South Africa's secretive Numbers Gangs almost defy description; they're one part cult, one part religion, and all parts violent psychopaths. Emerging originally as bandits preying on gold miners and policemen in colonial South Africa, they took shape in the brutal prison system of apartheid, where sometimes the only way to communicate was through stabbing wh ... Show More
Feb 17
The First Gangster Kingpin of New York
Monk Eastman ruled the depraved streets of turn-of-the-century Manhattan with fists and absolutely zero regard for human life, commanding an army of 1,200 thugs who terrorized the Lower East Side. At the height of his power, he was pulling cash from every racket you could think o ... Show More
1h 3m
Feb 10
The OG Yakuza Godfather, Kazuo Taoka
Orphaned and kicked out of work, Kazuo Taoka was an unlikely candidate to become one of postwar Japan’s most important characters. But by combining violence with a talent for legitimate business and corruption, the immaculately-suited gangster would lead the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza ... Show More
1h 2m
Apr 2025
EP122: Korean Cannibal Clan
Join our Patreon family for exclusive access to BTS, bonus episodes, a private group chat, first dibs on ticket and merch sales, and more! www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod The Chijon Family was a nightmarishly savage South Korean gang that blazed a brief but blood-soaked trail of t ... Show More
1h 8m
Nov 2024
Always Cheat & Always Win: Episode 419
<p>Roderick McLean said it was important to 'always cheat: always win'. A larger than life character, McLean, known as 'Popeye', was sent to prison when police and customs officers captured a gang of eight drug smugglers off the Caithness coast. During the raid customs officer Al ... Show More
28m 29s
Aug 2025
Introducing: CONSPIRACY THEORIES, CULTS, AND CRIMES
<div>From Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate, to the Octopus Murders and the Waco Siege, the world is full of deception, manipulation, and destruction. Listen to Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes every Wednesday as we explore the real people at the center of the world’s most shockin ... Show More
8m 6s
Dec 2020
LA County Sheriff’s Gangs Pt. 3: Wild West Roots/Jump Out Boys
By the 1850s, Los Angeles was one of the most dangerous places to live in the West. Extrajudicial killings, unchecked racial violence, and vigilante groups like the Los Angeles Rangers prevailed. This “Wild West” culture seeped into and was propagated by the Sheriff’s Department ... Show More
40m 51s
Aug 2020
The Real Black Klansman | Crime
Vanessa Kirby meets Ron Stallworth, the black Colorado cop who fooled the USA's most notorious racists. In 1979, Ron and a white colleague infiltrated a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Posing as two sides of the same alter-ego, they led a double-pronged attack on the group, ev ... Show More
45m 56s