Violent Ends Podcast

107- Invisible Strings

107- Invisible Strings

In 1981, a 23-year-old woman was dragged kicking and screaming from her East Lansing apartment in front of an entire building full of onlookers. In 1982, a rebellious teen vanished while hitchhiking in a Detroit suburb. In 1983, almost exactly one year later, another pretty brunette teenager disappeared while hitchhiking in the same neighborhood. Three years, three murdered women, three cold cases. One would become the first case in Ingham County to use DNA as evidence. One would be solved through new advancements in DNA technology decades later. And one would be solved by a team of eagle-eyed students at Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice. But for decades, their grieving families waited for invisible strings to connect and lead to justice.

106- The Four

106- The Four

On a Monday afternoon in May of 1930, the world's first set of identical quadruplets were born in Lansing, Michigan- even though nobody knew they were coming. Instant celebrities, the Morlok quads were treated like a sideshow attraction by the community that insisted on naming them and claiming them as their own. While the girls were paraded around the country in matching dresses performing adorable song-and-dance routines as they racked up Guiness World Records, their sweet smiles hid ghastly secrets. Behind the picture of a wholesome American family was a house of horrors.

101- Starships

101- Starships

On March 8, 1994, residents in 42 of Michigan's 82 counties reported seeing an unidentified flying object in the night sky. One of the best-documented UFO sightings in world history, a lighted chrome aircraft with capabilities beyond any technology known to man was spotted hovering over the Great Lakes by law enforcement agencies, pilots, government officials, scientists, and hundreds of frightened civilians. To this day, no answers have been provided as to what happened that night. The crazy part? It wasn't the first well-documented alien encounter in Michigan. Do you believe? By the end of this episode, you just might.

100- The Hundredth

100- The Hundredth

In honor of 100 episodes, we celebrated with a live show at The Robin Theatre. Special guests included Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice, author Rod Sadler, and the co-host with the most, our old friend Dani Fairman.

99- Roar

99- Roar

What do America's original aviatrix, the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, a seductive government spy, and an unorthodox civil rights icon have in common? They were all trailblazing women from Michigan whose stories deserve to be remembered.

98- Bamba

98- Bamba

It was 35 below, the wind was howling, and the snow was waist-deep when three young men burst through the door of Hotel St. James in the remote town of Ironwood, Michigan during the early morning hours of Feb 1, 1959. They were inadequately dressed for the dangerous weather, disheveled, and visibly shaken from a near-death experience. Even still…there was something about them. They were handsome. Charming. Special, even. That much, the townsfolk knew. What they didn’t know, couldn’t have known, was that the events that unfolded on the desolate highway that separates Northern Wisconsin from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula started a chain reaction that led to an unspeakable tragedy that rocked the world less than 48 hours later.

97- Run. Hide. Fight.

97- Run. Hide. Fight.

An episode I never fathomed I'd have to record, but I suppose was inevitable. Because when it comes to mass shootings, it's no longer an issue of "if," but "when." This is what it's like when it happens at home.