289: The Barefoot Bandit - The Teen Who Vanished

When The Exorcist hit theaters in 1973, audiences were terrified by what they saw on screen—but the stories surrounding the making of the film were almost as disturbing.From unexplained accidents and injuries to fires, deaths, strange occurrences, and claims of paranormal activity, the production of The Exorcist developed a reputation for being cursed. Several people connected to the film reported unsettling experiences, while others wondered whether the movie’s subject matter had somehow followed the cast and crew off the set.In this episode of Seven Deadly Sinners, we step behind the scenes of one of the most controversial horror films ever made and explore the bizarre, frightening, and sometimes downright inexplicable events surrounding its production. Was the set truly haunted? Was something darker at work? Or did a troubled production, coincidence, and the power of suggestion create a legend that has lasted for decades?Either way, the story behind The Exorcist may be almost as terrifying as the movie itself.

Colton Harris-Moore became one of America’s most unlikely outlaws. A troubled teenager from a tiny island in Washington State, he began with petty theft and burglary before escalating to stealing cars, boats—and eventually airplanes. Often barefoot, Harris-Moore became an internet sensation as he seemingly outsmarted authorities across multiple states and countries.From a lonely childhood to a worldwide manhunt, this is the strange, chaotic story of the Barefoot Bandit—and the crimes that turned a troubled kid into a modern folk hero.

In the summer of 2021, southern Oregon became the battleground for one of the largest and most terrifying wildfires in American history. What began with a lightning strike near Beatty exploded into the infamous Bootleg Fire—a relentless inferno that devoured more than 413,000 acres, destroyed hundreds of structures, forced widespread evacuations, and generated its own weather as towering pyrocumulus clouds churned above the flames.In this episode of Seven Deadly Sinners, Rachael dives into the science, the heroism, and the heartbreak behind the wildfire that firefighters described as a "monster." Hear firsthand accounts of crews battling impossible conditions, the families forced to flee everything they owned, and the growing questions surrounding drought, climate change, and the future of wildfire in the American West. As the flames raged across Oregon, the Bootleg Fire became more than a natural disaster—it became a warning of what may lie ahead.When nature becomes unstoppable, who survives... and what is left behind?

Long before Las Vegas, one man built an empire on violence, bootlegging, and bribery. This week, Rachael dives into the extraordinary life of Owney Madden—the Hell's Kitchen street thug who survived multiple assassination attempts, became one of the most powerful figures in organized crime during Prohibition, and quietly transformed himself into a respected businessman.From brutal gang wars in New York to controlling a vast liquor empire, Madden's fingerprints were all over some of the most infamous chapters in American crime history. But despite his reputation, he managed to evade the fate that claimed so many of his rivals, living out his final years far from the streets that made him a legend.How did one of the deadliest gangsters of the 20th century escape prison, outlive his enemies, and rewrite his own story? Pour yourself a stiff drink—this is the unbelievable rise of the man they called "The Killer".

For decades, ranchers across southern Colorado have awakened to a nightmare: cattle found dead under impossible circumstances — surgically precise incisions, organs removed, and almost no blood left behind. Rumors spread from lonely highways to isolated ranchlands: UFOs, cults, government experiments, predators… or something even stranger.In this episode of Seven Deadly Sinners, retired police officer Greg Feinman comes to our ranch in Southern Colorado to tell us what he witnessed firsthand while investigating one of the West’s most chilling mysteries. From bizarre crime scenes to frightened ranchers and unexplained evidence, Feinman shares a case that still haunts him.Were these mutilations elaborate hoaxes, covert operations, or phenomena beyond explanation? The deeper we dig into southern Colorado’s dark open plains, the stranger the story becomes.

In the early hours of March 18, 1990, two men dressed as Boston police officers walked into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and disappeared into history carrying over $500 million worth of stolen art. Paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, and Edgar Degas vanished without a trace in what remains the largest unsolved art heist in modern history.This week on Seven Deadly Sinners, we dive into the suspects, mafia connections, bungled investigations, and chilling theories surrounding the infamous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft. Who pulled it off? Where is the missing artwork now? And how does a crime this massive stay unsolved for decades?Some masterpieces are priceless. Some secrets are deadly.SHOW NOTES:https://www.gardnermuseum.org/https://www.fbi.gov/history/cases-and-criminals/isabella-stewart-gardner-museum-heisthttps://www.bostonglobe.com/

Part 2 of the LISK UPDATE

The case that haunted Long Island for over a decade has taken a chilling turn. After years of dead ends, speculation, and fear, the man accused of being the Long Island Serial Killer—Rex Heuermann—has now pleaded guilty, bringing a grim sense of closure to one of America’s most disturbing unsolved cases.In this update episode of Seven Deadly Sinners, we revisit the Gilgo Beach murders and unpack what this plea really means. Who were the victims behind the headlines? What led investigators to Heuermann after so many years? And perhaps most haunting of all—why did it take so long?With new details emerging from the courtroom, we examine the evidence, the timeline, and the lingering questions that refuse to stay buried. Justice may finally be within reach—but for the families, the scars of this case will never fully heal.This is the conclusion we’ve been waiting for… but it’s far from the end of the story.

In Part 2 of Seven Deadly Sinners, we follow Aravindan Balakrishnan, once known to his followers as “Comrade Bala,” as decades of control finally begin to unravel.After years of secrecy inside a South London commune, the walls begin to close in. Survivors step forward, authorities take notice, and the carefully constructed mythology— complete with fear tactics like “Jackie”— starts to crumble under scrutiny. What was once dismissed as radical politics is exposed for what it truly was: sustained psychological abuse, coercion, and modern-day slavery.This episode traces the investigation, the bravery of those who escaped, and the courtroom reckoning that followed. As the truth comes to light, we examine how the authorities built their case—and how a man who claimed absolute power was ultimately stripped of it.From arrest to conviction, Part 2 reveals the long-overdue collapse of a decades-long nightmare—and the fight for justice that brought it to an end.

In this disturbing episode of Seven Deadly Sinners, we unravel the psychological grip behind the Lambeth Slavery Case and the cult built by Aravindan Balakrishnan, known to his followers as "Comrade Bala"Operating from a Maoist commune in Lambeth, England - Balakrishnan fashioned himself as a revolutionary visionary. But behind the rhetoric of class struggle and liberation lay decades of coercion, isolation, and absolute control over vulnerable women who believed he held the key to their survival.At the center of his manipulation was a bizarre invention he called “Jackie” — a supposed high-tech monitoring system he claimed could track thoughts, movements, and even disloyalty. In reality, Jackie wasn’t a machine at all, but a psychological weapon. By convincing his followers that he possessed near-omnipotent surveillance powers, Balakrishnan reinforced paranoia, obedience, and fear, turning imagination into shackles.How does a man weaponize belief itself? How can captivity last nearly 30 years in plain sight? This episode explores the dangerous alchemy of ideology, narcissism, and manufactured omniscience — and how one man’s delusion became a prison without bars.