True Stories Episodes
Stories that make us ask questions about life, war, events, and so much more.
Aug. 21, 2026
FBI LEGEND MELVIN PURVIS: THE MAN WHO HUNTED THE TIGER
SHOW NOTES A Summer of Unsung Heroes Presentation FBI Legend Melvin Purvis – The Man Who Hunted the Tiger 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Melvin Purvis was once one of the most famous lawmen in America — a young, sharp‑eyed FBI agent whose name dominated headlines during the desperate days of the 1930s gangster era. He was the man who hunted John Dillinger, “The Tiger,” and later Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and a roster of outlaws who turned the Midwest into a battleground. F...
Aug. 2, 2026
ESPIONAGE: NANCY WAKE: THE GESTAPO'S MOST WANTED WOMAN
NANCY WAKE: THE GESTAPO’S MOST WANTED WOMAN Podcast Show Notes – 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Coming Soon: 1001 WAR STORIES- Stories of courage and sacrifice from 1001 Stories Podcast Network ⭐ Episode Summary In this cinematic, fast‑moving episode, we follow the extraordinary life of Nancy Grace Augusta Wake (1912–2011)—the New Zealand–born, Australia‑raised journalist who became one of the most decorated women of WWII and the Gestapo’s most relentlessly hunted Allied agent. K...
June 14, 2026
TRUE CRIME: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF FELIPE SANTOS AND TERRANCE WILLIAMS IN THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES AREA
⭐ SHOW NOTES TRUE CRIME: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF FELIPE SANTOS AND TERRANCE WILLIAMS IN THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES — OPEN CASE A 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Investigation Narrated by Jon Hagadorn About This Episode Over the past twenty years, Florida has recorded hundreds of unsolved disappearances—cases where people walked into the wilderness, stepped into a vehicle, or simply vanished from everyday life without leaving a trace. But among all of them, two cases stand apart for thei...
March 29, 2026
MK-ULTRA (PT 2): THE VICTIMS SPEAK, THE STORIES OF CIA ABUSE OF POWER, THE HEARINGS, THE GUILTY WALK FREE
SHOW NOTES — MK‑ULTRA Pt. 2: The Victims, The Stories & The Outcome Episode Summary In Part Two of our MK‑ULTRA investigation, we move from the paper trail into the human cost of one of the most disturbing intelligence programs in American history. Last week, we traced how LSD leaked from CIA laboratories into universities, art circles, and eventually into the bloodstream of the 1960s counterculture. But behind that cultural explosion were people—ordinary Americans—who never volunteered, never c...
March 27, 2026
TORNADO: REMEMBERING THE 2011 SUPER OUTBREAK & HOW TO SURVIVE THE NEXT ONE
1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast TORNADO: REMEMBERING THE 2011 SUPER OUTBREAK & HOW TO SURVIVE THE NESXT ONE The 2011 Super Outbreak stands as the largest, deadliest, and most destructive tornado outbreak ever recorded in the United States, a four‑day onslaught of violent storms that carved a scar across the South, Midwest, and East from April 25–28, 2011. It was a meteorological event so vast and so violent that even seasoned forecasters struggled to describe it. Over those f...
March 22, 2026
MK-ULTRA THE DEADLY CIA BRAIN CONTROL PROGRAM THAT FUELED THE 60'S LSD COUNTERCULTURE (PT 1) HOW THEY WERE CAUGHT
Beginning in the late 1950's our government's CIA, feeling that our enemies were leading us in the science of mind control, began a program of experimentation on both volunteer and unknowing subjects using the hallucinatory drug LSD. The program grew out of control quickly, one result being their manufacturing and distributing free LSD throughout San Francisco and other cities , using CIA safehouses as distribution points, performing experimentts on unknowing prisoners and soldiers and on their ...
March 15, 2026
THE TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED 'THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO'
The True Story That Inspired 'The Count of Monte Cristo' — A Four‑Part Special at 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Fresh off our full narration of Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo at 1001 Stories for the Road, we turn to the true story behind the novel — a story every bit as dramatic, heroic, and heartbreaking as the fiction it inspired. And with PBS MASTERPIECE releasing its sweeping new eight‑episode adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo starring Sam Claflin as Edmond D...
March 8, 2026
THE KIDNAPPERS OF CENTRAL PARK
THE CENTRAL PARK KIDNAPPING EDWARD H.SMITH There are stories in American history that arrive like a thunderclap—stories that seize the public imagination, shake a city to its core, and leave behind a permanent change in how people live their daily lives. In the spring of 1899, New York City was gripped by exactly such a story. It began in the most peaceful place imaginable: a sunny afternoon in Central Park, where mothers pushed prams beneath the elms, nurses chatted on benches, and children pla...
Feb. 27, 2026
PEG ENTWHISTLE AND THE GHOST OF THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN
Episode 2 — Peg Entwistle & the Ghost of the Hollywood Sign ⭐ EPISODE SUMMARY PEG ENTWHISTLE AND THE GHOST OF THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN In 1932, a young actress named Peg Entwistle climbed the ladder behind the Hollywood Sign and jumped to her death. Her tragic story became one of Hollywood’s most enduring legends — and for nearly a century, hikers, rangers, and tourists have reported seeing her ghost wandering the hills, smelling her gardenia perfume, or hearing her footsteps near the “H.” This epi...
Feb. 20, 2026
WHO KILLED SUPERMAN? A HOLLYWOOD TRUE CRIME STORY
"Who Killed Superman?" is a gripping investigation into the tragic end of George Reeves, the actor who became a 1950s icon as the Man of Steel but found himself trapped in a real-life noir drama. The Incident: Time, Place, and Date Date: June 16, 1959. Time: Between 1:30 a.m. and 2:00 a.m.. Place: The upstairs bedroom of his home at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive, Los Angeles. The Scene: Reeves was found naked, sprawled across his bed, dead from a single gunshot wound to his right temple from a .30 ...
Oct. 12, 2025
THE LEGEND OF THUNDER ROAD: FROM FAST CARS, MOUNTAIN BOYS, HOOCH, AND HOLLYWOOD, TO NASCAR
In the 30's, 40', and 50's, "white lightning', or strong mountain brewed whiskey, was an important revneue source for the mountain communities in Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. But getting it out of the stills and down to the thirsty cities was tricky, as G-Men (revenue agents) did their best to put a stop on the distribution. Getting past the feds meant fast cars, fearless drivers, and some very top engineers capable of creating cars which could carry a ton a whiskey yet still make cor...
Oct. 5, 2025
THE MURDER OF FOUNDING FATHER GEORGE WYTHE- A TRUE CRIME STORY FROM OUR NATION'S BEGINNINGS
Great link for those who want the full story:"The Murder of George Wythe" Title page from Boyd and Hemphill's pamphlet reprint, The Murder of George Wythe: Two Essays (Williamsburg, VA: Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1955)....
Sept. 21, 2025
MISSING PERSONS FOUND (#3A) OUR CANINE HEROES
In this episode, part 3A of a two episode "Our Canine Heroes"installment, we share actual stories of hero rescue dogs and why search and rescue relies so heavily upon them, especially when time is critical in saving lives. We also discuss the 2022 movie 'Rescued By Ruby', a family-friendly movie about a state policeman who desperately wanted to partner with a search and rescue dog but had been turned down bercause of a physical condition. We chose to illustrate the movie because it shows how SA...
Sept. 14, 2025
MISSING PERSONS: FOUND (#2) CALLING COLTER SHAW WHAT TO DO WHEN A LOVED ONE GOES MISSING
In this episode we discuss the human element required to locate missing persons. Police, FBI, Investigators, and trackers are discussed, as a number of organizations which work free of charge to help families find their loved ones and provide comfort where possible (listed below). We'll relate online stories from former investigators and provide statistics relating to the number of missing persons cases called in yearly, the number that are solved, and the states with the highest number of cases...
Aug. 31, 2025
FALL SERIES: MISSING PERSONS: FOUND (EPISODE 1) THE DETECTIVES BEST WEAPONS: DNA & GENEOLOGY
Eight powerful stories revealing how DNA,Geneology.and cold case detectives solved missing persons case., some found alive, someproviding a final asnwer and closure for grieving relatives. COMING NEXT: FALL SERIES (EPISODE 2) CALLING COLTER SHAW (When trackers succeed) Join us at our website at www.bestof1001stories.com and sign up forour newsletters, which just started. Also find this episode, if you liked it, and leave a review for others.
June 29, 2025
MISSING DOWN UNDER: THE TOM PHILLIPS STORY
Tom Phillips and his three young children disappeared from the isolated rural Waikato town of Marokopa on 9 December 2021. New Zealand Police believe that the children were taken by their father to a location somewhere in the western Waikato, after a dispute with their mother. Phillips is alleged to have committed a bank robbery in September 2023, but the first sighting of all three children with their father was on 3 October 2024, when they were spotted walking through Marokopa farmland. Howeve...
June 22, 2025
REMEMBERING THE HARVEY GIRLS AND HOW THEY TAMED THE WILD WEST
By 1880 the ATS&F Railroad had laid tracks from Kansas City to California- and people and products were starting to move through the still untamed west. Food along the way, however, was a spotty proposition, and the railroad was faced with a...
June 15, 2025
THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE (WHICH RESULTED IN) OUR NATIONS FIRST MEDAL OF HONOR
On the 26th of March, 1863, the first six Medals of Honor were awarded to 6 surviving members of the Andrew's Raiders, who, one year earlier , had participating in a daring union raid into the south to commandeer a railroad engine and hobble Confederate supply lines around Chattanooga. The first of the six went to private Jacob Parrott. This is the story. Resources: • https://www.thoughtco.com/great-locomotive-chase-2360250 • Andrews Raiders - Warfare History Network https://warfarehistorynetw...
May 25, 2025
THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF BUTCH O'HARE: AMERICA'S 1ST WWII FIGHTER ACE
I first heard this story on Paul Harvey years ago., and I've retold it in part but never in full. This is the story of Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry O'Hare (March 13, 1914 – November 26, 1943) who was an American naval aviator of the United States Navy, who on February 20, 1942, became the Navy's first fighter ace of the war when he single-handedly attacked a formation of nine Japanese medium bombers approaching his aircraft carrier. Even though he had a limited amount of ammunition, he was ...
May 1, 2025
BEST OF (#65 OF 518) THE KATYN FOREST MASSACRE (PT TWO) THE MURDER (AND COVER-UP) OF 22.000 POLES BY SOVIETS APR-MAY 1940
1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries
May 1, 2025
BEST OF (#64 of 518) THE KATYN FOREST MASSACRE (PT 1): SEPT 1-13, 1939 POLAND SEIZED BY GERMANY AND RUSSIA
1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries
April 13, 2025
REMEMBERING I LOVE LUCY
TV history was made in 1951 when the first episode of I Love Lucy aired on CBS starring a fiery red head Irish actress named Lucille Ball and her real life husband, Cuban American band leader Desi Arnaz as New York City apartment dwellers Lucy and...
April 6, 2025
THE JFK ASSASSINATION COVER-UP: THE REPORTER WHO KNEW TOO MUCH-DOROTHY KILGALLEN
Full Transcript at In light of the recent release of thousands of previously classified documents concerning the Kennedy Assassination we present an in-depth look at the aftermath, which left investigators wirth the murder of the assassin...
March 23, 2025
THE MAN-EATING LIONS OF TSAVO (PT 2) THE TRAP IS SPRUNG
Part Two tells the story of the hunt for both lions, and how Lt.Col Patterson corners them both, as well as the time things got so bad with the coolies being killed that most of them left the bridge project.