Criminal

High Tide

Episode #308

2025-03-14 05:00:44

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Right after sunset, three boats sailed towards the rice plantations on the Combahee River. Harriet Tubman knew they had to hurry - they only had six hours before the changing tide would make it very difficult to get away.
A black and white digital illustration of a set table. In the middle, there is a bowl of food, topped with fruit. Around the bowl, there are other food items – a croissant on a plate and a salad – as well as a napkin, a restaurant menu, tableware and glasses.

Five Stars

Episode #307

2025-03-07 05:00:13

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“Christopher Kinahan is probably the most successful and entrepreneurial criminal that Ireland has ever produced.”
Illustration of a Texas House of Representatives seal, with part of the seal cut off by the edges of the frame. At the center of the seal is a star surrounded by branches of leaves.

The Stay

Episode #306

2025-02-28 05:00:08

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Last year, a committee of state lawmakers in Texas issued a subpoena for a man on death row to testify four days after he was scheduled to be executed. Today, what happened next in Robert Roberson's case.
Black and white illustration of a 2000s desktop computer with console, monitor, keyboard, and wired mouse. On the computer screen is an image of a butterfly.

The Butterfly Smuggler

Episode #305

2025-02-21 05:00:14

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The first time Ed Newcomer went to the L.A. Bug Fair, he met a man who called himself the world’s most wanted butterfly smuggler.
Black and white digital illustration of a grid of four close-up images: a watch slipping up out of a jacket pocket (top left), a necklace falling out of a backpack zipper pocket (top right), a wallet just visible in the back pocket of a pair of jeans (bottom right), and a cellphone poking out of a purse pocket (bottom left).

Ava and the Pickpocket

Episode #304

2025-02-14 05:00:57

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“He stole my watch. He stole my jewelry. I stopped wearing jewelry – just to see what else he would steal.”
A black and white illustration of a map of the waterways around Charleston, South Carolina. There is a ship drawn on the water.

Robert Smalls

Episode #303

2025-02-07 05:00:31

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On May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls took command of a Confederate ship and liberated himself and his family from slavery. His great-great-grandson, Michael Boulware Moore, tells the story.
A black and white illustration of a pile of computers, monitors, keyboards, hard drives and other electronics.

The Raid

Episode #302

2025-01-31 05:00:49

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“No one ever expected anything like this to happen.”
Black and white digital illustration of a lot of different metal items, scattered all over - including a gun, toe nail clippers, a grenade, a pair of scissors, a cellphone, handcuffs, plus lots of cutlery, nails and keys.

Guns, Grenades, and $100,000

Episode #301

2025-01-24 05:00:10

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“Anything you can think of is going to be in the water.”
Black and white abstract illustration of several gravesites, marked only by small numbered signs. The gravesite closest to the foreground is labeled number 672.

Dexter Wade

Episode #300

2025-01-17 05:00:06

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Bettersten Wade searched for her missing 37-year-old son for nearly six months. Then she found out that the police knew where he was the whole time.
Black and white illustration of a newspaper page with an advertisement that reads "Moon Rocks Wanted" by John's Estate Sales with a picture of an astronaut wearing a spacesuit and helmet on the moon.

Moon Rocks Wanted

Episode #299

2025-01-10 05:00:17

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On September 18, 1998, an unusual ad ran in USA Today — a company called John’s Estate Sales was looking to buy a moon rock.
Black and white illustration of a woman wearing a long black hooded cape over a white skirt. She is looking to the right.

The Christmas Fire

Episode #298

2024-12-27 05:00:08

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The bodies of a woman and her child were found inside a burned house on Christmas Day, 1843. An autopsy showed that they’d died before the fire even started.
Black and white drawing of a seagull holding a spice shaker, a pick walking on train tracks, a mouse inside an in-flight meal, a possum in a Christmas tree, bees flying around a child’s bedroom, a turtle knocking over a toilet, and a Goldendoodle with an envelope in its mouth.

Turtle vs. Toilet, a Monster in the Closet, and a Surprise Possum

Episode #297

2024-12-20 05:00:53

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Stories of animals really going for it.
Black and white illustration of several tickets for football games arranged in a grid, the tickets show football players and team names like the Vikings, Seahawks, Lions, Dolphins, Giants, Cowboys, and Steelers.

Operation Flagship

Episode #296

2024-12-13 05:00:20

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In 1985, 160 people were told they’d won tickets to an NFL football game. But then, they found out there were never any tickets at all.
A black and white illustration of a tree with leaves on it, drawn on a paper that is ripped down the middle so that the tree is split into two halves. The word "Sister" is written on the two main branches of the tree that are split apart.

The Sale

Episode #295

2024-12-06 05:00:28

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In 1791, three men filed lawsuits in the General Court of Maryland. They were all suing the same person: the Jesuit priest who enslaved them.
A black and white digital illustration with three comic-style panels. In the top left panel, a woman in a trench coat hitches her dress up and raises one high-heeled foot and leg into an open doorway, a gun in her hand hidden away from the door. On the bottom left, a man with a slight smile in a hat and trench coat points directly at the viewer. In the panel on the right, a woman in boots and a skirt and a blouse with billowing sleeves walks forward with purpose, arms halfway raised. Her eyes are obscured by a mask.

For the Sake of American Youth

Episode #294

2024-11-22 05:00:30

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“Children nowadays, they make maps. And say, this is the street where the store is that we're going to rob, and this is where we're going to hide, and this is how we get away.”
Black and white illustration of a wheelchair in the open doorway of a prison cell.

Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons

Episode #293

2024-11-15 05:00:53

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Gary Settle estimates he’s helped more than 40 inmates get out of prison using compassionate release. He still has over 100 years of his own sentence left to serve.
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