The Lesser Known People Podcast

Dubbed "The Scarface of Sex" and "The Sultan of Smut", Michael Thevis lives the American dream, making his millions off of peep show sex machines. Building such an empire is never a clean business though, and we tell his story on how he eliminates his rivals. Come listen to this wild story of a man with an entrepreneurial spirit, deep paranoia, and a whole lotta quarters stuck to the ground.

Pham Xuan An led a double life - born in North Vietnam, and awarded a scholarship to America. After graduating with a degree in journalism from Orange Coast College and working for Reuters, he goes back to Vietnam to cover the Vietnam War for the American press. There he's on a mission to "disinform the western press" passing secret messages to the Viet Cong and arguably leads to the American retr...

Harry Haywood aka The Black Bolshevik was the son of former slaves, fought for the US in World War I, and, upon returning home, is radicalized by racial violence in South Side Chicago. He travels to the newly formed Soviet Union to study Leninism, and brings the fight for equal rights back to the US. Listen to this heroic story of a champion of civil rights and labor rights that is left out of the...

Tycho Brahe, astrologer, mathematician, and all around party animal. When he isn't losing body parts in sword fights, he can be found in his castle hanging out with his drunken elk and prophetic jester named Jebb.

Before his 15 minutes of fame - he's the lawyer who was stuck on a cat face filter during a Zoom legal proceeding - Rod Ponton was a district attorney in Brewster County, Texas. In a less cute and cuddly story, we learn about his year-long efforts to bring down the law and the DEA on a former lover.

1,000 lbs of dynamite, a master fabricator, and crippling gambling debt, what could possibly go wrong? "Big John" Birges Sr masterminds the plot to deliver a bomb into Harvey's Wagon Wheel resort in 1980 as part of a plan to extort money from the casino to pay off his debts. Settle in, have a hot dog, and listen to this incredible tale.

In this LKP double-header, we tell the stories of John Thompson and Jessie Arbogast Thompson's life changed in 1992 when a freak farm accident rips off both of his arms. Jessie Arbogast is attacked by a shark while on vacation with his family and his heroic uncle swims out and drags the shark back onto the beach. Come listen to these amazing survival stories

Michael Jeffrey, an English band manager, gets his start managing local clubs in Newcastle. After those clubs mysteriously burn down, he begins managing such acts as The Animals and Jimi Hendrix. In this episode, we learn about predatory management practices in the music industry and the best way to make money is to take all of your artists' money and collect insurance payouts.

Orestes Lorenzo Perez steals a MIG and defects from Cuba to the United States. He settles, saves, and buys a plane. Then he flies back into Cuba to rescue his family. 100% badass!

The good news: Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance pens an autobiography about life as an American Plains Indian, quickly gains popularity, becomes a silent film star, and uses his celebrity to promote American Indian causes. The bad news: He made it all up. He was born Sylvester Long in North Carolina, having mixed race ancestry and, arguably, lived a more interesting life than what he claimed. In thi...

When a mom and pop blogging duo manages to get under the skin of eBay's executive team. eBay's security team does the totally cool, super professional, and perfectly normal thing - launching a harassment and cyberstalking campaign to shut down them down. Join us as we learn corporate cybersecurity from the pros, who are not petty or paranoid at all.

Genetically modified, shape-shifting reptilians called Archons form an entity known as the Babylonian Brotherhood or the Illuminati that manipulate global events to keep the human race in constant fear. This is David Icke's wet dream. Now throw in some 5G conspiracy theories, flat earthers, and sidekicks like Mark Steele and you have yourself a full fledged Tin Foil Hat party.

Our man Snorri Sturluson lived in Iceland, at a time shortly after Vikings were known to first land in the Americas, and boy did he help cause some ruckus. The head elected government official for many years, and a known lover of hot baths and many women, Snorri was a poet, historian, chieftain of lands, a man who knew exactly when to switch sides and, when to fight family vs when to sue the guy w...

So when you Google Christian Weston Chandler, the results say that he's a musical artist. In reality he is a misunderstood homophobe and creator of the greatest cartoon rip off in history: Sonichu. When Chandler isn't writing himself into a poorly rendered comic, you can find him at the local Target on the hunt for a 18-23 year old, boyfriend-free girl. The guy is a lovable lunatic; come check him...

Albert Pierrepoint is breaking necks and cashing checks as England's official hangman for 25 years. With over 400 bodies on his jacket, Albert hanged some of Britain's most high-profile murderers and Nazi war criminals with the utmost professionalism and precision. The gang learns it's not always about the length of your rope, but the angle of your dangle.

Come down the rabbit hole with us while we tell the story of Mary Toft, the woman who gave birth to rabbits. Explained by 18th century doctors as a case of "maternal impressions", Mary supposedly gives birth to a variety of animal parts, becoming a national sensation, and even gaining the attention of King George I. Listen in as we tell this hare-raising story of old-timey doctor beliefs and medic...

Going by the alias DreadPirateRoberts, Ross Ulbricht founds and runs The Silk Road, a deep-web drug marketplace, where illicit materials are bought and sold anonymously. We tell the story of how this haven for free market economics turns into a drug empire, with murder-for-hire plots to guard the identities of those involved. In this tale where no one is who they seem to be... no one is who they s...

Fred DeMara, clergyman, educator, doctor, full of shit! Demara was a self-congratulatory conman and scumbag. But, despite it all, he may have saved a life, and helped a brotherhood of monks find their way. So strap in; this one gets wild.

Gladys Bentley was a blues artist and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance. She was known for wearing mens' clothing, singing her own raunchy lyrics, and flirting with women in the audience. Despite being married to multiple men, Bentley was openly lesbian. It goes without saying that she marched to the beat of her own drum. A wonderful talent. A beautiful badass.

Casey Jones was the name of a famous Grateful Dead song, but did you know Casey Jones was a real person? Neither did we until the Magic Carpet Ride told us the story of this crazy but respected train engineer. Head-up, his story ends in a ball of fire.

Back by popular demand, the gang talks animal penises! We enter the Omegaverse, a sub-genre of romantic fiction involving wolf-like mating behavior, Alpha/Beta/Omega social hierarchies, "knotting", and many more! Our story revolves around lawsuits where an established author in this literary universe, Addison Cain, sues any up-and-comers who try to break into the scene, notably a young author, Zoe...

Four stories of people who have disappeared under bizarre circumstances. But what makes their stories even more amazing is the equally bizarre circumstances of their reappearances. The occult, aliens, government over-ups; this episode has it all.

Marc Cohn is famous for his 1991 hit "Walking in Memphis" but most folks are unaware of a miracle feat performed by Cohn in Colorado parking-lot. Cohn had a run-in with death and walked it off with his feet ten feet off of Beale.

Cathy Wayne was an Australian singer and dancer, who was killed during a tour of Vietnam at a United States Marine Base where she was hosting with others a music concert to entertain the troops during the Vietnam War conflict.

The first of only two female tank drivers to be awarded the title of "Hero of The Soviet Union." Oktyabrskaya was a tank driver, mechanic, and avenging lover. The Nazis killed her husband, and she killed them back. Come listen to the story of the beauty with the wrench and the tank cannon.