Tag: true crime
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The Rembrandt Heist by Anthony Amore
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Rembrandt Heist: When in a jam, make a bigger jam. Quick synopsis: The life and crimes of art thief Myles Connor. Fact for Non-History People: The largest art heist on record is the 1990 heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston with 13 works valued at $500 million…
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End of Days by Chris Jennings
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for End of Days: Plenty of judgement to go around. Quick synopsis: The story of the Ruby Ridge tragedy and how it all happened. Fact for Non-History People: In 2021, 15% of Americans believed the government had fallen under the control of a Satan-worshiping cabal of pedophiles. Probably a higher number now.…
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American Reich by Eric Lichtblau
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for American Reich: Feel like this is going to cause an argument. Quick synopsis: A look at a hate crime in Orange County, CA and the rise of hate crimes overall in the U.S. Fact for Non-History People: Hate crimes have doubled since 2015, reaching over 11,800 incidents in 2023. Fact for…
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The Blood Countess by Shelley Puhak
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Blood Countess: #FreeBáthory Quick synopsis: The true story of history’s most prolific female serial killer, Elizabeth Báthory. (Ahem, ALLEGEDLY.) Fact for Non-History People: 15% of U.S. serial killers are women. Fact for History Nerds: The most prolific female serial killer by confirmed victims is Jane Toppan with 31. My Take…
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Five Bullets by Elliot Williams
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Five Bullets: How many is too many? Quick synopsis: The story of the Bernie Goetz case in 1980s New York City. Fact for Non-History People: The NYC murder count per year went from 1,392 in 1985 to 2,262 in 1990. To be clear, 1,392 was already a lot. Fact for History…
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The Pain Brokers by Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Pain Brokers: Sometimes surgery is the least painful part. Quick synopsis: The story of terrible humans taking advantage of people through mass tort schemes. Fact for Non-History People: There are approximately 170 different mass torts which cover over 393,000 individual claims going on as of 2025. Fact for History Nerds:…
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One of Us by Åsne Seierstad
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for One of Us: Don’t read this if you have a “no crying” streak going. Quick synopsis: The story of the 2011 Norway bombing and massacre by Anders Behring Breivik. Fact for Non-History People: Breivik’s massacre is often cited as second to the Oklahoma City Bombing for most fatalities caused by one…
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No More Tears by Gardiner Harris
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for No More Tears: Actually, lots of tears it turns out. Quick synopsis: The story of how Johnson & Johnson’s squeaky-clean image is a lie. Fact for Non-History People: There are over 67,000 cases pending against J&J. Fact for History Nerds: A verdict against them from 2019 was for $2.1 billion but…
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Empire of Orgasm by Ellen Huet
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Empire of Orgasm: No comment so I don’t get banned. Quick synopsis: The story of the sex cult, OneTaste and its founder Nicole Daedone. Fact for Non-History People: OneTaste peaked with $10 million in revenue in 2017. At least, that’s what was reported. Fact for History Nerds: An annual membership with…