Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes

CRIME: Griselda Blanco the Cocaine Godmother

By her early 30s, Griselda Blanco had transformed herself from a poverty-stricken Colombian girl into one of the wealthiest and most feared drug lords in history, architecting a cocaine empire that flooded Miami with violence and money. Her business acumen was matched only by her willingness to order killings, including those of rivals, associates, and even husbands. In this episode of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes, Vanessa traces how one woman climbed to the top of a brutal industry and left a trail of bodies in her wake. Head over to our Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes YouTube channel to WATCH our video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Conspiracytheoriescultscrimes [https://www.youtube.com/@Conspiracytheoriescultscrimes] Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com [http://crimehouseplus.com] or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get episodes of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes ad-free and released one day early. 🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Crime House 24/7, Murder True Crime Stories and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social * Instagram: @Crimehouse * TikTok: @Crimehouse * Facebook: @crimehousestudios * X: @crimehousemedia * YouTube: @crimehousestudios

CULTS: Colonia Dignidad

In the Chilean wilderness, German preacher Paul Schaefer ran Colonia Dignidad, a walled commune where 300 followers lived under surveillance, forced labor, and daily abuse for decades. In this episode of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes, Vanessa traces how Schaefer's unchecked power grew from small-town evangelist to torturer-for-hire under Pinochet's brutal regime. A single note from a 12-year-old boy finally set his downfall in motion. Contains descriptions of child sexual abuse, torture, forced imprisonment, and murder. Head over to our Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes YouTube channel to WATCH our video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Conspiracytheoriescultscrimes [https://www.youtube.com/@Conspiracytheoriescultscrimes] Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com [http://crimehouseplus.com] or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get episodes of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes ad-free and released one day early. 🎧 Need More to Binge?  Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Crime House 24/7, Murder True Crime Stories and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social * Instagram: @Crimehouse [https://www.instagram.com/crimehouse/] * TikTok: @Crimehouse [https://www.tiktok.com/@crimehouse] * Facebook: @crimehousestudios [https://www.facebook.com/crimehousestudios] * X: @crimehousemedia [https://x.com/crimehousemedia] * YouTube: @crimehousestudios [https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios]

The Crimes that Built America | Murder: True Crime Stories

Crime House’s Murder: True Crime Stories presents a special series for America’s 250th Birthday: The Crimes That Built America. Listen every Monday until July 6th on Murder: True Crime Stories. Join Crime House+ to get all 4 episodes right now ad-free. To subscribe, go to crimehouseplus.com [http://crimehouseplus.com] or if you are listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. 250 years ago, a brand-new country declared its independence, and in the centuries since, some of the worst crimes this country has ever seen reshaped America. Four murders. Four turning points. The crime behind Miranda rights. The case that created the FBI. The era that gave us criminal profiling. And the murder of Adam Walsh that built America's missing-children movement.

CONSPIRACY THEORY: Lemuria the Lost Continent

In the mid-1800s, a British naturalist named Philip Sclater proposed the existence of a vast sunken continent called Lemuria to explain a gap in the fossil record. What began as a genuine scientific hypothesis was seized upon by occultists, racists, and spiritual movements, mutating over 150 years into a living religion practiced at the foot of a California volcano. In this episode of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes, Vanessa Richardson traces how one man's theory about lemur fossils became the foundation for a conspiracy touching Atlantis, Theosophy, Nazism, and the New Age. Head over to our Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes YouTube channel to WATCH our video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Conspiracytheoriescultscrimes [https://www.youtube.com/@Conspiracytheoriescultscrimes] Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com [http://crimehouseplus.com] or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get episodes of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes ad-free and released one day early. 🎧 Need More to Binge?  Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Crime House 24/7, Murder True Crime Stories and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social * Instagram: @Crimehouse [https://www.instagram.com/crimehouse/] * TikTok: @Crimehouse [https://www.tiktok.com/@crimehouse] * Facebook: @crimehousestudios [https://www.facebook.com/crimehousestudios] * X: @crimehousemedia [https://x.com/crimehousemedia] * YouTube: @crimehousestudios [https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios]

CRIME: Black Bart the Outlaw Poet

In 1875, a mild-mannered Civil War veteran named Charles Boles began robbing Wells Fargo stagecoaches across Northern California. He was always polite, never harmed passengers, and occasionally left handwritten poems behind. In this episode of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes, Vanessa Richardson traces how Boles built a double life as a San Francisco socialite while becoming the West's most wanted highway bandit. After 28 robberies and years of near misses, a single laundry mark would unravel everything. And yet, his ultimate fate remains unsolved to this day. Head over to our Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes YouTube channel to WATCH our video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Conspiracytheoriescultscrimes [https://www.youtube.com/@Conspiracytheoriescultscrimes] If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes to never miss a case! To hear episodes ad-free and released a day early, subscribe to Crime House+. Join at crimehouseplus.com [http://crimehouseplus.com] or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios. 🎧 Need More to Binge?  Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Crime House 24/7, Murder True Crime Stories and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social * Instagram: @Crimehouse [https://www.instagram.com/crimehouse/] * TikTok: @Crimehouse [https://www.tiktok.com/@crimehouse] * Facebook: @crimehousestudios [https://www.facebook.com/crimehousestudios] * X: @crimehousemedia [https://x.com/crimehousemedia] * YouTube: @crimehousestudios [https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios]