Podcast
Infamous America
Hosted by Black Barrel Media · EN
Historical True Crime — assassins, gangsters, mobsters and lawmen; manhunts, scandals and unexplained phenomena. Stories of the wildest and darkest chapters of America's past.
39episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
ARSONISTS Ep. 6 | Paul Keller: “The Specter”
Jun 25, 202500:32:22Tap to summarizeBy fall 1992, serial arsonist Paul Keller has set more than two dozen fires throughout the Seattle area, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Law enforcement creates a task force made up of multiple counties in order to find Keller. But desperation kicks in, and they resort to unusual tactics. When the task force gets an idea of what the Keller looks like, Keller is betrayed by the most unlikely people. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →ARSONISTS Ep. 5 | Paul Keller: "Firestarter”
Jun 18, 202500:33:21Tap to summarizeFrom an early age, Paul Kenneth Keller exhibits signs of disturbing behavior. From bullying his younger siblings to petty theft, Paul never behaves. Even more disturbing, he develops a life-long fascination with fire. In the summer of 1992, Paul’s life spirals and the only way he copes is by setting a string of arson fires throughout the Seattle area. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →ARSONISTS Ep. 4 | John Orr: “Firebug”
Jun 11, 202500:34:08Tap to summarizeJohn Orr proves to be a slippery target for the Pillow Pyro Task Force. Investigators have a lot of evidence against him, but they want to catch him in the act of starting a fire. In the wake of two more brush fires and a fire at the Warner Bros. movie studio lot, investigators decide they can’t wait any longer. They arrest John Orr and put him on trial for arson and murder. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →ARSONISTS Ep. 3 | John Orr: “The Task Force”
Jun 4, 202500:35:02Tap to summarizeAfter the devastating College Hills brush fire in June 1990, and series of fires in December 1990 and March 1991, the ATF and the LAFD form a task force to catch the serial arsonist who has plagued California for years. The task force believes Glendale arson investigator John Orr is the suspect, and the task force begins a long and difficult investigation to catch him. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →LUCKY LUCIANO Ep. 1 | “Five Points Gangster”
Mar 19, 2025Tap to summarizeIn the late 1800s, millions of immigrants come to the United States for the opportunity for a better life. Among those who come from Sicily is a boy named Salvatore Lucania who will be known as Charles “Lucky” Luciano. Luciano grows up on the mean streets of New York’s Lower East Side and gravitates toward a life of crime. When Prohibition begins, Luciano becomes a prominent bootlegger and finds a mentor in Arnold Rothstein.Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →NEW SHOW | “Mission History”
Sep 27, 2023Tap to summarizeBlack Barrel Media and QCODE proudly share a preview of Mission History, a podcast that chronicles the tales of legendary military leaders, epic campaigns, and covert missions that remained hidden for years. The first season journeys through the American Revolutionary War and pays homage to some of the elite soldiers on both sides of the conflict. It traces the origin from protests to rebellion to revolution. It illuminates the strategies of the leaders from both sides, the commanders on the battlefields, and the soldiers on the front lines.From the Boston Massacre to Bunker Hill … from the battles of Brooklyn, Brandywine, and Saragota to the battles of Camden, Cowpens, and Guilford Courthouse … and finally, to Yorktown … Mission History brings you the story of the American Revolutionary War presented by the Historic Camden Foundation in Camden, South Carolina. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Introducing "Spectacle: Las Vegas" from Sony Music Entertainment
Feb 11, 2022Tap to summarizeIt’s a city that shouldn’t exist. An oasis in the desert, a mirage — it’s a city of buzzing neon, flowing fountains, and fortunes made and lost. A city of hedonism: concerts, casinos, showgirls, and all-you-can-eat buffets. But how did Vegas become “Sin City”? A place that promotes a fantasy of adult freedoms: a vacation from boundaries, rules, accountability? A place where people from all over the world visit to be their wildest, most uninhibited selves, even if it’s just for just a couple nights? We’re going to tell you the history of that city.From a railroad stop, to the mob, to the luxury resort and casino...this is Spectacle Season 2: The Making of Las Vegas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Introducing "Hemingway's Picasso" from Sony Music Entertainment
Oct 20, 2021Tap to summarizeSteve Kough lived many lives. He was an NFL journeyman, a male model, and one of the most well-connected smugglers in 1980’s Miami, the “Drug Capital of the World." Kough collected many souvenirs from his adventures, but his most treasured bounty – a beautiful ceramic, crafted by Pablo Picasso and gifted to Ernest Hemingway at the author’s Cuban home, the Finca Vigia... or so the story goes. Lost during the Cuban Revolution, the artwork resurfaced when Kough took it as a payment for drug run financed by the notorious Pablo Escobar. Kough passed away in 2018, passing the piece down to his son, Stevie, a skateboarding hippie growing weed in California. Stevie feels he needs to complete his father’s mission – of selling this piece and telling Steve’s cinematic life story. So, is the Picasso authentic—or a fraud? Was Steve Kough a big talker or a real deal smuggler? Does any of that matter or is this a story of aspiration, legacy, and difficult love? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →"Lord of the Rankings" with Revisionist History
Jul 8, 2021Tap to summarizePresenting a special episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Revisionist History. Every year, the US News & World Report ranks the best colleges and universities using a top-secret algorithm that they refuse to disclose. In Part One of a two-part series, Malcolm finds a team of undergraduate statisticians-turned-ranking super-hackers to crack the algorithm. He and an anonymous “dean” pass judgment on schools they’ve never visited, and considers the elephant in the room: Whether it’s possible that America’s most influential college rankings are biased against historically Black colleges, and other institutions that educate underprivileged students.You can hear the second half of the series right now at: http://podcasts.pushkin.fm/infamousamerica Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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