The History of Alcatraz

<p>Home to the likes of Al Capone and George 'Machine Gun' Kelly, Alcatraz was once the jewel in the American prison system. The wind-swept island fortress was the final stop for the nation's most dangerous criminals and was thought to be escape-proof - at least, until one night in June 1962, when three men on an improvised raft slipped into the icy waters of San Francisco Bay, never to be seen again.&nbsp;</p><br><p>President Donald Trump has said that he is determined to reopen this notorious prison, so today we're revisiting this episode, Jolene Babyak, a historian of Alcatraz and author of 'Breaking The Rock', to give you a potted history of this notorious penitentiary.</p><br><p>Produced by James Hickmanna and edited by Dougal Patmore.</p><br><p>Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe</u></a>.</p><br><p>We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here:&nbsp;<a href="https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on</a>.</p><br><p>You can also email the podcast directly at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[email protected]</a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>