American Shadows is a bi-weekly podcast from iHeartRadio and Aaron Mahnke’s Grim & Mild. The show focuses on the darker stories from American history: the people, places, and things that are hidden and forgotten in the shadows. From better-known tales like the conspiracy to steal Lincoln’s body, to less-known stories, like the rainmaker who flooded San Diego. Join host Lauren Vogelbaum as she spans two centuries of omitted lore from our country’s history books.
Introducing: Season 4 of 13 Days of Halloween
Hi, Grim & Mild superfans! We're excited for the season 4 return of 13 Days of Halloween. Subtitled "Penance," this brand-new story unfolds over the span of 13 days and is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. "Penance" stars Natalie Morales (Parks and Recreation, Dead to Me), and we think you'll want to join in on the spooky fun. Check out this trailer to get excited and start listening on 10/19 until the story concludes on Halloween day.
Season Description: Season Four: Penance. Without warning, Sayuri has been locked up in the Pendleton Rehabilitation Center, and no one is willing or able to tell her why. Actually, getting any information from her fellow inmates or the labyrinthine bureaucracy that runs the facility seems impossible. But is the Pendleton really a prison, or something else? Starring Natalie Morales. New episodes air daily from October 19th through Halloween.
Listen to 13 Days of Halloween on the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you get your podcasts!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
10/19/2023 • 1 minute, 40 seconds
Lavender Haze
In the 1950s the United States launched a witch hunt, and it's not at all what you think.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/27/2023 • 29 minutes, 12 seconds
Hungry For Justice
What would you do when faced with a life-or-death situation? Alferd Packer had to answer this question for himself, and do something that is -- for many -- unthinkable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/13/2023 • 30 minutes, 28 seconds
A Morbid Obsession
The story of a man who loved his mother. Too much.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/29/2023 • 31 minutes, 44 seconds
Like The Wind
When the bicycle was invented it did more than simply change people's lives, leisure and mobility. It ignited a controversy over traditional gender roles. One woman set out to change all that.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/15/2023 • 25 minutes, 57 seconds
Louder Than A Riot
The fight for equal rights was long and slow until one day a fight broke out with police, culminating in a riot. What happened next is history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/1/2023 • 28 minutes, 7 seconds
A Deadly Isle
Prussian immigrant Louis Wagner came to America hoping to make a better life for himself. Working as a fisherman in the Isle of Shoals it seemed he was living the dream, until he found himself down on his luck.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
5/18/2023 • 29 minutes, 59 seconds
Boneheads
The Gilded Age was a time of opulence and opportunism, an age that turned businessmen into household names. But it also created some of the biggest rivalries in the rush to unearth the past.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
5/4/2023 • 28 minutes, 5 seconds
Bad Medicine
Thomas Neill Cream wanted nothing more than to leave the family shipping business to become a medical doctor. Having graduated with honors, his future seemed promising -- until the bodies began to appear. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
4/20/2023 • 31 minutes, 9 seconds
Anchors Away
Spirits were high that summer’s day as everyone boarded the General Slocum. The passengers were looking forward to their annual picnic just up river… but as fate would have it, they’d never arriveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
4/6/2023 • 26 minutes, 27 seconds
The American Plan
In 1918, the US Government created a plan to track, detain, and imprison women for the STIs brought home from soldiers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
3/23/2023 • 27 minutes, 19 seconds
Cold Case
In the mid 1930s an unidentified killer stalked Kingsbury Run, Ohio. It's a mystery that even Elliott Ness couldn't solve.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
3/9/2023 • 27 minutes, 48 seconds
Glorified
When we think of American outlaws, we often think of cowboys and dusty trails in the Wild West. Meet the Ashley Gang who operated out of the Florida Everglades.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2/23/2023 • 26 minutes, 33 seconds
Stranger Than Fiction
Every once in a while, there are news stories that are stranger than fiction. In this episode, we meet Ruth and Judd, possibly the worst murders of the 1920s. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2/9/2023 • 26 minutes, 52 seconds
Aloha
Hawaii didn't become a state until 1959. Before then, it was a Republic, but not by choice. A coup by an American fruit corporation staged a coupe and took control. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1/26/2023 • 29 minutes, 15 seconds
Protest
The story of Andrew Kehoe and his opposition to taxes, namely school taxes and the disaster that followed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1/12/2023 • 27 minutes, 6 seconds
The Mercy Run
Only one thing stood between a town's survival: 674 miles of unforgiving terrain in the worst arctic weather conditions in 20 years. Boats, planes, and trains could not get through. And that left the town with one hope: sled dogs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/29/2022 • 28 minutes, 19 seconds
Lucky
Timothy Dexter was many things — at least to himself. But mostly, he was lucky in the strangest of ways.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/15/2022 • 26 minutes, 1 second
Family Blood
William Beadle had everything he'd dreamed of: a pretty and good-hearted wife, beautiful children, social status, and plenty of wealth. But when he lost his fortune, William lost his mind. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/1/2022 • 28 minutes, 24 seconds
Works of Art
Edmonia Lewis always loved art. In the 1800s, there weren't many women sculptors. Edmonia wasn't interested in what she couldn't do. She was only interested in what she could. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11/17/2022 • 26 minutes, 31 seconds
Roses of War
When men went off to fight in WW II, women did their own part. They worked in factories, played in a women's baseball league, and raised families. One woman's family was bigger than the rest. Meet Margaret Chung, who called thousands of military men her sons.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11/3/2022 • 27 minutes, 13 seconds
The Write Stuff
The mysogenistic article, 'What Are Girls Good For' infuriated Elizabeth Cochrane. Her well-written response to the newspaper did more than get her point across. It started her career as Nellie Bly, award-winning investigative reporter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
10/20/2022 • 25 minutes, 49 seconds
Ambitions
The story of Aaron Burr, who's legendary battle with fellow Founding Father began long before the duel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
10/6/2022 • 27 minutes, 58 seconds
Stolen Lives
Georgia Tann believed the rich were better than those without means. She also believed lower-income couples should not have children This is the story of how thousands of children were stolen and sold in the black market. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
9/22/2022 • 25 minutes, 40 seconds
Night Life
During times of war and difficulties, people turned to sports and clubs as a way to enjoy friends, a good time, and to forget about their troubles and the headlines for a while. And sometimes, those same nightclubs made the headlines. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
9/8/2022 • 26 minutes, 5 seconds
Shadow Land
For many tourists, Coney Island was the epitome of summer. However, the carnivals and fun houses revealed another side of human nature. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8/25/2022 • 26 minutes, 53 seconds
The Night Season
Before electricity, those who walked the night were looked down on — and feared. Murderers, thieves, and sex walkers were frightening enough. But those who roamed the night involuntarily—they were feared above all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8/11/2022 • 27 minutes, 47 seconds
Lovesick
Our quests for love can be disappointing. Maddening, even. When the love story that plays out is different than the one imagined – or the one you had wished for – the results can be devastating... or even deadly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/28/2022 • 33 minutes, 3 seconds
Hell on Earth
Sometimes, life will change in an instant, in a flash, or... in the case of the 1944 Hartford Circus... with a spark. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/14/2022 • 24 minutes, 58 seconds
Grim & Mild Presents: Season 2 Trailer
This summer, Grim & Mild Presents continues its journey into the strange, the unusual, and the fascinating. For our newest season, we’ll be taking to the high seas to explore one of history’s most notorious types of criminal: pirates.
From naval battles and buried treasure, to deadly sword fights and stolen rum. Prepare to raise anchor! Grim & Mild Presents: Pirates sets sail on Friday, July 8th.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/8/2022 • 1 minute, 40 seconds
A Spoonful of Sugar
If something seems too good to be true it often is, from snake oil to opiates the American medical system has tried some radical treatments to heal the sick and make a quick buck. But who stands between us and disaster, quietly uncovering the darkest aspects of so called medical miracles?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/30/2022 • 25 minutes, 16 seconds
Of Medicine and Miracles
If I were to tell you that some of the things you know about health and wellness come from behind the veil, would you believe me? There was one man -- a reluctant sleeping prophet -- whose lasting imprint is still felt today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/16/2022 • 29 minutes, 58 seconds
The Long Con
There were those who exploited the cracks in the American dream, and took advantage of others -- and then there was one man who used it to become everyone he wished he ever could have been.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/2/2022 • 26 minutes, 11 seconds
Inhospitable
Growing old isn't for the faint of heart. It's true that none of us will get out alive -- but we can all hope that no one takes that truth into their own hands for us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
5/19/2022 • 23 minutes, 54 seconds
Cut From a Different Cloth
They say that "clothes make the man" -- but in the case of these violent few days in Los Angeles, clothes also became man's undoing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
5/5/2022 • 33 minutes, 4 seconds
Dark Waters
There's a darkness in the human soul when it comes to survival.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
4/21/2022 • 27 minutes, 54 seconds
Swindled
Get rich quick schemes have been around forever. But one con man not only made history, but became a household name. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
4/7/2022 • 26 minutes, 39 seconds
Daredevils
Daredevils. They are on a quest to go higher, faster, and bigger than anyone else. Some think they are foolish for tempting death. But for those in this story, testing their mortal limits has given them reason to live.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
3/24/2022 • 26 minutes, 31 seconds
The Primrose Lane
Sometimes, it's true what they say about karma.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
3/10/2022 • 27 minutes, 54 seconds
Expendable
On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out in the garment district. Within 18 minutes, 146 people were dead. Though the factory owners were acquitted of wrong doing, the fire paved the way for safety regulations. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2/24/2022 • 26 minutes, 53 seconds
Mysterious
In 1587, 115 people arrived on Roanoke. The newly appointed governor left for England, promising to return with supplies. When he returned, all that remained of the colony was a single word carved in a wooden gate post: Croatoan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2/10/2022 • 29 minutes, 18 seconds
Ladies' Choice
When life got tough, Kate Warn got tougher. She became a spy and agent at 23. And in 1861, her boss tasked her with saving the president elect's life. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1/27/2022 • 28 minutes, 6 seconds
The Wild, Wild West
The Wild West. Home to legends — and one of the most bizarre stories of an outlaw ever told. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1/13/2022 • 27 minutes, 44 seconds
Toxic
Arsenic was called the inheritance poison - and for good reason. And killers who tried it once were likely to try it again. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/30/2021 • 28 minutes, 42 seconds
Warning Signs
The people of Peshtigo, WI knew the dangers and ignored the signs until it was too late. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/16/2021 • 27 minutes, 23 seconds
Super Heroes
Sometimes, everyday heroes come from the most unusual places. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/2/2021 • 28 minutes, 53 seconds
Change
America's dark history of a time when society turned to eugenics in an attempt to stamp out mental illness. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11/18/2021 • 32 minutes, 17 seconds
Covert
In the 1950s, the CIA was on a quest to create a method of mind control using LSD. Over the next 20 years, the experiment added torture, emotional and sexual abuse, and murder to the experiment. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11/4/2021 • 33 minutes, 40 seconds
Murder Inc.
Prohibition, extortion, and street gangs were common in New York during the 1930s. But none caught the attention of the American public the way Murder Inc did. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
10/21/2021 • 30 minutes, 39 seconds
Echoes
A day of sunshine and picnics turns into one of the deadliest boating accidents in American history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
10/7/2021 • 31 minutes, 21 seconds
Lost
Robert E. Lee's plans laid out in Orders 191 would have won the war. Then a Union corporal finds a lost copy which should have also ended the war. Along the way to Antietam, mistakes were made. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
9/23/2021 • 31 minutes, 40 seconds
Notorious
From investment schemes to fake car warranties, there’s never a shortage of scammers eager to fleece people out of their life savings and hard-earned cash. The story of Gaston Bullock Means, one of the most notorious con artists of all time. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
9/9/2021 • 30 minutes, 41 seconds
Dark Skies
There was a time when hijackings in America reached epidemic proportions. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8/26/2021 • 27 minutes, 43 seconds
Deception
When it comes to murder, some things aren't as they seem. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8/12/2021 • 28 minutes, 31 seconds
Bittersweet
The story and history behind Boston's most bizarre disaster. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/29/2021 • 28 minutes, 45 seconds
Freedom
How Madison Washington led eighteen men to the most successful slave uprising in American history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/15/2021 • 34 minutes, 13 seconds
Unsolved
We have a deep fascination with murder from the safety of our homes. But when the crime goes unsolved, we feel less safe that a killer walks among us. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/1/2021 • 34 minutes, 30 seconds
War of the Currents
Thomas Edison believed direct current was the future of electricity. Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse championed alternating current. In the late 1800s, things were about to get ugly. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/17/2021 • 36 minutes, 34 seconds
Divided
Sometimes, the most inhumane acts are the ones we do to each other. The story of Red Summer and how fear became a dangerous, blinding hatred that caused unspeakable violence across the nation. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/3/2021 • 35 minutes, 28 seconds
Firestorm
A man dedicated to keeping Boston safe from burning finds himself at the center of a firestorm when his prediction comes true. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
5/20/2021 • 35 minutes, 46 seconds
Savvy
When we think of pirates, Blackbeard comes to mind. But there's a whole other group who sailed the seas — women. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
5/6/2021 • 34 minutes, 15 seconds
Vindicated
Reputations are everything. When they're gone, they're hard to rebuild. Harder if you're a woman. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
4/22/2021 • 36 minutes, 12 seconds
Off Track
Envious of Chicago's announcement they were hosting the 1904 Olympics, the mayor of St. Louis come up with a plan to steal the show. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
4/8/2021 • 36 minutes, 17 seconds
Homeland
Italian immigrant George Sodder was living the American Dream. When his home caught fire on Christmas Eve 1945, that dream became a nightmare. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
3/25/2021 • 36 minutes, 44 seconds
Under the Weather
In 1900, one man controlled the weather bureau. When he ignored the experts about the path of a monster hurricane, the people of Galveston Texas paid with their lives. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
3/11/2021 • 34 minutes, 13 seconds
Courage
How Robert Smalls went from stealing a Confederate ship to gain his freedom, to owning the very mansion he'd been enslaved in. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2/25/2021 • 33 minutes, 14 seconds
Insurrection
Though there have been several attempted coup d'états on American soil, this is the story of the only successful one to date. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2/11/2021 • 35 minutes, 16 seconds
On the Trail
Believing they'd found peace on land no one else wanted, the Osage soon became more hunted than ever. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1/28/2021 • 34 minutes, 46 seconds
Dead Ends
George Parrott claimed to have ridden with Butch Cassidy and Jesse James, but his legendary status has nothing to do with being an outlaw. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1/14/2021 • 34 minutes, 7 seconds
Containment
An inoculation for smallpox should have been something to celebrate. Instead, it caused outrage and violence. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/31/2020 • 34 minutes, 19 seconds
Unsung
Life on British Prison Ships during the Revolutionary War, and the horrifying tale of a man who spent time aboard the most notorious of them all: the HMS Jersey. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/17/2020 • 30 minutes, 14 seconds
In the Flesh
The story about how stolen corpses played a crucial role in the development of Western medicine -- and how one man made a living at the center of the trade. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/3/2020 • 30 minutes, 51 seconds
Durable
A life insurance scheme involving murder, fraud, and a whole lot of alcohol. But some things just don't go the way they're planned. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11/19/2020 • 29 minutes, 3 seconds
Prophets Over People
How one woman found God, murder, and the Anti Christ -- multiple times! -- in 1850s Connecticut. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11/5/2020 • 33 minutes, 34 seconds
Seeds of Change
One man's quest to control the weather in Southern California -- with disastrous results that would change a city forever. Weather control has always been a vestige of the gods -- or so we've always thought. But there way one man at the turn of the century who convinced people otherwise -- with disastrous results. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
10/22/2020 • 33 minutes, 52 seconds
Body of Truth
It was a long time before President Abraham Lincoln would finally rest in peace -- his corpse would first have to survive counterfitters and grave-robbers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
10/8/2020 • 33 minutes, 30 seconds
Misguided
Political intrigue and murder in the aftermath of an American invasion of Canada in 1866. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
9/24/2020 • 30 minutes, 36 seconds
Unbridled
The darker side of American horse racing, and the shadows cast by some of the tragedies along the way. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
9/10/2020 • 30 minutes, 18 seconds
Dark Hearts
One man's obsession with lonely hearts ads of a century ago, and his abuse of the false trust they engendered. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8/27/2020 • 28 minutes, 10 seconds
Glow
At the intersection of scientific advancement and tragedy is the story of US Radium and the young women who stood up to them. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8/13/2020 • 27 minutes, 29 seconds
Official Trailer - American Shadows
American Shadows is a bi-weekly podcast from iHeartRadio and Aaron Mahnke’s Grim & Mild. The show focuses on the darker stories from American history: the people, places, and things that are hidden and forgotten in the shadows. From better-known tales like the conspiracy to steal Lincoln’s body, to less-known stories, like the rainmaker who flooded San Diego. Join host Lauren Vogelbaum as she spans two centuries of omitted lore from our country’s history books. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.