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Criminalia — True Crime
Criminalia

Humans have always committed crimes. What can we learn from the criminals and crimes of the past, and have humans gotten better or worse over time?

Copyright: © 2022 Shondaland Audio & iHeartPodcasts

Latest Episodes:

The Fake Etruscan Terracotta Warriors in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Aug 22, 2023

Show notes

On Valentine's Day of 1961, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York had to, for the very first time, announce they were housing a fake. Three fakes, actually. After nearly three decades as a prized exhibit, their Etruscan Terracotta Warriors, as they'd become known, were determined to be inauthentic -- but here's the story of how and why The Met should have know that fact before they ever put them on display.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Han van Meegeren's Fake Vermeers Aug 15, 2023

Show notes

Dutch painter Han van Meegeren has often been described as a dapper man, with, quote, “a small, birdlike frame constantly aflutter, and irreverent sense of humor.” His life story is anything but small. It's not just about art; it's about deception, fortune, Bakelite, and … Nazis. And, it has an unexpected twist at the end. Welcome to a new season of forgery and forgers, here on Criminalia.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to a New Season of Criminalia: The Forgers Aug 08, 2023

Show notes

Some estimates suggest that as much as 50 percent of all artwork on the market today is likely forged or misattributed. It can be difficult to verify what is authentic and what is counterfeit, from art to music to archaelogical findings. In this new season, we'll talk about who makes these fakes.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Season Finale of Criminalia's 'Firebugs' Aug 08, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to the final episode of Firebugs season, where we've been telling the stories of some of the most destructive blazes and those who set them throughout history. But it wasn't all about fires. There were plenty of cocktails and mocktails to go around, too.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stories of Arson as Homicide in Medieval Scandinavia Aug 01, 2023

Show notes

In Old Icelandic,'hús-brenna' means 'house burning', and it was a form of homicide by arson used to settle a vendetta, and sometimes used during political conflicts in medieval Scandinavia. Its sole purpose, make no mistake, was assassination. And it's terrifying.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet James Aitken, Patriot Sympathizer and Dockyard Incendiarist Jul 25, 2023

Show notes

Opposition to the British crown began years before the battles of the American Revolutionary War broke out in the Thirteen Colonies, and that opposition took many forms, like riots and boycotts. A Scotsman named James Aitken sympathized with the rebels, and stood by them by setting British dockyards on fire – if the Royal Navy didn't have any ships, then England couldn't go to war with the colonies, he believed. Let's talk about who James was, and how he wanted to be an American hero.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Execution of Rose Butler Jul 18, 2023

Show notes

Rose Butler was a teenager performing domestic services for the Morris family of Manhattan when early one morning a small fire broke out. Though no one was injured, and the fire was quickly extinguished, the family accused Rose of intentionally setting it. A capital crime in New York, she was executed, making her the last person hanged for arson in the state. But her story involves something much deeper than a book of matches. Let's talk about what really brought Rose to the gallows.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All the Times San Francisco Burned Down During the Gold Rush Jul 11, 2023

Show notes

Between 1849 and 1851, peak years of the Gold Rush, San Francisco was almost entirely destroyed by fire seven times. And there was something about these fires, at least the majority of them, that seemed somehow not accidental. Some were suspicious because they seemed to start at odd times, or when someone's temper was flaring, or they seemed to break out when, what locals reported as "odd people" were hanging around.

Seven's a lot of fires, and we'll talk about some additional smaller blazes, too.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Firefighter Firebugs: The Small but Impactful Phenomenon Jul 04, 2023

Show notes

Firefighters who set fires, officially called 'firefighter arsonists', may be small in number, but they definitely make an impact. While things like insurance fraud and covering up another crime are common motives for arson outside the firefighting community, experts say those aren't what drive firefighter arsonists. So how does this happen? How does a firefighter turn into arsonist? Well. Let's take a look.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning': New York City in the 1970s Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

The Bronx in the 1970s was a perfect storm of things going wrong in New York City: poor urban planning, white flight, budget cuts to municipal and social services, and discriminatory practices coverged into a pressure cooker -- and the outcome was fiery and devastating. But we can't talk about the Bronx burning without ending on the phoenix that emerged from the rubble: the birth of hip-hop.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey

Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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