Episodes
July 31, 2024
Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh: A Tumultuous Hollywood Romance (Part One)
Olivier in Wuthering Heights Jill Esmond Leigh and Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire Hattie McDaniel, Olivia De Havilland and Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, Gone With the Wind. Poster for one of the many revivals that made Gone With the Wind the most profitable film ever made. Publicly, perceived as one of the great romances of the 20th century, privately the Oliviers endured infidelity, severe mental illness and ultimately divorce. Discover the tumultuo...
July 31, 2024
Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh: A Tumultuous Hollywood Romance (Part Two)
Olivier in Rebecca with Joan Fontaine The Oliviers in Australia, the smiles would eventually fade Vivien Leigh, 1957 Olivier’s costume in Spartacus Olivier in, “The Entertainer,” with Joan Plowright Olivier and Joan Plowright visiting the Reagan’s in the White House in the 80’s Olivier’s grave in Westminster Abbey Publicly, perceived as one of the great romances of the 20th century, privately the Oliviers endured infidelity, severe mental illness and ultimately divorce. Discover the tumultuous l...
June 22, 2024
Butch and Sundance: Friendship, Crime, and the End of the Old West (Part One)
Butch Cassidy's boyhood home, Circleville, Utah Butch Cassidy, Wyoming prison mugshot Telluride location of first Cassidy holdup, bank building was actually the white building to the right Montpelier, Idaho, site of Cassidy holdup Sundance and...
June 22, 2024
Butch and Sundance: Friendship, Crime, and the End of the Old West (Part Two)
Butch and Sundance's Argentine cabin today. Posse containing Joe Lefors The house used in the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," in which Katherine Ross lives and Paul Newman rides a bicycle during the song "Raindrops Keep Falling ON My...
May 24, 2024
The Heroes of Telemark: Norway's Secret War Against Hitler's Atomic Dreams (Part One)
Norsk Hydro Plant, Vemork Leif Trondstadt Heavy water produced at Telemark British glider on tow rope Reichskomisar Joseph Terboven General Nicholas Van Falkenhirst SS Officer Frederich Fehlis Shortly after the conquest of Norway by Nazi...
May 24, 2024
The Heroes of Telemark: Norway's Secret War Against Hitler's Atomic Dreams (Part Two)
Leif Transtad with King Haakon VII, 1944 Lake Tinnsjo, sight of the SF Hydro sinking The ferry SF Hydro King Haakon VII congratulating Telemark commandos. Shortly after the conquest of Norway by Nazi Germany, Allied intelligence determined that...
May 2, 2024
The Gardner Heist: When Isabella's Vision Met Modern Crime (Part One)
Discover the fascinating life of Isabella Stewart Gardner, a trailblazing art collector and socialite who left an indelible mark on Boston's cultural landscape. This episode delves into Gardner's journey from New York socialite to renowned art patron, her creation of the iconic Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the shocking 1990 heist that rocked the art world. Learn how Gardner's unconventional personality and passion for art shaped her legacy, and uncover the mysteries surrounding the large...
May 2, 2024
The Gardner Heist: When Isabella's Vision Met Modern Crime (Part Two)
Discover the fascinating life of Isabella Stewart Gardner, a trailblazing art collector and socialite who left an indelible mark on Boston's cultural landscape. This episode delves into Gardner's journey from New York socialite to renowned art patron, her creation of the iconic Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the shocking 1990 heist that rocked the art world. Learn how Gardner's unconventional personality and passion for art shaped her legacy, and uncover the mysteries surrounding the large...
March 25, 2024
Hiram Bingham, the Real Indiana Jones and the Lost City of Machu Picchu (Part One)
IN 1911, an American explorer, Hiram Bingham, re-discovered the Incan ruins at Machu Picchu, helping to popularize this site, which today is one of the seven modern wonders of the world. Hiram Bingham, at Harvard, with wife Alfreda Church built on the former site of the Coricancha, Cuzco, Peru Francisco Pizarro Capture of Atahualpa by Pizarro at Cajamarca Execution of Atahualpa by Pizarro, Cajamarca Sacsayhuaman fortress ruins, Cuzco
March 25, 2024
Hiram Bingham, the Real Indiana Jones and the Lost City of Machu Picchu (Part Two)
IN 1911, an American explorer, Hiram Bingham, re-discovered the Incan ruins at Machu Picchu, helping to popularize this site, which today is one of the seven modern wonders of the world. Hiram Bingham, 1912 Machu Pichu, Hayna Picchu in the background Machu Picchu, photographed by Hiram Bingham Hiram Bingham, Air Corps during WWI Bingham, US Senator Bingham with other members of President's Coolidge's committee on Aviation . Hiram Bingham Grave, Arlington National Cemetery
Feb. 19, 2024
Charles Lindbergh, His Triumph and Tragedy (Part One)
The triumph, tragedy and bizarre secrets of one of the 20th century’s most prominent figures. Charles with his father. Lindbergh as Air Cadet Anne Morrow, as a young girl Lindbergh, with The Spirit of St. Louis The Spirit of St. Louis at the Smithsonian Lindbergh and his plane, mobbed at Croyden, England, 1927 Anne Morrow Lindbergh The former Lindbergh Estate in Hopewell, New Jersey, now a state facility for juvenile youth Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr. The Lindbergh baby, cover of Time. Wanted poste...
Feb. 19, 2024
Charles Lindbergh, His Triumph and Tragedy (Part Two)
The triumph, tragedy and bizarre secrets of one of the 20th century's most prominent figures. Bruno Richard Hauptmann John Condon on the witness stand Lindbergh on the witness stand. Gasoline can which contained ransom cash, found in Hauptmann's garage Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr., New Jersey State Police, father of subsequent Desert Storm commander. Lindbergh in the Pacific, 1944 Charles and Anne Lindbergh, with JFK Lindbergh, later in life, in the Philippines. Lindbergh grave, Kipahalu, Maui, Hawai...
Jan. 22, 2024
Bruce Reynolds, Gordon Goody and the Great British Train Robbery of 1963 (Part One)
In 1963, two British criminals masterminded the robbery of 2.6 million pounds in cash from a Royal Mail Train, an amount worth 45 million pounds today. The robbery and its aftermath caused a nationwide sensation. Bruce Reynolds Gordon Goody Recent photo, Sears Crossing Bridge #127, Bridego Bridge Ronnie Biggs, mug shot Ronnie Biggs, Bruce Reynolds and their sons
Jan. 22, 2024
Bruce Reynolds, Gordon Goody and the Great British Train Robbery of 1963 (Part Two)
In 1963, two British criminals masterminded the robbery of 2.6 million pounds in cash from a Royal Mail Train, an amount worth 45 million pounds today. The robbery and its aftermath caused a nationwide sensation. Detective Tommy Butler Leatherslade Farm Judge Edmund Davies, entering court Plaque at Crewe railroad station commemorating Jack Mills and David Whitby Charmain Biggs, in later years Gordon Goody, later years Grave of Bruce Reynolds, sculpted by his son Nick, Highgate Cemetery
Dec. 17, 2023
Charles Dickens, His Life and Work (Part One)
Acclaimed in his lifetime for his remarkable literary career, Charles Dickens’ private life was wracked by dysfunction, scandal and the cruelty he inflicted on his wife and his children. Charles Dickens, as a younger man Catherine Dickens, 1838 Ebeneezer Scrooge and Marley's ghost, A Christmas Carol Grip, the Raven. Barnaby Rudge Freddy Bartholomew, in the original MGM version of David Copperfirld Dickens, in later life
Dec. 17, 2023
Charles Dickens, His Life and Work (Part Two)
Acclaimed in his lifetime for his remarkable literary career, Charles Dickens' private life was wracked by dysfunction, scandal and the cruelty he inflicted on his wife and his children. Portrait of Dickens, 1850 Catherine Hogarth Dickens, 1852 Gerorgina Hogarth and Dickens daughter, Mamie Charles Dickens, in hat, with family Grave of Charles Dickens, Westminster Abbey Catherine Dickens and daughter's grave, Highgate Cemetery, London
Nov. 13, 2023
William Bradford and the Voyage of the Mayflower (Part One)
The remarkable story of the courage and suffering of the passengers aboard the Mayflower and the establishment of the Plymouth Colony. Postcard of the Mayflower On November 11, 1620, a 100 foot long cargo ship called the Mayflower entered what is today known as Provincetown Harbor, virtually on the tip of present day Cape Cod. This was the culmination of over two months at sea for 102 immigrants, originally from England, some of this contingent intent on establishing their own religious settleme...
Nov. 13, 2023
William Bradford and the Voyage of the Mayflower (Part Two)
The remarkable story of the courage and suffering of the passengers aboard the Mayflower and the establishment of the Plymouth Colony. Artist's rendition of Samoset entering Plymouth Colony On March 16, the inevitable occurred, although the incident did not unfold as the settlers previously feared. As described in a pamphlet entitled, “Mourt’s Relation,” a description of the first year of Plymouth Colony, co-written by William Bradford and another settler named Edward Winslow, with work suspende...
Oct. 19, 2023
Nathan Leopold, Richard Loeb, Clarence Darrow and the Crime of the Century (Part One)
Long before Claus Von Bulow or OJ Simpson, in 1924, two Chicago teenagers committed what was called at the time, “The Crime of the Century,” only to be spared by the efforts of the greatest defense attorney in American history. Nathan Leopold During their scouring of the Wolf Lake area, police detectives questioned the game warden of the forest preserve that was located nearby about any recurring visitors to the location. One of the names he revealed was that of Nathan Leopold, Jr a nineteen yea...
Oct. 19, 2023
Nathan Leopold, Richard Loeb, Clarence Darrow and the Crime of the Century (Part Two)
Long before Claus Von Bulow or OJ Simpson, in 1924, two Chicago teenagers committed what was called at the time, "The Crime of the Century," only to be spared by the efforts of the greatest defense attorney in American history. Chicago Criminals Court Buildings Clarence Darrow would not begin his summation until the afternoon of August 23rd, so anticipated throughout the city of Chicago that a mob descended on the courthouse hoping to push into the courtroom. This throng congregated in the stair...
Sept. 24, 2023
Johnny Carson, The King of Comedy (Part One)
The dark reality behind the persona of one of America's most beloved public figures. Johnny Carson, in the Navy. Carson and his idol, Jack Benny Carson, hosting "Who Do You Trust?" Carson, with his three sons, 1955 Carson, publicity photo, 1957 Carson with Ed McMahon, shortly after their Tonight Show stint began Carson, early years of the Tonight Show
Sept. 24, 2023
Johnny Carson, The King Of Comedy (Part Two)
The dark reality behind the persona of one of America's most beloved public figures. Johnny's second wife Joanne, in 1960 On August 17, 1963, Carson, possibly feeling more secure professionally with more than a year under his belt at the new show, married his longtime girlfriend, Joanne Carson. This despite years of fighting publicly, acrimonious vacations in which one of them left and went home early and numerous friends and acquaintances advising them not to tie the knot. Even the ceremony and...
Aug. 15, 2023
Bernard Madoff and the Largest Fraud in Financial History (Part One)
The shocking story behind the biggest swindle in the history of Wall Street. Madoff, leaving Federal court during his prosecutionAgent Cacioppi was so taken aback by Madoff’s candor and unusual cooperation he called his office to determine what he should do next. Typically, a subject with Bernie’s sophistication and community stature would refuse to answer questions and stall, at least requesting time to speak with or even have an attorney present before answering any questions. Madoff’s admissi...
Aug. 15, 2023
Bernard Madoff and the Largest Fraud in Financial History (Part Two)
The shocking story behind the biggest swindle in the history of Wall Street. Harry Markopolis, testifying before Congress But, if many of Madoff’s clients were happy to not question his returns and process, the cynical, highly competitive and data driven world of Wall Street always invited scrutiny of its biggest stars, even if this was the result of envy or alienation. In Harry Markopolos, one found an individual motivated by both market place rejection and a competitively brilliant grasp of fi...