logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2024
34m 5s

Westward Hoax: The Secret History of Pal...

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

In the 1870s, Palisade, NV was the meanest little town west of the Mississippi. Every week, newspapers announced another gunpowder-fueled cowboy showdown. Palisade put the wild in the “Wild West.”

But there was a lot more to the story that didn’t make the papers.

*

Very Special Episodes is a podcast with a simple premise: we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Written by Lucas Reilly
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Research and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Lucas Reilly
Voice Actors: Josh Fisher, Zaron Burnett, Karl Keadle
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platforms. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Dec 31
JFK's Forgotten Summer [Best of 2025]
Eighty years ago, a young John F. Kennedy took a summer job as a journalist for Hearst newspapers, filing dispatches in the final days of World War II. Even the most seasoned JFK scholars often overlook this chapter, missing the influence those months had on the future president. ... Show More
45m 14s
Dec 24
Big in Japan: Kentucky Fried Christmas
In much of the world, Christmas dinner means roasted turkey, glazed ham, or a table crowded with family recipes passed down for generations. But in Japan, millions mark the holiday with something far less traditional — a bucket of KFC. Today we unwrap one of the strangest and mos ... Show More
19m 15s
Dec 17
The Cabbage Patch Crisis
In 1983, a cherubic, homely doll triggered something close to national hysteria. Parents fought in store aisles. Shelves were stripped bare. Even the New York mafia found itself selling children’s toys. Cabbage Patch Kids went from handmade curiosities to the most coveted object ... Show More
49m 52s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2024
Up, Up and Away: The Superman Heist
A Superman fan in Illinois is horrified to discover his entire stockpile of memorabilia has gone missing. As police search for the thief, the collecting community delivers their own brand of justice. * Very Special Episodes is a new podcast with a simple premise: we tell one incr ... Show More
33m 18s
May 2024
The Man Who Invented The Wild West
Rerun: Gun totin’, horse ridin’ spectacular ‘Buffalo Bill’s Wild West’ opened in Omaha, Nebraska on 17th May, 1883 - the start of a multi-decade run. With a cast of hundreds, including Calamity Jane, Sitting Bull, and Annie ‘Get Your Gun’ Oakley, it toured the world - and forever ... Show More
11m 17s
Aug 2023
Folk Heroes: Etta Place
Etta Place (c. 1880s) is a mystery. The rifle-toting bandit of the Old West ran with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as part of the notorious train-robbing Wild Bunch. But who was she before she joined the gang? The legends and theories that chase Etta Place through time paint ... Show More
6m 55s