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PODCAST · history

Infamous America

by Black Barrel Media

Historical True Crime — assassins, gangsters, mobsters and lawmen; manhunts, scandals and unexplained phenomena. Stories of the wildest and darkest chapters of America's past.

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Episodes

  1. NM PRISON RIOT Ep. 5 | “Surrender”

    By the afternoon of Saturday, February 2, 1980, the worst of the carnage at Penitentiary New Mexico has ebbed. An unknown number of inmates are dead or wounded. Many more suffer drug overdoses. Prison officials organize a news conference for rioters, and the rioters continue to release hostages.…

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  2. NM PRISON RIOT Ep. 4 | “All the Forces of Hell”

    WARNING: LISTENER DISCRETION ADVISED. MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY. Rioters use three acetylene cutting torches to break into Cellblock 4, the unit which houses inmates who are considered snitches. A group of 10 to 20 of the most savage rioters systematically torture and murder inmates who were trapped…

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  3. NM PRISON RIOT Ep. 3 | “From Bad To Worse”

    Rioters capture four more guards at Penitentiary New Mexico. They light fires throughout the prison. They gorge themselves on prescription drugs from the Hospital Unit. And when the prisoners in the notorious Cellblock 3 are released, they unite with the rioters and begin killing. But not every...

  4. NM PRISON RIOT Ep. 2 | “Takeover”

    The riot at Penitentiary New Mexico rapidly spreads out of Dormitory E2 and consumes the south wing of the prison. Rioters take seven guards hostage and smash into the Control Center. From the Control Center, rioters rush into the Administration Wing and unlock the gate to North Wing. In just 22...

  5. NM PRISON RIOT Ep. 1 | “Warning Signs”

    Rumors of violence at the Penitentiary of New Mexico escalate throughout January of 1980. On January 31, Intelligence Officer Larry Flood calls a high-profile meeting to discuss the rising chatter about a hostage takeover of the prison. Efforts to uncover a plot have come up empty. Attendees vow…

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  6. BARKER GANG Ep. 6 | “Out of Time”

    In 1934, time runs out for all the high-profile outlaws of the era. The Barker-Karpis Gang commits two more violent robberies – one disastrous – and their most lucrative kidnapping to date, but the FBI is closing in. The gang suffers major losses during a shootout in Florida. One by one, gang...

  7. BARKER GANG Ep. 5 | “The Hamm Kidnapping”

    When two violent robberies lead to three murders and a loss of a gang member, Ma Barker begins to wonder if there might be a better way to make money. Along comes a nightclub owner in St. Paul with an idea to kidnap the president of a bank, and he convinces the Barker-Karpis gang to embark on the...

  8. BARKER GANG Ep. 4 | “99 Problems”

    After fleeing Missouri, Ma, Fred, and Alvin Karpis run to the criminal sanctuary of St. Paul, Minnesota. But shortly after they arrive, they are betrayed by an insider. After the betrayal, they suffer a litany of problems during robberies for the first time in the gang’s existence. Thanks to our...

  9. BARKER GANG Ep. 3 | “I Shot The Sheriff”

    With Herman Barker gone, and Lloyd Barker and Doc Barker in prison, Fred Barker restarts the Barker Gang with the help of his friend, Alvin Karpis. The Barker clan creates a safe house in southern Missouri, but they are forced to flee after Fred commits two notorious murders similar to those of…

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  10. BARKER GANG Ep. 2 | “Barker Bonnie and Clyde”

    When Herman Barker, the eldest son, returns home from prison, he assumes leadership of a new gang. He gets married, despite Ma’s protests, and his crimes turn him and his wife into fugitives. While on the run, Herman commits two headline grabbing murders to stay free. But the murders only buy him…

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  11. BARKER GANG Ep. 1 | “Born To Raise Hell”

    In Missouri and Oklahoma, Ma Barker raises four sons to be outlaws like her idol Jesse James. They begin with petty crimes, and when they get caught, Ma runs to the rescue and talks them out of trouble. But in June of 1921, her son Arthur commits a crime so serious that Ma can’t help. And by the...

  12. MIAMI SHOOTOUT Ep. 3 | “April 11, 1986”

    While FBI agents wait for information which might reveal the identity of one of the armed robbers they have been chasing for six months, they decide to set up a surveillance operation in South Miami. On April 11, 1986, Michael Platt and Bill Matix drive into the FBI dragnet. After a brief car...

  13. MIAMI SHOOTOUT Ep. 2 | “Escalation”

    After a robbery spree in October and November of 1985, Michael Platt and Bill Matix go dark until January of 1986. They return to their favorite territory in South Miami, but they run into trouble when a witness provides crucial help to the police. Platt and Matix escalate their violence, which...

  14. MIAMI SHOOTOUT Ep. 1 | “Who are these guys?”

    In October of 1985, two armed robbers, Michael Platt and Bill Matix, begin targeting banks and armored cars in broad daylight in South Miami. They wear masks and army fatigues, and they have no problem opening fire in public places. Platt and Matix aren’t the most successful robbers in criminal...

  15. FRANK LUCAS Ep. 6 | “American Gangster”

    Frank Lucas experiences a rough ride in the second half of the 1980s, and he hits rock bottom in the early 1990s. But when he is at his lowest point, one of his brothers throws him a lifeline. Frank finally leaves the heroin business, but he still struggles in the legitimate world… until he...

  16. FRANK LUCAS Ep. 5 | “Mr. Untouchable”

    In 1975, the law finally takes down Frank Lucas. Frank faces decades in prison, and he makes a decision to work with New Jersey prosecutor Richie Roberts to reduce his sentence. When Frank returns to Harlem, his empire is in ruins, his family is scattered, and his prospects for the future are...

  17. FRANK LUCAS Ep. 4 | “Superfly”

    Hard times arrive for Frank Lucas’s heroin business. In the early 1970s, Harlem gangsters start dying, disappearing, or going to prison as a DEA-NYPD task force rounds up the leading players. Frank is forced to resort to desperate – and macabre – measures to keep his heroin pipeline intact. A…

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  18. FRANK LUCAS Ep. 3 | “The Golden Triangle”

    After Bumpy Johnson dies, Frank Lucas travels to Bangkok, Thailand and sets up a powerful heroin operation. Frank’s new gang, nicknamed the Country Boys, makes millions selling heroin in New York and New Jersey. Frank makes multiple trips to Thailand, and he claims he survives an ambush by gunmen...

  19. FRANK LUCAS Ep. 2 | “The Big Track Robbery”

    Bumpy Johnson, the Godfather of Harlem, goes to prison after the betrayal by Flash Walker. While Bumpy serves time at Alcatraz, Frank Lucas commits two high-profile robberies in Harlem. When Bumpy returns home, he brings Frank into his crew, and Frank wants Bumpy to start a heroin operation.…

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  20. FRANK LUCAS Ep. 1 | “Godfather of Harlem”

    Before Frank Lucas is a household name in Harlem, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson runs the city. During the Prohibition and Depression eras, Bumpy rises through the ranks of Stephanie St. Clair’s gang. Bumpy leads the gang in a war against Dutch Schultz’s gang, but Bumpy needs the help of mob boss…

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  21. TEXAS KILLING FIELDS Ep. 3 | “1990s: Primary Suspects”

    As a police task force revisits evidence from one of the murders in the 1980s, the next series of crimes begins in the same area of Texas that has been haunted for twenty years. In 1997, a young mother stages a daring escape from a kidnapper. Her case leads police to a killer who targets young...

  22. TEXAS KILLING FIELDS Ep. 2 | “1980s: Calder Road”

    After a pause, the disappearances begin again in 1983 when Heide Fye vanishes after using a payphone in League City, Texas. A year later, Laura Miller vanishes after using the same payphone. They are two of four female victims whose remains are found in a field along Calder Road in League City...

  23. TEXAS KILLING FIELDS Ep. 1 | “1970s: Galveston 11”

    In the summer of 1971, outside of Houston, Texas, Claire Wilson is six minutes late to pick up her 13-year-old daughter, Colette, after band practice. In those six minutes, Colette Wilson disappears. Weeks of frantic searching reveal nothing. For the next six years, girls vanish from the area...

  24. [ENCORE] NORTH HOLLYWOOD ROBBERY Ep. 6 | “Code 4: No Further Assistance”

    Members of the SWAT team confront the remaining robber and finally end the North Hollywood Shootout. Elements of the 44-minute gunbattle spark immediate controversy, and the event accelerates major changes in police departments across America. Go to Surfshark.com/infamous or use code INFAMOUS at...

  25. [ENCORE] NORTH HOLLYWOOD ROBBERY Ep. 5 | “A New Danger”

    The shootout moves into a residential neighborhood, and the LAPD organizes the rescue of injured officers and civilians. One of the robbers makes his final stand, and the other struggles to continue his escape. Thanks to our sponsor, Quince! Use this link for Free Shipping and 365-day returns:...

  26. [ENCORE] NORTH HOLLYWOOD ROBBERY Ep. 4 | “Officers Down”

    The robbery escalates. Dr. Jorge Montes, a dentist whose office is across the street from Bank of America, helps Detective John Krulac and Officer James Zboravan. Robbers Larry Phillips and Emil Matasareanu continue the shootout and their slow escape. Officer Martin Whitfield’s situation becomes...

  27. [ENCORE] NORTH HOLLYWOOD ROBBERY Ep. 3 | “Tactical Alert”

    When the robbery becomes frustrating, Larry Phillips begins the North Hollywood Shootout. Officers in multiple locations withstand gunfire from illegally modified fully automatic assault rifles and they struggle to fight back with the handguns and shotguns. Civilians and officers suffer injuries;...

  28. [ENCORE] NORTH HOLLYWOOD ROBBERY Ep. 2 | “Two-Eleven In Progress”

    After two armored car robberies, Larry Phillips and Emil Matasareanu graduate to bank robberies. They have an arsenal of high-powered weapons at their disposal, and they show no fear of confrontation with police. They execute two successful robberies . . . and then enter a Bank of America…

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  29. [ENCORE] NORTH HOLLYWOOD ROBBERY Ep. 1 | “High Incident Bandits”

    In the 1990s, Los Angeles was the reigning bank robbery capital of the world. As two young men from Pasadena became increasingly disgruntled, they gravitated toward armed robbery. One wanted wealth and status. The other wanted a sense of belonging. They found a fast road to national infamy.…

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  30. HH HOLMES Ep. 6 | “Revelations”

    HH Holmes goes to trial for the murder of Benjamin Pitezel. The legal battle is headline news, and he loves the attention. During that time, investigators make disturbing discoveries in the basement of the Murder Castle in Chicago, and the legend of Holmes as the arch fiend of the World’s Fair…

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  31. HH HOLMES Ep. 5 | “Buried Secrets”

    After six months on the run, law enforcement arrests HH Holmes for insurance fraud. Holmes believes he has secured a sweetheart deal which will allow him to face minimal punishment, but then he learns he is being investigated for murder. While Holmes sits in jail, Inspector Frank Geyer travels…

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  32. HH HOLMES Ep. 4 | “Deadly Game”

    In Philadelphia, Holmes carries out the life insurance scam, but not the way his partner, Benjamin Pitezel, expects. When Holmes runs into unexpected obstacles while trying to collect the life insurance money, he orchestrates a dizzyingly elaborate crosscountry trip involving the Pitezel family....

  33. HH HOLMES Ep. 3 | “Web of Lies”

    After Holmes flees Chicago during the World’s Fair, he briefly settles in Fort Worth, Texas before an arrest warrant causes him to flee again. In St. Louis, he and his sometime partner, Benjamin Pitezel, prepare to execute a plan to commit life insurance fraud by faking Pitezel’s death. But when...

  34. HH HOLMES Ep. 2 | “Murder Castle”

    Holmes supervises the construction of one of the strangest apartment buildings in Chicago. He calls it his castle. Later, reporters will call it the Murder Castle. As Holmes and the city of Chicago ramp up to the World’s Fair, a young woman and her daughter disappear from the castle. During the...

  35. HH HOLMES Ep. 1 | “Grave Robber”

    At a young age, Herman Mudgett knows he wants to be a doctor. But as he progresses through medical school, he strays from any kind of desire to practice medicine. He realizes he can use his medical knowledge to con people out of their money. He experiments with fraud in a small town in New York,...

  36. Introducing: CONSPIRACY THEORIES, CULTS, AND CRIMES

    From Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate, to the Octopus Murders and the Waco Siege, the world is full of deception, manipulation, and destruction. Listen to Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes every Wednesday as we explore the real people at the center of the world’s most shocking secrets and…

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  37. KIDNAPPINGS Ep. 6 | Bobby Greenlease: “No Remorse”

    Greed and addiction fueled a chaotic and coldblooded crime on September 28, 1953. The largest ransom request in American History at the time was demanded of Kansas City’s wealthiest automobile dealer, Robert Greenlease, in exchange for his 6 year old son and namesake, Bobby Greenlease. Money…

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  38. KIDNAPPINGS Ep. 5 | Charles Ross: “Random Bad Luck”

    72 year old Charles Ross was a year into his peaceful retirement after a lucrative career in real estate, followed by President of the prominent George S. Carrington greeting card company, when he found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time just outside of Chicago. John Seadlund, who’d…

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  39. KIDNAPPINGS Ep. 4 | George Weyerhaeuser: “Down in Hole”

    By the early 1900s Frederick Weyerhaeuser was known as the “Lumber King” and had amassed a fortune in the Pacific Northwest. The wealth generated from his timber empire was on par with the Rockefellers, the Carnegies, and the Vanderbilts and as it kept getting passed down to the next generation…

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  40. KIDNAPPINGS Ep. 3 | Brooke Hart: “Human Devils”

    On November 9, 1933 – 22 year old Brooke Hart, the heir to a department store fortune and San Jose’s most eligible bachelor, went missing in broad daylight. The crime obsessed kidnappers believe they have a brilliant plan to extort money from the Hart family. But it was more brutal than…

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  41. KIDNAPPINGS Ep. 2 | Lindbergh Baby: “Bruno Richard Hautmann”

    The Lindbergh family discovers the fate of little baby Charlie, but it takes 2 more years for investigators to follow the ransom money to the Bronx, New York to Bruno Richard Hautmann, who they labeled the kidnapper. In January of 1935 the suspect faced a sensational trial packed with journalists...

  42. KIDNAPPINGS Ep. 1 | The Lindbergh Baby: “Crime of the Century”

    On May 21, 1927, 25 year old Charles LIndbergh became the biggest star on the planet. He advanced the travel industry to a level many doubted was possible after completing the first ever solo flight from New York to Paris in 55 hours. That should have been the most dramatic moment of any person’s...

  43. Introducing THE CHINATOWN STING

    Here’s a preview of a new podcast, The Chinatown Sting from our friends at Pushkin Industries. In the late 1980s, a group of women connected through the mahjong parlors in Manhattan’s Chinatown were caught in a massive undercover drug bust. But this bust was just the beginning of an even bigger...

  44. BOSTON HEISTS Ep. 6 | Gardner Museum: “The Mafia Connection”

    As the FBI’s investigation of local Boston art thieves fades, its investigation of crews linked to the Italian mob ramps up. Agents begin to focus on the men who are associated with Carmello Merlino’s gang. But the 1990s proves to be a deadly time to be involved with the Merlino crew, and…

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  45. BOSTON HEISTS Ep. 5 | Gardner Museum: “The Irish Connection”

    In the first few years after the heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the FBI’s investigation follows two parallel tracks. The first to produce possible leads is the Irish Connection as the FBI examines notorious art thief Myles Connor, infamous gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, and local...

  46. BOSTON HEISTS Ep. 4 | Gardner Museum: “81 Minutes”

    In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, two thieves, disguised as Boston police officers, gain access to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. They tie up the two security guards and spend 81 minutes stealing 13 items. When the heist is discovered hours later, the FBI begins an investigation...

  47. BOSTON HEISTS Ep. 3 | Gardner Museum: “You Can’t Sell A Rembrandt”

    In the 1970s and 1980s, Boston and the greater New England region seem plagued by art thieves. Myles Connor becomes the most notorious thief of the era, and he and others notice that the eclectic Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a vulnerable target. The FBI likely thwarts an attempted robbery,...

  48. BOSTON HEISTS Ep. 2 | Great Brinks Robbery: “Where is the money?”

    Anthony Pino and his crew commit one of the fastest and smoothest robberies in history, and they escape with a record-breaking haul. The FBI launches its investigation and hits a series of dead ends until, one by one, the robbers run into trouble and begin to turn on each other. The historic…

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  49. BOSTON HEISTS Ep. 1 | Great Brink’s Robbery: “The Perfect Plan”

    In the mid-1940s, career criminal Anthony Pino sets his sights on robbing Brinks security company. He recruits a team of thieves and they rob armored cars and Brinks clients, but Pino’s ultimate goal is to carry out the big score by robbing the vault at Brinks headquarters. He and his crew spend...

  50. ARSONISTS Ep. 6 | Paul Keller: “The Specter”

    By fall 1992, serial arsonist Paul Keller has set more than two dozen fires throughout the Seattle area, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Law enforcement creates a task force made up of multiple counties in order to find Keller. But desperation kicks in, and they resort to unusual tactics....

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Historical True Crime — assassins, gangsters, mobsters and lawmen; manhunts, scandals and unexplained phenomena. Stories of the wildest and darkest chapters of America's past.

HOSTED BY

Black Barrel Media

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Infamous America have?

Infamous America currently has 309 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Infamous America about?

Historical True Crime — assassins, gangsters, mobsters and lawmen; manhunts, scandals and unexplained phenomena. Stories of the wildest and darkest chapters of America's past.

How often does Infamous America release new episodes?

Infamous America publishes regularly with 309 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.

Where can I listen to Infamous America?

You can listen to Infamous America on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Infamous America?

Infamous America is created and hosted by Black Barrel Media.
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