FORGOTTEN NEWS PODCAST

In 1846, future U.S. president Abraham Lincoln wrote a short story about a very strange and mysterious murder case, that had taken place in Illinois, a few years earlier. The  story was published in a local newspaper. On this episode, you will hear Lincoln’s dramatic tale of true crime, told in full. Also:  Police Blotter and Court News, October 4, 1867. HISTORICAL REFERENCES Abraham Lincoln, True...

The trial of Jane Wenham in 1712, is mostly infamous as "the last witchcraft trial in England".  But, that's not the only reason why this case should be infamous. Also: Police Blotter & Court News - June 1, 1863. HISTORICAL REFERENCES: The Witch Who Wasn't: Jane Wenham - 1712. Guskin, Phyllis J., The Context of Witchcraft: The Case of Jane Wenham (1712), Eighteenth-Century Studies Vol. 15, No. 1 (...

The title says it all. Our guest: Emily Prokop of The Story Behind Podcast. Operation Switcheroo! Enjoy.

The story of the woman who gave birth to the Public Defender system, for the U.S., in 1893. HISTORICAL REFERENCES: Books: Babcock, Barbara, Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz (2011). Drachman, Virginia, Sisters In Law: Women Lawyers In Modern American History (1998). Law Reviews: Schwartz, Mortimer, Brandt, Susan & Milrod, Patience, Clara Shortridge Foltz: Pioneer in the Law, 27 Hastings Law...

The tragic story of how, during the years between the late 1870s and early 1940s, the states of the American South used the criminal courts to effectively re-establish slavery for hundreds of thousands of black people, and poor whites -- through forced work on privately-owned plantations, mines and factories -- withstanding the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, and the prohibition added to the U....

The adventures (mis-adventures?) of two young teen couples, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who ran away from home, to Cleveland, Ohio, in September 1890, to elope.    HISTORICAL REFERENCES:Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 10 & 11, 1890.  Pittsburgh Dispatch,  September 10 & 11, 1890.           (a harsher view of the events). Associated Press, news reports, September 10 & 11, 1890.   GUEST VOICES:...

The story of the kidnapping of the lieutenant governor of Idaho in 1929, by a crew of incompetent gangsters. Also: Police Blotter & Court News, November 16, 1886.   HISTORICAL REFERENCES: The Kidnapping of the Lieutenant Governor McClary, Daryl C., William B. Kinne, Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, Is kidnapped On June 12, 1929, History Link (2006). Unintended Consequences of a Noble Experiment, Note...

The story of an organized group of relentless ladies, who were serial killers, in New York City, 1893. Also: Police Blotter & Court News, January 17, 1870.   HISTORICAL REFERENCES: The Midnight Band of Mercy - Online articles and information:  Hartwell, Sarah, 1893: The Midnight Band of Mercy vs. The New York SPCA (a very detailed article, with commentary and fascinating verbatim reprints of news...

Campbell Playhouse audio drama of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, as broadcast on nationwide radio, December 24, 1939, featuring the voices of Orson Welles, as narrator, and Lionel Barrymore, as Ebeneezer Scrooge. GUEST VOICE: Charles Dickens - Michael Marshall - freelance voice artist.     Miscellaneous: Outro Aphorism (voice) – Kit Caren, co-host of the Forgotten News Podcast. Host Intro –...

The story of Christmas Day in jail, 1865, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.  Also:  Police Blotter & Court News, Washington D.C., December 18, 1882.   HISTORICAL REFERENCES: Christmas in Jail - 1865 Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 26, 1865. Police Blotter & Court News: Washington Republican, December 18, 1882.   GUEST VOICES: Christmas in Jail - 1865 - Narrator - Eleiece Krawiec - freelance voice artist Pol...

The story of the murder of Kate McDonnell, an Irish-American girl, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1884, and her inexplicable deathbed effort to hide the identity of her killer. Also: Police Blotter & Court News,                                  Cleveland, Ohio, January 5, 1864. Note: This is our most unusual Police Blotter segment,  featuring an all-star cast of podcasters.   HISTORICAL REFERENCES...

A story about an incident in the life of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia of New York City in 1935, and how it directly pertains to the people of the U.S., right now, in 2018.   HISTORICAL REFERENCES: Manning, Brennan, The Ragamuffin Gospel (2008). Cerf, Bennett, Try and Stop Me (1944), p. 268-269. McCullough, Donald, Say Please, Say Thank You: The Respect We Owe One Another (1999), p. 159-160.   GUEST VO...

Our 2018 Halloween Episode!  with a wild featured story! In 1880, in Gallatin, Tennessee, a farmer named David Lang, apparently vanished from the face of the earth, in front of his wife, children and friends. HISTORICAL REFERENCES The Vanishing of David Lang: Palmer, Stuart, Fate Magazine, July 1953, How Lost Was My Father?, pp. 75-85 (1931 interview of Sarah Lang, and related article & d...

STRANGE — BUT FORGOTTEN: MINI-EPISODE # 5. In July 1967, thousands of newspapers, across the United States, published the news that a can of foot powder had been elected as mayor of a town in Ecuador.  But, the story was completely untrue.  How were they all duped?   HISTORICAL REFERENCES Foot Powder Wins Election, Hands Down, Reuters (news service), July 17, 1967.  Foot Powder Produces Headaches...

The very unusual story of the marriage of a 10 year old girl with a 21 year old man, in January 1940, in Athens County, Ohio - including the decades of aftermath. This was an event which made headlines across the U.S., at the time.  The second part of episode will feature the latest installment of our popular segment Police Blotter and Court News, with short tales of small time crime from 1868. HI...

This episode tells the story of Mary Chamberlain. a young teacher in Beverly, Kansas, in 1911, who was dragged from a buggy on an isolated road in the woods, stripped naked, and covered with hot tar by a gang of five men, while several others stood nearby, to “watch the fun”.  The episode also tells the aftermath of the incident, including the arrest and trial of the assailants. The second part of...

On this first anniversary episode of the Forgotten News Podcast, we tell the story of the last stagecoach robbery in the United States, which took place in Arizona in 1899.  There will also be a Police Blotter and Court News segment (August 28, 1886), and shout-outs for everyone who gave reviews on iTunes over the past 3 months. HISTORICAL REFERENCES: The Last Stagecoach Robbery / The Life of Pear...

rdYou are going to have to listen to this episode, if you want to find out what connects Jack the Ripper, Shakespeare, Winnie the Pooh - and New York City in 1891.      HISTORICAL REFERENCES:   Shakespeare / Jack The Ripper Mystery: Gardner, Charles W., The Doctor and The Devil (1894). Willemse, Cornelius, Behind the Green Lights (1931). Sante, Luc, Low Life (1990). Begg, Paul, The Forgotten Victi...

There were 21 lynchings in the State of Ohio, between 1856 and 1932. This episode tells the stories of the 5 lynchings, for which the least amount of information exists. These lynchings took place in 1877 (two), 1892, 1920 and 1932.    Also:   Police Blotter and Court News column, from March 1, 1869. HISTORICAL REFERENCES: Simeon Garnet a.k.a. Simon Garnett New York Times, September 4, 1877. Atlan...

Strange — But Forgotten: Mini-Episode # 4. A look at the news of various random local arrests and criminal court cases, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, as published verbatim in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, on June 19, 1868.  A true "slice of life", from a single day in the 19th century.  HISTORICAL REFERENCES: Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 19 & 26, 1868. GUEST VOICES: Police Blotter Reporter / Narrator - K...

In July 1886, Steve Brodie, a resident of the Bowery neighborhood of New York City, made a bet to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, into the river below, in exchange for the money to open a saloon. This was a 135 foot jump. He became legendary for the leap. But, did it actually happen?  Listen and decide what you think!  Also, on this episode, we present a short story from 1902 - Maude and Percy Visit...

Psychologist Kate Bowers Wallinga offers her professional opinion regarding the events which led to the lynchings in New Richmond, Ohio, of George Mangrum in 1876 and Noah Anderson in 1895.  GUEST VOICE:  Kate Bowers Wallinga, psychologist and host of the Ignorance Was Bliss podcast. MUSIC: Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech.com – Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creati...

The small town of New Richmond, Ohio, was the location of the lynchings of a violent serial rapist and murderer in 1876, and the killer of a beloved elderly man in 1895. This episode tells the tragic and terrifying chain of events which led to these incidents.  HISTORICAL REFERENCES:   Crowell, Cheryl, New Richmond (2012), p. 9   George Mangrum incident: Cincinnati Enquirer, July 10 & 13, 1876. Ci...

On this episode, we celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, by taking a look at a set of Rules for Ladies and Rules for Gentlemen, that was published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1845. Were they good advice (then or now)? Several wonderful podcasters join us and share their thoughts, as well as their 2018 St. Valentine's Day greetings, memories, chuckles, and some random commentary - on love, relations...

In the 1890s, a wild, lawless (and often terrifying) dive saloon in New York City somehow became a destination for desperate young women who desired to end their life. HISTORICAL REFERENCES: Sante, Luc, Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York (1991). McCabe, James D., New York By Sunlight and Gaslight (1882). Howe, William F., Danger! A True History of a Great City's Wiles and Temptations (1886...