All Episodes

Japanese shipwrecks on coast predate Columbus

‘Automo-bubble’ a part of Deschutes railroad war

Gun-toting ‘Wildcat’ was nation’s first ‘shock jock’

Portland’s Pioneer Square pitched as ‘crystal palace’

Mountain town of Bourne was home of a magnificent swindle

History happenings at OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY in Portland, next few months

Did primitive Hug Point Road save our beaches?

Pioneer Chinese doc was a city treasure in John Day

Valley was Oregon Trail’s eden, used-ox dealership

The world’s smallest natural harbor used to be even smaller

Atlantis in Oregon: The underwater lost cities

Grisly slasher murder still baffling a century later (2 of 2)

State tried to pin Grisly slasher murder on victim's 'grim widow' (1 of 2)

Astronaut left a piece of Oregon lava on the moon

Beavercreek Bomber: Pay $1 million or out go the lights

Pilot boat’s entire crew mysteriously disappeared

Oregon’s tiger pimp went on the lam, became big problem for Idaho (2 of 2)

Oregon had its own 'Tiger King,' only ours was worse (Part 1 of 2)

Iconic movies filmed in Oregon, Part 3: 1975-1989

Iconic movies filmed in Oregon, Part 2: 1965-1975

Iconic movies shot in Oregon, part 1: 1908-1952

Scenic highway was pitched as a 'park to park' experience (Part 2 of 2)

Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway set the tone for Oregon roadbuilding for decades (Part 1 of 2)

Getting trapped in ship’s wreckage saved mariner

For ex-spy Claire Phillips, fame was fleeting but her PTSD was not (Part 2 of 2)

Portland woman ran U.S. spy ring in World War II (Part 1 of 2)

Bloody 1925 prison break ended badly for everyone involved (2 of 2)

Rampant Klan cronyism led to bloody 1925 prison break (1 of 2)

Brutal ‘Oregon Boot’ made our state prison infamous

Meteorites that have fallen on the Beaver State (2 of 2)

Man found meteorite on his neighbor's land ... so he stole it. (1 of 2)

The last-minute choice that made aviation legend Jim Wright a true hero (Part 3 of 3)

Aviator Jim Wright's day of triumph: A new world record at Reno Air Races (Part 2 of 3)

The heroic final flight of Cottage Grove's Jim Wright: Part 1 of 3

Trail Blazers’ fate hung on an extra-long bathroom break: Part 2 of 2

Trail Blazers came to Portland thanks to amazing promoter: Part 1 of 2

Lola Baldwin's life mission: Battle human trafficking in Portland

First policewoman was a municipal Rescuer — like Bianca

Did ‘Vortex I’ prevent riots in downtown Portland?

McCall expected ‘Vortex I’ to cost him re-election

Riot at PSU set the stage for ‘Governor’s Pot Party’

Yachter’s treasure caught FBI’s interest too late

Portland's Vaudeville mayor made city famous as well as notorious

When The Oregonian newspaper burgled a candidate’s home

How Stewart Holbrook became Oregon's great storyteller (Part 2 of 2)

Stewart Holbrook: The literary spirit of mid-century Oregon (Part 1 of 2)

How a national mythology was made from massacre

Marcus Whitman: The man behind the myths and the massacre

Portland home of world’s only working P.T. boat

After logger’s murder, bordello madam vanished

Cayuse tribe’s amazing ponies are now very rare

Famous dance hall hosted Berry, Cash, many more

The notorious Tusko led a colorful and tragic life

Lotus Isle, Oregon’s most surreal amusement park

Pirates were defeated in Yaquina Bay Oyster Wars

NASA’s ‘Moon Trees’ have roots in Oregon forest fire

‘Rajneesh’ or ‘Osho’? In Oregon, his name is mud (Part 4 of 4)

Rajneeshees’ doom sealed by scheme to seize power (Part 3 of 4)

Rajneeshees got on well with neighbors ... at first (Part 2 of 4)

Rajneeshpuram: Oregon’s most (in)famous ashram (Part 1 of 4)

Opium culture a forgotten part of urban underworld

The ex-Oregonian who got the U.S. into World War II: Yosuke Matsuoka (#6 of series of 6 related episodes)

Japan's most influential diplomat of all time grew up in Portland (#5 of series of 6 related episodes)

World's most incompetent drug smugglers lost tons of opium to theft, seizure (#4 of series of 6 related episodes)

Blum and Dunbar smuggled opium by the steamship load (#3 of series of 6 related episodes)

Lotan's venture into opium smuggling was doomed from the start (#2 of series of 6 related episodes)

The blind ferryman from Tillamook who could 'see' just fine — and an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ...

Minor politician became opium king of West Coast (1 of series of 6 related episodes)

When the last geyser in Pacific Northwest went still in Lakeview

Fossil Lake: Oregon’s answer to the LaBrea Tar Pits

Town destroyed by its founder’s favorite garden shrub

Steam excursion train line is now a new bike path

How Sheriff Bentley arrested legendary outlaw Hank Vaughan — and an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ...

World champion hired to humiliate town bully

Oregon Indian prince was Japan’s intro to the West

An unrecognized Indian prince’s quest to see Japan

Bike business in P-town ruined by ... prostitutes?

Schemers sought to steal Peter Iredale shipwreck

Uncle Dave's Incredible Shrinking Horse Story — and an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ...

The legendary lies and tall tales of Reub Long (2 of 2)

Rancher Reub Long, the legendary Sage of Fort Rock (1 of 2)

War-games campaign blanketed Central Oregon

Camp Adair hardened recruits with combat training — and poison oak (Part 2 of 2)

Oregon's second-largest city was built in six months (Part 1 of 2)

Before news “crusade,” milk was killing babies

Quest for lost gold mine led to 12,000-acre jewel

Did L. Ron Hubbard battle Japanese subs off Astoria?

‘Desperado’ became P-town’s first police chief

Busting out of the joint was job for a safecracker

Rusty derelict turned out to be Liberty Ship lifeboat

How Oregon almost lost public access to beaches

Childhood tree-planting memories for thousands

Tillamook Burn ‘blew up’ with shocking speed

Tillamook Burn sprang from loggers’ bad gamble

Bunco Kelley, Coyote of P-town waterfront legend

Oregon’s most notorious shanghaier: Bunco Kelley

Legendary ‘Chief Bigfoot’ elusive as, well, Bigfoot

In 1880s, salmon were the “most dangerous catch”

Steamer wrecked by future Costa Rica admiral

Frankie Baker found a home, and some peace, in Oregon

‘Johnny’s’ Frankie lived in Portland, hiding from "her song"

Charming gentleman by day, robber-poet by night

Rosecrans rescue one of Coast Guard’s finest hours

Cursed or not, Rosecrans was one unlucky ship

Town’s police chief was later executed for murder

Rooftop stunt made local aero-daredevil famous

Giant skeleton hinted at legend of pirate treasure

Mass murderer honored in courthouse monument

‘Ship of Romance and Death’ met a dramatic end

Prison break happened during “conjugal visit”

Portland lost world’s biggest log cabin in 1964 fire

The mysterious demise of the S.S. South Coast

Horrific 'Trunk Murders' made headlines nationwide (Part 2 of 2)

Locals drawn into 1930s’ most notorious murder (Part 1 of 2)

Oregon’s Doolittle raiders and their startling stories (3 of 3)

The Oregonians who flew over Tokyo with Doolittle (2 of 3)

Famous ‘Doolittle Raid’ roots in Pendleton air base (1 of 3)

Mona Bell was like Annie Oakley with an edge

Columbia River was a wild, frothy, dangerous place once

Storm-tossed ships shared a double date with destiny

“Roaring 20s” murder solved by cop’s diligence

Oregon’s highest, smallest city once had its jail stolen

Miracle saved sailors from death on Columbia bar

Historic lighthouse saved by a nonexistent ghost ... but was she, really?

Heppner's devastation brought out heroism in face of watery death (2 of 2)

Worst natural flash flood in U.S. history struck here (Part 1 of 2)

Mount Angel Abbey owes grandeur to colorful monk

‘Unwritten Law’ no help for man who murdered his wife's brother

Frontier murder was even darker than it appeared

Pixieland and Oregon's midcentury culture

‘Daredevil Al’ Fossett was Evel Knievel of the ’20s

West’s first female lawyer: A legal Mother Teresa?

Pioneering “lady lawyer” deserved a better legacy

Acquitted murder suspect became first ‘lady lawyer’

Fiery explosive shipwreck gave Boiler Bay its name

Bob Straub stopped plan to put highway on the beach

Shanghaied in Astoria: A once-perilous port city

Secretary imposed martial law on rowdy town

Legislators shut down Salem with a raging party

Wolf Creek Tavern was a refuge for Hollywood stars

How Marie Dorion earned title ‘Oregon’s Revenant’ (Part 3 of 3)

Astorian party’s decision to follow river proved fatal (Part 2 of 3)

Marie Aioe Dorion was a wilderness-survival ninja (Part 1 of 3)

Legendary Civil War ship met a sad end in Coos Bay

Dispute over 'McQuinn Strip' lasted more than a century (Part 2 of 2)

Dispute over Indians’ land lasted for 101 years (Part 1 of 2)

Bungling ex-crimps book-ended shanghaiing era

Plan to stop shanghaiing: Give Sullivan a monopoly

World boxing champ by day, shanghaier by night

Shanghaiing in Portland: P-town's time as shanghaiing capital of the world (2 of 2)

Shanghaiing in Portland: How the 'crimping' business worked (1 of 2)

How ‘FBI’s Most Wanted’ gangster was busted

‘Hold-up session’ featured big drunken house party

‘Oregon’s Outback’ a real moonshiner’s paradise

Bing cherry has its roots on the Oregon Trail

Gov. T.T. Geer is Oregon’s ‘patron saint of bicyclists’

For Oregon pioneer family, highway robbers were lifesavers

‘Diamond Bill’ Barrett was a modern Mr. Wickham

Rescue station keeper’s cowardice got 11 killed

Oregon Vortex: 95 years of keeping experts guessing

The crazy story of U.S.’s first woman governor (Part 2 of 2)

The crazy story of U.S.’s first woman governor (Part 1 of 2)

Land-fraud swindlers plundered Oregon badly (Part 2 of 2)

Land-fraud swindlers plundered Oregon badly (Part 1 of 2)

'Most Wanted' desperadoes found a home and respect in Oregon(Part 2 of 2)

Running from FBI? Hide in a friendly Oregon town!

P-town mansion was once home of starvation cult

Oregon man’s wife killed his SCOTUS appointment

‘Cape Foulweather Light’ built on the wrong cape

Body snatchers' incompetence actually saved them from more serious charges (Part 2 of 2)

Body snatchers plotted to steal dead mayor’s corpse (Part 1 of 2)

‘Blue Ruin’ drove Oregon to drink—and prohibition

Larry Sullivan's 'second act' career dwarfed his first (Part 2 of 2)

Boss shanghaier Sullivan’s mining-stock fraud career (Part 1 of 2)

Brides were stripped of U.S. citizenship at the altar

Oregonians had the jump on California Gold Rush

Palatial riverboat caught in hurricane on open sea

Drunk looting party broke out at scene of shipwreck

Civil War plotters hoped to get West Coast to secede

Buster Keaton brought Hollywood to Cottage Grove (Part 2 of 2)

Buster Keaton brought Hollywood to Cottage Grove (Part 1 of 2)

Prohibition sting ended with a deadly gunfight

Town’s emergency wood money is still legal tender

Bunny-massacre parties were big social events

Corvallis man found cows make lousy boat engines

Alcoholic shipmate drank snake-preserving whiskey

Schemers’ plans to exploit Multnomah Falls failed

Shanghai tunnels mostly a myth...or are they?

Tarzan fans are grateful for gold miner’s failure

Riverboat party turned out to be shanghaiing trick

Skipper doubled down on a bad bet ... and lost it all

Bad recording technique led to FBI investigation

P-town’s rabbi got in gun fight at President’s hotel

Shipwrecked sailors had to paddle 200 miles to safety

City-bus-powered cable car scheme was epic flop (Part 2 of 2)

Timberline could have been a gaudy skyscraper (Part 1 of 2)

Outlaw Bill Miner’s first train robbery was a fiasco

Taming of the Rascal: Chambreau’s redemption (Part 2 of 2)

A crooked gambler’s-eye view of frontier Oregon (Part 1 of 2)

Was suspicious death in ‘boneyard’ really murder?

'Mother of Oregon History' earned praise, but little money (Part 2 of 2)

Legendary Oregon author started with poetry, pulps (Part 1 of 2)

Supreme Court: Slavery is legal, but only for sailors

Lafe Pence’s crazy plan: Wash mountain into lake

Oregon's Modern Prometheus: The forced-sterilization advocate (Part 3 of a 3-part series on Bethenia Owens-Adair)

Oregon's Modern Prometheus: The Pioneer 'Lady Doctor'(part 2 of a 3-part series on Bethenia Owens-Adair)

Pioneer ‘lady doctor’ was Oregon's 'Modern Prometheus': Part 1 of 3-part series on Bethenia Owens-Adair

How the War of 1812 changed Oregon's fate (Part 2 of 2)

How Oregon almost became part of Canada once, eh? (Part 1 of 2)

Vigilantes overreached with murder of ‘rustler’

Bold bandits robbed train 3 miles from Roseburg

Cow Creek train robbers were liberal with the dynamite

Oregon crooks have always loved their dynamite

How to rob trains with dynamite: Tips from a pro

‘Prepaid shanghaiing’ plot went off the rails — fatally

Old Oregon loggers, millworkers were tough characters

When the Confederate flag flew over Oregon soil

Lava Lake murders still officially unsolved, but ...

Missing trapper’s mom suspected foul play

Lawyer schemed to steal land by shanghaiing its owner

'Oregon's Native Stepson' Hoover saved millions from starving to death

Lonely Newburg orphan grew up to be President

Mayor’s wife gave him a real election-day surprise

Skunk’s pelt would be best admired from far away

‘12 Angry Men’ couldn’t have happened in Oregon

The life and death of a P-town gangster and moll

Hank Vaughan, Oregon’s legendary outlaw: Part 3

Hank Vaughan, Oregon’s legendary outlaw: Part 2

Hank Vaughan, Oregon’s legendary outlaw: Part 1

Machine-made ice cream cones invented in P-town

‘Bucket of Blood’ saloon a relic of the shanghaing era

Dynamite used to be a regular part of Oregon life

Did Sir Francis Drake visit Oregon in 1579?

Quest for legendary mine actually led to real riches

“Bear Grylls of the 1910s” had something to prove

Even as a boy, Erector Set inventor larger than life

How Oregon’s own ‘anti-Grinch’ saved Christmas

Cali Gold Rush started by failed Oregon farmer

Lighthouse built 18 days too late for ship’s sailors

The legendary lost Spanish gold of Neahkahnie Mountain

Oregon was scene of first recorded Soapy Smith con

Oregon gold-country legend: The solid-gold snuff can

Bungled robbery-murder was solved ‘CSI’-style

‘Last great train robbery’ was brutal, clumsy fiasco (part 1 of 2)

Black sheep of the Union Army was Oregon’s last Civil War veteran

Dory fisherman rescues stranded sailors — from Coast Guard boat

The game of Faro was a crooked gambler’s dream

Pirate, jailbird, hustler, tycoon: 'Colonel' T. Edgenton Hogg

Giant mud puddles were once Lake Chewacan, a great inland sea

The rise and fall of ‘king of Portland saloonkeepers’

Goofy, Bluto, Bozo were all Oregon’s ‘Pinto’ Colvig

Frontier journalists settled differences with gunfight

“Voice of Looney Toons” was the terror of his Portland high school

The Port Orford Meteorite: Was it all a big hoax?

Finn on KPNW's Wake Up Call: Minor political hack became opium king of West Coast

Missing gold suggests something sinister in shipwreck mystery

“Shorty” Davis may be Oregon’s oldest cold case

Filming of “worst Western ever” was a real spectacle

Boys’ summertime shipwreck adventure couldn’t happen today

First Ashland Shakespeare Festival kayoed competing boxing event

Oregon's ‘King of moonshiners’ was an old-time music legend

What really happened to DB Cooper? Pick a theory

D.B. Cooper deplanes like a boss: Getting away with the loot

D.B. Cooper deplanes: Getting away with the loot

D.B. Cooper skyjacking legend started at PDX

Finn on KPNW's Wake Up Call: Hathaway Jones, Self-declared 'damnedest liar' in Oregon country

For one Oregon slave, the Civil War didn’t end bondage

Oregon cold snaps seem mild, but one sank a ship

Former robber became vice president of bank he once robbed

Ka-Ton-Ka patent remedy was Oregon’s own, sort of

Dry town’s sting on secret drugstore pub went badly

Oregon’s second largest city built in six months

Mt. Hood: so mellow, you forget it’s a real volcano

Did Oregon miss a chance to catch the Zodiac Killer?

A town’s friendship with its wartime attacker

Nobuo Fujita, the flying Samurai who attacked Oregon

Finn on KPNW's Wake Up Call: Silverton's nationally-famous Bobbie the Wonder Dog

Colorful sea-captain was like an 1800s Han Solo