Case 67: The Battle of Alcatraz

In December 1948, the body of an unidentified male was found on Somerton Beach in Adelaide, South Australia. It initially appeared the man had simply passed away in his sleep, but as police looked into his death, they discovered a series of bizarre and unexplainable clues that pr ...  Show more

On January 11, 1965, 15-year-old Christine Sharrock and Marianne Schmidt spent the day at Cronulla Beach with Marianne's four younger siblings. After lunch, the two teenagers went for a walk into the nearby sandhills at Wanda Beach, but never returned.The following day, their bod ...  Show more

Alcatraz was designed to be an inescapable prison for America’s most dangerous criminals. But in 1946, a desperate breakout attempt by its prisoners forced battle-hardened U.S. Marines – fresh from the islands of the Pacific – to lay siege to the fortress on their own shores.< ...

Alcatraz was the jewel in the crown of America's prison system. The wind-swept island fortress was the final stop for the nation's most dangerous criminals, including the notorious gangsters Al Capone and George 'Machine Gun' Kelly. It was thought to be escape-proof - at least ...

Alcatraz! For a lot of us, this former island prison occupies an iconic space in the American zeitgeist. It's been home to some of the country's most notorious criminals, and has been the inspiration for tons of top-notch works of fiction and cinema. Yet in today's episode, Ben, ...  Show more

In this episode, you'll learn how to use the common English expression “the coast is clear,” which means it’s safe to proceed because no one is watching or in the way. After breaking down the literal and figurative meanings, as well as the origin, you'll hear three vivid examples ...  Show more