‘Acid Burns’: That Time Mae West Was Blackmai...

Joseph Jenkins Knapp, Jr. was expecting to receive a sizable inheritance upon the death of his 82-year-old great uncle, wealthy retired shipmaster and trader Captain Joseph White. But with debts piling up, Knapp decided he couldn’t wait for natural causes; in April of 1830, he an ...  Show more

When All-American footballer George Ratterman announced his candidacy for sheriff of Campbell County, Kentucky, in April of 1961, he said, “I am told that if I run for sheriff, I will be the victim of all sorts of personal slanderous attacks, but I say to our opponents, let the a ...  Show more

Forty years ago, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules led to the deaths of seven people all around the Chicago area. America was gripped by paranoia and fear. Why was this happening? Who would be next? Police grasped for suspects who might be the so-called “Mad Poisoner.” We’re joined ...  Show more

Listeners, we’re popping back into your feed this week to share a special crossover episode from Serial Killers and Conspiracy Theories. Forty years ago, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules led to the deaths of seven people all around the Chicago area. America was gripped by paranoia ...  Show more

This is the finale of our Serial Killers and Conspiracy Theories crossover: By 2011, the FBI was ready to reexamine the evidence. A theory emerged: What if the Mad Poisoner was actually the Unabomber? Ted Kaczynski had proven he was a revenge-seeking terrorist, and he had connect ...  Show more

Around 2013 heroin users in the US and other countries suddenly started dying from overdose in previously-unseen numbers. The culprit turned out to be the incredibly potent drug fentanyl and it soon created a massive new wave in the opioid epidemic.See omnystudio.com/listener for ...  Show more