Three Men Escaped Alcatraz, Evaded the FBI, a...

We’ve all heard the story of John Wilkes Booth firing a bullet in Ford’s Theater… but maybe you haven’t heard the theory he was a puppet, with his strings pulled by a much bigger organization. In the 1800s, a massively popular story circulated that the Jesuit Order orchestrated t ...  Show more

In 1958, movie star Lana Turner was trapped in an abusive relationship with mafia bodyguard Johnny Stompanato. Until her teenage daughter Cheryl Crane ended the couple’s last argument by fatally stabbing Johnny. But many wondered: how did a teenager overpower a gangster? Or was C ...  Show more

In 1962, three ordinary criminals transcended into folk heroes when they crawled out of their cells in Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary took to the water in a homemade raft and were never heard from again. Could they have possibly survived? Find out more in this classic episode.See ...  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

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

<div>In the 1940s, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in the San Francisco Bay was a state-of-the-art facility. Deemed to be completely escape-proof, convicts from all over the United States who were regarded as dangerous and incapable of rehabilitation were often transferred to the g ...  Show more