Spirits with Crime

Danielle Briggs

The popular true crime podcast genre gets better (with spirits)! Join us every Saturday with the cocktail of the week for a story about heinous acts of true crime, or a creepy tale of the unbelievable! Get ready for boo-ze that will knock your socks off!

  1. 7 MAR

    Ep. 146: Step Right Up- The Story of P. T. Barnum

    What do mermaids, museums, and nineteenth-century showmanship have in common? More than you might think. This week on Spirits with Crime, we step back into the strange and fascinating world of nineteenth-century exhibitions, where crowds gathered to witness curiosities that blurred the line between fact and fiction. At the center of it all was one man who understood something powerful about human nature: people love a good spectacle. But when does entertainment cross the line into deception? In this episode, we explore the life and legacy of P. T. Barnum, the showman behind some of the most famous attractions of the era, like the history behind the famous Feejee Mermaid hoax and the strange world of the Barnum American Museum. So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and join me as we explore one of the most curious chapters in the history of spectacle. Cheers! Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/P-T-Barnum https://connecticuthistory.org/phineas-taylor-barnum/ https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/p-t-barnum https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-invented-show-business-180958098/ https://connecticuthistory.org/joice-heth/ https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/joice-heth https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/feejee-mermaid-and-other-hoaxes-p-t-barnum-180962624/ https://connecticuthistory.org/p-t-barnums-american-museum/ https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mythic-creatures/mermaids/feejee-mermaid https://connecticuthistory.org/general-tom-thumb/ https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/449 https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Greatest-Showman

    29 min

  2. 28 FEB

    Ep. 145: Manifesting Mayhem- Randonautica Suitcase Murders

    Have you ever gone looking for something weird… just to see what would happen? In 2020, an app started trending that promised adventure through randomness. You set an intention. It sends you coordinates. You go exploring. But what happens when curiosity collides with real tragedy? This week on Spirits with Crime, we’re diving into intention, coincidence, and our very human need to believe that randomness means something. We’ll explore the cultural obsession with manifestation, the science of pattern-seeking, and the unsettling moment when a digital scavenger hunt turned into something very real. Was it fate? Or just the uncomfortable truth that when you drop enough pins on a map, eventually one of them will land somewhere you wish it hadn’t? Do you believe intention can shape reality? Or is randomness just randomness? Cheers! Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13546800042000015 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/patternicity-finding-meaningful-patterns/ https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Secret-by-Byrne https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6898789-the-power https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-purpose/201910/why-we-see-meaning-in-random-events https://www.randonautica.com/faq https://qrng.anu.edu.au/ https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53189298 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-difference-between-random-and-pseudo-random/ https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2020/06/23/update-in-west-seattle-double-homicide-investigation/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/landlord-charged-in-west-seattle-suitcase-murders/ https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/ https://www.king5.com/

    17 min

  3. 21 FEB

    Ep. 144: Wow If You're Out There- The Wow! Signal

    Hello, haunted friends, welcome to another episode of Spirits with Crime! In today’s episode of Spirits with Crime, we’re heading somewhere slightly unexpected: outer space. No murders. No courtroom drama. No suspects. The Wow! Signal is one of the most intriguing anomalies in modern scientific history; a strange signal detected in 1977 that lasted just over a minute… and a single handwritten reaction that somehow became bigger than the signal itself. What’s a story you only remember because of one tiny detail? Leave a comment, rate the episode, or drop a review! Cheers! Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow%21_signal https://www.astronomyhouston.org/newsletters/guidestar/wow-signal-0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow%21_signal https://www.space.com/space-exploration/search-for-life/that-mysterious-wow-signal-from-space-scientists-may-finally-know-where-it-came-from-and-its-probably-not-aliens https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-wow-signal-seti-mystery-might-at-last-be-solved/ https://earthsky.org/space/wow-signal-explained-comets-antonio-paris/ https://www.seti.org/news/the-wow-signal-a-lingering-mystery-or-a-natural-phenomenon/

    18 min

  4. 14 FEB

    Ep. 143: The Cult of Cupid- Twin Flames Universe

    Happy Valentine’s Day, haunted friends! Whether you’re clinking glasses with your soulmate, side-eyeing the prix fixe menu, or aggressively ignoring every heart-shaped object in a five-mile radius, today’s episode is for you. In this Valentine’s Day episode, we’re unpacking love as entitlement, and what happens when the belief that someone is “meant for you” turns dangerous. We’ll trace the soulmate myth from ancient philosophy to modern marketing, look at how Valentine’s Day became a billion-dollar performance of destiny, and explore the psychology behind rejection, attachment, and ego injury. And then… we’re diving into the tea. Specifically, the story of Twin Flames Universe: an online spiritual organization that promised divine counterparts, eternal union, and absolute certainty in love. This episode isn’t about mocking hope. It’s about understanding how deeply human vulnerability can be leveraged. And when you’re done listening, I want to hear from you: Do you believe in soulmates? Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html https://www.britannica.com/topic/Symposium-by-Plato https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43927/the-parlement-of-foules https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lupercalia https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-valentines-day-180968156/ https://corporate.hallmark.com/about/history/ https://www.netflix.com/title/81645170 https://www.amazon.com/Desperately-Seeking-Soulmate-Escaping-Flames/dp/B0C9Y8V9SZ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Flames_Universe https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/12/inside-the-twin-flames-universe https://www.vice.com/en/article/epz7be/twin-flames-universe-jeff-and-shaleia https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news

    35 min

  5. 7 FEB

    Ep. 142: Justice is Served

    Season 4 starts at the end. Executions. Last meals. Last words. Because when it comes to crime, we’re never satisfied with what happened, we want to know how it ended. In this episode, we’re digging into why endings hold so much power over us. We trace the history of executions, from public spectacles to quiet, medicalized procedures. We talk about how last meals became ritual, how final words turned into performance, and why a single sentence or plate of food can eclipse an entire lifetime. If this episode made you pause, think, laugh uncomfortably, or question why, let’s talk about it. Leave a comment, share your thoughts, or drop a review, and be sure to let me know what your last meal or last words might be if you had to face the end. Cheers! Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_meal https://law.okcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Lynne-for-Website.pdf https://www.tastingtable.com/1571483/death-row-alcohol-last-meal/ https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2024/7/23/from-libations-to-pouring-one-out-spilling-drinks-connects-souls-across-centuries-and-continents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Daugherty https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/175295/the-london-hanged-by-peter-linebaugh/ https://www.history.ac.uk/research/medieval https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Code-of-Hammurabi https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/law-and-punishment https://www.britannica.com/topic/capital-punish https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/history-capital-punishment https://www.themarshallproject.or https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Kemmler https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/grisly-history-electric-chair-180960399/ https://timesmachine.nytimes.co https://www.britannica.com/topic/gas-chamber https://dpic-cdn.org/production/legacy/GeeJon1924.pdf https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/troubled-history-gas-chamber-180972023/ https://www.britannica.com/topic/lethal-injection https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_executed_offenders.html https://www.themarshallproject.org https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Wayne-Gacy https://www2.illinois.gov/idoc/aboutus/Pages/Executions.aspx https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victor-Feguer https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/victor-feguer https://www.britannica.com/biography/Timothy-McVeigh https://www.bop.gov/about/history/timothy_mcveigh.jsp https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aileen-Wuornos https://www.dc.state.fl.us/offenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&DCNumber=474222 https://www.okhistory.org/publications/chronicles/vol10/iss4/causes.pdf https://www.bop.gov/about/history/timothy_mcveigh.jsp

    44 min

  6. 31 JAN

    Ep. 141: The Afterlife Crisis

    Last episode, we talked about the fear of death. The big, final, unavoidable question mark at the end of life. Today, we’re picking up that thread and tugging it somewhere colder, quieter… and much less final. In this episode of Spirits with Crime, we dive into the fear of the afterlife and why ghosts have haunted human imagination for centuries. Using An Illustrated History of Ghosts, we explore a deceptively simple question: what even is a ghost? We’ll walk through how the idea of ghosts has evolved across eras. Along the way, we talk about why ghosts scare us so deeply, what they reveal about our fear of dying, and maybe more unsettling, our fear of not being done. As a little cherry on top of the headstone, this episode also marks the end of Season 3. Next week, we kick open the crypt doors for Season 4, and I'm so excited to get to do another terrifying season with all of you. Give this one a listen, leave a review if you’re enjoying the journey, and come chat with me. Do you believe ghosts are spirits, symbols, or something else entirely? And if ghosts are real… would you want to become one? Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/701/ancient-mesopotamian-beliefs-in-the-afterlife/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Mesopotamian_underworld https://grokipedia.com/page/Ghosts_in_Mesopotamian_religions Boardman, Adam Allsuch. An Illustrated History of Ghosts. London: Nobrow Press, 2022.

    25 min

  7. 24 JAN

    Ep. 140: The Cost of Belief- Andrea Yates

    In today’s episode of Spirits with Crime, we’re talking about Andrea Yates, a case that sits at the uncomfortable crossroads of fear, faith, mental illness, and the devastating consequences of untreated psychological distress. This is not a sensational story, but a sobering one. We unpack what happened, how fear of death and damnation shaped Andrea’s actions, and how belief systems can become distorted when someone is drowning in untreated mental illness. Beyond the case itself, this episode takes a step back and asks a bigger question: how does our fear of death influence the choices we make while we’re still alive? From desperation and control to denial and moral panic, fear can quietly rewrite someone’s reality long before tragedy strikes. This conversation is heavy, but it’s an important one. And while this episode focuses on fear in life, we’re not done yet. In the next episode, we’ll follow that fear beyond the grave and explore how it transforms into stories of the afterlife, unfinished business, and ghosts that refuse to stay silent. Listen with care, share your thoughts respectfully, and if this episode resonated with you, leaving a review helps more spooky souls find these conversations. I’d also love to hear your take: do you think fear protects us, or does it sometimes become the most dangerous force of all? Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Socials: @spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Yates https://people.com/why-did-andrea-yates-drown-her-children-11882267 https://www.wral.com/story/andrea-yates-fast-facts/17644737/ https://abc13.com/post/andrea-yates-rusty-george-parnham-clear-lake-texas/10802560/ https://abc13.com/andrea-yates-houston-mother-kills-children-clear-lake/10802560/ https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2022/06/20/andrea-yates-timeline-a-look-back-at-the-clear-lake-mothers-case-after-she-drowned-her-5-children-in-homes-bathtub/ https://www.biography.com/crime/andrea-yates https://people.com/andrea-yates-ex-husband-rusty-says-didnt-blame-her-wonderful-person-exclusive-11884936 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109493/ https://www.txcourts.gov/cca/opinions/05-0024.htm https://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/06/yates.retrial/ https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5539061 https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Rusty-Yates-speaks-about-wife-s-case-2028455.php

    18 min

  8. 17 JAN

    Ep. 139: Something's Fishy- The High Aim 6 & Deep Sea Cryptids

    If deep water makes your palms sweat and your imagination run wild, welcome home. This week on Spirits with Crime, we’re leaning into Thalassophobia, that primal fear that something enormous is cruising beneath you… and it knows you’re there. I kick things off with the unsettling story of High Aim 6, a Taiwanese fishing vessel found drifting at sea with no crew aboard. Was it piracy, an accident, or something far more unsettling tied to the unpredictability of the sea? Then we dive deeper into the abyss with deep sea cryptids. From the eerily humanoid Ningen, to the serpentine Lusco, and other nightmare fuel allegedly spotted where sunlight gives up, I explore the creatures people swear they’ve seen lurking in the dark below. Listen now, leave a review, and tell me this: what do you think is scarier, the things we know live in the ocean… or the things we haven’t even seen yet? Send Me a Story! @ spiritswithcrime@gmail.com Find me @spiritswithcrimepodcast Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Aim_6 https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2003/01/16/191173 https://www.atuna.com/archive/?article=357 https://graham64.wordpress.com/tag/high-aim-6/ https://www.tvi.show/vanished/the-disappearance-of-the-crew-of-the-high-aim-6-taiwanese-ship-unraveling-the-mystery-at-sea

    27 min
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About

The popular true crime podcast genre gets better (with spirits)! Join us every Saturday with the cocktail of the week for a story about heinous acts of true crime, or a creepy tale of the unbelievable! Get ready for boo-ze that will knock your socks off!

Information

  • Creator
    Danielle Briggs
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    158
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Spirits With Crime
  • Show Website
    Spirits with Crime