Criminal Records Podcast

Come celebrate the big 3-0 with a con for the ages as Jeanne de Valois will try to get her hands on a 2 million livre necklace, and end up implicating -- and slandering -- one of the world's most famous and powerful monarchies.

This week, Demetria takes us through the story of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a prolific serial killer who used her noble status to murder peasant girls at her whim.

Join us as we demystify even more American history! No sacred cow of the American past is safe!

This time, Isaac and Demetria go back in time to answer the age old question: if Socrates was such a great philosopher, why couldn't he figure out not to drink all that poison? That plus long digressions about the nature of democracy and medieval theology (of course)!

This week, grab your tommy guns and fedoras as we make our way to Chicago to cover the meteoric rise (and equally meteoric fall) of one of America's most famous gangsters, Al Capone!

This week, it's time for a fun case of ancient Roman slander as we talk about the corrupt politician Gaius Verres. What was he accused of? Are the charges real, or were they embellished to help the career of an upjumped lawyer named Cicero? And what's up with everyone always making analogies between Rome and America?

This week, Isaac and Demetria discuss the gruesome series of child murders that took place in Kobe in 1997, and the circumstances surrounding the eventual capture and trial of the killer -- a 14 year old high school boy. 

This week, Isaac and Demetria unpack the career of the firebrand revolutionary playwright Olympe de Gouges. Along the way, we tackle such important questions as: what was the French Revolution about? What even is feminism? And why is Isaac's French accent so bad?

This week, we're talking about Fred Korematsu, whose great crime was being in the place where he was born.  How did America get to the point of incarcerating its own citizens in the 1940s? And what does that story have to tell us about today? 

This week, Demetria and Isaac investigate the serial killer Nannie Doss, whose husbands kept mysteriously dying after eating things she'd prepared. Surely that must be some sort of unfortunate coincidence! We're releasing this one a day early since the American crowd will be celebrating on July 4th. Watch out for any suspicious pies!

This week, Isaac and Demetria discuss an infamous blood libel trial: the story of St. Simon of Trent, and the Jews who were tortured and executed after the city authorities blamed them for the boy's murder.

This week, we cover our first fictional criminal, the famous Robin Hood! Where do his stories come from? How have they changed? What can they tell us about the relationship between anachronistic fictional criminals and the people who wrote about them?

This week: what do painted clothing, fake coins, and dildoes have in common? All of them factor into the career of one of England's most fascinating conmen, the forger William Chaloner!

Amanda Jean of the Red Pen Podcast joins Demetria for the story of France's most notorious criminal turned cop. If you enjoy fiction about crime today, you're probably reading something inspired by Vidocq's legacy. Where to find more from our lovely guest: The Red Pen Podcast: RSS feed The Red Pen Podcast: Patreon Less Than Three Press's Creature Feature fiction call

This week, Isaac tortures Demetria by forcing her to listen to him talk about baseball. But really, baseball is fun so we should all take joy in her learning about it. Oh also we'll cover one of the biggest sporting scandals in American history or whatever. It's a tale of labor laws, sports gambling, legal shenanigans, and all other things classically American as we all go out to the ball game!

This week, Isaac and Demetria make use of a tale of revenge from 1820s Japan to discuss one of the most interesting legal practices we've ever seen: kataki-uchi, the system of legally permitted revenge of Japan's samurai era. Why turn revenge into something akin to getting your license renewed at the DMV? What are the rules? And what can we learn about the nature of justice from thinking about thi...

This week, Isaac and Demetria investigate the case that grabbed headlines across 1920s America. We'll talk about the intersection of xenophobia, violent anarchism, and the American legal system, and how all of them manifested in a bungled case that remains divisive to this day.  Sacco and Vanzetti's letters from prison are available here.

This episode has it all: Pope-on-pope legal drama! Corpse desecration! 3 separate French kings named Charles! Come for an explanation of the corpse synod, stay to find out why it's not easy being pope.

This week, Demetria and Isaac tackle America's great traitor! Who was Arnold, and what did his trial for a series of ridiculous charges have to do with his decision to betray his country? 

This week, Isaac and Demetria discuss the story of Margaret Clap, proprietor of a coffee house with a big secret. What was a molly house, why was the government prosecuting men for buggery, and why are trial records some of our best surviving documents about gay culture in 1720s England?

This week, Isaac and Demetria tackle the case of Govinda Mainali, a Nepalese man accused in Japan of a murder he obviously didn't commit. But obviously he didn't do it, so there's no way he could end up serving 12 years in prison just to make the Japanese government look more efficient at solving crimes than it really is, right?