At a time when we’re debating where policing is going, we’re going to tell you where the police came from. Guided by Peabody award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika, Empire City will provide the first accessible narrative history of the American police and its place in popular culture. Who are the police? And why were police departments created in the first place? To find answers, we’re going to tell the origin story of the largest police force in the world: The NYPD. We begin in the late 1800’s...

Hysterical investigates a mysterious illness that spreads among a group of high school girls in upstate New York. What is causing their sudden, often violent symptoms? Is there something in the water or inside the school? Or is it “all in their head?” The series examines the outbreak in LeRoy, NY, believed by some to be the most severe case of mass hysteria since the Salem Witch Trials. In his search for answers, Dan Taberski (9/12, Missing Richard Simmons, Running from Cops) explores other...

Imagine falling in love with the perfect partner—charming, caring, handsome, successful and utterly captivating. But what if that love was nothing more than an elaborate con orchestrated by your alleged best friend? Sometimes the perfect match can be a dangerous game. Season 20 of Something Was Wrong unravels the chilling story of a group of friends ensnared in one of the most elaborate catfishing schemes of all time. Meet the survivors who thought they found love, friendship, and trust, but...

Messages from the dead, a killer’s fantasy world, and a groundbreaking murder case. This is just one example of an unbelievable story you’ll hear on the MrBallen Podcast. Follow the MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Prime members can listen to new episodes 1-month early and all episodes ad-free on Amazon Music.  Listen Now: https://wondery.fm/MrBallen_  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California...

Welcome to Bishop Gray Academy, a world of high-stakes and cut-throat competition.   Academy, a riveting coming-of-age audio drama co-produced by AT WILL MEDIA and Wondery, follows the story of Ava Richards, a scholarship student who transfers to Bishop Gray, one of the most elite and competitive boarding schools in America.   As Ava tries to find her place in this high-pressure environment, she soon crosses paths with an underground society known as The Night of the Wolf, which caters to...

When a charismatic young doctor announces revolutionary treatments for cancer and HIV, patients from around the world turn to him for their last chance. As medical experts praise Serhat Gumrukcu’s genius, the company he co-founded rockets in value to over half a billion dollars. But when a team of researchers makes a startling discovery, they begin to suspect the brilliant doctor is hiding a secret. From Wondery, the new season of Dr. Death: Bad Magic is a story of miraculous cures, magic and...

For real life royals, the crown jewels can be more like shiny handcuffs. There are expectations and rules – and if you break them, the consequences are big, and very public. And no, we’re not just talking about Harry and Meghan. There are royal families and wild royal tales from around the world and throughout history that you have never heard before. From Wondery comes the latest from Even the Rich co-hosts Brooke Siffrinn and Aricia Skidmore-Williams. Even the Royals takes us inside the...

Cuddly as a cactus and charming as an eel, he’s your new favorite snarky talk show host. Join The Grinch (and his faithful dog Max) each week as he rants against Christmas cheer and roasts celebrity guests like chestnuts on an open fire. Starring Saturday Night Live’s James Austin Johnson as the notorious curmudgeon and broadcasting straight from Who-Ville, will The Grinch send these famous folks back down Mt. Crumpit, or will they soften his stance against Christmas and grow his heart three...

Follow MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge the first 8 episodes, early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. The human body is a miracle. But when it’s not working, it can be the stuff of nightmares. On this new series from master storyteller MrBallen, we’re sharing medical horror stories and diagnostic mysteries that are surgically calibrated to make your blood run cold.  From bizarre, unheard-of diseases and...

Tristan Redman is a journalist who doesn’t believe in ghosts. But weird things happened in his teenage bedroom – weirder than normal. When, years later, he discovers subsequent occupants of his family home were haunted by the ghost of a faceless woman, he’s curious. Because by a strange coincidence, it just so happens that the house Tristan grew up in is right next door to a murder scene - where his wife’s great grandmother was killed by two gunshots to the face. Could there be a connection?...

Nothing is as terrifying as the sounds we hear in the dark. The slow creak of a door opening late at night... or a whisper in a room when you thought you were alone... or a distant scream in the wind. One noise at the wrong time or place can scare us for days. Each episode of I Hear Fear plunges the listener into a tale inspired by real events, from a deadly dance party to a cursed film set. Join host and two-time Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan for six immersive stories designed to jangle your...

Did one man’s friendship with a dolphin go way – way – too far? It’s 1987 and the British seaside town of Amble has seen much better days. So when a wild bottlenose dolphin nicknamed Freddie appears in the harbour, it feels like a miracle. Everyone wants to swim with him. But Freddie chooses one person above all others: Alan Cooper, a dedicated animal rights activist committed to freeing captive dolphins. But when Alan’s friendship with Freddie is turned against him, he finds himself in the...

Selena Quintanilla was a force of nature. But when a loyal friend betrayed her, she met a fate she never deserved. Even the Rich is a podcast from Wondery that tells you the stories of the crazy lives of the greatest family dynasties to pop culture superstars. In their new season “¡Viva Selena!”, you’ll hear how she made a massive cultural impact, and became a legend the world will never forget. This is just a preview of Even the Rich. You can listen to the full episode wherever you get your...

When Mike Williams vanishes on a hunting trip, the authorities suspect he was eaten by alligators but the true predators who took Mike may lurk much closer to home. The mystery of Mike’s disappearance might have faded from memory, if it wasn’t for one woman’s tireless crusade. From Wondery, comes a new season of Over My Dead Body; a story about an obsessive love affair, a scandalous secret and a mother’s battle for the truth. Listen to Over My Dead Body: Wondery.fm/_OMDB_ See Privacy...

More than a decade since Michael Jackson’s death, his legacy remains complicated and unresolved. Think Twice: Michael Jackson is an exploration of the King of Pop’s life and impact – and an investigation into why his global influence continues to endure, despite the disturbing allegations against him. In this ten-part series, journalists Leon Neyfakh and Jay Smooth bring you a new perspective on the Michael Jackson story, based on dozens of original interviews with people who watched it...

Suspect is an investigative series about mislaid justice and the kinds of weighty decisions that detectives, lawyers, and jurors make every day - decisions that, once made, are almost impossible to reverse. Season 3: Five Shots in the Dark follows Leon Benson, who spent 24 years in an Indiana state prison for the 1998 murder of a young man named Kasey Schoen. His conviction hinged on the testimony of two eyewitnesses – but what if their memories turned out to be wrong? And what if the...

The Apology Line has moved. You can listen to all seven episodes ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app, or you can listen on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership: Wondery.fm/The_Apology_Line See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Generation Why Podcast released its first episode in 2012 and pioneered the true crime genre in the podcasting world. Two friends, Aaron & Justin, break down theories and give their opinions on unsolved murders, controversies, mysteries and conspiracies. One of the longest running true crime podcasts out there, Generation Why has a little something for every true crime listener. Follow The Generation Why Podcast on Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or you can listen...

The hardest true crime story to report on is… your own. The sixteenth season of Something Was Wrong features host Tiffany Reese’s firsthand account of surviving a childhood mired with abuse and uncertainty, and the eventual murder of her beloved baby brother, Bobby. Tiffany uncovers layers of her family’s secret history throughout the season. Her goal is to use her own experience to continue empowering victims of manipulation, coercion, familial abuse, and police brutality, as well as...

From Wondery and Bloomberg, the makers of The Shrink Next Door, comes a new story of incredible wealth, betrayal, and what happens when “doing good” goes really, really bad. When nerdy gamer Sam Bankman-Fried rocketed to fame as the world’s richest 29-year-old, he pledged to donate his billions to good causes. But when Sam's crypto exchange FTX collapsed, billions of dollars went missing, and Sam was in handcuffs, those who knew him were left wondering — who was Sam really? A well-meaning...

When Elon Musk posted a video of himself arriving at Twitter HQ carrying a white sink along with the message “let that sink in!” It marked the end of a dramatic takeover. Musk had gone from Twitter critic to “Chief Twit” in the space of just a few months but his arrival didn’t put an end to questions about his motives. Musk had earned a reputation as a business maverick. From PayPal to Tesla to SpaceX, his name was synonymous with big, earth-shattering ideas. So, what did he want with a...

Foretold is a deeply engrossing podcast that follows the life of Paulina Stevens, a Romani fortune teller as she makes the extraordinary decision to leave her community. In this preview feature we begin with a frantic meeting in a cafe where a panicked Paulina blurts out she has escaped her family's psychic shop with her children, that she is a scam artist born and bred, that she was in an arranged marriage and taken out of school in the 6th grade to prepare for a life pre-determined for...

This Is Actually Happening, is a podcast that brings you extraordinary true stories of life changing events, told by the people who lived them. Now, This Is Actually Happening presents: Point Blank, a five-part series shedding a light on the forgotten spree killings of Rancho Tehama. In November of 2017, a lone gunman devastated a small town in northern California, attacking 8 different locations in the span of only 25 minutes. Overshadowed by the Las Vegas shooting that dominated the...

Sheree Warren left her job in Salt Lake City on a mild October evening in 1985. She told a coworker she was headed to meet her estranged husband, Charles Warren, at a car dealership. But she never made it, Sheree vanished. When her car mysteriously surfaced weeks later, hundreds of miles away in Las Vegas, no one could say how it got there. When a young mother disappears under unexplained circumstances, police always turn suspicious eyes towards the husband. And although there was distrust...