even a dry recounting of the facts may be disturbing. Show notes and sources at this link Feel like donating to a good cause after listening to this episode? Here are some charities we recommend: The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute Black Lives Matter The Anti-Racism Fund NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Amistad Law Project The Marshall Project Unicorn Riot Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting Black Voters Matter The Collective Political Action Committee

It's Pride month, and you know what that means: It's time for a deep dive into the structural oppression of queer people in America, the exploitative underbelly of New York's mob-owned gay bars, and the night those tensions boiled over in 1969. What exactly was banned by sodomy laws and other laws used to target queer New Yorkers? Why was the mafia paying the police to keep gay bars open? And what was the movement that came out of Stonewall fighting for on the streets and in the courts? Show notes, sources, and places to donate at the link (Heads up: Might be NSFW depending on how your work feels about cartoon penis costumes) Feel like donating to a good cause? Might we suggest these charities: WA Black Trans Rights Force TransWomen of Color Collective Sylvia Rivera Law Project Trans Lifeline Transgender Law Center Entre Hermanos True Colors United Youth Futures Law Project Queer the Land Somos Seattle

This week, we cover one of the most shameful war crimes in American history--and the shockingly light sentence of the only man successfully convicted for it. What happens when business tactics are applied to warfare? Why did it take so long for William Calley's crimes to come to light? And why did so many Americans, including the president, believe he was justified in murdering hundreds of civilians? Content notes: This episode is about a war crime trial involving firing on unarmed civilians, mass murder including the murder of children, and sexual assault. We don't go into gory details, but even a dry recounting of the facts may be distressing. Show notes, sources, and information about places to donate to bail funds at this link (note: While we've decided not to post photos of the victims during and after the massacre on this page, there are some photographs of soldiers burning houses that may be disturbing)

This week, we bring you a story about a suspicious suicide, a vengeful spirit, and the wrath of the emperor. Why was a ghostly accountant out for revenge? How good was the Qing dynasty CSI team? And how did one of the most regimented legal systems in history end up with such a weird, orientalist misrepresentation in the English-speaking world? Show notes and sources at this link

In our first court case from the Islamic world, we meet one of history's greatest bureaucrats. Midhat Pasha was fantastic at taking control of troubled territories and coming up with grand new legal ideas, but he wasn't so great at playing politics. Meet the scholar who rose to be the Grand Vizier of an empire before he became the defendant in an unwinnable show trial. Show notes and sources at this link

Meet the woman who claimed to be a German princess, scammed a handful of husbands, palled around with pirates, and played her scandalous self on the stage. Why were so many English men so easy to dupe when a stranger showed up claiming noble heritage? How did a con artist become a celebrity? How much do we really know about Mary as a person, and how much did this self-made woman construct herself as a character? Show notes and sources at this link

This week, we're covering the strange, sad case of Mary Mallon, one of America's most notorious killers—who never technically committed a crime. When is it illegal to spread a disease? Why did the Health Department have the power to detain people indefinitely? Does Mary deserve her infamy, or was she a victim of a system that was stacked against her from the start? Content note: This is mostly about an epidemic of typhoid fever, but it will also touch on other disease outbreaks and US laws around quarantining people and charging people for spreading diseases. We'll be discussing the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of this episode. The death of a child is mentioned. Show notes and sources at this link

This week, Isaac and Demetria go back to the Wild West for our very first outlaw of the American frontier. There's rootin', there's tootin', there's plenty of shootin', and also a truly astonishing amount of...soap? Show notes, photos, and sources at this link (Note: This page contains a photograph of a dead body)

Disease! Rebellion! Weeb stuff! This week, we have it all, as we journey back to Wat Tyler's rebellion. Show notes and corrections at this link - We were on a lot of cold medicine while recording and made some mistakes, apologies!

This week, Isaac and Demetria talk about their first regicide. It's time for the trial and execution of King Charles I -- who denies that you have any legitimacy to listen to this podcast and proclaims that only God has the right to press the play button. Link to the show notes

This week, Isaac and Demetria talk about a workplace mass shooting and its relationship to employment in America. Expect a conversation ranging from gun regulation to the tenure system and beyond. (Content note: This episode contains discussion of a mass shooting in a workplace, an attempted bombing, and a shooting in a private home) Show notes and sources

This week, Isaac and Demetria discuss the white nationalist murderer David Lane, who was inspired to join a radical neo-Nazi group called the Order which went on a year long crime spree up and down the West Coast in 1984-85.

This week, we're covering the trial of Chinese swinger Ma Xiaohai, who was arrested for violating Chinese laws against "group licentiousness" as a crime that violates good social order.

Demetria and Isaac continue their deep dive into the world of obscenity laws with a look at one of Japan's most infamous bad boys of porn, the AV director Muranishi Tooru.

This week (and somewhat late), Isaac and Demetria talk about the trials (literally) and tribulations of the great American comedian Lenny Bruce, whose boundary-pushing comedy landed him in hot water on charges of obscenity around the United States. Show notes are linked here (Content note: While there's no visual material at the link that is sexual or shocking, some of the embedded content includes comedy sets by Bruce that listeners may find disturbing in their discussion of race and sexuality)

This week, journey back to the first murder case in recorded history (at least that we were able to find). Who killed a temple functionary in the city of Nippur? Why was it definitely these three guys? Why are we putting the dead guy's wife on trial too? Partial answers to some of these questions, plus lots of complaining about the lack of user-friendly scholarship on ancient Sumer, all coming your way this week! Show notes are at this link

It's time for our first case on the history of American slavery, featuring the bizarre legal and moral mess that allowed black Africans fighting for their freedom to be accused of kidnapping themselves. Our show notes are linked here

Come celebrate the big 3-0 with a con for the ages as Jeanne de Valois will try to get her hands on a 2 million livre necklace, and end up implicating -- and slandering -- one of the world's most famous and powerful monarchies.

This week, Demetria takes us through the story of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a prolific serial killer who used her noble status to murder peasant girls at her whim.

Join us as we demystify even more American history! No sacred cow of the American past is safe!

This time, Isaac and Demetria go back in time to answer the age old question: if Socrates was such a great philosopher, why couldn't he figure out not to drink all that poison? That plus long digressions about the nature of democracy and medieval theology (of course)!

This week, grab your tommy guns and fedoras as we make our way to Chicago to cover the meteoric rise (and equally meteoric fall) of one of America's most famous gangsters, Al Capone!

This week, it's time for a fun case of ancient Roman slander as we talk about the corrupt politician Gaius Verres. What was he accused of? Are the charges real, or were they embellished to help the career of an upjumped lawyer named Cicero? And what's up with everyone always making analogies between Rome and America?

This week, Isaac and Demetria discuss the gruesome series of child murders that took place in Kobe in 1997, and the circumstances surrounding the eventual capture and trial of the killer -- a 14 year old high school boy.

This week, Isaac and Demetria unpack the career of the firebrand revolutionary playwright Olympe de Gouges. Along the way, we tackle such important questions as: what was the French Revolution about? What even is feminism? And why is Isaac's French accent so bad?

This week, we're talking about Fred Korematsu, whose great crime was being in the place where he was born. How did America get to the point of incarcerating its own citizens in the 1940s? And what does that story have to tell us about today?

This week, Demetria and Isaac investigate the serial killer Nannie Doss, whose husbands kept mysteriously dying after eating things she'd prepared. Surely that must be some sort of unfortunate coincidence! We're releasing this one a day early since the American crowd will be celebrating on July 4th. Watch out for any suspicious pies!

This week, Isaac and Demetria discuss an infamous blood libel trial: the story of St. Simon of Trent, and the Jews who were tortured and executed after the city authorities blamed them for the boy's murder.

This week, we cover our first fictional criminal, the famous Robin Hood! Where do his stories come from? How have they changed? What can they tell us about the relationship between anachronistic fictional criminals and the people who wrote about them?

This week: what do painted clothing, fake coins, and dildoes have in common? All of them factor into the career of one of England's most fascinating conmen, the forger William Chaloner!

Amanda Jean of the Red Pen Podcast joins Demetria for the story of France's most notorious criminal turned cop. If you enjoy fiction about crime today, you're probably reading something inspired by Vidocq's legacy. Where to find more from our lovely guest: The Red Pen Podcast: RSS feed The Red Pen Podcast: Patreon Less Than Three Press's Creature Feature fiction call

This week, Isaac tortures Demetria by forcing her to listen to him talk about baseball. But really, baseball is fun so we should all take joy in her learning about it. Oh also we'll cover one of the biggest sporting scandals in American history or whatever. It's a tale of labor laws, sports gambling, legal shenanigans, and all other things classically American as we all go out to the ball game!

This week, Isaac and Demetria make use of a tale of revenge from 1820s Japan to discuss one of the most interesting legal practices we've ever seen: kataki-uchi, the system of legally permitted revenge of Japan's samurai era. Why turn revenge into something akin to getting your license renewed at the DMV? What are the rules? And what can we learn about the nature of justice from thinking about this?

This week, Isaac and Demetria investigate the case that grabbed headlines across 1920s America. We'll talk about the intersection of xenophobia, violent anarchism, and the American legal system, and how all of them manifested in a bungled case that remains divisive to this day. Sacco and Vanzetti's letters from prison are available here.

This episode has it all: Pope-on-pope legal drama! Corpse desecration! 3 separate French kings named Charles! Come for an explanation of the corpse synod, stay to find out why it's not easy being pope.

This week, Demetria and Isaac tackle America's great traitor! Who was Arnold, and what did his trial for a series of ridiculous charges have to do with his decision to betray his country?

This week, Isaac and Demetria discuss the story of Margaret Clap, proprietor of a coffee house with a big secret. What was a molly house, why was the government prosecuting men for buggery, and why are trial records some of our best surviving documents about gay culture in 1720s England?

This week, Isaac and Demetria tackle the case of Govinda Mainali, a Nepalese man accused in Japan of a murder he obviously didn't commit. But obviously he didn't do it, so there's no way he could end up serving 12 years in prison just to make the Japanese government look more efficient at solving crimes than it really is, right?