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Here’s your special preview episode of the new series Elizabeth the First – about the remarkable life of Elizabeth Taylor. In our preview, Elizabeth Taylor overcomes unthinkable loss and rises as the biggest movie star on the planet. She uses this power to negotiate a legendary payday for her leading role as CLEOPATRA. All eyes are now on Elizabeth, and the years ahead will be tumultuous ones. Headline News says ‘I love Elizabeth the First’ and the Toronto Star says the podcast is ‘sumptuously produced’. Find out what all the buzz is about by listening to the full series right now: https://link.chtbl.com/elizabeththefirst Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anyone can start a marathon, but not everyone crosses the finish line. Whether you’re competing against other runners or perhaps a horse, while running underwater, or with a glass of wine in hand, it really doesn’t matter as long as you give it your best. Some marathons are serious and proper, while others are complete madness! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andrew Thornton II had everything. He was born into a wealthy family in the bluegrass state of Kentucky, went to the best schools, and had all the opportunities in the world ahead of him. He wanted to serve his country, so he joined the US Army. He wanted to serve his community, so he joined the police force. But when the excitement of busting bad guys became boring, he looked for it elsewhere. Andrew Thornton II found it on the other side of the law. It didn’t end well for him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professional surfer, glamourous jewel thief, convicted murderer, reformed evangelist. Jack “Murf the Surf” Murphy’s life took on many forms. Yet, Murf the Surf was best known for his daring robbery of rare gems at the Natural Museum of History in New York City in 1964, which turned him into a folk hero. That was just a few years before he was convicted of beating, stabbing, and shooting a woman to death aboard a boat in Miami. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During a 3-week period in October 2002, a team of snipers went on a killing spree in and around the Washington DC area. Bizarre clues were left at several crime scenes, including a tarot card with the words “Call Me God”, adding a chilling twist to an already twisted case. With 17 people already dead and almost a dozen more wounded, police were in a race against the clock to capture the DC sniper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In October 2002, residents of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC became targets for a team of snipers. The two-person group was responsible for killing 17 people and injuring almost a dozen more. The kill team was well trained and stayed well hidden, making them incredibly difficult to locate or identify. Over several months, they terrorized millions of people and were the subject of one of the largest manhunts ever in the US. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In July 1976, the small town of Chowchilla, California was rocked by the largest mass kidnapping in US history. A school bus carrying 26 students, along with its driver, was ambushed by a group of armed men. They were taken to a remote rock quarry and stripped down to their underwear. Each one was then ordered down a ladder into a container truck that had been buried 15 feet underground. They had no idea where they were, who had taken them, or why they had just been buried alive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When police in the UK received a panicked phone call from a teenage boy in the summer of 2003, it seemed fairly routine. His friend had been stabbed and was in need of medical attention. Authorities were told it was a random, unprovoked attack, but that could not have been farther from the truth. In fact, the attack had been meticulously planned for months. The perpetrator was so unexpected and the whole situation was so strange, authorities almost dismissed the case entirely. England had never seen a crime like this before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In March 1989, when a 21-year-old student from Texas went missing while on spring break in Mexico, it sparked a federal investigation on both sides of the border. The search led authorities down a bizarre and gruesome rabbit hole of mysticism and the occult that included everything from drug running to human sacrifice. It’s cases like this that make you want to sleep with the light on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a man was found dead on a South Australia beach in 1948, it kicked off one of the most bizarre cases that country’s authorities had ever seen. With no identification and all the labels cut out of his clothing, police did find a torn piece of paper with two mysterious words. The words led to an unbreakable code in the back of the book. Had he committed suicide or was it murder? Why had no one come forward to identify him? That was just the beginning of what would become one of Australia’s strangest cold cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They can be high-tech or unsophisticated, but either way, the purpose of a booby trap is the same, to surprise the target. In 2002, a retired engineer in Belgium thought he would surprise his estranged family with not one, but 19 hidden traps around his house. Each one was lethal and each one was cleverly disguised. Oh yeah, and to find them, you needed to crack a series of codes. In 2018, a man in the US created what authorities would dub the Indiana Jones house. It might have something to do with the massive hot tub turned on its side rigged to roll down the steep driveway. That was just the beginning! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the Fall of 1982, taking something as simple as a pill for your headache could have been fatal. That’s because someone was tampering with Tylenol capsules and filling them with cyanide. When it comes to risky pain relief treatment, taking an over-the-counter pill usually doesn’t rank at the top of the list. For those living in the Chicago area, however, it was gambling with death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s something both terrifying and fascinating about explosions. Basic curiosity demands that we see what’s going on, while our survival instinct tells us to run. When a fireworks factory in the Netherlands went up in flames back in 2000, onlookers thought the multi-colored sparks and smoke would be the extent. They had no idea it would become one of the largest disasters in that country’s history. Almost a hundred years earlier, a ship in the busy port of Halifax, Nova Scotia detonated, becoming the most powerful human-made blast prior to the atomic bomb. The thing about an accidental explosion is, you’ll never see it coming! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are accidents and then there are freak accidents. The difference is that when it comes to freak accidents, the victim will never see it coming. Whether you’re lying in bed, eating a carrot, sitting on the toilet, or out for a quiet day of fishing, it doesn’t matter how many safety precautions are taken or how simple the activity. In the end, there’s no way to predict when or how it will happen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever been mistaken for somebody else? It’s one thing to share a resemblance, but what if the likeness is so uncanny that you could be a twin. In the case of three strangers in New York, it turned out they were actually identical triplets who had been separated at birth. The heart-warming reunion quickly turned to shock when the dark truth surrounding the circumstances of their separation came to light. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As long as criminals have been breaking the law, authorities have been coming up with clever ways to catch them. From dressing up in ridiculous disguises to developing sophisticated technology, there’s apparently nothing law enforcement won’t do to get their man. What’s even more incredible than the crazy sting operations conceived by police are the crooks that fall for them! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’re a fan of reading murder mysteries, you might be familiar with the concept of a ‘locked room’ scenario. It’s when the victim is killed under seemingly impossible circumstances, leaving the reader questioning how the perpetrator was able to get away with it. It’s essentially the literary recipe for the perfect crime. Yet, stories like this are not just limited to words on a page. There are plenty of ‘stranger than fiction’ cases that have left police scratching their heads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For over a decade during the 1940s and 50s, an unassuming man named John Christie was quickly becoming one of Britain’s most infamous serial killers. He hid the bodies behind the walls of his apartment, under the floorboards, and in the garden. But it’s not just the murders that makes this one of the worst in the country’s history. If you ever wondered why England doesn’t have the death penalty, it’s because of this horrific case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It must be a strange experience to wake up one day to find out that you’ve been declared dead. It’s something that celebrities know well. From Paul Rudd to Jeff Goldblum, it can’t be pleasant to find out the news outlets have killed you off. It’s not just the misinformation they have to deal with in the aftermath of such announcements, it’s all the conspiracy theories that come along with it! Fun times for the famous! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It started as a military outpost in the middle of the North Sea, but the small British stronghold once called Fort Roughs would soon become the world’s smallest nation – sort of. It might not be recognized as a sovereign country, but the Principality of Sealand has seen its share of international conflict over the years. From, pirate radio stations and mercenary invasions, to Guinness Records and its own royal family, this tiny territory is no stranger to excitement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices