SNAFU with Ed Helms

0.0 (0)
HISTORY
WEEKLY SERIES

Hosted by Ed Helms, SNAFU is a podcast about history's greatest screw-ups. This is Season 3: Formula 6 - how prohibition's war on alcohol went so far off the rails the government poisoned its own people.

EPISODE 1

S3E1: Satan's Last Stronghold

Organized crime, speakeasy gin, and jazz impresarios stole headlines in the 1920s, but behind the scenes boiled a bizarre government plot rooted in the first American culture war. In New York City, a pair of scientists sees the devastation written on the wall, and they try to put a halt to the mayhem before it's too late. Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

43 min
EPISODE 2

S3E2: Ready, Willing, and Mabel

How did alcohol come to be illegal and why, of all the agencies, was the IRS tapped to enforce it? One rising legal superstar from California becomes the highest ranking woman in government, but she finds her efforts impeded by the IRS's newly established—and rather corrupt—Prohibition Unit. Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

36 min
EPISODE 3

S3E3: Battle Lines

The bootleggers' perspective comes into sharp focus as we meet a survivor of the Great War, George Cassiday. Meanwhile, why were speakeasies across the nation transforming into veritable chemistry labs? Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

34 min
EPISODE 4

S3E4: Trust Issues

Prohibition... wasn't going so well. Mabel Walker Willebrandt cooks up a new approach to prosecuting the biggest bootlegger in the nation. Meanwhile, government hypocrisy is on the rise and a mysterious gunshot rings out from the Attorney General's suite at the Wardman Park Inn. Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

34 min
EPISODE 5

S3E5: Double Barrel

Out west, Prohibition agents take the gunslingers' path to enforcement. When their methods backfire, it stains Mabel Walker Willebrandt's Dry cause, while Formula 6 lurks in the shadows. Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

37 min
EPISODE 6

S3E6: Signature Cocktail

The battle of scientific wits comes to a head, as government chemists continue to up the ante on their formulas, with Alexander Gettler hot on their trail. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

34 min
EPISODE 7

S3E7: Judgement Day

Mabel Walker Willebrandt and the Dries have their backs against the wall. The Treasury Department has made their poisoning program public, but will any of it matter when the tainted booze reaches the masses? Meanwhile, a mind-melting twist in the case of Two Gun Hart comes to light. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

44 min
EPISODE 8

S3E8: National Hangover

Prohibition, and all that Mabel has worked to build, comes crashing down, thanks in part to a sly tell-all by none other than George Cassiday. And in New York City, Gettler & Norris finally see their work yield meaningful results. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

47 min
SEASON 3 TRAILER

Introducing Season 3: Formula 6

This is the story of Prohibition you haven't heard. Sure, Prohibition was a gigantic SNAFU to begin with. But it turns out Prohibition was actually darker than any of us could have imagined. Flappers and jazz? Not the full picture.Season 3 of SNAFU follows an unlikely pair of sleuths trying to uncover what was behind a mass wave of deadly poisonings that killed thousands of people during Prohibition. Why were so many people dying when they imbibed? And what do gun-slinging Prohibition agents, Washington politicians, and a raging culture war have to do with it? Find out on SNAFU Season 3: Formula 6. Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2 min
BONUS

BONUS: Recreating the 1920s with Terence Winter

Ed is joined by writer, producer, and showrunner Terence Winter who shares stories about his New York upbringing and journey into Hollywood, and describes what it took to build a world from a century ago for his hit HBO show, “Boardwalk Empire. ” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

46 min
BONUS

BONUS: Culture Wars, Then & Now with Josh Graham Lynn

Josh Lynn of RepresentUS joins Ed to explore political pitfalls from the 1920s that still threaten our politics today. Together they ask: how can we combat those issues, and how can we bring power back to the voters? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

43 min
BONUS

Project Azorian's Sunken Sub

A special father’s day treat for you! This week, Ed shares one of his favorite chapters from his NYT Bestselling book SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screw-ups (available at SNAFU-BOOK.com or wherever you get your books.) Selected from the Audiobook rendition, Ed weaves a wild tale of a CIA covert operation to develop a bona fide claw machine aboard a seafaring vessel strong enough to haul up the remnants of a sunken Soviet submarine which held Cold War era nuclear secrets. This one is chock-full of spies, subterfuge, and even Howard Hughes! Enjoy this free sampling of the book and order yours today! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

27 min

See All Season 3 (12)

Ed Helms

Host

Channel

iHeartPodcasts
Creator

iHeartPodcasts
Episodes

41
Seasons

3
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

2025 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
Show Website

SNAFU with Ed Helms