Crimes of the Centuries

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S6 Ep2: Brief Against Death: After Edgar Smith's Release Mar 02, 2026

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In 1976, a woman survived a brutal kidnapping and stabbing in a San Diego parking lot. The man accused of the attack was Edgar Smith—once a cause célèbre, hailed as a wrongfully convicted intellectual. His release had been celebrated by writers, editors and influential public figures who believed they had corrected a grave injustice. What followed was not redemption but reckoning.

"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com

Have you read the Crimes of the Centuries book? Order today at www.centuriespod.com/book!

S6 Ep1: Brief Against Death: The Murder of Victoria Zielinski Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

In 1957, Edgar Smith was sentenced to death for the murder of a teenage girl in New Jersey. From his prison cell, he began writing letters, essays and arguments build a case not in court, but on the page. One of those letters landed on the desk of William F. Buckley Jr. Others found their way into elite literary circles. Soon, a condemned man had powerful allies, a book deal and a growing audience convinced the system had gotten it wrong.

S5 Ep46: The Mysterious Death of Hitler's Niece Feb 16, 2026

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In 1931, Adolf Hitler’s 23-year-old niece, Geli Raubal, was found dead in the Führer's Munich apartment. Authorities ruled it a suicide. But the evidence didn’t settle easily—and neither did the silence that followed. Some journalists tried to make sense of the story but had trouble as the case files were quickly sealed. So they reported on emerging contradictions in the evidence and disagreements among witnesses. Within a few years, the people who tried to challenge Hitler’s version of events would pay a devastating price.

S5 Ep45: A Newlywed Murdered: The Sherri Rasmussen Case Feb 09, 2026

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Sherri Rasmussen had been married for just three months when she was brutally murdered in her California home. Police quickly decided the case was a burglary gone wrong—and then stopped looking. It would take more than 20 years before a new detective took a fresh look and realized the killer had been hiding in plain sight all along.

S5 Ep44: Mary Meyer: The Mysterious Murder of JFK's Mistress Feb 02, 2026

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In October 1964, a Washington socialite was shot execution-style on the Georgetown towpath. She had been JFK's lover. Her ex-husband worked for the CIA. Her diary vanished. And the man accused of killing her was acquitted. What really happened to Mary Pinchot Meyer?

S5: From What If They're Wrong: The Justice Who Won't Let Go Jan 30, 2026

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From Amber's other podcast, titled What If They're Wrong? After the Accusation: After charges against former death row inmate Elwood Jones were dismissed, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Joe Deters—the former prosecutor who originally secured Jones’ conviction—went on talk radio insisting Jones was still guilty. The next day, phone records show Justice Deters had a 10-minute call with his former colleague, Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco. Four days later, the coroner announced false forensic evidence about the victim—evidence that collapsed within 24 hours. Through phone logs, text messages, and public records obtained exclusively for this investigation, this episode reveals the coordination between a sitting justice, former prosecutors and county officials after the case was supposed to be closed.

What If They're Wrong? After The Accusation is published early and ad-free for subscribers over at www.grabbagcollab.com.

S5 Ep43: The President's Silence: How Thousands Died Before Reagan Said 'AIDS' Jan 26, 2026

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In October 1982, journalist Lester Kinsolving asked the White House press secretary about a mysterious disease that had already killed hundreds of Americans. The response? Laughter. For years, as the death toll climbed into the tens of thousands, President Ronald Reagan said nothing. His administration did less. This is the story of what happens when a government decides some lives don't matter—and the activists, doctors, and ordinary people who refused to let their community die in silence.

S5 Ep42: Mary Ann Cotton: Britain’s First Serial Killer Jan 19, 2026

Show notes

In the industrial villages of 19th-century England, death was common—but not this common. Over two decades, Mary Ann Cotton married, buried, and moved on with chilling regularity as children, husbands, and relatives died from what doctors called “gastric fever.” Only when forensic chemistry advanced—and one parish officer heard her say too much—did her pattern come into focus.

S5 Ep41: My Lai and the Cost of Following Orders Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

The massacre at My Lai was one of the most lethal attacks on civilians carried out by American troops in Vietnam. For more than a year, the Army’s official line held firm: it was an encounter with the enemy. Only when a soldier wrote dozens of letters, and a reporter refused to let the story die, did the truth reach the public. This episode explores the events of that day and the long road to accountability.

S5 Ep40: Diane Downs: Beyond Small Sacrifices Jan 05, 2026

Show notes

In May 1983, a young Oregon mother arrived at a Springfield hospital with a horrifying story: a stranger had flagged her down on a dark road and shot her and her three children. One child was dead, the other two clinging to life. But hospital staff noticed something strange about Diane Downs: She was superficially injured, eerily calm and oddly focused on her ruined vacation and blood-stained car. As investigators dug deeper, they uncovered a trail of obsession, manipulation, and diaries revealing a case of betrayal and unthinkable violence that would shock America.
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