James Sanborn: When Friendship Wasn't Enough

Augustus Flake: The Boy in the Basket

In June 1881, a crying infant appeared at the kitchen door of a Shreveport family. No name. No note. No explanation. Just a newborn baby abandoned in the early morning darkness. As news spread, the city rallied around the child. The newspaper would posit that the child was destined for greatness...but his story would prove to be far shorter and more tragic.

The Rousseau Family: Tragedy on the Tchefuncte

In this episode, we follow the episode of the Rousseau family, reconstructing the final moments that led to a disaster and exploring how nearly an entire family came to rest underneath one monument in Madisonville Cemetery. Sometimes the most haunting graves are not the oldest or the most grand, but the ones that remind us of how quickly everything can change.

Samuel Thomas: The Killing of Hugh Dickson

Former Confederate officer, Louisiana state senator, respected planter, and family man, Samuel Milton Thomas seemed an unlikely murder suspect. Yet in the early hours of one morning, he entered a room at Rush Point Plantation and shot his brother-in-law, Hugh Dickson, in the head. What followed was one of the most sensational trials in Louisiana history. At the center of the case was Thomas's daughter, Carrie, whose testimony revealed years of alleged grooming, drugging, and sexual abuse. In this episode, we explore the tragedy that led to a killing, the courtroom battle that followed, and the lingering mysteries surrounding the family left behind. Was Samuel Milton Thomas a murderer...or a father pushed beyond his breaking point?

Clarence Landrum: The Journey of the Louisiana Spirit

In 1936, a political wager sent two men on a journey across half the country to Washington D.C. What began as a local joke became a nationwide sensation as newspapers covered the journey of the "Louisiana Spirit," bringing some relief from the misery of the Great Depression.

James Sanborn: When Friendship Wasn't Enough

In this episode, we visit the grave of James Sanborn, a man remembered not only for the tragic way his life ended on a railroad track in Frierson, Louisiana, but also for the friends who tried to save him...and memorialized him when they failed. Content Warning: This episode discusses a case directly involving suicide. Listener discretion is advised.