Ridiculous Crime

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Latest Episodes:

Drop 'Em!: The Strange Tale of the Pretty Pants Bandit May 19, 2022

Show notes

A dame. A real looker. A minx with a gun demanding all the cash in the register. This was a woman straight out of a film noir. Except this gal's m.o. was a little unusual: your money or your pants, mister!

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The Loudest Mimes in the Room: San Francisco Mime Troupe vs. the SFPD May 17, 2022

Show notes

Mimes and police: two great tastes that don't taste great together. In the time between the Beat Generation and the Summer of Love, a band of misfit mimes joined forces with a future super-promoter to fight for the rights of performace artists and freedom of expression (also the freedom to get freaky while miming). Clashes with cops ensued, but no invisible box could hold the mimes back. This is the true story of how mime culture changed history...and gave us hippies.

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Please, for the Love of God, Stop Singing: State vs. Linkhaw May 12, 2022

Show notes

Even the worst singers think they're magnificent crooners in the shower or alone in the car. But what of the terrible singers who take their warbling public? Can singing be criminally bad? Turns out the answer is YES.

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I'm Not a Doctor, but I Play One on TV...News May 10, 2022

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No one likes medical exams that get a little, uh, personal. And it's only made worse if the doctor administering the test is actually a teen con artist posing as an MD. This teen terror just wouldn't give up his medical dreams until he faced the most tenacious opponent of all: a local investigative news team.

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Catch the Wave, Not the Criminal: The Max Headroom Signal Hijacking May 05, 2022

Show notes

Ah, the 80s. Back when MTV ruled the airwaves, shoulder pads were mandatory, Coca Cola was going through some identity issues, and television signal jacking was still possible. It was a magical time when someone in Chicago could turn on the tv and get an unintended eyeful of weirdness, thanks to a rascally criminal in a Max Headroom mask.`

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The Con Man, the First Lady, and Madame X: The Story of Gaston Means May 03, 2022

Show notes

Gaston Means managed to insert himself into some significant crimes in American history. J. Edgar Hoover himself referred to Means as "the most amazing figure in contemporary criminal history" for his ability to successfully lie to suit whichever situation in which he found himself. But he met his match when he tried to swindle Washington socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean in a fake investigation into the Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping. Means ran out of luck when he ran out of lies.

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Sartorial Violence at its Finest: The Straw Hat Riot Apr 28, 2022

Show notes

It used to be gauche to wear white after labor day, or to board a plane in your pajamas. What once would get you stern looks or eye rolls are now widely tolerated sartorial choices. There was once one choice, though, that wasn't tolerated at all. In fact, it got you a beat down. Woe be the men who wore straw hats after the summer season in New York City.

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I Never Promised You a Rose Garden: Gerald the Turkey Attacks! Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

In the quiet spring and summer of the early COVID-19 pandemic, one creature's reign of terror paralyzed a neighborhood. What was once an idyllic municipal rose garden, prized for its bountiful blooms and serene atmosphere, became a bloody stomping ground for a pissed off turkey. It just so happens that animals can be criminals, too.

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Counterfeit Cuneiform: Hobby Lobby & the Stolen Gilgamesh Dream Tablet Apr 21, 2022

Show notes

How does a company go from selling craft supplies and tchotchkes to importing stolen and counterfeit curios? This is the story of how Hobby Lobby got into the business of looted goods and managed to embroil the Museum of the Bible along the way.

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Elementary, My Dear Houdini: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle vs. Harry Houdini Apr 19, 2022

Show notes

The author of the Sherlock Holmes series of books, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was also an ardent believer in spiritualism. While his most famous character was known for laughingly revealing the deceptions of charlatans and con men, Doyle himself was more easily duped. Harry Houdini was disgusted to see his friend conned like that. As an escape artist and magician, Houdini was familiar with spectacle and games of deception. So he put on a show just for Conan Doyle and tried to convince his friend that spiritualism was a fraud. Could Houdini make the creator of Sherlock Holmes finally see the truth?

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