In the 1980s, a super-potent new form of cocaine swept through the streets of America, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. At the same time, the Reagan administration was doing business with drug traffickers all over Latin America, and turning a blind eye to the chaos.
Parcasters - This week on Crimes of Passion we look into a blood feud that rava ... Show More
Oct 7
Panic in the Streets: The War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast
On Halloween Eve, 1938 Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds aired on CBS radio. It detailed an alien invasion so realistic that, according to legend, it caused widespread panic among listeners. People really believed aliens were invading Earth. The mass hysteria is an important pa ... Show More
47m 40s
Sep 30
Did a Psych Experiment Turn Ted Kaczynski into the Unabomber?
On April 3, 1996, Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski – better known as the Unabomber – was arrested, ending a 17-year-long bombing spree that left 3 dead and 23 injured. He promised to end his campaign of terror only after outlets published his 35,000-word manifesto; in his view, technolog ... Show More
42m 36s
Jan 2021
Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy
In the early 1980s, the crack epidemic tore through America like a tsunami, ravaging all in its wake. And the destructive effects on people's lives, families, and communities are still deeply felt decades later. “Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy” examines the drug’s devast ... Show More
28m 59s
Jun 2024
The Meth SuperCartels Destroying Tropical Paradise
For years the Pacific region, and its tiny, tropical nations, steered clear of the global meth and cocaine trade. But politics, war and wild profit margins have pushed ships and planes out from Latin America to Australia across a new ‘drug highway.’ The phenomenon is prompting ma ... Show More
43m 52s
Sep 2018
27: Murder in the Ozarks- Cocaine & Cover Up
The 1980’s were the beginning of a sea change in politics and drug culture in the United States. Listen to this tale of how a cocaine, corruption, a double murder, and a dead patsy trumped justice in one Ozark town. Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/27-murder-in-the ... Show More
1h 5m
Dec 2020
Cocaine Captain: The Story of JC Perez
Cocaine production is at an all-time high, but it came to fame in the Miami Vice era of the 1980’s with the help of the “Cocaine Cowboys.” In this episode, Mariana sits down with JC Perez, who piloted cocaine smuggling runs for one of the biggest bosses in the business. Over the ... Show More
49m 16s
Feb 2022
The Wild Cowboys of Washington Heights: NYC's Most Dangerous Crack-era Gang
New York City in the late 1980's and early 1990's was a war zone. The crack era ushered in a record number of murders, topping 2,000 some years, as gangs battled for control of million-dollar corners. One crew stood out among all the crews of killers: The Wild Cowboys, a group of ... Show More
48m 12s
Apr 2025
Los Muchachos: Miami's Cuban Cartel
In 1980s Miami, amid the glitz, gunfire, and power boats, two Cuban-American friends Sal Magluta and Willy Falcon, built one of the most powerful drug empires in U.S. history. Known as Los Muchachos, they moved mountains of cocaine through a city shaped by Cuban exiles, ambition, ... Show More
53m 44s