Episodes

In 1961, an unemployed cab driver, Kempton Bunton, pulled off one of the most remarkable art thefts of the 20th century. Or did he? Kempton Bunton, entering court in 1965 Although Bunton was initially only charged with one count of larceny, the prosecution submitted an indictment that was much more severe. He was now charged with two counts of larceny, one for the painting, one for the frame, that was never recovered, and one charge of menacing for submitting letters to Lord Robbins demanding mo...

In 1929, Al Capone was worth an inflation adjusted 1.5 billion dollars. Al Capone as a child with his mother On January 17, 1899, Alphonse Gabriel Capone became the fourth child born into this family, and the second native American. Including the two born in Italy, the Capone family later consisted of nine children, eight surviving into adulthood. Al’s father was a barber by trade, eventually moving the family to a better home that also contained his shop. His father, unlike his mother, was lite...

In 1929, Al Capone was worth an inflation adjusted 1.5 Billion Dollars. Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, Chicago. Most speakeasies and night clubs serving illicit alcohol provided entertainment in some form, mostly jazz or a vocalist with a band. One of these entertainers named Joe E. Lewis was a regular performer at the Green Mill, a club that was owned by the Outfit. As compensation, Al Capone gave Jack McGurn a piece of the club’s profits and when McGurn found out that Lewis was not going to renew...

On February 3, 1959, Buddy Holly was in the middle of the tour from hell and would do anything to avoid another three hundred mile, overnight bus ride that already had inflicted frostbite on another band member. That determination changed American popular music forever. Buddy Holly, early Brunswick Records publicity photo Charles Hardin Holley was born in Lubbock, Texas on September 7, 1936. The “e” in his surname would be dropped when Decca Records misspelled Holley on one of his first recordin...

On February 3, 1959, Buddy Holly was in the middle of the tour from hell and would do anything to avoid another three hundred mile, overnight bus ride that already had inflicted frostbite on another band member. That determination changed American popular music forever. Buddy Holly and Waylon Jennings in a NY photo booth. In mid-January, when the three band members got to NY, Allsup and Bunch checked into a hotel, but Waylon Jennings stayed with Buddy and Maria. Time was of the essence and Buddy...

Possessing a 167 IQ, admitted to Harvard University at age 16, a uniquely talented mathematician, this former Berkeley college professor became the subject of the longest and most expensive investigation in FBI history. Ted's high school yearbook photo. As a youngster, Ted did develop a precocious interest in reading, math and science, his mother reading to him articles from Scientific American that he could comprehend by the time he was six. He excelled in grade school but even at this young ag...

Possessing a 167 IQ, admitted to Harvard University at age 16, a uniquely talented mathematician, this former Berkeley college professor became the subject of the longest and most expensive investigation in FBI history. Kaczynski's drivers license. But Kaczynski had another motive for heading to Chicago. Before he left Montana on a Greyhound bus, he constructed the first of his explosive devices. He meant to send it to a professor at RPI, but when he got to Chicago in late May of 1978, the box w...

Adolf Hitler intended the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a coming out party for his Aryan Master Race. African-American Jesse Owens crashed the venue by winning four gold medals. Jesse Owens 1936 At the Penn Relays, he won the long jump and the 100 meter dash. Unfortunately for Eulace Peacock, the sprinter completely tore his hamstring during a preliminary heat, an injury so severe that Peacock was unable to make the 1936 Olympic Games. Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe, Olympic trials, 1936 Owens qualifi...

Adolf Hitler wanted the 1936 Berlin Olympics to be a coming out party for his Aryan Master Race. Jesse Owens crashed the venue by winning four gold medals. Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympic Long Jump Owens then had to hustle to the long jump competition which also began at 10:30 AM. Here he faced an athlete from Germany who was his first formidable foreign competition, a 22 year old German; Carl Ludwig “Luz” Long. Long was the current German and European record holder, not quite Owens equal but ce...

Of the many political figures involved in Mexico's 1910 Revolution, Pancho Villa remains the most famous and charismatic. Pancho Villa on horseback. Like the history of Mexico itself, Villa’s early life and biography is obscured or disputed. Much of the information about Pancho Villa came from his own self-serving autobiography or biased journalism and glorifying newsreels from the time period. What is generally accepted is that Villa was born Doroteo Arango to a sharecropper father and domestic...

Of the many political and military figures involved in Mexico's 1910 Revolution, Pancho Villa remains the most famous and charismatic. Felipe Angeles Villa formally requested that Felipe Angeles be permitted to officially join Villa’s military staff. Angeles was a traditional army officer with an expertise in artillery. He served during the Diaz government but was in France when the revolution broke out. Ultimately, he decided that the populist concepts of the revolution were more to his liking ...

In 1925, a diphtheria epidemic threatened to wipe out the town of Nome, Alaska. Hear the incredible story of the men and dogs who saved the day. Leonard Seppala and his team with Togo (far left) and Fritz (far right. Seppala was employed by Hammon Gold as its main dog driver and the supervisor of freight logistics into the remote areas and mining camps that the company operated. But Seppala was also known as the premier dogsled racer in the region having won numerous competitions that were a hig...

In 1925, a diphtheria epidemic threatened to wipe out the town of Nome, Alaska. Hear the incredible story of the men and dogs who saved the day. Balto in news footage during re-enactment. Within days Kaasen got an offer from a Hollywood film producer to appear in a movie with his dog team. Kaasen and Balto were soon standing on the steps of Los angeles’ city Hall with the mayor and Mary Pickford. Although Leonard Sepalla was annoyed by the attention Kaasen was getting, he did give his employee p...

Risking his own freedom, Canadian ambassador Kenneth Taylor upheld diplomatic decorum and the international rule of law in the face of a tyrannical and dangerous regime. Mohammed Mossadeq, right, meeting with American Secretay of State Dean Acheson The Shah of Iran appointed a popular veteran politician, Mohammed Mossadeq, in April of 1951. Mossadeq quickly announced his intention to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian oil company, prompting the Anglo-Iran hierarchy to withdraw refinery operatives and...

Risking his own freedom, Canadian ambassador Kenneth Taylor upheld diplomatic decorum and the international rule of law in the face of a tyrannical and dangerous regime. The Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran in triumph. Less than three weeks later, the Ayatollah landed at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, the city greeting him with a crowd of over three million people. Khomeini’s political attitudes were made immediately clear. Any appointments by the shah were invalid, the result of an illegal govern...

According to the Library of Congress, The Wizard of Oz is the most viewed film in the history of motion pictures. Still photo with the Wizard of Oz' major characters Most of the other roles were plugged in with various MGM contract players or veteran character actors who got salaries lasting only a few weeks. Ray Bolger was initially asked to play the Tin Man although he had his heart set on the Scarecrow. Buddy Ebsen didn’t really care who he played and his agreement to swap roles with Bolger a...

According to the Library of Congress, The Wizard of Oz is the most viewed film in the history of motion pictures. One of the original pairs of the Ruby Slippers. Even the magical slippers, a major plot device in both the novel and film are changed from silver to ruby, to take advantage of the Technicolor film process used for the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy, over the rainbow Judy Garland faced challenges of a different kind. Playing the part of a twelve year old required that any appearance of breasts...

Soviet spies who betrayed the secret of the A-Bomb or innocent victims framed by Cold War hysteria, legal corruption and anti-Semitism? Over seventy years later the debate rages on. Julius Rosenberg, mug shot Julius and Ethel Rosenberg began their lives as two of the most unlikely individuals to ever acquire their eventual high profile notoriety. Julius’ immigrant father, Harry, worked in the Garment District, providing his family with a better than average income that allowed the Rosenbergs to ...

Soviet spies who betrayed the secret of the A-Bomb or innocent victims framed by Cold War hysteria, legal corruption and anti-Semitism? Over seventy years later the debate rages on. Morton Sobell, while traveling to East Germany in the seventies Sobell was a co-defendant of the Rosenbergs and claimed to be an innocent victim of a government frame-up. He eventually admitted that he had passed secrets to the Russians and that Julius Rosenberg was an espionage agent. But, he also claimed that Ethel...

A uniquely American institution. The Stooges, Mid-Thirties Columbia quickly designated “Women Haters” as the Stooges first project. They play travelling salesmen who vow never to get married or even romantically involved. This predictably does not last very long with each Stooge eventually charmed by actress Marjorie White and Larry married to Marjorie. The studio was encouraged enough by this production to green light additional films. Moe Howard Of the six individuals who eventually comprised ...

A uniquely American institution. Stooges, with Shemp after Curly's stroke Conversely, Columbia was rather cold hearted, quickly billing Moe, Larry and Shemp as the Original Three Stooges, a designation that was actually historically accurate. From a production perspective, although unable to duplicate the unique persona of Curly, Shemp was an experienced and disciplined actor who was always prepared and professional. And he would do anything for a laugh. Emil Sitka, in "Brideless Groom" One of t...

After searching the Valley of the Kings for decades, for a tomb that every other expert in Egyptology declared nonexistent, Howard Carter eventually discovered the most important archeological find of the 20th century. Howard Carter From the age of 17, Englishman Howard Carter worked in Egypt in the field of archeology. In the late nineteenth century with color photography as yet unavailable Carter was Initially hired as an artist in October of 1891 to paint and sketch the discoveries of the arc...

After searching the Valley of the Kings for decades, for a tomb that every other expert in Egyptology declared nonexistent, Howard Carter eventually discovered the most important archeological find of the 20th century. Anubis, God of the Dead Alabaster ceremonial cup from the tomb of Tutankhamen The Lotus Bust of Tutankhamen, which raised suspicion about Carter's methodology Detail from the second wooden coffin The Carnarvon ancestral home, Highclere castle aka as Downton Abbey

Fletcher Christian and William Bligh are permanently linked to the Mutiny on the Bounty. Listen to the true story of this infamous incident. Fletcher Christian Initially, Fletcher Christian was not destined for a naval career. He was Born on the 25th of September, 1764 in the Cumbrian village of Eaglesfield. His father, Charles, was a wealthy attorney originally from the Isle of Man. Descended from several generations of Manx judiciary, it was the senior Christian’s original aim that all three o...