Episodes

  • Special: Best of Fresh Hell (Vol. 5)

    Special: Best of Fresh Hell (Vol. 5)
    Jun 5 2026
    While Johanna recovers from surgery and Annie does her best to prevent her from immediately returning to work, we're bringing you another trip into the Fresh Hell archives. This week features condensed versions of two of our most heartbreaking cases, both were originally released as two-part episodes. First, we travel to Ashland, Kentucky in 1881, where a horrific crime on Christmas Eve left an entire community grieving and searching for answers. The Ashland Tragedy became one of the most sensational cases of its era, complete with false accusations, mob justice, and many questions, that remain debated and unanswered nearly 150 years later. Then we move to California in 2000 for the murder of fifteen-year-old Nicholas Markowitz. What begins as a petty dispute over a drug debt turns into a senseless tragedy that shocked the nation and inspired the film Alpha Dog. As always, these are streamlined versions of the original stories. If you'd like all the details, historical context, side tangents, and moments where Annie and Johanna become increasingly frustrated with humanity, the full episodes are waiting for you in our archive. Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual assault of minors, child murder, kidnapping, and violence against children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 mins
  • Fresh Hell presents: Horrifying History - Baby Farming...Britain's Darkest Business

    Fresh Hell presents: Horrifying History - Baby Farming...Britain's Darkest Business
    May 29 2026
    This week, we’re doing something a little different. We teamed up with Horrifying History for a feed swap, which means we’re sharing one of their episodes with you. And you know is: this one is absolute Victorian nightmare fuel. In this episode, host Brenda Ganske explores the horrifying world of Britain’s baby farming industry, a system that preyed on vulnerable women and led to neglect, abuse, and murder on a shocking scale. It’s a dark and heartbreaking story. We know you all enjoy the darker historical side of Fresh Hell, so there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Horrifying History as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • E330: Dear Diary (part IV)

    E330: Dear Diary (part IV)
    May 22 2026
    The Hitler Diaries are finally exposed as fake, and the fallout is spectacular! In the fourth and final part of our series, we talk about the collapse of the biggest media scandal in postwar Germany. What did the BKA find? What was the so called “Folternacht” inside Stern headquarters? And what happened to the Carin II.? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • E329: Dear Diary (part III)

    E329: Dear Diary (part III)
    May 15 2026
    Stern is now spending millions, historians are cautiously warning them, and Konrad Kujau is sitting at home frantically producing more and more volumes while simultaneously convincing everyone that this all makes perfect sense. What could possibly go wrong? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • E328: Dear Diary (part II)

    E328: Dear Diary (part II)
    May 8 2026
    Gerd Heidemann follows up on the supposed Hitler diaries and finally meets the man behind them. Money starts changing hands in ways that should probably raise a few questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • E327: Dear Diary (part I)

    E327: Dear Diary (part I)
    May 1 2026
    This week, we start a story that begins with a boat, takes a detour through a small village in East Germany, and ends up with one of the biggest media scandals in German history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • E326: A Butcher, a Tailor & an Emperor walk into a Bar

    E326: A Butcher, a Tailor & an Emperor walk into a Bar
    Apr 24 2026
    In 1853, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria goes for one of his regular walks in Vienna. It’s something he does often enough that people know where to find him, and on that day, someone does. A young Hungarian tailor named János Libényi steps forward and tries to stab the emperor in the neck. The attack doesn’t go as planned, the emperor survives, and within seconds, two men step in and stop it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    56 mins
  • E325: The Great Molasses Flood (part III)

    E325: The Great Molasses Flood (part III)
    Apr 17 2026
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 1 min