Published by Gavin Whitehead
The Art of Crime is a history podcast about the unlikely collisions between true crime and the arts. New theme each season. The Art of Crime is a product of Drum and Monkey Media, LLC.
Listen on Apple Podcasts47 min
Today, we're joined by historian Bench Ansfield to talk about their breathtaking book, Born in Flames. It's about the arson wave of the 1970s, during which hundreds--yes, hundreds--of landlords in the Bronx set fire to their property to collect insurance. These crimes displaced thousands of Bronxites and killed a few, too. The crisis gae rise to a genre of sensationalist films Bench calls Bronxploitation that foreground poverty and vice in the borough. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .
48 min
Today, we're joined by historian Jonathan Gill to talk about the amazing life of Boris Morros. After the Russian Revolution, Morros immigrated to America from Eastern Europe and became a big-time Hollywood filmmaker. To an outside observer, his life would have seemed all glitz and glam, but what the public didn't know was that Morros was risking his neck every day as a double agent, spying for both the Soviets and the Americans throughout the 1940s. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .
58 min
This week, I'm re-releasing my 2024 interview with Margalit Fox, author of The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum, a biography of the notorious nineteenth-century New York crime boss, Fredericka Mandelbaum. Next week, we're back with a brand-new interview. Until then! If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .
36 min
Today, I'm joined by award-winning journalist Matthew Campbell to talk about his new book, The Man Who Stole the Gods. For decades, the Bangkok-based Brit, Douglas Latchford, bought priceless Cambodian artworks that had been looted from ancient religious sites. Some of these pieces made their way to the collections of museums as august as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In The Man Who Stole the Gods, Matthew shines a light on the looters who stole this art and the international team of sleuths who helped return these works to their native country. If you'd like to support the show, please consider beocming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .
14 min
We've rated the spies, now it's time for the rankings. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast . Full transcripts at www.artofcrimepodcast.com .
46 min
Virginia Oldoini considered herself the most beautiful woman of the nineteenth century. In the 1850s, a high-ranking Italian official deployed her to France on a secret mission to seduce Emperor Napoleon III for political reasons. After her stint as a spy, the Countess emerged as a poioneer of photography, leaving behind one of the most stunning bodies of photographic self-portraits of the 1800s. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast . For show notes and full transcripts, please visit www.artofcrimepodcast.com .
1 hr 17 min
Anthony Blunt was about as much of a rock star as an art historian could be. Then, in 1979, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher exposed him as a Soviet spy on the floor of Parliament, destroying his reputation. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast . Show notes and transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com .
48 min
Today, we're joined by art historian Grace Anna, host of the fabulous ArtMuse podcast, to talk about surrealist painter and writer Leonora Carrington. After Carrington fell in love with the famed German painter, Max Ernst, the couple moved to the south of France, where they lived happily. With the outbreak of World War II, however, both Leonora and Max were arrested on espionage charages, triggering a mental breakdown for Leonora. If you'd like to support he show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast . For show notes and transcripts, visit www.artofcrimepodcast.com .
48 min
Today, we're joined by art historian Grace Anna, host of the fabulous ArtMuse podcast, to talk about surrealist painter and writer Leonora Carrington. After Carrington fell in love with the famed German painter, Max Ernst, the couple moved to the south of France, where they lived happily. With the outbreak of World War II, however, both Leonora and Max were arrested on espionage charages, triggering a mental breakdown for Leonora. If you'd like to support he show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast . For show notes and transcripts, visit www.artofcrimepodcast.com .
1 hr 4 min
The decorated French soldier, diplomat, and spy, the Chevalière d'Éon, loyally served the French crown for decades. But then she decided to blackmail the king. With nowhere to turn, the French monarch enlisted Pierre Beaumarchais to talk the rogue chevalière out of it. For show ntoes and full transcripts, please visit www.artofcrimepodcast.com . If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .
44 min
Pierre Beaumarchais made a name for himself as a watchmaker, working for none other than Louis XV. But Beaumarchais was a man of many talents, including espionage, and when Louis found himself blackmailed by a rogue pamphleteer, the king dispatched Beaumarchais on a secret mission to find the blackmailer and stop him. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast . For show notes and full transcripts, please visit www.artofcrimepodcast .
1 hr 3 min
Mata Hari rose to fame as an exotic dancer in Paris before beocming a double agent in World War One, spying for both the French and the Germans. Mata Hari is often remembered as a super spy, but how much of that was true? Today, we're joined by Julie Wheelwright, author of The Fatal Lover, a book about Mata Hari, who can help us separate fact from fiction. If you'd like to suppor the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast . For show notes and full transcripts, visit www.artofcrimepodcast.com.
1 hr 0 min
In the late eighteenth century, Grace Elliott became a royal courtesan, famously sharing a bed with the Prince of Wales, later to reign as King George IV, and the Duke of Orléans in Paris. When the French Revolution broke out, she sided with the royalists and risked her life to sneak aristocrats out of the country. For show notes and full transcripts, please visit www.artofcrimepodcast.com . If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .
58 min
Today, I'm releasing episode 1 of my new podcast, Raven. Please subscribe on your podcasting platform of choice so you don't miss forthcoming episodes. Hope you enjoy! If you'd like to suppor the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .
2 min
This week, I'm sharing the trailer for my brand-new podcast, Raven! Go check it out and make sure to subscribe, so you don't miss any episodes.
54 min
Today, I'm re-releasing episode 1 of Queen of Crime: Madame Tussaud and the Chamber of Horrors. More information--plus some very exciting updates--in the intro to the episode. I hope you enjoy, and if you haven't already, go back and listen to Queen of Crime--it's season 3 of this podcast! For show notes and full transcripts, visit www.artofcrimepodcast.com . If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .
43 min
Why did the Nazis commit their atrocities? After the end of World War II, American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley tried to answer this question at Nuremberg prison. During his time as chief psychiatrist there, Kelley examined high-ranking Nazis, including Hermann Göring, as they waited to stand trial for war crimes. Today, we're joined by Jack El-Hai, author of The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, a book about what Kelley learned from his conversations with Göring. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .
1 hr 7 min
In the early seventeenth century, Atto Melani gained international renown as a castrato singer, used his stature to spy on French courtiers, and even played a role in electing a new pope. Today, we're tjoined by Dr. Roger Freitas to talk about this remarkable figure. For show notes and full transcripts, visit www.artofcrimepodcast.com . If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .
49 min
Having scored a trove of top-secret intelligence, Eppler and company desperately try to radio their findings to the German military. Unfortunately, their efforts explode in their face, to spectacular effect. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com . If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast.com .
27 min
Having made it to Cairo and forged an alliance with megastar belly dancer Hekmet Fahmy, Nazi spy Johannes Eppler began snooping around for intelligence that could be of use to the Germans. Thanks to Hekmet, Eppler got his first major breakthrough in the case. For show notes and full transcripts, visit www.artofcrimepodcast.com If you'd like to support the show, please consider beocming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast .