Fingerprint analysis has been called the gold standard of forensic science for more than a century. It's helped solve countless crimes, identify victims, and exonerate the innocent. But what happens when one of the most trusted forms of evidence points investigators in the wrong direction?

In this episode, we're exploring the fascinating history of fingerprint identification. Along the way, we'll uncover the remarkable science that makes your fingerprints uniquely yours—and examine the shocking case of Brandon Mayfield, the Oregon attorney whose life was turned upside down after the FBI confidently declared his fingerprint matched evidence from one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in modern history. Cheers!

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Sources: https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/history-and-evolution-latent-fingerprint-development

https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/fingerprints-and-other-biometrics

https://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html

https://www.science.org/content/article/why-identical-twins-dont-have-identical-fingerprints

https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2024/01/how-fingerprints-form-new-study-may-explain

https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/latent-fingerprint-processing-guide

https://www.crime-scene-investigator.net

https://projects.nfstc.org/fse/07/07-01.html

https://www.moma.org/collection/terms/ink

https://www.dickblick.com/learning-resources/how-to/the-history-of-india-ink/

https://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/bodyarts/index.php/temporary-body-arts/cosmetics/82-lamp-black-tool-india-19th-century-.html

https://psap.library.illinois.edu/collection-id-guide/inkothermedia

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/activated-charcoal

https://oig.justice.gov/reports/plus/e0601/final.pdf

https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/brandon-mayfield

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/11/us/us-settles-with-man-held-in-madrid-bombing-case.html

https://www.innocenceproject.org/how-confirmation-bias-can-lead-to-wrongful-convictions/

https://www.propublica.org/article/forensics-science-bias-criminal-justice

https://www.nist.gov/feature-stories/addressing-cognitive-bias-forensic-science

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6191660/

https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232082.pdf

Most of us never think twice about our teeth until it's time for a dental appointment. But in the world of forensic science, they can become some of the most powerful pieces of evidence a person leaves behind.

In this second installment of our forensic science mini-series, we explore the fascinating field of forensic odontology. From identifying victims after unimaginable disasters to one of the most controversial techniques ever admitted into American courtrooms, this is the story of a discipline that has saved countless investigations... and one chapter that forever changed how forensic evidence is viewed. Cheers!

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Sources: https://abfo.org/

https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/forensic-dentistry

https://www.aafs.org/

https://www.nist.gov/topics/forensic-science

https://www.britannica.com/plant/clove

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

https://powo.science.kew.org/

https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/forensic-dentistry

https://www.interpol.int/How-we-work/Forensics/Disaster-Victim-Identification-DVI

Bowers CM. Forensic Dental Evidence: An Investigator’s Handbook.

Amoedo O. L’Art Dentaire en Médecine Légale (1898).

https://www.911memorial.org/

https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12589/strengthening-forensic-science-in-the-united-states-a-path-forward

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pcast/docsreports

Saks, M. J., & Koehler, J. J. (2005). The Coming Paradigm Shift in Forensic Identification Science. Science, 309(5736), 892–895.

https://innocenceproject.org/cases/ray-krone/

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx

https://www.nationalacademies.org/publications/12589

Fingerprints, DNA, ballistics, blood spatter, fire investigation: these disciplines have helped solve countless cases; but what happens when these trusted sources of evidence are flawed themselves?

This week, we're beginning that journey with one of the most controversial cases in modern American criminal justice. After a devastating house fire claimed the lives of three young girls in Corsicana, Texas, investigators believed the evidence told a clear story. Decades later, that same evidence would become the center of an ongoing debate that continues to challenge experts, attorneys, and investigators alike. Cheers!

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Sources: https://innocenceproject.org/news/cameron-todd-willingham-wrongfully-convicted-and-executed-in-texas/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Todd_Willingham

https://www.texastribune.org/2011/04/14/cameron-todd-willingham-a-timeline/

https://tcadp.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Cameron-Todd-Willingham-fact-sheet-2014.pdf

https://tcadp.org/get-informed/wrongful-execution/resource-archive-for-the-case-of-cameron-todd-willingham/

https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/rising-ashes-what-we-have-learned-cameron-todd-willingham-case

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/07/trial-by-fire

Documentary: Incendiary: The Willingham Case (2011) 

Trial by Fire (2019)

Antarctica has always existed at the edge of human imagination. Long before anyone set foot on its frozen shores, people believed something had to be waiting beyond the horizon. Centuries later, explorers risked everything to find out.

This week, we're tracing the evolution of Antarctica's greatest mysteries. Along the way, we'll separate documented history from modern mythology and explore why one of the most remote places on Earth continues to inspire stories unlike anywhere else.

So grab a very warm drink, and let's head for the last blank space on the map. Cheers!

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Sources: https://www.britannica.com/place/Antarctica

https://www.bas.ac.uk/about/antarctica/

https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/history_of_antarctica.php

https://www.antarcticacruises.com/guide/antarctic-exploration-history-and-expedition-timeline

https://www.south-pole.com/

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/james-cook-second-voyage

https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/

https://www.shackletonmuseum.com/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/ernest-shackleton-endurance-survival

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ernest-Shackleton

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Falcon-Scott

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Roald-Amundsen

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/heroic-age-of-antarctic-exploration.html

https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/exploration-and-innovation/polar-exploration0.html

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/german-expansion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Antarctic_Expedition_(1938%E2%80%931939)

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/polar-record/article/hitlers-antarctic-base-the-myth-and-the-reality/

https://www.history.navy.mil/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Highjump

https://www.navalhistory.org/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-E-Byrd

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_E._Byrd

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

https://www.usgs.gov/

https://www.nasa.gov/

https://www.esa.int/

https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Vostok

https://www.bas.ac.uk/data/our-data/publication/subglacial-lake-vostok/

https://www.science.org/

https://www.nature.com/

Secret meetings. Exclusive memberships. Hidden rituals. Few things capture the imagination quite like a society that doesn't want outsiders looking in.

This week, we're exploring two organizations whose names have become synonymous with mystery, influence, and conspiracy. Along the way, we'll uncover the history behind the legends and examine how some stories grow far beyond the people who inspired them. Because sometimes the most enduring secrets aren't the ones that stay hidden: they're the ones people can't stop talking about. Cheers!

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Sources: https://archive.org/details/memoirsillustrat01barruoft

https://archive.org/details/proofsofconspira00robiuoft

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Illuminati-group

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adam-Weishaupt

https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/who-were-the-illuminati/

https://theconversation.com/the-real-illuminati-behind-the-modern-conspiracy-theory-120204

https://pages.uoregon.edu/dluebke/301ModernEurope/301Documents/Illuminati.html

https://www.ugle.org.uk/discover-freemasonry/history-freemasonry

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Freemasonry

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-the-illuminati-still-fascinates-us-180983949/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Skull-and-Bones-Yale-society

https://time.com/5923514/skull-and-bones-yale-history/

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/us/19geronimo.html

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101530380&

https://punchdrink.com/articles/history-of-punch-cocktail/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-surprising-history-of-punch-180982077/

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-companion-to-spirits-and-cocktails-9780199311132

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search

Some stories become part of us.

A survivor shares her experience of one of the most tragic days in modern history and dedicates years of her life to helping others heal. A missing child vanishes without a trace, only to reappear years later on the other side of the world. Both stories capture headlines. Both inspire hope. Both leave lasting impressions on the people who hear them.

This week, we're exploring identity, belonging, and the strange power of stories.Cheers!

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Sources: https://www.britannica.com/topic/kvass

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/kvass-russias-fermented-beverage-is-making-a-comeback-180980593/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvass

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/11/911survivor200711

https://www.thewomanwhowasntthere.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alicia_Esteve_Head

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imposter_(2012_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Bourdin

https://www.documentary.org/column/playback-bart-laytons-imposter

https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0%2C28804%2C1900621_1900618_1900789%2C00.html

In this episode, we explore the strange world of ritual games and sleepover folklore. From Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board to the Three Kings Ritual, we’ll examine the stories, psychology, and folklore behind the games that have terrified generations. So grab your sleeping bags, turn on your night lights, and join me in this dark descent. Cheers!

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Sources: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/few-self-driving-cars-could-fix-phantom-traffic-jams-180963472/

https://www.history.com/articles/spiritualism-ghosts-ouija-boards-19th-century-america

https://www.apa.org

https://www.britannica.com/science/hypnosis

https://plato.stanford.edu

https://folklorethursday.com

https://www.britannica.com/technology/mirror

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20063928/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/staring-at-yourself-in-the-mirror-can-reveal-strange-things/

https://dictionary.apa.org/guided-imagery

https://jungpage.org

https://folklore-society.com

https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/1qsnvw/three_kings_ritual/

https://theghostinmymachine.com

https://yokai.co

https://www.psychologytoday.com

https://plato.stanford.edu

Some people dream of falling.

Some dream of flying.

And some swear they've visited the same impossible places over and over again.

This week, we're exploring shared dream worlds, liminal spaces, and recurring entities. Why do complete strangers describe eerily similar locations, figures, and experiences? Join me as I follow a trail through abandoned hallways, endless shopping centers, shadowy visitors, and the strange places where dreams, folklore, and human consciousness collide. Cheers!

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Sources: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMallWorld

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

https://www.psychologytoday.com

https://plato.stanford.edu

https://www.psychologytoday.com

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-backrooms

https://plato.stanford.edu

https://www.sleepfoundation.org

https://doubleblindmag.com

This week on Spirits with Crime, we’re talking about mothers. Not the Pinterest quote version of motherhood. Not the “a mother always knows” version either.

One mother spent the rest of her life wondering what she missed after her son helped carry out one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. Another appeared to spend years shaping her son into a criminal partner willing to lie, steal, and kill alongside her.

This episode explores the stories of Sue Klebold and Sante Kimes — two women connected by maternal love, but divided completely by what they did with it. Cheers!

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Sources: https://www.ted.com/talks/sue_klebold_my_son_was_a_columbine_shooter_this_is_my_story

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317243/a-mothers-reckoning-by-sue-klebold/

https://vault.fbi.gov/columbine-high-school

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/15/the-mother-of-columbine-shooter-dylan-klebold-breaks-her-17-year-silence/

https://www.theatlantic.com/search/?q=columbine

https://www.nytimes.com/topic/subject/columbine-high-school-shootings

https://murderpedia.org/female.K/k/kimes-sante.htm

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/enabling

https://www.apa.org/

What makes a dangerous idea irresistible? This week on Spirits with Crime, we follow Aleister Crowley: Victorian occultist, self-declared prophet, and the man a British tabloid called the wickedest man alive. We trace his rise from a suffocating religious upbringing through the secret society halls of the Golden Dawn, across the Mediterranean to a crumbling Sicilian commune, and into the psychology of why intelligent people hand their loyalty to dangerous leaders. This episode asks the question that feels more relevant every year: Are we following dark prophets because they possess truth, or because they offer permission? The ritual awaits. Cheers!

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Sources: www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-39568-3

www.britannica.com/topic/soma-Hinduism

www.rbth.com/blogs/stranger_than_fiction/2017/01/09/how-russian-scientists-cracked-the-secret-of-a-riga-veda-era-drink_676758

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_of_Thelema

sicilianmagpie.com/en/thelema-abbey

www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks/article/New-Book-Shares-True-Story-of-Arthur-Conan-Doyle-and-the-Paranormal-20160314

www.doingsofdoyle.com/2024/05/global-conan-doyle-launching-edinburgh.html

plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NXIVM

www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html

www.doingsofdoyle.com/2024/05/global-conan-doyle-launching-edinburgh.html

www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html

A confession should settle a case. But what happens when the confession becomes the question?

This week on Spirits with Crime, we continue one of the most controversial cases in modern true crime, following the interrogation of Brendan Dassey, the trial that followed, and the legal battle that forced unsettling questions about suggestion, memory, and whether a story can be shaped in real time.

The conclusion of this case will absolutely have you reeling, and questioning when a confession reflects truth and when might it reflect pressure instead. Cheers!

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Sources: https://famous-trials.com/avery/2749-dasseyconfession

https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/03/false-confessions

https://famous-trials.com/avery/2749-dasseyconfession

https://www.wicourts.gov

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/the-confessions/

https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/

https://www.workwithkz.com/

https://apnews.com/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/

Making a Murderer Netflix Docuseries

What if the most convincing part of a case… isn’t actually the truth? We trust confessions. We rely on them, and sometimes we build entire cases around them.

But what happens when a confession isn’t as solid as it seems?

In this Part 1 of 2 episodes of Spirits with Crime, we explore a case that sits at the center of that question. A question where perception, pressure, and a carefully constructed narrative may have shaped something far more fragile than it appears. And it all starts with one man and his family. Cheers!

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Sources: https://www.doj.state.wi.us/

https://innocenceproject.org/cases/steven-avery/

https://www.wicourts.gov/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/

https://www.nytimes.com/

https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1258&context=cplpej

https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/43m92u/did_gene_kusche_actually_trace_steven_averys/

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=300

https://wislawjournal.com/

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/us/dna-frees-wisconsin-man-after-18-years.html

What would it take for you to believe in fairies? In 1917, two young girls from a small village in Yorkshire answered that question for the entire world, with a camera. 

This week, we’re diving into the story of the Cottingley Fairies; the picture that captivated Arthur Conan Doyle and a grief-stricken post-war world. We’re also getting into the dark side of fairy folklore that nobody talks about, and why the need to believe in something magical might be one of the most human things there is. 

Grab your favorite elderflower mix and meet me by the stream. Cheers!

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Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies

https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Fairies-of-Cottingley/

https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cottingleys-scientific-fairies-and-enchanting-technology/

https://photographyproject.uk/research/elsie-wright-the-cottingley-fairies-a-great-photographic-hoax/

https://medium.com/university-of-leeds/the-cottingley-fairies-a-study-in-deception-2ab08b8cafb0

https://qz.com/911990/the-cottingley-fairy-hoax-of-1917-is-a-case-study-in-how-smart-people-lose-control-of-the-truth

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/1000/library/132/fooled-by-fairies

https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-cottingley-fairies-a-study-in-deception-leeds-university-library-galleries/lgVB6Ceti9WVAw

https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Coming_of_the_Fairies

https://www.realyorkshireblog.com/post/the-cottingley-fairies-the-photographs-that-fooled-the-world-for-60-years

https://allthatsinteresting.com/changeling

https://longreads.com/2018/06/08/fairy-scapegoats-a-history-of-the-persecution-of-changeling-children/

https://folklorethursday.com/folktales/unchanging-appeal-changelings/

https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/changelings-fairy-thefts-of-human-children/

https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/history-elder-tree-deities-dryads-shakespeare-j-k-rowling-197720

https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2019/02/17/fairies-and-elder-trees/

https://seedsistas.co.uk/2023/11/24/myth-magic-and-folklore-of-the-elder-tree/

https://wildhunt.org/2020/02/column-faery-lore-of-the-elder-tree.html

What happens when belief in the paranormal collides with the law… and someone pays the price?

In this episode of Spirits with Crime, we're heading to England for two stories separated by nearly two hundred years, but connected by the same unsettling question: how much does belief cost?

First, we travel to Hammersmith, where an entire village became convinced a ghost was stalking their streets. Then we jump to 1994, and one of the strangest legal scandals in British courtroom history. 

Two cases. Two very different consequences. Grab your favorite drink and join me in these ghostly proceedings. Cheers!

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Sources: https://punchdrink.com/recipes/smoking-bishop/

https://list25.com/100-creepy-mysteries-that-will-make-your-skin-crawl/

https://theanxiousadult.com/15-urban-legends-people-doubted-until-proof-showed-up/

https://www.meshpedia.com/eerie-mysteries-the-most-haunted-unsolved-cases-in-history/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/angelaandaloro/true-crimes-solved-over-20-years-later

https://nofspodcast.com/10-terrifying-real-life-ghost-stories-that-defy-rational-explanation

https://listverse.com/2024/01/06/10-unusual-pieces-of-evidence-that-helped-solve-murder-cases/

https://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/searchingandexamining.html

https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-stories/are-ghosts-real-a-serious-case-study-on-the-science-of-hauntings/

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/true-crime-science

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranormal

https://kustomsignals.com/blog/four-cold-cases-solved-years-after-the-crime

Welcome back, haunted friends. Today's episode begins with every Final Girl's nightmare- a voice on the radio.

In 1947, ships passing through the Strait of Malacca picked up a chilling transmission. When rescuers finally boarded the vessel, they found a scene no one ever could have expected. This week we are diving into one of the most unsettling maritime mysteries ever recorded. The story of the SS Ourang Medan.

Grab a drink and get comfortable, because we're heading out to sea. Cheers!

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Sources: https://creamandamber.com/book/9781728271569

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsolved-mysteries/id1549903604

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ourang_Medan

https://navalhistoria.com/the-mysterious-case-of-the-ss-ourang-medan/

https://skittishlibrary.co.uk/the-myth-of-the-ourang-medan-ghost-ship-1940/

https://theghostinmymachine.com/2020/04/20/unresolved-what-happened-to-the-ourang-medan-did-it-exist-at-all-ghost-ship/

https://vocal.media/fyi/faces-of-terror-the-ss-ourang-medan

https://leifericksonwriting.com/ss-ourang-medan/

http://captainstableblog.com/the-terrifying-mystery-of-the-ss-ourang-medan/

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp80r01731r000300010043-5

What if the luckiest day of your life was actually the beginning of the end? This week on Spirits with Crime, we're diving into the strange, fascinating, and sometimes deadly world of luck.

In 2006, Florida day laborer Abraham Shakespeare won thirty million dollars in the lottery, and reportedly said almost immediately that he wished he hadn't. What followed was a story of generosity exploited, trust weaponized, and a woman who inserted herself into his life, his finances, and eventually, the investigation into his own disappearance.

If this episode resonates with you, we'd love it if you followed the show and shared it with someone or left a review. Cheers!

Have a story of your own to share? Send it to spiritswithcrime@gmail.com.

Find us on Instagram and Threads at @spiritswithcrimepodcast.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clover_Club_cocktail

https://philly.thedrinknation.com/articles/read/5731-The-Clover-Club-Phillys-Original-Cocktail

https://vintageamericancocktails.com/clover-club-cocktail-recipe/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler%27s_fallacy

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-84929-5

https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/01/the-hot-hand-and-the-gamblers-fallacy-why-our-brains-struggle-to-believe-in-randomness

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortuna

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisreog

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremony

https://www.ngpf.org/blog/question-of-the-day/question-of-the-day-what-percent-of-lottery-winners-eventually-go-bankrupt/

https://www.nefe.org/news/2018/01/research-statistic-on-financial-windfalls-and-bankruptcy.aspx

https://timharford.com/2023/05/does-winning-the-lottery-actually-ruin-your-life/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Abraham_Shakespeare

https://abcnews.com/US/lottery-murder-deedee-moore-found-guilty/story?id=17926009

https://abcnews.com/US/lottery-winners-convicted-killer-speaks-bars/story?id=120595169

https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2022-03-02/woman-who-murdered-a-30-million-lottery-winner-backs-a-bill-to-shield-jackpot-winners-identities

https://www.oxygen.com/buried-in-the-backyard/crime-news/abraham-shakespeare-killed-after-winning-lottery

What do mermaids, museums, and nineteenth-century showmanship have in common?

More than you might think.

This week on Spirits with Crime, we step back into the strange and fascinating world of nineteenth-century exhibitions, where crowds gathered to witness curiosities that blurred the line between fact and fiction. At the center of it all was one man who understood something powerful about human nature: people love a good spectacle.

But when does entertainment cross the line into deception?

In this episode, we explore the life and legacy of P. T. Barnum, the showman behind some of the most famous attractions of the era, like the history behind the famous Feejee Mermaid hoax and the strange world of the Barnum American Museum.

So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and join me as we explore one of the most curious chapters in the history of spectacle. Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com

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Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/P-T-Barnum

https://connecticuthistory.org/phineas-taylor-barnum/

https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/p-t-barnum

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-invented-show-business-180958098/

https://connecticuthistory.org/joice-heth/

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/joice-heth

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/feejee-mermaid-and-other-hoaxes-p-t-barnum-180962624/

https://connecticuthistory.org/p-t-barnums-american-museum/

https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mythic-creatures/mermaids/feejee-mermaid

https://connecticuthistory.org/general-tom-thumb/

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/449

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Greatest-Showman

Have you ever gone looking for something weird… just to see what would happen?

In 2020, an app started trending that promised adventure through randomness. You set an intention. It sends you coordinates. You go exploring.

But what happens when curiosity collides with real tragedy?

This week on Spirits with Crime, we’re diving into intention, coincidence, and our very human need to believe that randomness means something. We’ll explore the cultural obsession with manifestation, the science of pattern-seeking, and the unsettling moment when a digital scavenger hunt turned into something very real. Was it fate? Or just the uncomfortable truth that when you drop enough pins on a map, eventually one of them will land somewhere you wish it hadn’t?

Do you believe intention can shape reality? Or is randomness just randomness?

Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13546800042000015

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/patternicity-finding-meaningful-patterns/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Secret-by-Byrne

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6898789-the-power

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-purpose/201910/why-we-see-meaning-in-random-events

https://www.randonautica.com/faq

https://qrng.anu.edu.au/

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53189298

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-difference-between-random-and-pseudo-random/

https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2020/06/23/update-in-west-seattle-double-homicide-investigation/

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/landlord-charged-in-west-seattle-suitcase-murders/

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/

https://www.king5.com/

Hello, haunted friends, welcome to another episode of Spirits with Crime!

In today’s episode of Spirits with Crime, we’re heading somewhere slightly unexpected: outer space. No murders. No courtroom drama. No suspects.

The Wow! Signal is one of the most intriguing anomalies in modern scientific history; a strange signal detected in 1977 that lasted just over a minute… and a single handwritten reaction that somehow became bigger than the signal itself.

What’s a story you only remember because of one tiny detail?

Leave a comment, rate the episode, or drop a review! Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow%21_signal

https://www.astronomyhouston.org/newsletters/guidestar/wow-signal-0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow%21_signal

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/search-for-life/that-mysterious-wow-signal-from-space-scientists-may-finally-know-where-it-came-from-and-its-probably-not-aliens

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-wow-signal-seti-mystery-might-at-last-be-solved/

https://earthsky.org/space/wow-signal-explained-comets-antonio-paris/

https://www.seti.org/news/the-wow-signal-a-lingering-mystery-or-a-natural-phenomenon/

Happy Valentine’s Day, haunted friends! Whether you’re clinking glasses with your soulmate, side-eyeing the prix fixe menu, or aggressively ignoring every heart-shaped object in a five-mile radius, today’s episode is for you.

In this Valentine’s Day episode, we’re unpacking love as entitlement, and what happens when the belief that someone is “meant for you” turns dangerous. We’ll trace the soulmate myth from ancient philosophy to modern marketing, look at how Valentine’s Day became a billion-dollar performance of destiny, and explore the psychology behind rejection, attachment, and ego injury.

And then… we’re diving into the tea. Specifically, the story of Twin Flames Universe: an online spiritual organization that promised divine counterparts, eternal union, and absolute certainty in love.

This episode isn’t about mocking hope. It’s about understanding how deeply human vulnerability can be leveraged.

And when you’re done listening, I want to hear from you:

Do you believe in soulmates?

Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Symposium-by-Plato

https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43927/the-parlement-of-foules

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lupercalia

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-valentines-day-180968156/

https://corporate.hallmark.com/about/history/

https://www.netflix.com/title/81645170

https://www.amazon.com/Desperately-Seeking-Soulmate-Escaping-Flames/dp/B0C9Y8V9SZ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Flames_Universe

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/12/inside-the-twin-flames-universe

https://www.vice.com/en/article/epz7be/twin-flames-universe-jeff-and-shaleia

https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news