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On the evening of July 25, 1998, neighbors gathered together for a summer festival in the small neighborhood of Sonobe, Japan. Cicadas chirped as everyone ate curry from a large communal pot, which had been prepared by a group of neighborhood women. The party ended in chaos when 67 people were brought to the hospital with what the police thought was food poisoning. 4 of those people ended up dead.In this episode, we tell the story behind this tragic mass poisoning and the murder investigation that ensued, which led to a media firestorm, and a years-long trial, where it seemed like the very soul of Japanese society hung in the balance. We also step back and take a look at the history of Japanese curry itself, and learn why someone using curry as a vehicle for poison was subversive enough to unnerve a whole nation.***Support our independent show on the Outlaw’s Digest Patreon. For just $10/month, join us for extended guest interviews, behind-the-scenes chats, and some great extra goodies, plus send in your questions and chat with the production team!Thanks to Dr. Eric Rath and filmmaker Masahiro Nimura for joining us on this episode. Check out Dr. Rath’s most recent book Oishii: The History of Sushi, wherever books are sold. Special thanks to Yumi Kaneko for her translation work in this episode.Outlaw’s Digest is a production of KC Hysmith and Good Egg Audio, an independent worker-cooperative.

A Halloween treat from the Outlaw’s Digest Patreon, for all of our listeners!For every episode of Outlaw’s Digest, host KC rounds up with the producers to talk about how the story came together. This is a short sample of the full conversation.This week, producers Carl and Nicki chat with KC about what’s sticking with them from the history of Pixy Stix. Inspired by KC’s dad, they mourn the loss of downhome treats from a past age of Halloween, before the holiday was overtaken by fears of poisoned candy. Plus, the whole team gets together to solve a spooky candy mystery of our own. ***Outlaw’s Digest is a fully independent production, made by KC and the Good Egg team. It’s a show we love making and there’s lots more to come, but we’ll need listener support to keep the show running long-term. So, if you’ve loved listening to the first few episodes, we would love your support. Become a backer of the project on the Outlaw’s Digest Patreon. For just $10 a month, you’ll keep us well fed as we bring you more stories of true crime from food history. And we won’t leave you empty-handed! With every episode we produce, you’ll also get behind-the-scenes chats, the full interview with our guests, and some great extra goodies. Plus, you can send in your questions and chat with the production team! Outlaw’s Digest is a production of KC Hysmith and Good Egg Audio, an independent worker-cooperative.

On Halloween night in 1974, an eight-year-old boy in the Houston suburbs got a Pixy Stick laced with cyanide. He wasn’t the only one. So did four other kids who were trick-or-treating that night. It made poisoned candy an overnight terror to parents nationwide.In this episode, we tell the story that inspired a fear of Halloween candy for decades to come. Along the way, we take a dip into the surprising origins of Pixy Stix, and check in with our host’s family to hear how kids in the Houston area witnessed the candy poisonings change candy’s peak holiday. ***Support our independent show on the Outlaw’s Digest Patreon. For just $10/month, join us for extended guest interviews, behind-the-scenes chats, and some great extra goodies, plus send in your questions and chat with the production team! Thanks to Dr. Joel Best & Larry Hysmith for joining us on this episode. Check out Dr. Best’s research at Halloween Sadism: The Evidence, updated through 2025. Outlaw’s Digest is a production of KC Hysmith and Good Egg Audio, an independent worker-cooperative.

In the years before the French Revolution, the king allowed a massive cartel to put French markets in a chokehold. Foods like coffee and sugar were flooding in from the far reaches of European colonies, but only the wealthy were enjoying the spoils. Until the people defied the law and laid the groundwork for a global underground. A daring smuggler became their champion, ramming a spoke in the wheels of colonial extraction and making himself the Robin Hood of France.***Support our independent show on the Outlaw’s Digest Patreon. For just $10/month, join us for extended guest interviews, behind-the-scenes chats, and some great extra goodies, plus send in your questions and chat with the production team! Thanks to Dr. Michael Kwass for joining us on this episode. Check out his book, Contraband: Louis Mandrin and the Making of a Global Underground. Outlaw’s Digest is a production of KC Hysmith and Good Egg Audio, an independent worker-cooperative.

In the 1970s, an anarchist pie thrower took justice into his own hands. From the head of the CIA, to anti-feminist campaigner Phyllis Schlafly, to Nixon’s Watergate goons, no national bullies were safe from his pie plates of justice. Along the way, he inspired fellow travelers in the art of edible civil disobedience around the world.***Support our independent show on the Outlaw’s Digest Patreon. For just $10/month, join us for extended guest interviews, behind-the-scenes chats, and some great extra goodies, plus send in your questions and chat with the production team! Thanks to Rossi Anastopoulo for joining us on this episode. Check out her book, Sweet Land of Liberty: A History of America in 11 Pies. Outlaw’s Digest is a production of KC Hysmith and Good Egg Audio, an independent worker-cooperative. 

Introducing Outlaw’s Digest, a criminally delicious tour of true crime from food history. Each episode, host and food scholar KC Hysmith tells a thrilling story pulled from the archives of history’s illicit appetites, vicious poisonings, cunning frauds, and daring heists. We explore foodways adapted, adopted, remixed, mocked, suppressed, celebrated, and commodified—and we discuss who benefits. Who cooked? Who ate? And who was left holding the tab?***Learn more and support our independent show at outlawsdigest.com. Support us for $10/month and get a sneak peek at what’s coming this season. Join us for a chat about the origins of the show, and be the first in line for extended guest interviews and behind-the-scenes chats for every episode. Plus some extra goodies, too. We think you’ll love it!Outlaw’s Digest is a production of KC Hysmith and Good Egg Audio, an independent worker-cooperative. 

Introducing Outlaw’s Digest, a criminally delicious tour of stories from the shadows of food history.