Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1906. When a young white woman is assaulted in a dark cemetery, the town erupts. Despite questionable evidence and a flawed trial, a black man named Ed Johnson is convicted of the crime and sentenced to death. Before he can be executed, the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes. Despite their order, a bloodthirsty mob attacks the county jail, and lynches Johnson.The infuriated high court is determined Ed Johnson's murder will not go unpunished, and they charge Joseph Shipp, the county sheriff, with contempt. Desperate to save his political career and fearful of the reckoning he faces, the ambitious sheriff deteriorates under the strain of the case against him.After failing to solve another shocking crime, Shipp does the unthinkable. He gambles on the ability of Dave Edwards, a notoriously violent inmate in his jail, to solve the high-profile cold case. Despite a pending trial for first-degree murder, the sheriff releases Edwards. It's not long until Dave's madness manifests itself, with dreadful consequences.My guest is Kimberly Tilley, back for the fourth time to Most Notorious, this time to talk about her fascinating new book called "Grievous Deeds: The True Story of Four Years of Fury in Chattanooga, Tennessee".More about Kimberly's historical research and writing here: https://oldspirituals.com/Kimberly is also a co-founder of Pivot Discovery Career Services. If you're thinking about making changes to your work life, connect with Kimberly here: https://pivotdisc.com/Our "The Poisoned Glass" interview from 9/5/19.Our "Cold Heart" interview from 12/9/20.Our "Has It Come to This?" interview from 4/3/22. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is award-winning writer David Grann, whose new book, "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder", is currently number one on the New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction Best Sellers list.It's the tale of HMS Wager, a British warship that gets separated from the rest of its squadron while in pursuit of a treasure-filled Spanish galleon. The ship wrecks off the coast of Chile and the surviving crew members face off against each other amidst disease, cold and starvation - with deadly results.The author's website: https://www.davidgrann.com/Our previous interview about his book "Killers of the Flower Moon": https://www.mostnotorious.com/2022/04/14/mono-classics-oklahomas-osage-murders-w-david-grann/Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1870s and 80s the nation was embroiled in a sensational scandal. Corrupt politicians, post office officials and others conspired to defraud the United States Post Office out of millions of dollars. It was only under the watchful eye of newly elected President James Garfield that an in-depth investigation began.My guest is Shawn Francis Peters, author of "When Bad Men Combine: The Star Route Scandal and the Twilight of Gilded Age Politics." He not only explains the graft and its consequences, but also shares his thoughts about the theory that Garfield's assassination was in fact connected to the scandal.More about the book here: https://lsupress.org/books/detail/when-bad-men-combine/If you haven't done so already, listen to my prior conversation with Shawn about Gilded-Age murderer Harry Hayward at Minnesota's Most Notorious: Where Blood Runs Cold.Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Philip Van Cise faced a double threat when he became Denver's district attorney in 1921. He quickly discovered that a massive bunco ring was operating unimpeded in downtown Denver, fleecing unsuspecting rubes out of enormous amounts of money. In addition, the Ku Klux Klan was gaining popularity across the state - winning key elections as it encouraged vigilantism and threatened many Denver citizens.My guest, Alan Prendergast, tells Van Cise's story in his new book, "Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime, Corruption, and the Klan".The author's website: https://alanprendergast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades following the horrific 1918 execution of the Romanov family, many hoped against hope that one or more of the children had escaped the bullets and bayonets of the Bolsheviks. And when a young woman came forward with an incredible story - that she was the real Grand Duchess Anastasia and had in fact survived the massacre - it sent shock waves around the world.My returning guests are Penny Wilson and Greg King, co-authors of "The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson, and the World's Greatest Royal Mystery". They present to us the evidence that proves that Anna Anderson was one of history's greatest imposters.Their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kingandwilsonFollow them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AtlantisMagazinMore about their book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Romanovs-Anastasia-Anderson-Greatest/dp/0470444983This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4698315/advertisement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On June 25, 1876, in the valley of the Little Big Horn, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, and the warriors who were inspired to follow them, fought the last stand of the Sioux, a fierce and proud nation that had ruled the Great Plains for decades. It was their greatest victory, but it was also the beginning of the end for their treasured and sacred way of life. And in the years to come, both Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, defiant to the end, would meet violent—and eerily similar—fates. Award-winning historian and author Mark Lee Gardner joins me once again, and it's been a while! He is the author of "The Earth Is All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation", which True West Magazine declared the best non-fiction book of 2022. It is both a dual biography of two iconic Lakota leaders and also a detailed account of arguably the most famous battle in the history of the American West. Mark's website: https://songofthewest.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 1483 Edward and Richard, sons of the deceased King Edward IV, disappeared from the Tower of London, where they were being held by the recently crowned Richard III. There are countless theories about their fate. Some believe that were secretly whisked away and survived into adulthood. Some are convinced that Richard III had them murdered, a theory perpetuated by Sir Thomas More and William Shakespeare. But other suspects linger in the background as well.My guest, M.J. Trow, believes he knows who killed the Princes in the Tower, and he shares his thoughts on this week's episode of Most Notorious. His book is called "The Killer of the Princes in the Tower: A New Suspect Revealed".For more on M.J. Trow's books, visit his Amazon page here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From World War I through the 1920s a midwife known as Auntie Suzy readily supplied arsenic to women in a small Hungarian village. The women, who would become known as "the Angel Makers", used the poison to murder their husbands and other relatives. As the years passed and no punishment followed the killers became more emboldened, leaving hundreds of victims in their wake before they were finally caught and their crimes brought to light in 1929. My guest is award-winning journalist Patti McCracken, author of "The Angel Makers: Arsenic, a Midwife, and Modern History's Most Astonishing Murder Ring." The author's website: https://www.pattimccracken.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1912, four-year-old Bobby Dunbar went missing in the Louisiana swamps. After an eight-month search that electrified the country and destroyed Bobby’s parents, the boy was found, filthy and hardly recogniz­able. A wandering piano tuner was arrested and charged with kidnapping— a crime then punishable by death.But when a destitute single mother came forward from North Carolina to claim the boy as her son, not the lost Bobby Dunbar, the case became a high-pitched battle over custody—and identity—that divided the South.My guest, Tal McThenia,first introduced listeners of NPR's This American Life to this case in 2008. A few years later he co-wrote, along with Margaret Dunbar Cutright (the granddaughter of Bobby Dunbar) the definitive book about this historical whodunnit, called "A Case for Solomon: Bobby Dunbar and the Kidnapping That Haunted a Nation". The author's website: https://www.talmcthenia.com/Listen to This American Life's "The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar" here: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/352/transcriptThe author's recent Audubon article: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/fall-2021/the-strange-true-story-john-williams-and-charles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the third season of the acclaimed HBO series Deadwood, one of the most villainous characters in a show full of villains was introduced. Ruthless mining magnate George Hearst arrived, eager to seize control of the richest mine in town - no matter what the cost. But was he really as rotten as the show suggested he was? My guest is Matthew Bernstein, author of "George Hearst: Silver King of the Gilded Age". He talks about the rise and fall and rise again of a man who made millions sniffing out gold, silver and copper mines across the country, and who fathered one of the most controversial characters of his era, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst.More about the author and his book here: https://www.oupress.com/author/matthew-bernstein/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices