Introducing Season 3 . . . 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.   The Art of Crime is part of the Airwave Media network. To learn more about Airwave, visit www.airwavemedia.com. If you'd like to advertise on The Art of Crime, please email [email protected].

The Perseus of Benvenuto Cellini is justly considered a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture. Believe it or not, this statue almost never existed. From start to finish, sculpting the Perseus proved a Herculean labor, as dogged oppostion from Cellini's own patron, life-threatening illness, and the sheer enormity of the artist's ambitions conspired against him. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.   If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming...

In 1910, four Abyssinian royals toured the H.M.S. Dreadnought, the most technologically advanced ship in the British Royal Navy. Afterward, however, it leaked to the press that the captain and crew of the vessel had been duped: they had given a tour not to foreign dinitaries but British citizens. The Dreadnought affair caused a minor scandal, and what started as a practical joke threatened to end in legal repercussions for the hoaxers. Show notes and full transcripts available at...

Today, we're joined by Austin Harvey, co-host of History Uncovered, a podcast that explores the natural world and the world past. First, we'll hear a History Uncovered episode about the mysterious disappearance of indigenous art collector Michael Rockefeller in 1961. Afterward, Austin chats with Gavin about the process of making the episode and offers additional insight on a few key points. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at...

Back in the spring, I was interviewed on the true crime podcast, Crawlspace, and I wanted to share that interview with you. Hope you enjoy! We'll be back with original Art of Crime content in December, and season 3 will start in earnest in January 2024. If you'd like more Art of Crime content now, however, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast. There, you can listen to a sneak peak at season 3, and we're coming out with two new episodes related to the theme of...

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions! 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.   The Art of Crime is part of the Airwave Media network. To learn more about Airwave, visit www.airwavemedia.com. If you'd like to advertise on The Art of Crime, please email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1990, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman created Assassins, a musical about the nine men and women who have attempted to assassinate U.S. presidents, from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald. In this special episode, we're joined by three Sondheim buffs to talk about why the musical has remained popular--and controversial--since it opened. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.  If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at...

The Art of Crime is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month, and in honor of the occasion, we're doing a special giveaway. Listen to find out more! To participate, drop me a line at [email protected]. Or you can DM me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Hope to hear from you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to the efforts of renowned Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, Leon Trotsky gained political asylum in Mexico. In early 1937, the Russian revolutionary moved in with the painter and his wife, Frida Kahlo, at the Blue House on the outskirts of the Mexican capital. A torrid drama ensued, in which Trotsky betrayed his benefactor, at great risk to his own safety. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.   If you'd like to support the show, please consider...

In 1858, actor-manager Laura Keene bought exclusive rights to Tom Taylor's comedy, Our America Cousin, which became the smash hit of the decade. On April 14, 1865, Keene was performing the play at Ford's Theatre when John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln. As the assassin fled and the playhouse descended into pandemonium, Keene endeavored to manage the crisis.   Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.   If you'd like to support the show, please consider...

The first in a series of bonus episodes related to the theme of assassins will drop on Wednesday, September 13. To tide you over until then, I'm pleased to present two episodes of the History Daily podcast. History Daily generously featured an episode of The Art of Crime a few weeks back, so I wanted to return the favor. This History Daily episode is about the Antwerp diamond heist of 2003, one of the largest heists of all time. Show notes and full transcripts available at...

The first in a series of bonus episodes related to the theme of assassins will drop on Wednesday, September 13. To tide you over until then, I'm pleased to present two episodes of the History Daily podcast. History Daily generously featured an episode of The Art of Crime a few weeks back, so I wanted to return the favor. This episode is about the mystery of D.B. Cooper. On November 24, 1971, an unidentified criminal known by that name hijacks a Boeing 727, extorts $200,000 in ransom money,...

In this episode, we look back on the crimes we covered this season and consider what we've learned about the nature of assassination, especially when artists are in the picture. 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.   The Art of Crime is part of the Airwave Media network. To learn more about Airwave, visit www.airwavemedia.com. If you'd like to...

On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln attended a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington. John Wilkes Booth shot him in the middle of the show and escaped from the playhouse, after which a dramatic manhunt ensued. His crime would not only cost him his life but forever tarnish the name of Booth, which had previously belonged to the nation’s most celebrated theatrical dynasty. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com. If you'd like to...

John Wilkes Booth hailed from America’s most celebrated theatrical dynasty. At the height of his powers, his father, Junius, ranked as the greatest Shakespearean in the country, and John’s older brothers, Junius and Edwin, also achieved fame. After an unpromising professional debut, John lived up to the family name, rising to stardom. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, however, he eventually left acting and plotted a conspiracy to aid the Confederacy by treasonous means. Show notes...

Apart from creating exquisite music, goldwork, and statuary under the patronage of Pope Clement VII, among other notables, sixteenth-century Renaissance man Benvenuto Cellini had a special talent for making enemies. One professional rivalry even ended in murder, in the middle of a busy street. After getting imprisoned for a crime he never committed, Cellini found himself the target of a brazen assassination attempt. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.   If...

In 1949, a man claiming to be a doctor walked into a Tokyo bank. By the time he walked out, he had stolen 160,000 yen and left ten people dead or dying inside. Given the speed and sophistication of the killings, police assumed they were looking for a trained assassin. Instead, their investigation led to an unassuming landscape painter named Sadamichi Hirasawa.   Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.   If you'd like to support the show, please consider...

After serving in WWI, German painter Otto Dix rose to fame in the 1920s partly through his unflinching portrayal of modern warfare and the toll it took on the human body. However, these themes landed him on the blacklist following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. After a no-name carpenter masterminded—and nearly pulled off—a daring attempt on Hitler’s life in 1939, the Nazis came knocking at Dix’s door, suspecting that he aided the would-be assassin.   Show notes and full transcripts...

After the assassination of his mother, Agrippina, Nero threw himself into the performing arts like never before, training to become both a musician and a tragic actor. He even toured Greece to compete in its famous sports and arts festivals. As Nero’s megalomania and abuses of office grew more outrageous, however, a group of conspirators plotted his assassination.    Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.   If you'd like to support the show, please consider...

Nero became emperor of Rome in 54 A.D., largely thanks to the scheming of his mother, Agrippina. The teenaged ruler showed promise early on, yet major flaws swiftly revealed themselves, including an obsession with becoming a musician. As his enemies multiplied, Nero retained power by brutal means. In 59, he ordered one of the most notorious assassinations of the century, inspired by a special effect he saw at the theater.   Show notes and full transcripts available at...

When Valerie Solanas moved to New York in the early-to-mid 1960s, she wanted nothing more than to become a writer. Within a few years, she approached perhaps the most admired—and reviled—artist in the United States, Andy Warhol, proposing that he produce her pipe-bomb of a comedy, Up Your Ass. Though promising at first, their relationship went south, and in 1968, Solanas walked into Warhol’s studio with the intention of shooting him dead. As you can probably tell from this summary alone, this...

A diehard Communist, David Alfaro Siqueiros fought in the Mexican Revolution in the mid-1910s. Over the next several decades, he would revolutionize the theory and practice of muralism in Mexico and abroad, largely inspired by his radical politics. In 1940, his political convictions led to a less honorable enterprise when he spearheaded an assault on the home of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky as he and his family slept in their beds.     Show notes and full transcripts available at...

Season 2 of The Art of Crime explores a new theme. Listen to this trailer to find out what it is! 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. The Art of Crime is part of the Airwave Media network. To learn more about Airwave, visit www.airwavemedia.com. If you'd like to advertise on The Art of Crime, please email [email protected]. Learn more about...

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions! Let me know if you'd like to hear more AMA episodes in the future at [email protected].   If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast.   The Art of Crime is part of the Airwave Media network. To learn more about Airwave, visit www.airwavemedia.com. If you'd like to advertise on The Art of Crime, please email [email protected]. You can take the Airwave listener survey...

Arthur Conan Doyle rose to fame as the inventor of Sherlock Holmes. Not unlike his literary creation, Doyle had a knack for making inferences about others based on observation alone and even brought that talent to bear on real-life criminal cases. He also weighed in on the Ripper killings, drawing curve-ball conclusions about how the murderer committed his crimes. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.   If you'd like to support the show, please consider...