American Criminal - Airship

Latest Episodes:

The Great McDonald's Monopoly Heist | The Man Behind McMillions Jan 01, 2026

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Until 2020, the world had mostly forgotten all about the McDonald's Monopoly scandal that rocked the country. But like so many modern true crime stories, this one was revived thanks to a simple post on Reddit. We chat with James Lee Hernandez, co-director of the McMillions documentary series, about freedom of information requests, late night interviews, and getting the FBI on board.

To listen to all three episodes of 'The Great McDonald's Monopoly Heist' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Case File | Cautionary Tales | Pepsi's Deadly Number Shuffle Dec 25, 2025

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Cautionary Tales is the podcast that explores history's biggest missteps,and asks what we can learn from them. Whether it's a botched crime, a film flop, or a catastrophic plane crash, there is always a lesson. Each episode brings together storytelling, social-science analysis, and carefully crafted soundscapes.

In "Number Fever: How Pepsi Nearly Went Pop", host Tim Harford explores the fallout from one of the most disastrous company promotions in history. When Pepsi accidentally printed winning numbers in 800,000 bottle caps, instead of two, chaos reigned. Thousands were told they were about to be lifted out of poverty, only to be informed it was all a mistake. People fight for what they've been promised, both in court and in the streets, resulting in several deaths. This episode looks at other examples of when company promotions have made mistakes, or customers have exploited poorly worded smallprint. Is the customer always right, or does the house always win?

Listen to Cautionary Tales wherever you get podcasts. (Link: https://lnk.to/CTAmCriminal)

To listen to all three episodes of 'The Great McDonald's Monopoly Heist' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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The Great McDonald's Monopoly Heist | Go Directly to Jail | 3 Dec 18, 2025

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In 2001, the FBI receive an anonymous tip that the McDonald's Monopoly promotions have been rigged for years, and they set out to investigate. But what seems like a joke case at first soon turns deadly serious. And just when the story breaks, history happens, and a fast food competition doesn't seem so important anymore.

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The Great McDonald's Monopoly Heist | The Two Jerrys | 2 Dec 11, 2025

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After finding a way to steal the highest value prize tokens for the McDonald's Monopoly games, Jerry Jacobson had a problem: he needed people who could claim the prizes and then give him a cut. He didn't have the network to pull off a scheme like that. But he soon found people who did: the Mafia. To listen to all three episodes of 'The Great McDonald's Monopoly Heist' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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The Great McDonald's Monopoly Heist | A Man on the Inside | 1 Dec 04, 2025

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In 1987, McDonald's joined forces with another American icon for a marketing scheme. The McDonald's Monopoly promotion was so popular that the company decided to bring it back again and again, watching their sales spike every time. What they didn't know was that one man on the inside was rigging the game so that no one would ever win the big prizes -- for years.

To listen to all three episodes of 'The Great McDonald's Monopoly Heist' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Case File | American Scandal | The Ice Pick Surgeon Nov 27, 2025

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Medical professionals are some of the most trusted people in our society. And for good reason. They dedicate their lives to helping others. Every now and again, you get a bad egg like Genene Jones, who seeks to hurt her patients, too. And then there are the more complicated cases. Walter Jackson wanted to help people. He really did. But his way of doing that was the transorbital lobotomy -- a procedure he pioneered and then performed thousands of times.

To listen to all four episodes of 'The Killer Nurse: Genene Jones' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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American Criminal Season 20: The Great McDonald's Monopoly Heist Nov 20, 2025

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In the late-1980s, McDonald’s teamed up with another icon of American capitalism: the game of Monopoly. Together, the two brands launched one of the most successful and popular marketing campaigns of the 20th century. Certain McDonald’s products came with themed game pieces that customers could collect and assemble to win prizes, including a million dollars.

But there was just one problem: the game was rigged.

Don’t miss the latest season of American Criminal – The Great McDonald’s Monopoly Heist, beginning December 12th.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or to get early, ad-free access to the entire season first, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at americancriminal.com

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Killer Nurse: Genene Jones | Do No Harm | 4 Nov 20, 2025

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After being chased from Bexar County Hospital, killer nurse Genene Jones heads to Kerrville to work in a new pediatric clinic. And despite how close she came to being caught for her crimes already, she refuses to stop murdering the children in her care -- until enough people finally notice what she's doing.

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Killer Nurse: Genene Jones | Angel of Death | 3 Nov 13, 2025

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At Bexar County Hospital, Genene Jones' colleagues started to notice that a worrying number of children were dying while she looked after them. It got so bad that people started calling Genene's regular shift 'The Death Shift.' But hospital bureaucracy made investigating Genene's crimes a logistical nightmare, and punishing her for them was next to impossible.

To listen to all four episodes of 'Killer Nurse: Genene Jones' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Killer Nurse: Genene Jones | The Nurse Who Cried Wolf | 2 Nov 06, 2025

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After a lifetime of making up dramatic stories about herself to get the attention she loved, Genene Jones found a career where she could surround herself with life and death drama, and people would thank her for it. But she soon realized that being the nurse who looked after sick and dying babies wasn't good enough. She needed to engineer emergencies to bring more eyes to her. And if some of the children died, then that was just fine with her.

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