Criminal Records Podcast

Latest Episodes:

ONE Magazine Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

In a country where gay sex is illegal, is a magazine for gay people a publication for criminals? Is the content obscene, even if there's no sexual content on the page, just because sex might be suggested somewhere off the page or in the pages of an entirely different publication? And most importantly, can you put this magazine in the mail?

Sources and show notes at this link

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We'll be back in a bit! May 03, 2024

Show notes

Hello listeners! Isaac is entering final paper grading/rec letter writing season on top of planning an international exchange school trip for some of his students in May. I've also got plans to visit family on the east coast this month.

Instead of rushing out episodes to cover the time we'll be too busy to record, we decided to hit pause on Criminal Records Podcast for a month. If you're a patron, we've paused billing for the month of May so you won't be hit with charges for content we're not putting out. We'll be back in June with some new weird cases!

The Ulysses Trial Apr 18, 2024

Show notes

If the obscene material you're distributing is so avant-garde that most readers can't tell it's actually obscene, did you commit a crime or not? This week, we're getting into the trial of the scandalous literary magazine editors who brought the work of James Joyce to America.

Sources and show notes at this link

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Two small scams Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

Not all scam artists prey on suckers' desire to get rich quick or cheat the system. Some of them prey on their marks' better impulses, like their love for their pet dogs or their willingness to help a stranger in an emergency.

Content note: This episode contains discussion of animal cruelty and inhumane and misguided medical practices. It contains some outdated language about epilepsy.

Sources and show notes at this link

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British Prison Reform Mar 21, 2024

Show notes

With options for getting rid of its convicts drying up, Britain started thinking about reforming both its prisons and the prisoners inside them. The intention behind these prison reforms was great. But attempts to create a better prison system involved wild philosophy experiments in real life, a lot of Bibles, a lot of time to think in silence, and... treadmills?

Sources and show notes at this link

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Abortion in Modern Japan Mar 07, 2024

Show notes

Is abortion legal in Japan? No, but also yes. Join us on a journey through history to learn about how modern abortion law developed in a legal system that didn't treat fetuses as legal persons but did want to count them as future taxpayers. Content note: This episode is about abortion. It contains discussions of miscarriages, the complications of improper administration of abortifacients, forced sterilization, sexually transmitted diseases, and sex work. Sources and show notes at this link Support the show on Patreon

The Yakuza Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

We're out of the country for a family memorial service and didn't have time to record a Criminal Records episode for the week. But that doesn't mean we're out of crime content! This week, we've cleaned up and cut together some of Isaac's very, very old History of Japan audio to bring you the history of Japanese organized crime.

The Bloody Code Feb 08, 2024

Show notes

Under Britain's most notorious era of criminal law, you could be sentenced to death for everything from destroying a fishpond to being a particularly malicious 7-year-old. But how many criminals actually died thanks to this wave of harsh legislation? Getting the answer requires a deep dive into the very weird world of crime and punishment in the industrializing United Kingdom.

Content note: This episode is about capital punishment in British law and will include a lot of information about the state executing convicted criminals. The show notes contain images of hangings. I'm sticking with our general policy of choosing illustrations for our show notes instead of photographs of dead bodies.

Sources and show notes

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Emma Goldman, part 2 Jan 25, 2024

Show notes

The law was out to take Emma Goldman down on a range of charges from distributing obscene material to assassination to sedition. But did the woman the papers called the Queen of Anarchy deserve her lengthy rap sheet?

Sources and show notes (with some excellent political cartoons) at this link

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Emma Goldman, part 1 Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

Something seemed a little less than ideal about governments and economies around the world in the late 1880s. One woman's solution? Anarchy.

Sources and show notes at this link

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