Oil and Blood: The Osage Murders from Cautionary Tales

Oil and Blood: The Osage Murders from Cautionary Tales

Author: Pushkin Industries October 31, 2023 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 quite suddenly. She had been young, fit and healthy; the doctors were baffled when she died. "A peculiar wasting illness," they called it. Then, her sister Anna went missing. She was found a week later, dead, with a gunshot wound to her head. When a third sister, Rita, died in an explosion at her home, the grim pattern was clear: the family was under attack.

Lawman Tom White came to town to investigate, and uncovered a vicious plot.

This episode is the first of two cautionary tales produced in association with Apple Original Films. The Killers of the Flower Moon movie is in theaters now. It's directed by Martin Scorsese, and stars Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone.

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
The Alabama Murders - Part 1: The True Church [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:36
In a small town in the northwest corner of Alabama, a cascade begins with a man and an affair. Get early, ad-free access to the full season of The Alabama Murders by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.f…
The Alabama Murders [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:37
Florence, Alabama. 1988. A preacher has an affair. A woman is murdered. One death cascades into more, stretching across decades and leaving no one untouched — victims, bystanders, perpetrators, and those just trying to h…
Americana Music Live with Drew Holcomb and Malcolm Gladwell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:11
Wrapping up our summer music series, the Memphis-born, East Nashville-based singer songwriter Drew Holcomb talks with Malcolm in front of a live audience at the Cherry Lane Theater in Greenwich Village. Drew plays origin…
Encore: Good Old Boys [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:01
In 2019, Malcolm just wanted an excuse to hang out with Randy Newman so they sat down at the piano together and tried to answer the question: If you disagree with someone — if you find what they think appalling — is ther…
Encore: Analysis, Parapraxis, Elvis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:20
Malcolm’s habit of reading footnotes leads him to the psychologist Alan Elms, which leads him to the one song Elvis couldn’t sing. We revisit this 2018 episode as part of our encore music series. Get ad-free episodes to…
Encore: The King of Tears [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:31
Why does country music make you cry, but rock and roll doesn’t? We revisit a musical interpretation of a divided America in this episode from 2017. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ o…
Encore: Hallelujah [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:14
How does genius emerge? Kicking off our summer series, Malcolm digs into the Revisionist History archive to revisit Elvis Costello’s song “Deportee” and explore the power of innovation. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionis…
Encores [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:47
Starting next week, we revisit four of Malcolm’s favorite episodes from the Revisionist History archives, all about music.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Formula [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:09
In our season finale, we team up with the Culinary Institute of America to reverse engineer the secret recipe for Thomas’s English Muffins. You can read our top secret muffin recipe here. Get ad-free episodes to Revision…
Nooks & Crannies [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:27
Seven people knew the recipe for a half-a-billion dollar muffin. Then, one of them tried to leave. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscrib…