Disorganized Crime: Smuggler's Daughter

In June 1970, Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates somehow tossed a no-hitter while tripping on acid. The LSD stunt made him a legend, but it overshadowed a much deeper story: a man who spent the second half of his life searching for redemption, purpose, and a way to help others escape the same darkness that once enveloped him. * Today's episode was produced in partnership with School of Humans. For School of Humans, Producers are Emilia Brock and Edeliz Perez. Executive Producer is Virginia Prescott. Special thanks to American Public Media’s Weekend America, and to Todd Snider. - “Dock Ellis: An LSD No-No” from American Public Media   - “America’s Favorite Pastime” by Todd Snider Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English Written by Zaron Burnett Story Editor is Virginia Prescott Senior Producer is Josh Fisher Editing and Sound Design by Jesse Nighswonger Mixing and Mastering by Jesse Nighswonger Research and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Zaron Burnett Original Music by Elise McCoy Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2026

In 1978, Soviet geologists flying over Siberia spotted something impossible: a family living in total isolation, untouched for decades by the modern world. But when outsiders finally reached their remote cabin, the family’s hidden world began to change forever. Special thanks to Rebecca E. Marshall for letting us share clips from her documentary, The Forest in Me. We also want to shout out the film's composer, Xylouris White. You can stream The Forest in Me right now on MUBI. Listen to Very Special Episodes wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Wednesday!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2026

In the 1960s, a newly independent Zambia entered the space race with a bold — and baffling — plan. Led by self-declared “Minister of Space” Edward Nkoloso, a team of would-be astronauts trained in oil drums, dreamed of Mars, and captured the world’s attention. To Western observers, it looked like a joke. But Zambia's space ambitions may have been a front for something far more earthly — and far more dangerous. * Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English Written by Lucas Reilly Senior Producer is Josh Fisher Editing and Sound Design by Jesse Nighswonger Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher Research and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Lucas Reilly Original Music by Elise McCoy Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English For School of Humans, Producers are Emilia Brock and Edeliz Perez. Executive Producer is Virginia Prescott. Thanks to Anthony West for his excellent voiceover work!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2026

In the winter of 1980, the world turned its eyes to Lake Placid, New York, host of the Winter Olympics. But behind the pageantry, another structure loomed in the Adirondack woods. Built to house 1,800 athletes, the Olympic Village looked less like a dormitory than a detention center — because that’s exactly what it was designed to become. * Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English Written by Zaron Burnett Senior Producer is Josh Fisher Editing and Sound Design by Jesse Nighswonger Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher Original Music by Elise McCoy Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English For School of Humans, Producers are Emilia Brock and Edeliz Perez. Executive Producer is Virginia Prescott. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 20 February 2026

In 1979, the world watched as NASA’s 77-ton space station made its fiery plunge back to Earth. When Skylab broke apart over a sleepy Australian town, the falling debris set off a global media frenzy. This is the story of the night the sky actually fell — and the teenager who became an improbable hero. Hi, Disorganized Crime fans! Check out this story from the Very Special Episodes podcast. You can listen to new episodes of VSE every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts.  * Today's episode is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 12 December 2025

When Russia invaded Ukraine, hundreds of starving dogs were trapped inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. For years, Oregon-based veterinarian Dr. Jenn Betz had been their lifeline. Now, with Putin’s troops occupying the site, she had only one thought: How do I get back there? * Hi, Disorganized Crime listeners! Check out this story from the Very Special Episodes podcast. You can listen to new episodes of VSE every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts.  Today's episode is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 21 November 2025

Hello, Disorganized Crime Listeners! We want to share a new show you might enjoy, CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist About the show: It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there.  Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts. Listen here and subscribe to CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 17 October 2025

Rainbow Valentine talks to her New York Lemur cousins about what their uncle Walter Lemur was up to in New York City during his East Coast smuggling trips.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 8 July 2020

Friend of the Lemur’s, Joanna Banana, divulges a stressful story of marijuana & mistaken identity in Mexico. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2020

Two of Nixon’s affirmed enemies, a hippie & an African American, tell stories of historic cannabis use, oddly originating in Kansas. And the Lemurs reveal their plan for a therapeutic side hustle. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2020

Rainbow Valentine's parent's friend, Far Out, an iconic psychedelic pioneer and former manager of a world-famous SF rock'n'roll band, reveals his illicit saga of smuggling the best Mexico pot he'd ever smoked over the Rio Grande. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2020

Walter Lemur wasn't the only Walter Lemur in Mill Valley. Rainbow Valentine tells the tale of years of mistaken identity in the smuggling world.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2020

Rainbow Valentine reflects on her parent's life since smuggling and talks with an old friend who had a completely different childhood with her psychedelic smuggling parents. And The Lemurs make a phone call 30-years overdue.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 5 February 2020

After 22 years, RV’s dad’s pot smuggling career comes to a dramatic end in a standoff that involves the Mafia, Mexican Cartel, lost millions, lost friends - and a buried secret revealed for the first time. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 29 January 2020

Rainbow Valentine visits with Grandma Bella whose family was torn apart after a disorganized smuggling trip. Rainbow Valentine also talks with a lifelong friend who went to federal prison in the 90’s for pot.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 22 January 2020

In the wake of President Reagan’s Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 which institutes mandatory minimum prison sentences for pot, my dad completes his most successful smuggling trip ever, then doubts himself, leading to the biggest rip-off of his career. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 15 January 2020

Pot smuggling comes with its own financial issues as it's exclusively a cash industry. Where do you store a million dollars in cash? The yard (known as Savings & Loam)? In a futon? In a safe under the sink? And how do you clean your money (literally and illegally)? In this episode, Rainbow Valentine learns all the tips and tricks of a cash-based illegal industry. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 8 January 2020

As Rainbow Valentine's dad continues to open up about his 20 year smuggling career, he begins to discover that longtime friends that he thought were "straight" were actually as deep in the world as he was. Rainbow Valentine talks with two women involved in the smuggling world whose stories parallel her dad's.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 1 January 2020

On the night of Rainbow Valentine's birth, the Lemurs lose all their money in a deal gone wrong. Walter and Taffy try to restart their lives in the clothing industry, which ends in a colossal failure. Broke, alone, and disillusioned, Walter tries to rebuild his pot smuggling career with the help of 60,000 pounds of Lebanese Hash. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 25 December 2019

In June of 1971, President Richard Nixon declares drug abuse as America's public enemy number one. Drugs and the people who distribute them are the most dangerous enemies to the public. Rainbow Valentine talks with her dad about starting a pot smuggling career in this environment -- from smuggling lime green pot and rose cocaine to landing in the Redwood City Jail. Special thanks to songwriter Peter Rowan for his song "Panama Red" featured in this episode.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 18 December 2019

Rainbow Valentine explores the early lives of her parents Walter and Taffy Lemur as psychedelic pioneers of the 1960s, uncovering the backstory that led to their double lives as Pot Smugglers. Taffy, an LA Prom Princess turned beatnik artist lands at the center of San Francisco's burgeoning counterculture; Walter is bubbly college student in New York City, whose love for psychedelics & music propels him West, to the Bay Area counterculture crux, where he encounters Big Sur LSD that leads him to Taffy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 11 December 2019

Rainbow Valentine grew up on a beautiful hillside in Mill Valley, California, in a comfortable home filled with plenitude and love. But now, as an adult, she's discovered that her idyllic childhood was supported by her dad's career as a big-time pot smuggler. In this first episode of "Disorganized Crime," her parents break their silence for the first time about their lives as illegal pot smugglers. Special thanks to Rita Abrams for her song "Mill Valley," included in this episode.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 4 December 2019

Host Rainbow Valentine discovers her artist mom and 'businessman' dad were deeply involved in the illegal drug trade and unknowingly spent her childhood among a massive pot distribution operation. As she talks with her father in intimate interviews, Rainbow Valentine uncovers a history of her childhood that causes her to reassess everything — and gives us a unique personal window into the infamous counter-culture of Marin County in the 70s and 80s -- from Ken Kesey's acid tests and the birth of the Grateful Dead to a drug culture that hardened and became more dangerous in response to the War On Drugs. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 27 November 2019

Host Rainbow Valentine discovers her artist mom and 'businessman' dad were deeply involved in the illegal drug trade and unknowingly spent her childhood among a massive pot distribution operation. As she talks with her father in intimate interviews, Rainbow Valentine uncovers a history of her childhood that causes her to reassess everything — and gives us a unique personal window into the infamous counter-culture of Marin County in the 70s and 80s -- from Ken Kesey's acid tests and the birth of the Grateful Dead to a drug culture that hardened and became more dangerous in response to the War On Drugs. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 19 November 2019