S18 Ep146: Starkweather: The Killing Spree That Changed America w/Harry N. MacLean
Darkness Radio
Darkness Radio
4.7 • 3.2K Ratings
🗓️ 5 December 2023
⏱️ 162 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On January 21st, 1958, Charles Starkweather and his fourteen-year-old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate changed the course of crime in the United States when they went on a murder spree through Nebraska and Wyoming. By the time the dust settled, ten innocent people were dead, and the city of Lincoln was in a state of terror. It was the first mass killing of the modern age, and television brought the crime spree and the trails into homes for the first time—it was a precursor of the awakening of the country from the slumber of the fifties to the rebellious, violent sixties. Soon to follow were Manson, Bundy, Speck, Gacey, DeSalvo, Ramirez, Whitman, Berkowitz, and numerous others. From Starkweather on, people in the Midwest locked their doors.
No one is better suited to tell this story than best-selling true crime writer. Harry Maclean, who hails from the same town as Starkweather, and knew many of the people involved with the case (in fact his older brother had shop class with Starkweather). With new reporting and information about the case, and new conclusions about the possible guilt or innocence of Caril Ann Fugate, this is a tale that's long overdue for an updated and definitive retelling. Harry joins TCT today to talk about his new book, the relationship between Charlie and Caril, whether he thinks Caril really participated in the killings or not, and the ramifications of this case on American culture.
Get "Starkweather" here: https://thebookies.com/item/bpbaCfxrCRbNoRin_PtCcA
Find out more about Harry N. MacLean here: https://www.harrymaclean.com/
PLUS AN ALL-NEW DUMB CRIMES/STUPID CRIMINALS WITH JESSICA FREEBURG!
Check out Jessica Freeburg's upcoming events here: https://jessicafreeburg.com/upcoming-events/
#crime #truecrime #truecrimepodcasts #truecrimetuesday #harrynmaclean #starkweather #charlesstarkweather #carilannfugate #nebraska #lincoln #brucespringsteen #killingspree #serialkiller #bartlett #carolking #narcissism #murder #dumbcrimesstupidcriminals #TimDennis #jessicafreeburg #author #floridaman #drugcrimes #foodcrimes #stupidcrimes #funnycrimes #necrophilia #sexcrimes #goldenshower
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | And the Welcome into the best in True Crime Podcasting. This is True Crime Tuesday. I'm your |
| 0:27.2 | host Tim Dennis. There's a song out there that a lot of you know about. |
| 0:31.9 | It's a song by there that a lot of you know about. It's a song by the boss. And the beginning |
| 0:35.0 | lyrics of it say, I saw her standing on her front lawn, just a twirl in her baton, me and her |
| 0:40.9 | went for a ride, sir, and ten innocent people died. |
| 0:45.0 | You may be familiar with it. It's called Nebraska. |
| 0:48.0 | And when we bring up Nebraska, of course we bring up the name Charles Starkweather. |
| 0:53.2 | Now some of you may not know that that song Nebraska is about Charles Starkweather and |
| 0:57.7 | his unfortunate companion Caroline Fugate. |
| 1:01.4 | A lot of you do know about it, especially if you're true crime fans or into the realm of true crime |
| 1:07.4 | Now this wouldn't be the first time we've come across the topic of Charles Stark weather in |
| 1:11.7 | Caroline Fugate. |
| 1:12.6 | In fact, it was less than a year ago |
| 1:14.8 | that we covered another book about Caroline Fugate. |
| 1:19.0 | But this book, folks, that I read over the weekend, the quintessential book I believe about Charles |
| 1:26.3 | Sark weather. As a matter of fact our guest today, Harry and McLean, let's just say lived through the experience. |
| 1:34.4 | When I say lived through the experience, |
| 1:36.2 | we're talking same state, same town, same neighborhood, |
| 1:39.9 | same everything. |
| 1:41.2 | Harry was in the thick of it. And we're talking about not only an award-winning |
| 1:46.7 | writer who's in the thick of it, but we're talking about a man who lived through the era, |
| 1:50.5 | knew the people surrounding the case. |
... |
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