From Valley of Shadows: The Devil's Punchbowl

From Valley of Shadows: The Devil's Punchbowl

Author: Pushkin Industries February 26, 2026 Duration: 47:11

Valley of Shadows is a new Pushkin true crime podcast that digs into a nearly 30-year old secret buried in the California desert. On June 11, 1998, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy Jon Aujay went for a run in California’s Devil’s Punchbowl park...and never came back. Nearly 30 years later, the mystery surrounding his disappearance has only deepened. Some say Aujay is just another missing hiker, claimed by the inhospitable landscape of the Southern California desert. Some say he took his own life out there. But there’s another theory that many of Aujay’s friends and LASD colleagues are convinced is true—that he was the victim of foul play, and that his own department is covering it up. Through exclusive interviews, revealing wiretaps, and buried police files, investigative reporters Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd uncover vestiges of the Wild West in a small California town, where outlaw biker gangs crank out methamphetamine and local cops operate on both sides of the law.

Find Valley of Shadows wherever you get podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell's journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past—an event, a person, an idea, even a song—and asks whether we got it right the first time. From Pushkin Industries. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance. To get early access to ad-free episodes and extra content, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Revisionist History
Podcast Episodes
Blink with Stephen Gaghan | Development Hell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:16
It’s the mid-2000s, Malcolm and writer/producer Stephen Gaghan (“Traffic”, “Syriana”) are running around Hollywood pitching their scripted adaptation of Blink. This conversation starts with a failed vampire love story, t…
Welcome to Development Hell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:44
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. On February 29th, Revisionist History is returning with Development Hell, a series of untold stories about Hollywood projects that never left the page. There's a Philip K. Dick adapta…
Revisionist History LIVE with Nate Berkus [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:16
Malcolm Gladwell sits with interior design legend Nate Berkus in a live conversation covering everything from travel, to their moms, prestige TV, and finding the places that can cure us of melancholy. This episode was re…
The IT Revolution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:15
The digital revolution has been happening for a while now, but with 5G, it’s about to reach a whole new level. IT departments are about to rule the world. So in this paid partnership with T-Mobile for Business, Malcolm s…
Board Game Season [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:30
A young family nearly lost everything in the 1970s farm crisis. Then, they invented a board game. Today on the show, producer Ben Naddaff-Hafrey shares a story about how life shows up in games and what games teach us abo…
A New Day at the Races [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:39
Revisionist History heads to Las Vegas for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, courtesy of T-Mobile for Business. Malcolm talks with T-Mobile and Las Vegas Grand Prix executives about how 5G technology is changing prof…
This Is Your Captain Speaking [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:18
What does a pilot sound like? Malcolm and Ben Naddaff-Hafrey take off on a long, strange investigation that takes them from Las Vegas to Family Guy to the airspace over the Mojave desert and the cold waters of the Hudson…
The Bear Was Poked With Maria Konnikova [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:25
Maria Konnikova returns as Revisionist History’s ombudsman. Today, she talks with Malcolm about assault rifles, tales of the two Matt Dillons, moral hazard, localized mortgage rates, and possible solutions to America’s g…
Oil and Blood: The Osage Murders from Cautionary Tales [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:07
Today, we’re bringing you an episode from another Pushkin show, Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford. This episode is based on Killers of the Flower Moon, with permission from its author, David Grann. Minnie Smith grew sick…
Unlocking Hidden Potential with Adam Grant [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:44
Malcolm Gladwell hosts a rollicking live discussion about Adam Grant’s new book, “Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things,” which is available now. They explore why we overemphasize innate talent, how A…