WILDCIDE

Some criminals steal for money. These two stole for sport.

Chelsea takes on Victor Lustig, the smooth-talking con artist who “sold” the Eiffel Tower — twice — and even conned Al Capone. From fake government papers to counterfeit money presses, Lustig’s schemes left a trail of humiliated victims from Paris to New York.

Bailey dives into Ferdinand Waldo Demara, the master impostor who bluffed his way through careers he had no busines...

A car bomb. A forest war. And an activist caught in the middle. When Earth First! organizer Judi Bari was nearly killed by a bomb planted beneath the driver’s seat of her Subaru, the FBI didn’t hunt for the bomber—they arrested her. What followed was a decades-long battle between environmentalists, the logging industry, and law enforcement, marked by conspiracy, smear campaigns, and civil rights violations.

In this episode, we dig ...

What happens when one of America’s most prestigious art galleries falls for an $80 million lie?

From the acclaimed filmmaker behind Netflix’s Made You Look, Barry Avrich returns with The Devil Wears Rothko: Inside the Art Scandal That Rocked the World. This gripping true crime exposé pulls back the curtain on the now-infamous Knoedler Gallery fraud—complete with a mysterious dealer, a brilliant forger, and a web of deception that r...

For years, the name Wolfgang Beltracchi meant nothing to the art world. And yet, his fingerprints were everywhere—on canvases attributed to long-dead masters, hanging in prestigious galleries, and sitting in private collections worth millions. He didn’t just forge art—he forged history itself.

But this isn’t your typical forgery tale. This is the story of a man who studied the flaws of the elite and turned them into his canvas. Alo...

In today's Shortcide, we explore two outrageous real-life cases where the last wills and testaments caused chaos. First up is T.M. Zink, an Iowa attorney who left his fortune to build a women-free library, complete with “NO WOMAN ADMITTED” signs. His daughter fought back, and what unfolded was a courtroom showdown filled with legal twists and personal pettiness. Then, we head to 1920s Toronto for the bizarre Great Stork Derby, wher...

Last interview, we sat down with Tamara Cooper to discuss compulsive sexual behavior. The question remained: what happens to the partners after betrayal? So this week, we sit down with Jessica Lamar, CPTT (Certified Partner Trauma Therapist) for an eye-opening conversation on betrayal trauma—the profound impact of infidelity and sex addiction on partners. Jessica brings years of clinical expertise to the table as we unpack the diff...

When Dr. Jean-Claude Dominique was struck in a late-night hit-and-run, his Queens community mourned the loss of a respected OB-GYN, devoted father, and loving husband. His wife, Eliette, stood by as he lay in a coma—unaware that the real impact of that night was only just beginning.

What first appeared to be a tragic accident quickly unraveled into a web of forged documents, double lives, and competing claims of marriage. As the in...

It began with a body. In December 2000, the remains of a missing man surfaced in the Oder River in southwestern Poland. Dariusz Janiszewski—a young entrepreneur who had vanished weeks earlier—was found floating in the river by three fishermen. He was bound by rope in a ‘reverse hog tie’ position with evidence that he’d been starved, tortured and then dumped in the icy river while he was still alive. The brutality of the murder left...

Sex addiction is often misunderstood, sensationalized, or dismissed altogether—but what’s the truth behind it? In this episode, we sit down with Tamara Cooper, a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT), to unpack the often-misunderstood world of sex addiction. Together, we draw a clear line between compulsive sexual behavior and criminal sexual offending—emphasizing the critical roles of consent, legality, and boundaries. Tamara e...

On July 4, 2009, the world woke up to shocking headlines: beloved NFL quarterback Steve McNair had been found dead in a Nashville condo, alongside 20-year-old Sahel “Jenni” Kazemi. What first looked like a mystery quickly unraveled into a tragic tale of obsession, secrecy, and emotional unraveling.

To fans, McNair was the embodiment of grit—a decorated athlete, a husband, and a father of four. But beneath the surface, his life was ...

Step right up, folks—today’s Shortcide takes you on a journey through the wonderfully weird (and slightly horrifying) world of historic freak shows! 🎪 We dig into the strange afterlife of Elmer McCurdy, the outlaw who somehow spent more time touring as a mummy than he ever did causing trouble alive. Then, we honor the story of Julia Pastrana, the incredible performer who deserved so much more than the circus life she was given. Ex...

In this powerful conversation, Sab sheds light on the hidden dangers of honor-based violence, detailing how it continues to affect countless lives across the world. Through her advocacy, she works to raise awareness, support survivors, and fight for a future where no one has to fear violence in the name of family honor.

Sab's courage to speak out is a reminder that honor killings are not just tragic stories but real, preventable cr...

In 2003, Shafilea Ahmed, a 17-year-old British-Pakistani girl, was killed in a brutal act that shocked the world. Behind the walls of a seemingly ordinary family home, Shafilea's desire for independence clashed with her parents' rigid expectations, leading to a tragic and deadly end.

Raised in a family where cultural traditions were enforced without question, Shafilea's growing desire to live life on her own terms set her on a dang...

What happens when love turns deadly? Sharon Graham found herself at the center of a tangled web of emotions, caught between not one, but three men—each unknowingly playing a role in a twisted and dangerous plot. At the heart of this tragic story is Bruce Saunders, a well-liked butcher whose life would be taken by those he trusted most.

As Sharon’s desires and emotions ran wild, her relationship with Greg Roser and Peter Koenig, two...

It's all about Pantera today! In this special episode, we sit down with Michael "Doc" Holt, the cousin of the legendary Abbott Brothers, Darrell "Dimebag" and Vinnie Paul, for an exclusive interview. As one of the few remaining close family members to the Abbott brothers, Doc shares intimate, never-before-heard stories about their childhood, their rise to fame with Pantera, and the deep personal loss he still feels from Dimebag's t...

In this intense episode, we cover one of the most shocking and heartbreaking events in rock music history: the murder of Dimebag Darrell, guitarist of the iconic band Pantera, during a live performance in 2004. The episode delves into the tragic shooting at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, where Darrell and three others—tour manager Chris Paluska, security guard Jeff Thompson, and fan Nathan Bray—lost their lives in an act of br...

In this episode, we dive into the haunting murder of Rhonda “Chantay” Blankinship, whose tragic fate would remain a mystery for over a year. Chantay’s disappearance seemed like an ordinary missing persons case, but what unfolded would leave the small town of Brownwood, Texas, reeling. Her body was found in an abandoned house, brutally beaten and left for dead, but the question remained: Who would do this to someone so loved by all?

In this Shortcide, it's almost as if death itself is playing dirty, pulling off Final Destination-style tricks, taking lives in the most unexpected and bizarre ways. Bailey and Chelsea dive into two of the most perplexing and bizarre cases in recent memory. Bailey covers the eerie deaths of Lucien Perot and Olivier Boudin, two men found dead under mysterious circumstances at a French bistro, their meal left unfinished and their dea...

In September of 1996, tragedy shattered the peace at the historic Snowden House, a grand estate resting in the heart of the Arkansas Delta. It was there that 75-year-old Sally Snowden McKay and her nephew, 52-year-old Joseph Lee Baker, were brutally murdered—a brutal act of violence that stained a home that had stood for generations. The killer? A teenage burglar, Travis Lewis, who had crept onto the property that day with intentio...