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The Compendium: An Assembly of Fascinating Things

Kyle Risi & Adam Cox, Bleav

A weekly variety podcast giving you just enough information on a topic to stand your ground at any social gathering. We explore stories from the realms of true crime, history, and incredible people.

  1. Nellie Bly: 10 days in a mad house to 72 days around the world

    MAR 10 • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    Nellie Bly: 10 days in a mad house to 72 days around the world

    Nellie Bly the woman who check herself into a madness to expose the grim realities inside, but that was only the start for this plucky young stunt reporter. Elizabeth Cochran, practising a thousand-yard stare in a gaslit mirror, because the only way to report the truth is to be locked up with it. What follows is ten days inside the Blackwell Island asylum, where neglect, cruelty, and bureaucracy do their worst behind closed doors. Back in print, the fallout forces uncomfortable questions and real pressure for reform. And just when you think she’s done risking her life for a byline, Joseph Pulitzer hands her the kind of assignment that turns journalism into spectacle: an around-the-world dash that dares Jules Verne’s fiction to keep up. Topics include Her early bylines and the making of a stunt journalist Getting committed on purpose and what she finds inside Blackwell Island asylum Investigative journalism as performance, and as a weapon New York World, publicity, and the machinery behind the story 72 days around the world and the cultural frenzy that follows

    1h 18m
  2. The 2019 eBay Stalking Scandal: When Tech Giants Become Stalkers

    MAR 3 • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    The 2019 eBay Stalking Scandal: When Tech Giants Become Stalkers

    In 2019, eBay went full villain in one of Silicon Valley’s biggest cyberstalking scandals. Today we’re diving into the fragile ego at the top, and the lengths the CEO went to in a harassment campaign against a wholesome suburban couple in Boston. After critical posts hit a nerve, eBay’s CEO instructed their Global Security team to take down nay sayers at any cost. Today we track the emails, fake accounts, doorstep packages, and the FBI investigation that drags the whole operation into the light. Topics include EcommerceBytes, Ina and David Steiner, and the criticism eBay could not ignore eBay cyberstalking tactics, fake accounts, and a harassment campaign gone rogue Threat Matrix, private dossiers, and what Global Security thought it was doing How the FBI traced the stalking back to eBay executives and DOJ charges

    1h 18m
  3. West Memphis Three: Paradise Lost, Justice Lost, Innocence Lost

    FEB 24 • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    West Memphis Three: Paradise Lost, Justice Lost, Innocence Lost

    The West Memphis Three story is a nightmare of panic, pressure, and vanished evidence, where a confession mattered more than truth. In 1993, three eight-year-old boys vanished in West Memphis, Arkansas, then turned up murdered in Robin Hood Hills. As the Satanic Panic crept into the investigation, police chased a satanic ritual narrative and built a case around Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Misskelley, fuelled by a false confession and courtroom “experts” who should never have been there. Years later, the hair evidence in a ligature knot and the Alford plea that freed them leave one brutal question hanging: if they walked out, who never got caught? Topics include Satanic Panic hysteria and a wrongful conviction built on fear Jesse Misskelley’s false confession and the interrogation tactics behind it Paradise Lost and West of Memphis, and how the documentaries shifted the case The Alford plea, the hair evidence in the knot, and why the case stayed unresolved DNA testing and the long fight for full exoneration

    1h 32m
  4. McMillions: When America’s Biggest Game Stopped Being a Game

    1D AGO

    McMillions: When America’s Biggest Game Stopped Being a Game

    McMillions exposed how McDonald’s Monopoly was quietly hijacked, turning “random” winners into a pattern the FBI could not ignore. It started with a tip that sounded like sour grapes, but then the FBI noticed something odd: all the winners were connected. The lead led to the realisation that the McDonald’s Monopoly game was rigged, and had been for most of its existence. And the man behind it was Uncle Jerry, Jerry Jacobson. What emerged was a secret FBI initiative dubbed Operation Final Answer, and a co-ordinated national sting. Topics include Jerry Jacobson and the inside job at the heart of McDonald’s Monopoly How game pieces were stolen, swapped, and funnelled to “winners” The St Jude prize story and why it made perfect cover Operation Final Answer and the FBI’s plan for simultaneous arrests Simon Marketing and the blind spots that let it run for years Resources and Further Reading McMillions (2020) - TV Mini Series McDonalds Monopoly Scam - Wikipedia Host & Show Info Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam CoxIntro Music: Alice in dark WonderlandCommunity & Calls to Action Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple PodcastsInstagram: @theCompendiumPodcastWebsite: TheCompendiumPodcast.comSupport us: Sign up to PatreonCertified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 14m
  5. H. H. Holmes: The Man Who Built Murder Into Architecture

    4D AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    H. H. Holmes: The Man Who Built Murder Into Architecture

    Dr. H. H. Holmes built murder into architecture, designing a hotel that functioned as a machine for sadistic pleasure, profit, and death. During the chaos of the Chicago World’s Fair 1893, Holmes constructed a building that blurred the line between business and violence. Behind locked doors and false walls, guests vanished while insurance schemes quietly paid out. As bodies mounted and stories unravelled, the Pinkerton Agency closed in on a man who treated murder as logistics rather than impulse. This story cemented Holmes into infamy as one Americas first serial killer. Topics include The design and purpose of the Murder Castle Holmes’ life as Herman Mudgett and his talent for reinvention Insurance fraud, false identities, and calculated killings The role of the Chicago World’s Fair 1893 in hiding the crimes How the Pinkertons finally caught H. H. Holmes

    1h 13m
  6. Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping: The Day a School Bus Vanished

    FEB 10

    Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping: The Day a School Bus Vanished

    The Chowchilla bus kidnapping began like any school run, then veered into a buried alive ordeal no one could have imagined. One moment a group of kids are arguing about snacks, the next they are being marched off a bus by men who clearly skipped Kidnapping 101. While the town panics, the abductors bungle their own plan and promptly disappear, leaving 27 people trapped underground with no idea what happens next. What unfolds is a mix of fear, grit, and surprisingly resourceful thinking as the captives take matters into their own hands.   Topics include Chowchilla Michael Marshall Ed Ray Buried alive schoolchildren Largest child kidnapping case in US history Resources and Further Reading   1976 Chowchilla kidnapping -  Wikipedia Edward Ray - The City Of Chowchilla They’ve Taken Our Children, 1993 - by Vern Gillum The ballad of the Chowchilla bus kidnapping - Vox Chowchilla bus kidnapping - Rare photos CBS Host & Show Info Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam CoxIntro Music: Alice in dark WonderlandCommunity & Calls to Action Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple PodcastsInstagram: @theCompendiumPodcastWebsite: TheCompendiumPodcast.comSupport us: Sign up to PatreonCertified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 10m
  7. The Suffolk Strangler: Steve Wright The Man Who Made the Road Home a Nightmare

    FEB 3

    The Suffolk Strangler: Steve Wright The Man Who Made the Road Home a Nightmare

    The Suffolk Strangler turned Ipswich into a locked-door city. Five women vanish from the red light district and the road home becomes a crime scene. In December 2006, the Ipswich murders unfold at terrifying speed as five women are found dumped on rural roads outside the town. Panic turns the streets silent, while the women at the centre of the story are reduced to headlines instead of humans. Inside Operation Sumac, detectives chase CCTV footage, a Ford Mondeo, DNA evidence and forensic fibres to close in on Steve Wright. Topics include Steve Wright and the Suffolk Strangler timeline The Ipswich serial killer panic and the city’s response Life and risk inside the Ipswich red light district How was Steve Wright caught using CCTV footage and DNA evidence What the case reveals about who gets protected in Ipswich Resources and Further Reading Ipswich serial murders -  Wikipedia Wright guilty of Suffolk murders - The Guardian Murder in the Red Light - Apple TV Host & Show Info Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam CoxIntro Music: Alice in dark WonderlandCommunity & Calls to Action Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple PodcastsInstagram: @theCompendiumPodcastWebsite: TheCompendiumPodcast.comSupport us: Sign up to PatreonCertified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 22m
  8. Elizabeth Smart: Kidnapped by a Prophet

    JAN 27

    Elizabeth Smart: Kidnapped by a Prophet

    In June 2002, a Federal Heights neighbourhood wakes to panic as the investigation stalls and fractures. With suspicion falling on handyman Richard Ricci, the Smart family turns to the spotlight and America’s Most Wanted. The search may end, but the legal fight begins, with an insanity defence and Elizabeth forced to reclaim her voice. Topics include Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, and the belief system behind the control Salt Lake City, the LDS Church, and the media storm around the case America’s Most Wanted, the sketch, and the moment Elizabeth was recognised Aftermath, testimony, and survivor advocacy Would you like to move on to the next prompt? Host & Show Info Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam CoxIntro Music: Alice in dark WonderlandCommunity & Calls to Action Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple PodcastsInstagram: @theCompendiumPodcastWebsite: TheCompendiumPodcast.comSupport us: Sign up to PatreonCertified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 16m
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A weekly variety podcast giving you just enough information on a topic to stand your ground at any social gathering. We explore stories from the realms of true crime, history, and incredible people.

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