Who brought down Al Capone? Was it Eliot Ness and his storied “Untouchables” or is their story the result of distorted memoire written by washed-up glory-hound?
If you get your history from watching gangster movies, then you might be under the impression that Al Capone singlehandedly started Chicago's Beer Wars. That is certainly what is suggested by the 1932 gangster classic Sc…
The life of the gangster Al Capone could be understood as a violent expression of the American Dream. A poor kid from Brooklyn, born to immigrant parents, used his wits, fists, and a certain ruthless determination to bui…
In this throwback episode Sebastian take you back to Season One and Episode #24. Ty Cobb has been remembered as one of baseball’s greatest villains. Despite being universally recognized as one of the game’s most talented…
In the early 19th century central India was one of the most dangerous places a person could travel. Murders and robberies were incredibly common. Every year dozens, sometimes hundreds, of bodies were found in shallow gra…
In 1830 an anonymous letter was published in the Calcutta Literary Gazette warning that India was being threatened by a horrifying cult of murderers. These stranglers were known as Thugs and according to the letter they…
The story of Mulan might be the best known piece of Chinese folklore. In China the story has been around for over 1500 years and has inspired dozens of poems, songs, plays, and films. Thanks to Disney, Mulan has become a…
In this throwback episode Sebastian takes you back to Season 2 and Episode #47. Piracy on the high seas has existed for as long as human beings have had boats. For most of history these maritime marauders were almost exc…
The second Arab siege of Constantinople should probably just be called the "real" Arab siege of Constantinople. In 717 the Umayyad Caliphate seriously threatened the continued existence of the Roman Empire by besieging t…
In the 670's something was brewing in the eastern Mediterranean. The Umayyad caliphate had built an impressive navy and was scoring victories at sea over the Roman empire. It looked like the Caliphate was ready to make a…