Podcast
Crimes of the Centuries
Hosted by Amber Hunt and Audioboom · EN
Crime is so commonplace that it takes something particularly shocking to be labelled the “crime of the century.” Even so, there are a lot of cases that have earned the distinction. In each episode of Crimes of the Centuries, award-winning journalist Amber Hunt will examine a case that’s lesser known today but was huge when it happened. The cases explored span the centuries and each left a mark. Some made history by changing laws. Others were so shocking they changed society.
55episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
S6 Ep2: Brief Against Death: After Edgar Smith's Release
Mar 200:45:55Tap to summarizeIn 1976, a woman survived a brutal kidnapping and stabbing in a San Diego parking lot. The man accused of the attack was Edgar Smith—once a cause célèbre, hailed as a wrongfully convicted intellectual. His release had been celebrated by writers, editors and influential public figures who believed they had corrected a grave injustice. What followed was not redemption but reckoning. "Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.comHave you read the Crimes of the Centuries book? Order today at www.centuriespod.com/book!
Transcribe →S6 Ep1: Brief Against Death: The Murder of Victoria Zielinski
Feb 2300:50:15Tap to summarizeIn 1957, Edgar Smith was sentenced to death for the murder of a teenage girl in New Jersey. From his prison cell, he began writing letters, essays and arguments build a case not in court, but on the page. One of those letters landed on the desk of William F. Buckley Jr. Others found their way into elite literary circles. Soon, a condemned man had powerful allies, a book deal and a growing audience convinced the system had gotten it wrong. "Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com
Transcribe →S5 Ep46: The Mysterious Death of Hitler's Niece
Feb 1600:48:02Tap to summarizeIn 1931, Adolf Hitler’s 23-year-old niece, Geli Raubal, was found dead in the Führer's Munich apartment. Authorities ruled it a suicide. But the evidence didn’t settle easily—and neither did the silence that followed. Some journalists tried to make sense of the story but had trouble as the case files were quickly sealed. So they reported on emerging contradictions in the evidence and disagreements among witnesses. Within a few years, the people who tried to challenge Hitler’s version of events would pay a devastating price."Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com
Transcribe →S5 Ep45: A Newlywed Murdered: The Sherri Rasmussen Case
Feb 900:55:13Tap to summarizeSherri Rasmussen had been married for just three months when she was brutally murdered in her California home. Police quickly decided the case was a burglary gone wrong—and then stopped looking. It would take more than 20 years before a new detective took a fresh look and realized the killer had been hiding in plain sight all along. "Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com
Transcribe →S5 Ep44: Mary Meyer: The Mysterious Murder of JFK's Mistress
Feb 200:50:21Tap to summarizeIn October 1964, a Washington socialite was shot execution-style on the Georgetown towpath. She had been JFK's lover. Her ex-husband worked for the CIA. Her diary vanished. And the man accused of killing her was acquitted. What really happened to Mary Pinchot Meyer?"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com
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S5: From What If They're Wrong: The Justice Who Won't Let Go
Jan 3000:50:55Tap to summarizeFrom Amber's other podcast, titled What If They're Wrong? After the Accusation: After charges against former death row inmate Elwood Jones were dismissed, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Joe Deters—the former prosecutor who originally secured Jones’ conviction—went on talk radio insisting Jones was still guilty. The next day, phone records show Justice Deters had a 10-minute call with his former colleague, Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco. Four days later, the coroner announced false forensic evidence about the victim—evidence that collapsed within 24 hours. Through phone logs, text messages, and public records obtained exclusively for this investigation, this episode reveals the coordination between a sitting justice, former prosecutors and county officials after the case was supposed to be closed. What If They're Wrong? After The Accusation is published early and ad-free for subscribers over at www.grabbagcollab.com.
Transcribe →S5 Ep43: The President's Silence: How Thousands Died Before Reagan Said 'AIDS'
Jan 2600:52:15Tap to summarizeIn October 1982, journalist Lester Kinsolving asked the White House press secretary about a mysterious disease that had already killed hundreds of Americans. The response? Laughter. For years, as the death toll climbed into the tens of thousands, President Ronald Reagan said nothing. His administration did less. This is the story of what happens when a government decides some lives don't matter—and the activists, doctors, and ordinary people who refused to let their community die in silence."Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com
Transcribe →S5 Ep42: Mary Ann Cotton: Britain’s First Serial Killer
Jan 1900:48:48Tap to summarizeIn the industrial villages of 19th-century England, death was common—but not this common. Over two decades, Mary Ann Cotton married, buried, and moved on with chilling regularity as children, husbands, and relatives died from what doctors called “gastric fever.” Only when forensic chemistry advanced—and one parish officer heard her say too much—did her pattern come into focus.
Transcribe →S5 Ep41: My Lai and the Cost of Following Orders
Jan 1200:51:39Tap to summarizeThe massacre at My Lai was one of the most lethal attacks on civilians carried out by American troops in Vietnam. For more than a year, the Army’s official line held firm: it was an encounter with the enemy. Only when a soldier wrote dozens of letters, and a reporter refused to let the story die, did the truth reach the public. This episode explores the events of that day and the long road to accountability.
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S5 Ep22: The Green Bicycle Mystery
Aug 11, 202500:53:37Tap to summarizeBella Wright was a shy, working-class woman whose life was cut short on a summer night in 1919, just short of her 22nd birthday. At first, her death looked like a tragic accident – until a single bullet found lodged in the dirt road changed everything. What followed was a century-long mystery involving an unshaven man on a distinctive green bicycle, a suspiciously dismantled frame dredged from a river, and a murder trial that gripped the nation. With early forensics, conflicting testimony and possible testimony that came too late, this is a case that refuses to rest. "Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes on the Grab Bag Patreon page. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE CRIMES OF THE CENTURIES BOOK! Order today at www.centuriespod.com/book (https://www.centuriespod.com/book)! Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @centuriespod Episode Sponsors. Ollie. Take the online quiz and introduce Ollie to your pet. Visit: https://www.ollie.com/cotc today for 60% off your first box of meals! #ToKnowThemIsToLoveThem Beam Dream. Beam’s giving my listeners an exclusive offer of UP TO 40% off their best-selling Dream Powder. That’s right—UP TO 40% off to finally crack the case of your bad sleep. Go to shopbeam.com/COTC and use code COTC at checkout. HungryRoot. Take advantage of this exclusive offer: For a limited time get 40% off your first box PLUS get a free item in every box for life. Go to Hungryroot.com/COTC and use code COTC. More Like Ancient Fail-iens. In More Like Ancient FAILiens, journalist Brandon R. Reynolds and podcaster Toby Ball bravely plunge into one of the great works of televised hokum: Ancient Aliens, the History Channel show that, after more than 20 seasons and 200 episodes, is still convinced Aliens Did It. But Brandon and Toby will take on Ancient Aliens’ biggest claims, one episode at a time, disclosing the truth behind the nonsense and discovering the most amazing thing of all: the world is a pretty fascinating place, even if Ancient Astronauts aren't responsible for it. Look for it now, wherever you get your podcasts, or early and ad-free on the Grab Bag Collab Patreon Page.
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