All Episodes
Offbeat Oregon History podcast — 235 episodes
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