meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Criminal

The Formula

Criminal

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, True Crime

4.739.4K Ratings

🗓️ 27 March 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On Christmas Eve in 1926, a man came running into Bellevue Hospital in New York screaming that Santa Claus had been chasing him for blocks with a baseball bat. Not long after that, he died. And then another person arrived in the emergency room. And then another. This started happening in emergency rooms around the country. And it was happening because of a plan created by the U.S. government. Deborah Blum’s book is The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. Say hello on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Sign up for our occasional newsletter. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts. Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal, ad-free listening of all of our shows, invitations to virtual events, special merch deals, and more. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Episode transcripts are posted on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Support for Criminal comes from Squarespace.

0:03.3

If you're a business owner, you know that it matters how you present your business online.

0:07.7

Squarespace has the tools you need to customize your website and advertise all the kinds of services you provide.

0:14.4

Plus, you can choose the colors and fonts you like.

0:18.0

Go to Squarespace.com slash criminal for a free trial. When you're ready to launch,

0:22.3

use the offer code criminal to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

0:27.9

Once upon a dismal day, Bob's ice cream van looked gloomy and gray. Although he had big

0:33.4

ambitions, his socials lacked creative vision. Ugh, that bad? Maybe vamp it up a tad?

0:38.7

I have an idea. Bob launched Canva and got into gear.

0:43.1

Create the video in the vampire team and make it the funny SME.

0:47.3

It went viral. Bob's business? A revival.

0:50.4

Now imagine what your dreams can become when you put imagination to work at Canva.com.

0:59.5

On Christmas Eve in 1926, the New York Times reported that the shops were crowded.

1:06.4

There are more visitors than usual for the season.

1:09.6

And at Bellevue Hospital, limousines had delivered

1:12.8

hundreds of gifts for the patients from the Astor family, and dozens of trucks had arrived

1:19.0

full of trees. The newspaper reported that there was, quote, good cheer at Bellevue. And then, a man came running into the emergency room.

1:31.3

And he's screaming because he believes that Santa Claus has been chasing him for blocks with a baseball bat.

1:40.3

Not long after that, he died. And then another person arrived in the emergency room, and then another.

1:49.9

People are struggling to breathe.

1:54.2

They cannot see very well.

1:57.1

They're acutely nauseated.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Vox Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Vox Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.