Charles “Sonny” Liston was once the heavyweight boxing champion of the world: a human dreadnought built for fighting. But during a match with a newcomer in May 1965, Liston was sent to the mat by an unremarkable punch few spectators even noticed. How could the champion go down so easily?
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Sep 2
Chuck Barris: Game Show Host and CIA Assassin?
Chuck Barris created game show classics like The Dating Game and The Gong Show. However, his memoir claims his prolific career was all a cover for his classified missions as a CIA assassin. The agency says his claim is 100% false, but as Barris notes, "Have you ever heard the CIA ... Show More
51m 42s
Aug 26
Conspiracy of Silence: The Town That Killed Ken Rex McElroy
1981, Skidmore, Missouri. Ken McElroy, the “bully of Nodaway County,” is gunned down in the street – in broad daylight, and in front of his wife and an untold number of witnesses. Despite multiple investigations and grand juries, nobody has ever been indicted in the case, thanks ... Show More
47m 54s
Aug 19
Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and the Laurel Canyon Conspiracy
In the 1960s, a new musical revolution emerged from Laurel Canyon, California. Bands like The Beach Boys, The Doors, and Crosby, Stills & Nash sang hit songs protesting the Vietnam War. However, while these tunes spoke to war protesting "hippies," some believe that they were crea ... Show More
56m 23s
Mar 2022
That Time A Dead Guy Won an Olympic Medal
<p>In his heyday, the story goes, Arrhichion of Phigalia was a renowned pankration champion, a brutal sport of the ancient Olympics. But he was getting on in years, and his days at the top seem numbered. In today's episode, the guys explore the strange series of circumstances tha ... Show More
28m 38s
Feb 2012
Jack Johnson and the Fight of the Century
<p>During Jack Johnson's time, the heavyweight championship was unofficially a whites-only title. Despite discrimination, he fought title-holder Tommy Burns in 1908. Johnson became the first black heavyweight champion, but some questioned his legitimacy.</p><p> </p> Learn more ab ... Show More
28m 57s
Mar 2022
Don King | 1. Make Me Big
We track Don King’s path to boxing, from a poverty-stricken childhood, to a crime-laden young adulthood, and finally to the moment he enters the arena by attaching himself to greatest fighter of all time. But when you go from the bottom to the top, or at least pretty close, not e ... Show More
34m 49s
Sep 2024
33 | Bad and Bougie | Complicated Champion Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson, the Galveston Giant, is known for two things: his brutal fists and fearless audacity. Before Muhammad Ali, Johnson shocked the world with his unrivaled boxing skills, shattering racial barriers and igniting racial tensions. On July 4th, 1910, in "The Fight of the Ce ... Show More
36 m