Giulia Tofana was an Italian apothecary known for her beauty, her secrecy and her poisonous proclivities. If the numbers are all to be believed, she may be the most successful serial killer you’ve never heard of.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Giulia Tofana was an Italian apothecary known for her beauty, her secrecy and her poisonous proclivities. If the numbers are all to be believed, she may be the most successful serial killer you’ve never heard of. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Humans have always committed crimes. What can we learn from the criminals and crimes of the past, and have humans gotten better or worse over time?

Criminalia

Giulia Tofana: World's Most Dangerous Apothecary

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4290e9b9-f3bb-4876-96c5-ae2d017b92d3/transcript

Norman Baker was an entrepreneur, a pioneering radio personality, and a fake doctor. He was a masterful propagandist, and through his radio station and multiple tabloid publications, he manipulated American anxieties about everything from politics to alleged ills of vaccinations. But his biggest claim was that he could cure cancer, in just six weeks, with his own elixir -- and your money.

Norman Baker was an entrepreneur, a pioneering radio personality, and a fake doctor. He was a masterful propagandist, and through his radio station and multiple tabloid publications, he manipulated American anxieties about everything from politics to alleged ills of vaccinations. But his biggest claim was that he could cure cancer, in just six weeks, with his own elixir -- and your money.

‘Where Sick Folks Get Well’: Norman Baker Couldn’t Cure Cancer. Period.

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d4fb58af-e4d8-4966-bf17-b15b00414b2e/transcript

Though the Pink Pills couldn't stand up to the wild advertising claims that the product was a cure-all, the pills were actually potentially medically beneficial to some people with a certain -- common -- condition; in theory. Maybe. Hey, we're not doctors. Let's talk about, how despite that, why this potentially potent patent medicine was under fire from the U.S. government.

Though the Pink Pills couldn't stand up to the wild advertising claims that the product was a cure-all, the pills were actually potentially medically beneficial to some people with a certain -- common -- condition; in theory. Maybe. Hey, we're not doctors. Let's talk about, how despite that, why this potentially potent patent medicine was under fire from the U.S. government.

Spoiler! Dr. Williams Pink Pills for Pale People … May Have Worked

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/fcac4e44-ac68-4609-89f3-b15400493989/transcript

William Bailey called himself a doctor, but his career was as a shady businessman, not a medical professional. In the early 20th century, he launched a series of start-up companies, capitalizing on the new discoveries of radioactive elements, and sold patent medicine products with lethal radioactive substances with unproven promises to cure everything from arthritis to impotence – it was said they could help you regain your youth. But instead, they were deadly.

William Bailey called himself a doctor, but his career was as a shady businessman, not a medical professional. In the early 20th century, he launched a series of start-up companies, capitalizing on the new discoveries of radioactive elements, and sold patent medicine products with lethal radioactive substances with unproven promises to cure everything from arthritis to impotence – it was said they could help you regain your youth. But instead, they were deadly.

Radioactive Quackery: 'Doctor' Bailey and His Jaw-Dissolving ‘Energy Drink’

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bbb42d7b-12fc-4613-8c26-b14d00485c7a/transcript

Giulia Tofana: World's Most Dangerous Apothecary

In 1 playlist(s)

Criminalia

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips