Welcome to the Dollhouse: Velvalee Dickinson

Ridiculous Crime

iHeartPodcasts

History, Comedy, True Crime

4.5 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 6 November 2025

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In wartime, codes and puzzles become a language of warfare. But if you can make a code, someone can break the code. Enter Velvalee Dickinson. She was a lover of costumed porcelain dolls and Japanese culture, and Velvalee was at the center of a truly bizarre doll-based mystery. During World War II, a team of female codebreakers investigated a series of letters from doll-lovers in the US sent to Argentina. The forged letters discussed prized dolls and their visits to doll hospitals. Turns out, the letters were coded messages from a doll-loving spy network.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:04.1	Hey listeners, this is Matt Graves, host of The Butcher of Mons, the unbelievable story of a terrifying series of sadistic murders and a quest to find the killer three decades later.
0:16.4	I'm excited to share The Butcher of Mons with you and want to let you know that you can get access to all episodes 100% ad-free with an I-Hart True Crime Plus subscription available exclusively on Apple Podcasts.
0:29.2	So don't wait, head to Apple Podcasts. Search for I-Hart True Crime Plus and subscribe today.
0:35.0	Ridiculous Crime is a production of IHeart Radio.
0:38.4	Zarin.
0:39.4	Yes, Elizabeth.
0:40.7	Zarin, how are you?
0:41.5	Oh, my goodness.
0:43.0	I've been waiting for you.
0:43.6	You feeling good?
0:44.4	You feeling strong?
0:44.9	Not really.
0:45.6	I was late today.
0:45.9	No.
0:47.5	You feeling good? I am feeling strong.
0:48.4	Yeah.
0:48.6	What about you?
0:49.0	You feeling strong?
0:49.7	No.
0:50.6	No.
0:50.9	I feel good. It's not strong. No. Well, maybe get back in the gym or do some push-ups.
	...

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