Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

Oklahoma oilman and multi-millionaire Jake Hamon had just helped elect Warren Harding President of the United States and had a fast track to Secretary of the Interior - but under one condition. He had to break things off with his mistress of ten years, Clara Smith. That was when things went terribly wrong. David R. Stokes tells the amazing story straight out of his book, "Jake and Clara: Scandal, Politics, Hollywood and Murder".

My guest is historian Michael Greenburg, the author of "The Mad Bomber of New York, The Extraordinary True Story of the Manhunt that Paralyzed a City". He tells the story of serial bomber George Metesky, who terrorized New York City in the 1940s and 50s over a grudge with a utility company.

The number of theories surrounding the Jack the Ripper murders in 1880s London are too staggering to mention. At least 200 suspects have been considered over the decades and spirited debate over his true identity has preoccupied the time of many a true crime history buff. Donald Rumbelow is my guest on this first Jack the Ripper episode of Most Notorious. He is a world renowned expert on the subject, and gives us an introduction to the infamous series of murders, and also discusses some of the primary suspects. His book "The Complete Jack the Ripper" has been the go-to manual for Ripperologists for 45 years.

On September 28th, 1953, Bobby Greenlease, 6 year-old son of millionaire Robert Greenlease, was kidnapped and then murdered by two grifters named Carl Austin Hall and Bonnie Brown Heady. John Heidenry, author of "Zero at the Bone: The Playboy, the Prostitute, and the Murder of Bobby Greenlease" tells the disturbing story of this notorious crime, which included corrupt cops and Saint Louis mobsters.

My guest is Juliet Mofford, author of "The Devil Made Me Do It! Crime and Punishment in Early New England". She discusses a variety of topics, including scarlet letters, witches, and the methods that Puritans dealt out punishments to law-breakers. Sponsored by Simplisafe.com/most and Blue Apron.com/most

My guest today, Catherine Spude, author of "That Fiend in Hell: Soapy Smith in Legend", tells the story of the renowned con-man, crime boss and murderer Soapy Smith, known in history as the "King of Skagway". She also helps separate the fact from the fiction and dispel some myths about the most notorious man in Alaskan history. Sponsored by Huntakiller.com Promo Code: Most and Casper.com/most

In a rough part of Cleveland Ohio called Kingsbury Run, twelve decapitated bodies, some mutilated and dismembered, were discovered from 1934-1938. My guest, Dr. James Badal, author of "In the Wake of the Butcher: Cleveland's Torso Murders", discusses the details of the crimes and the investigation, including the involvement of legendary lawman Elliot Ness. Sponsored by www.BlueApron.com/most

There are many myths surrounding Grigori Rasputin, known in popular history as the "Mad Monk" and the "Holy Devil". His influence on Tsar Nicholas II and his family in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Russia is well known, but my guest, Douglas Smith, author of "Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs" sheds new light on his life, his motives and where the legends end and the actual man begins.

Dillinger historian Ellen Poulsen, author of "Don't Call Us Molls", completes her interview with me about the role of women in Depression-era gangs of the Midwest. Included in this episode, girlfriends of the Barker-Karpis and Dillinger Gangs, Mrs. Babyface Nelson and Bonnie Parker of Bonnie and Clyde fame. Sponsored by BlueApron.com/most

In this first part of my two part interview with Ellen Poulsen, author of "Don't Call Us Molls", we discuss the many women involved with notorious 1930s Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger, including Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, Anna Sage and Polly Hamilton, and the role that molls played in the lives of bank-robbing Depression-era gangsters. Sponsored by Simplisafe.com/most