Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky lived a fascinating and turbulent life. He served a sentence in a Siberian prison camp and suffered from depression and a gambling addiction that kept him

Continue readingDostoevsky & the Murderer Who Inspired Crime & Punishment w/ Kevin Birmingham

One of the most powerful secret societies in 1880s Chicago was the mysterious Clan na Gael, run by Irish-American kingpin Alexander Sullivan. When Dr. Patrick Cronin questioned Sullivan’s management of

Continue readingChicago’s 1889 Murder of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin w/ Gillian O’Brien

New York City in the mid to late 19th century was host to some of the most colorful criminals in American history – and equally colorful policemen who battled them.

Continue readingRogues’ Gallery: Crooks, Cops and Crime in New York City’s Gilded Age w/ John Oller

On this special Halloween-themed episode of Most Notorious, my guests – professors Lester Friedman and Allison Kavey – talk about Mary Shelley’s early 19th-century literary classic, Frankenstein. They explore Shelley’s

Continue readingMary Shelley’s Frankenstein w/ Allison B. Kavey & Lester D. Friedman

My guest, Western author and historian G.R. Williamson, appeared on Most Notorious a couple of years ago to talk about gunfighters Ben Thompson and King Fisher. He joins me again,

Continue readingNotorious Gamblers of the Old West w/ G.R. Williamson

October 8th, 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the legendary disaster that destroyed a third of Chicago and made 90,000 residents homeless. While Mrs. O’Leary and

Continue readingThe Great Chicago Fire of 1871 w/ Carl Smith

We’re back again to the Hundred Years War in this episode of Most Notorious – this time in England. Sir William Cantilupe, a battle-hardened knight who had recently been acquitted

Continue readingThe 1375 Murder of William Cantilupe in Medieval England w/ Melissa Julian-Jones

On November 1st, 1843, a dejected servant named Amelia Norman followed her former beau Henry Ballard to the steps of the Astor House Hotel in New York City. There she

Continue readingThe 1843 Stabbing of Henry Ballard by Amelia Norman w/ Julie Miller

On April 24th, 1891, a Bowery prostitute named Carrie Brown (known locally as “Old Shakespeare”) was found murdered and mutilated in the seedy East River Hotel. With the Jack the

Continue readingThe 1891 East River Ripper Murder of Old Shakespeare w/ George R. Dekle Sr.

In the spring of 1853 the ill-fated William and Mary, an American sailing ship captained by the incompetent Timothy Stinson, departed from England carrying over 200 Dutch, Scotch, Irish and

Continue readingThe 1853 Shipwreck of the Ill-Fated William & Mary with Gill Hoffs