Ridiculous Crime

We get a LOT of correspondence here at RC HQ, and the time has come to share it with the world. Suggestions! Confessions! Campfire Tales! Requests! Guitars! Turkeys! Manhunts! Duct Tape! Y'all are a fascinating and hilarious bunch.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was the ‘90s, just before the internet went big, the perfect moment for two gals to turn outlaw, robbing men from Texas to Vegas. While on the run they were spotted hiding as nurses, strippers and refrigerator customers. Novelty shirts and tv shows followed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The podcast discusses the strange case of the 'Pretty Pants Bandit' who robs stores by demanding people to take off their pants. They speculate about the motivations and embarrassment of the victims, explore the concept of the male gaze in a scene from The Matrix, and delve into the changing standards of beauty. The episode also includes discussions about renting shoes, the misfortunes of Betty and James, and ending with a favorite Venus fly trap experience.

Mimes and police: two great tastes that don't taste great together. In the time between the Beat Generation and the Summer of Love, a band of misfit mimes joined forces with a future super-promoter to fight for the rights of performace artists and freedom of expression (also the freedom to get freaky while miming). Clashes with cops ensued, but no invisible box could hold the mimes back. This is the true story of how mime culture changed history...and gave us hippies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even the worst singers think they're magnificent crooners in the shower or alone in the car. But what of the terrible singers who take their warbling public? Can singing be criminally bad? Turns out the answer is YES.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No one likes medical exams that get a little, uh, personal. And it's only made worse if the doctor administering the test is actually a teen con artist posing as an MD. This teen terror just wouldn't give up his medical dreams until he faced the most tenacious opponent of all: a local investigative news team.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ah, the 80s. Back when MTV ruled the airwaves, shoulder pads were mandatory, Coca Cola was going through some identity issues, and television signal jacking was still possible. It was a magical time when someone in Chicago could turn on the tv and get an unintended eyeful of weirdness, thanks to a rascally criminal in a Max Headroom mask.`See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gaston Means managed to insert himself into some significant crimes in American history. J. Edgar Hoover himself referred to Means as "the most amazing figure in contemporary criminal history" for his ability to successfully lie to suit whichever situation in which he found himself. But he met his match when he tried to swindle Washington socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean in a fake investigation into the Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping. Means ran out of luck when he ran out of lies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It used to be gauche to wear white after labor day, or to board a plane in your pajamas. What once would get you stern looks or eye rolls are now widely tolerated sartorial choices. There was once one choice, though, that wasn't tolerated at all. In fact, it got you a beat down. Woe be the men who wore straw hats after the summer season in New York City.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the quiet spring and summer of the early COVID-19 pandemic, one creature's reign of terror paralyzed a neighborhood. What was once an idyllic municipal rose garden, prized for its bountiful blooms and serene atmosphere, became a bloody stomping ground for a pissed off turkey. It just so happens that animals can be criminals, too.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.