S3E3: Battle Lines

Prohibition, and all that Mabel has worked to build, comes crashing down, thanks in part to a sly tell-all by none other than George Cassiday. And in New York City, Gettler & Norris finally see their work yield meaningful results.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As you might have heard, the SNAFU book comes out next week (April 29, 2025)! If you want to meet Ed, either on book tour or virtually, buy your copy right now. He’ll be hosting a private Ask Me Anything for anyone who preorders and submits their proof of purchase here: www.Snafu-Book.com. Or if in-person is more your style, you can also join Ed on his book tour next week in 8 cities across the country, complete with book signings (NYC, Philadelphia, DC, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Silicon Valley, LA). On this episode, Ed sits down with his producer Carl Nellis to talk about treasure hunting for SNAFUs, the book’s jazzy and hangable art, his favorite stories (even if he loves all his children the same…), and which SNAFU characters he’d like to play in a movie adaptation.   Again, you can preorder SNAFU, buy your book tour tickets, or sign up for Ed’s virtual AMA at this link: www.snafu-book.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mabel Walker Willebrandt and the Dries have their backs against the wall. The Treasury Department has made their poisoning program public, but will any of it matter when the tainted booze reaches the masses? Meanwhile, a mind-melting twist in the case of Two Gun Hart comes to light.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The battle of scientific wits comes to a head, as government chemists continue to up the ante on their formulas, with Alexander Gettler hot on their trail.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Out west, Prohibition agents take the gunslingers' path to enforcement. When their methods backfire, it stains Mabel Walker Willebrandt's Dry cause, while Formula 6 lurks in the shadows. Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prohibition... wasn't going so well. Mabel Walker Willebrandt cooks up a new approach to prosecuting the biggest bootlegger in the nation. Meanwhile, government hypocrisy is on the rise and a mysterious gunshot rings out from the Attorney General's suite at the Wardman Park Inn. Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The bootleggers' perspective comes into sharp focus as we meet a survivor of the Great War, George Cassiday. Meanwhile, why were speakeasies across the nation transforming into veritable chemistry labs? Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did alcohol come to be illegal and why, of all the agencies, was the IRS tapped to enforce it? One rising legal superstar from California becomes the highest ranking woman in government, but she finds her efforts impeded by the IRS's newly established—and rather corrupt—Prohibition Unit. Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Organized crime, speakeasy gin, and jazz impresarios stole headlines in the 1920s, but behind the scenes boiled a bizarre government plot rooted in the first American culture war. In New York City, a pair of scientists sees the devastation written on the wall, and they try to put a halt to the mayhem before it's too late. Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the story of Prohibition you haven't heard. Sure, Prohibition was a gigantic SNAFU to begin with. But it turns out Prohibition was actually darker than any of us could have imagined. Flappers and jazz? Not the full picture.Season 3 of SNAFU follows an unlikely pair of sleuths trying to uncover what was behind a mass wave of deadly poisonings that killed thousands of people during Prohibition. Why were so many people dying when they imbibed? And what do gun-slinging Prohibition agents, Washington politicians, and a raging culture war have to do with it? Find out on SNAFU Season 3: Formula 6. Preorder the SNAFU book and join me on book tour at www.snafu-book.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.