Episodes

  • 444: A Memoir of Murder in the Golden State w/ Debra Miller

    444: A Memoir of Murder in the Golden State w/ Debra Miller
    Jun 29 2026
    On October 7, 1964, Debra Miller’s life turns upside down when her mother is arrested for the murder of her father. At only fourteen years old, Debra becomes a ward of the court, grappling with the unfathomable trauma of watching her mother’s trial and conviction—a devastation that is only amplified when her family’s tragedy is splashed across headlines nationwide and featured in Joan Didion’s "Slouching Towards Bethlehem". Debra is the author of the new book "The Most Wonderful, Terrible Person: A Memoir of Murder in the Golden State". She joins me to share intimate details about her family and the murder case that has so deeply shaped her life — and to wonder whether her mother really killed her father that autumn night so long ago. The author's publisher page: https://shewritespress.com/portfolio/debra-miller/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • 443: Iowa's Notorious Carter Gang w/ David & Rose Donovan

    443: Iowa's Notorious Carter Gang w/ David & Rose Donovan
    Jun 25 2026
    In the first decades of the twentieth century, saloon proprietor Erastus Wallace Scott of Des Moines―with his cousins in the infamous Carter Gang―operated a campaign of murder, fraud, corruption, and prostitution from his bar on East Court Avenue. In 1908, the local paper denounced the neighborhood as “given up almost entirely to houses of prostitution. At one end stands a notorious saloon, the scene of many crimes, even murders, and for years a harbor for criminals and a plotting place for the evil minded." That reviled enterprise was none other than Scott’s seedy shack of sin. Initially, Scott gained the most notoriety, due to a slaying, numerous assaults, and sex trade associated with his establishment. But a subsequent murder brought cousin Will to the forefront. A land fraud scheme involving all three Carter brothers followed, including grand theft and even more deaths. Authors David and Rose Donovan, authors of The Nastiest Saloon in Iowa: Murder, Prostitution, and Corruption in the Heartland, recount the long-forgotten story of a crime family’s nefarious reach beyond the red-light district. The authors' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574329629177 The authors' publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/the-nastiest-saloon-in-iowa-9781467170826 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • 442: The Maplehurst Murder w/ Mark Sebastian Jordan

    442: The Maplehurst Murder w/ Mark Sebastian Jordan
    Jun 20 2026
    The night before Easter 1905, Miranda Bricker left her sister’s house and made her way through the darkness. Her destination was her living quarters and place of employment, the Maplehurst mansion, the home of Mount Vernon, Ohio’s leading industrialist. Within sight of her destination, an attacker emerged from the darkness, rushing her from behind. Their battle cut across the Maplehurst lawn, ending in Bricker’s death before witnesses could be sure what was happening. The killer melted away into the night. My guest is Mark Sebastian Jordan, author of "The Maplehurst Murder: Mount Vernon’s Most Infamous Unsolved Crime". He walks us through Miranda's horrific murder, the bloodhound hunt that led to the sheriff's prime suspect, and the suspect's eventual death. The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/marksebastianjordan/ The author's publisher's page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/collections/vendors?q=Mark%20S%20Jordan&contributorID=18602 Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • MoNo Encore: (Part 2) The 1876 Northfield Bank Raid by the James-Younger Gang w/ Mark Lee Gardner

    MoNo Encore: (Part 2) The 1876 Northfield Bank Raid by the James-Younger Gang w/ Mark Lee Gardner
    Jun 14 2026
    (Orig Pub Date 8/10/2016) My conversation with author Mark Lee Gardner continues, about his book "Shot All to Hell: Jesse James, the Northfield Raid, and the Wild West's Greatest Escape". In the second part of the story, we talk about the James-Younger Gang's flight into the Big Woods of southern Minnesota, and the difficulties that they faced navigating through unknown territory, and also the troubles the local posses had finding them. The author's website: https://songofthewest.com/ This is the 150th Anniversary of the Raid! Visit the official The Defeat of Jesse James Days website for more about the festivities: https://www.djjd.org/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • MoNo Encore: (Part 1) The 1876 Northfield Bank Raid by the James-Younger Gang w/ Mark Lee Gardner

    MoNo Encore: (Part 1) The 1876 Northfield Bank Raid by the James-Younger Gang w/ Mark Lee Gardner
    Jun 13 2026
    (Orig pub date: 8/3/2016) Much has been written about Jesse James, including his gang's ill-fated trip to Northfield, Minnesota, a botched bank raid met with death and tragedy, but never told like this. Mark Lee Gardner, author of "Shot All to Hell: Jesse James, the Northfield Raid and the Wild West's Greatest Escape", joins me to tell the story of the James-Younger gang's foray north from Missouri and the chaos that followed. The author's website: https://songofthewest.com/ This is the 150th Anniversary of the Raid! Visit the official The Defeat of Jesse James Days website for more about the festivities: https://www.djjd.org/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • 441: Arizona's Murdered Madams w/ Merry Gordon

    441: Arizona's Murdered Madams w/ Merry Gordon
    Jun 6 2026
    My guest this week is Merry Gordon, author of Arizona's Murdered Madams: Death in the Red-Light Districts. She shares the stories of two of Territorial Arizona's most infamous madams, former Mormon Minnie Powers and "Belgian Jennie" Bauters, including the cold-blooded murders that ended their lives. She also talks about the colorful and often dangerous world of sex workers in the Old West. The author's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Merry-Gordon/author/B07F99X97T The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/arizonas-murdered-madams-9781467171069 The author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merrygordonwrites/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • 440: The Wreck of the Mentor w/ Eric Jay Dolin

    440: The Wreck of the Mentor w/ Eric Jay Dolin
    May 31 2026
    In May of 1832, an American whaleship called the Mentor went down on a remote reef in the western Pacific. Of the crew, eleven men made it out alive, but surviving the wreck was only the beginning. They found themselves stranded on unfamiliar shores, running low on supplies, and before long they were face to face with the Indigenous people of Palau, who approached them cautiously and heavily armed. My returning guest is best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin, and his new book is called The Wreck of the Mentor: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail. In this conversation he walks us through the shipwreck, the crew's captivity, the clash of cultures and much more. The author's website: https://www.ericjaydolin.com/ The author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericjayd/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • 439: The Curse of the Blumenthals w/ Phyllis Karas

    439: The Curse of the Blumenthals w/ Phyllis Karas
    May 26 2026
    My guest is New York Times bestselling author Phyllis Karas. She shares the deeply personal story of two shocking tragedies in her family history: a 1935 car accident that killed six relatives, and the brutal 1954 murder of a Massachusetts seamstress named Ora Schonarth that sent her cousin Ronnie to prison. She also explores how the trauma of both events reverberated through her family for generations. Her new book, Curse of the Blumenthals, is out now. The author's website: https://www.phylliskaras.com/ The author's publisher page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Phyllis-Karas/260784571 30% off sitewide at Batch! Go here and support the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠hellobatch.com/NOTORIOUS⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code NOTORIOUS at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    49 mins