HistoryExtra podcast
Immediate
Podcast
Once Upon A Crime
Esther Ludlow
Step into the darker side of history with Once Upon A Crime, a true-crime podcast that delves deep into some of the world’s most gripping cases. Hosted by an expert storyteller, Esther Ludlow, each episode unravels the mysteries behind notorious crimes, exploring the lives of victims, perpetrators, and the intricate details of the investigations that followed. With carefully researched narratives, thematic series, and thoughtful insights, Once Upon A Crime offers listeners a captivating blend of suspense, history, and human psychology. Whether you're a seasoned true-crime fan or just curious about the stories that shaped headlines, Once Upon A Crime promises to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Episodios
-
The Oracle's Daughter: Inside an American Cult
· 46 min
How does a free-spirited hippie become the authoritarian leader of a religious cult? And why do ordinary people remain loyal to dangerous leaders, even when faced with abuse, isolation, and fear?This week on Once Upon a Crime, we explore the disturbing history of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps (ACMTC), a little-known American cult led by Jim and Deborah Green.What began in the...
-
Rocktober: Axl Rose — Welcome to the Nightmare
· 38 min
Before he became the legendary—and notoriously volatile—frontman of Guns N’ Roses, Axl Rose was a troubled kid from Lafayette, Indiana, with a childhood marked by family secrets, abuse, and rebellion.In this special Rocktober episode, we explore the life behind the rock-star persona—from Axl's turbulent upbringing and repeated run-ins with the law to his meteoric rise with Guns N’ Roses, infamous...
-
Axl Rose, American Cults & Mexico’s ‘Reformed’ Serial Killer - Welcome to Spooky Season on Once Upon a Crime!
· 4 min
Axl Rose, American Cults & Mexico’s ‘Reformed’ Serial Killer - Welcome to Spooky Season on Once Upon a Crime! Spooky Season has arrived on Once Upon a Crime! October is Esther’s favorite month, and this year we’re celebrating with a lineup of stories exploring murder, music, mind control... and one of the most unusual serial killer cases we’ve ever covered.Coming this month: the troubled early li...
-
Taylor Parker — Deadly Deception
· 37 min
Taylor Parker presented herself as a hardworking Texas country girl, a devoted girlfriend, an heiress to a family fortune—and soon, an excited mother-to-be.There was just one problem.Much of it wasn't true.Taylor wasn't an heiress. The millions she promised her boyfriend didn't exist. And despite the ultrasound photos, maternity pictures, growing belly, gender reveal, and nursery, Taylor wasn't pr...
-
Mackenzie Shirilla: Behind the Image — The True Story Behind Netflix’s “The Crash”
· 41 min
In July 2022, 17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla was behind the wheel of a car that slammed into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio, at nearly 100 miles per hour. Her boyfriend, 20-year-old Dominic “Dom” Russo, and their friend, 19-year-old Davion Flanagan, were killed. Mackenzie survived.What initially appeared to be a horrific accident soon became a double-murder investigation.Mackenzie maintain...
-
BONUS: Why Did They Stay? Inside the Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy: A Discussion with Author Annette McGivney
· 1 h 01 min
In this bonus episode, Esther shares the complete interview with journalist Annette McGivney, author of Plastic Shaman: The True Story of a Deadly Self-Help Retreat and America’s Misguided Quest for Wellness, expanding on the 2009 Sedona sweat lodge tragedy and self-help guru James Arthur Ray. McGivney details Ray’s rise from 1990s business motivational speaking to fame via The Secret and Oprah, h...
-
The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy
· 32 min
In 2009, self-help superstar James Arthur Ray invited dozens of followers to a six-day retreat near Sedona, Arizona, promising a life-changing journey of spiritual transformation. Instead, his Spiritual Warrior program ended in tragedy when three participants—Kirby Brown, James Shore, and Liz Neuman—died following an extreme sweat lodge ceremony.Once Upon a Crime first covered the case in 2019 as...
-
Copycat Killers - Did Scott Peterson Inspire Other Murders?
· 32 min
In this bonus episode of Once Upon a Crime, we ask a disturbing question: did the Scott Peterson case inspire other men to murder their wives?We examine the cases of Lori Hacking, Jennifer Corbin, and Teresa Lane, three women whose murders shared striking similarities with the Peterson case. In some instances, the connection went beyond coincidence. One killer reportedly followed Peterson’s trial...
-
Scott Peterson Revisited - Part Two: Esther & Yolanda Reopen the Case
· 1 h 03 min
In Part Two of Scott Peterson Revisited, Esther is joined by her sister Yolanda to take a closer look at the claims now being made on behalf of convicted murderer Scott Peterson.In 2024, the Los Angeles Innocence Project announced that it was investigating Peterson’s claims of actual innocence. The following year, his attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition arguing that new evidence and scientifi...
-
Bonus: Unmasking Scott Peterson
· 37 min
In this bonus episode of Scott Peterson Revisited, we look beyond the evidence to examine the man at the center of the case. Was Scott Peterson capable of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner?We explore Scott’s family history, childhood, relationships, repeated infidelities, and carefully cultivated image as the family’s “Golden Boy” and “Mr. Perfect.” We also consider t...
-
Scott Peterson Revisited: Part One - Separating Fact from Fiction
· 53 min
Twenty-three years after the murders of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner, the case against Scott Peterson is once again under scrutiny.In January 2024, the Los Angeles Innocence Project announced that it was representing Peterson and investigating his claims of actual innocence. Since then, his attorneys have filed new challenges to his conviction, arguing that previously overlooked eviden...
-
Scott Peterson: The Case, the Claims, and the Controversy
· 12 min
More than twenty years after Laci Peterson's murder captivated the nation, one of America's most infamous true crime cases is back in the spotlight.In this upcoming special two-part series, Once Upon a Crime host Esther Ludlow revisits the case with fan-favorite co-host Yolanda, taking a fresh look at the investigation, the evidence, and the questions that continue to divide the public. Originally...
-
Before Bali: The Untold Story of Sheila von Wiese-Mack
· 44 min
In this episode of Once Upon a Crime, we revisits the murder of Sheila von Wiese Mack through the new book When Lambs Become Wolves by retired Sergeant Rasul T. Freelain, who knew Sheila and her daughter Heather years before the Bali killing. Freelain recounts how a 2010 theft report led to repeated police contact, revealing escalating child-to-parent violence: Heather’s manipulation, financial fr...
-
The House on New York Street: The Sylvia Likens Case, Part Two
· 35 min
Part 2 of the Sylvia Likens case examines the heartbreaking final hours of Sylvia Likens, one of the most horrific child abuse and murder cases in American history. On October 26, 1965, after months of unimaginable torture inside a home in Indianapolis, Indiana, 16-year-old Sylvia was carried upstairs for a bath before she was discovered unresponsive. As Gertrude Baniszewski scrambled to cover up...
-
TRAILER: The House on New York Street, Part 2
· 1 min
Police arrived at the New York Street house and quickly realized the story didn’t add up. Within hours, Gertrude Baniszewski, her children, and neighborhood teens were arrested in the torture of 16-year-old Sylvia Likens. In court, everyone pointed fingers—mother against children, children against mother. Leaving one question: who was lying?Subscribe and listen to Once Upon a Crime for part two.Ep...
-
The House on New York Street - The Sylvia Likens Case, Part One
· 57 min
Some crimes are so shocking that they force us to ask a question that seems impossible to answer. Not 'Who did it?' We know who did it. Not even 'Why?' Though we'll spend this series trying to understand that. The question is this:How did an entire neighborhood watch a teenage girl disappear in plain sight?Over three months in the fall of 1965, dozens of people entered a small house on East New Yo...
-
TRAILER: The House on New York Street: The Sylvia Likens Case
· 1 min
How does an ordinary home become the scene of extraordinary evil, and how does a community fail to save a sixteen-year-old girl? This week on Once Upon a Crime, we begin a two-part series on the murder of Sylvia Likens, examining the heartbreaking facts of the case and the psychological forces that turned one Indianapolis home into an innocent girl’s torture chamber, drawing seemingly ordinary chi...
-
The Tragedy of Sylvia Likens: A Two-Part Series Preview
· 1 min
In the summer of 1965, 16-year-old Sylvia Likens was left in the care of a mother of seven while her parents traveled for work. What should have been a temporary arrangement turned into one of the most horrifying child abuse and torture cases in American history. As the abuse escalated behind closed doors, an entire neighborhood witnessed signs of cruelty, manipulation, and neglect. Yet Sylvia’s s...
-
Marie Hilley: The Poisoner Who Fooled Everyone
· 1 min
A black widow. A poisoner. A con artist. A master manipulator.This week on Once Upon a Crime, Esther dives into the unbelievable case of Marie Hilley. A woman accused of murdering her husband, nearly killing her own daughter, disappearing while out on bail, and creating entirely new identities to stay one step ahead of the truth.As investigators closed in, Marie spun outrageous stories and convinc...
-
Marie Hilley: The Woman Who Became Her Own Twin
· 51 min
She poisoned her husband.She nearly killed her own daughter.She vanished while out on bail.Then she reinvented herself with a brand-new identity… and somehow convinced people she was her own twin sister.This week on Once Upon a Crime, we unravel the unbelievable case of Marie Hilley. One of the most notorious Black Widows in American true crime history.What began as the life of a seemingly ordinar...
-
Marie Hilley: Black Widow and Master Manipulator
· 1 min
She could become whoever people needed her to be.A devoted wife.A loving mother.A trusted friend.A helpless victim.But behind the carefully crafted image was one of the most manipulative and deceptive women in true crime history.In this chilling new episode of Once Upon a Crime, Esther dives into the shocking case of Marie Hilley. A woman whose lies, manipulation, and alleged poisoning crimes left...
-
Marie Hilley: The Woman Who Became Her Own Twin
· 1 min
What happens when a killer reinvents herself so completely that even the people closest to her believe the lie?In this shocking new episode of Once Upon a Crime, Esther explores the bizarre and twisted case of Marie Hilley. A woman accused of poisoning her husband to death, later poisoning her own daughter, escaping justice, and creating an entirely new identity to avoid capture.But Marie’s decept...
-
Once Upon a Crime – Season 11 Announcement
· 8 min
After the explosive Bundy For the Defense series, Once Upon a Crime took its first extended hiatus in the podcast’s ten-year history. But behind the scenes, the team has been busier than ever.What’s been happening during the break? Appearances at the Beyond the Crime Convention in Albuquerque and Crime Con in Las Vegas, being featured on Impact x Nightline’s “Terror on the Trail” exploring the Tra...
-
The Most Personal Season of Once Upon a Crime Yet
· 1 min
For ten years, Once Upon a Crime has explored some of the world’s most haunting true crime stories. Uncovering secrets, examining criminal investigations, and telling the stories of victims, survivors, investigators, and killers whose lives were forever changed by crime.But now, for the first time, host Esther Ludlow is ready to tell her own story.In this deeply personal teaser for Season 11, Esth...
-
Season 11 Will Be Unlike Anything We’ve Done Before!
· 1 min
For ten years, Once Upon a Crime has explored the world’s most fascinating true crime stories, covering infamous murders, criminal investigations, disappearances, and the hidden truths behind headline-making cases.Now, after hundreds of episodes and millions of downloads, we're preparing for the podcast’s most ambitious season yet.Thanks to all our listeners for supporting the show through ten inc...
-
Something Big Is Coming - Once Upon A Crime Season 11
· 1 min
For nearly ten years, Once Upon a Crime has taken listeners deep into the world of true crime, uncovering hidden secrets, questioning official narratives, and exploring the stories behind some of history’s most fascinating criminal cases.Host Esther Ludlow has always looked beyond the headlines to reveal the human stories at the center of crime.But now, something bigger is coming.Season Eleven of ...
-
Ted Bundy for the Defense - Part Four: Reckoning
· 28 min
In the final chapter of Ted Bundy for the Defense, the mask comes off.After the shocking courtroom moment in which Bundy cross-examined first responders and forced graphic testimony about the Chi Omega crime scene, the trial shifts decisively in the prosecution’s favor. Survivors take the stand. Forensic evidence tightens the noose. And Bundy—convinced he is the smartest man in every room—continue...
-
Ted Bundy for the Defense - Part Three: Unhinged
· 27 min
After escaping from a Colorado jail, Ted Bundy fled to Florida — and unraveled.In this episode, we follow Bundy’s path to Tallahassee, the brutal Chi Omega sorority house murders, the attack on Cheryl Thomas, the abduction of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach, and Bundy’s eventual arrest in Pensacola after 46 days on the run.Gone is the methodical charmer of the Pacific Northwest. In his place: a reckles...
-
The Other Ted Bundy: Suspicion, Denial, and the Warnings That Came Too Early
· 14 min
In the summer of 1974, Seattle was gripped by fear as young women disappeared and witnesses began describing a polite man named “Ted” and his tan Volkswagen. As newspapers cautiously reported on a possible suspect, few believed the man they were describing could be dangerous.He looked like a law student. A volunteer. Someone people trusted.In this Once Upon a Crime minisode, we examine Ted Bundy b...
-
Ted Bundy for the Defense - Part Two: The Mask Cracks
· 25 min
In Part Two of Ted Bundy for the Defense, we follow Ted Bundy from his first arrest in Utah through conviction, psychological evaluation, escalating murder charges, and the escape attempts that would ultimately unleash his most violent crimes.About This Series:Ted Bundy for the Defense examines Ted Bundy’s criminal cases through the lens of his courtroom behavior and his insistence on controlling...
Podcasts parecidos
The Monday Night Revue
Corinna Harrod
Super Structure with Julian Feeld
Julian Feeld
The Diary Room
The Diary Room
The Evolution of Evil - True Crime Stories
Peter Jesse
