logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
26m 33s

Outlaws vs the FBI: J. Edgar Hoover's G-...

History Hit
About this episode

What makes the ideal gangster hunter? In the 1930s, outlaws like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Bonnie & Clyde were the scourge on the justice system of the United States.


To bring them in, the lawmakers needed to try something new. And that something new was the FBI.


Don is joined by John Oller for this episode to find out how the FBI's powers were expanded over the years, the problems that they faced, and the influence of J. Edgar Hoover on the process.


John is a journalist and author, his book on this subject is 'Gangster Hunters: How Hoover's G-Men Vanquished America's Deadliest Public Enemies'.


Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Matthew Peaty. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.


Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  


You can take part in our listener survey here.


All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media


American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Jul 16
The Best Presidential Speeches
The words of an American president have often carried the power to shape not only public opinion, but the course of the nation itself. In this episode, we explore three landmark presidential speeches, examining the historical moments that inspired them, the ideas they advanced, a ... Show More
47m 33s
Jul 13
The Truth about Billy the Kid
We're heading west again, this time looking for Billy the Kid. Who was he? What crimes did he really commit? Is there any chance he survived that final ambush?Don is joined by author George R. Matthews, who went back to the sources for his book 'Billy the Kid: The Life Behind the ... Show More
39m 26s
Jul 10
Staten Island v. New York City | Revisionist History
On the 250th anniversary of the United States, Revisionist History, bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast about things overlooked and misunderstood, investigates the story of what was, at the time, the biggest secession movement in the U.S. since the Civil War. The Staten ... Show More
38m 24s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2022
John Dillinger Part 2: The Dillinger Gang
The Dillinger craze sweeps the nation as Johnnie's infamous gang go on a freewheeling crime spree. They target the richest banks in the country, enacting the revenge of the everyday American. But as banks topple, their rise to national obsession will cause embarrassment to state ... Show More
44m 31s
Feb 2023
J. Edgar Hoover
Today, J. Edgar Hoover is remembered as a power-hungry, corrupt and prejudiced man, obsessed with an imagined threat of domestic communists. But during his life, he was widely respected and admired as the man responsible for building the FBI into a premier law enforcement agency. ... Show More
41m 50s
Aug 2022
John Dillinger Part 3: Public Enemy
John H. Dillinger is declared Public Enemy number 1! After his daring escape from Crown Point Jail the gang reorganises and doubles down on their criminal exploits - and every act is splashed across the nation’s newspapers. But the Feds have had enough. J. Edgar Hoover finds his ... Show More
42m 15s
Jul 2024
S2E5: G-Men Are Coming to Town
The FBI hunts the burglars, who suddenly have a window into J. Edgar Hoover's most twisted and sinister operations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
45 m
Jan 2024
119: The Petty Creep who led the FBI | The Dark History of J. Edgar Hoover
Hi friends, happy Wednesday!Welcome to the Dark History podcast. There’s always all this talk about who REALLY has the power in America. So I did a little digging, and discovered a not-so-great guy named J. Edgar Hoover–made famous for his 48-year racist reign over the FBI. And j ... Show More
38m 55s
Jul 2022
John Dillinger Part 1: Hard Time
It’s the 1930s and America is gripped by the Great Depression. Banks are going bust and taking people’s life savings with them… in this cruel period of history, an unlikely hero will emerge. Well, a hero to some anyway. An average guy from rural Indiana will burst onto the nation ... Show More
41m 25s
Jan 2022
Bonnie and Clyde
Forged by the Great Depression, Bonnie and Clyde became icons of lawlessness, thrilling and shocking America with their crime sprees and doomed romance. But what drove them to lives of such violence? And with the full might of the police against them, how did it all end?  This is ... Show More
1h 1m
Jul 2023
The Secrets of J. Edgar Hoover
As Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover exercised a dictatorial influence over the department – and, it seems, everyone else. Meticulous and vindictive, he frequently weaponised secrets while carefully guarding his own. Deborah Friedell grapples with his overwhelming and disturbi ... Show More
47m 30s