On May 13, 1862, in Charleston, South Carolina, a man named Robert Smalls took command of a Confederate ship called The Planter and liberated himself and his family from slavery. As they passed the Confederate-held Fort Sumter, Robert Smalls was said to have saluted it with a whistle, and then added an extra one, “as a farewell to the confederacy.”
Robert Sm ... Show More
Jul 23
Robert Gene Jones (10 of Diamonds, Louisiana)
Our card this week is Robert Gene Jones, the 10 of Diamonds from Louisiana. Robert was known as a quiet man who stayed out of trouble, so when he was found shot to death in his home one morning in the winter of 2002, police were initially stumped when it came to both motive and c ... Show More
25m 50s
Dec 2024
Episode 508 || Yes, Virginia
This week on From the Front Porch, Annie’s dad, Chris Butterworth, reads the New York Sun reporter Francis P. Church’s timeless response to eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon’s question: “Is there a Santa Claus?” Read the letter from 1897 and learn about its history here.
From the ... Show More
9m 2s
Apr 2024
Westward Hoax: The Secret History of Palisade, Nevada
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.
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Very Special E ... Show More
34m 5s
Apr 2025
197: OBITCH court is in session!
Grab your gavels Geoffs because this week Madison is taking us to court to talk all about tort law! Next, Spencer tells us the story of Tarrare, a frenchman who ate himself to an early grave. We’ve got an obituary for a real clown, one for a man of many names, and of course, we’v ... Show More
1h 25m
Jan 2025
S4|E16: The Legend of Dean Ripa
Dean Ripa painted with Salvador Dali, sung with Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra, and bonded with William Burroughs. But his true passion was collecting, handling, and studying the world's most venemous snakes. Ripa's Seprentarium in Wilmington, North Carolina was the site of captivating ... Show More
34m 55s
Feb 2025
Jennifer Corbin & Dr. Dolly Hearn: “A Chilling Coincidence”丨MURDERISH Ep. 180
On December 4, 2004, Jennifer Corbin was found lifeless in her bed, the victim of an apparent suicide. Soon, a mysterious death that happened over 10 years prior would provide answers for more than one grieving family.
Follow Jami on Instagram & TikTok @JamiOnAir where she comme ... Show More
59m 9s
Jul 2022
NEW ORLEANS Ep. 1 | “The Digby Kidnapping”
In 1870, a kidnapping shocked and terrified New Orleans. For two months, the city searched for 17-month-old Mollie Digby. The case made national news and raised the tension in a city that was already on edge during the Reconstruction Era. Then the ordeal finally ended, there wer ... Show More
34m 57s
Mar 2022
K. Stephen Prince, "The Ballad of Robert Charles: Searching for the New Orleans Riot Of 1900" (UNC Press, 2021)
For a brief moment in the summer of 1900, Robert Charles was arguably the most infamous black man in the United States. After an altercation with police on a New Orleans street, Charles killed two police officers and fled. During a manhunt that extended for days, violent white mo ... Show More
1h 13m