News of the Times - Unlocking the vaults of historical crime
Welcome to News of the Times!
Step into the shadowed alleyways and gaslit parlours of the 18th and 19th centuries with News of the Times — a meticulously curated journey through historical crime. Each episode draws from authentic reports and court records, bringing you the darkly fascinating tales that gripped Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian Britain.
With over 500 episodes and counting, we explore true accounts of mischief, murder, and mayhem from days gone by — all delivered with a wry nod and a love for the curious corners of the past.
🕵️ For those with a taste for the peculiar, you may also enjoy our new side project: Volume 1: Slightly Unreliable Memoirs — a whimsical collection inspired by the lives (and occasional misadventures) of our research team. Think cravats, crumpets, and the occasional cactus on the lam. Intrigued? Find it here:
👉 https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
- Update frequency
- every 2 days
- Average duration
- 29 minutes
- Episodes
- 706
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
1790: The Story of: The failed attempt to catch the Petticoat Monster | Short #29
News of the Times Short #29 | 1790
In its day, the "Petticoat Monster" was the headline story. A man, disguised as a woman, randomly stabbed passing women. Women chosen were always beautiful.
This…
Short 52: 1840 The Treatment of the Insane
| News of the Times Short 52
| The Time: 1840
| The Story: The Treatment of the Insane
| The treatment of thye insane was a a contentious issue at this time. This story reports on the discu…
Ep19 The Time: 1789 to 1791
Some of the highlights in this edition covering news items between 1789 to 1791 include:
The Petticoat Monster terrorising London ladies,
The story of Captain Bligh,
The King of Spain’s musical requirem…
Short 31: 1790 The amazing story of Captain Bligh
| News of the Times Short 31
| The Time: 1790
| The Story: The amazing story of Captain Bligh
| The Captain Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty story as recorded in papers of the day. A very remark…
Short 46: 1861 An Execution for Murder
| News of the Times Short 46
| The Time: 1861
| The Story: An Execution for Murder
| A bit of a twist to our normal stories. This story focuses on the actual lead up to execution to give a fl…
Short 55: 1841 Where to emigrate to in the United States
| News of the Times Short 55
| The Time: 1841
| The Story: Where to emigrate to in the United States
| An English reporter visits the United States to give his best advice and recommendations …
Short 34: 1831 Execution of a murderous boy
| News of the Times Short 34
| The Time: 1831
| The Story: Execution of a murderous boy
| A huge trial of the time, this tells the story of 1, possibly 2, young boys who plan and murder anot…
Short 58: 1749 Extorting money from sodomy accusations
| News of the Times Short 58
| The Time: 1749
| The Story: Extorting money from sodomy accusations
| This was so much the thing at the tme that they had to make a law against it. Basically…
Short 19: 1911 What the law allows women in 1911
News of the Times Short 19
The Time: 1911
The Story: What the law allows women in 1911
| Women's rights in the UK in 1911. "Few" would be the word that sums it up. It is hard to appreciate this n…
Short 74: 1831 Murder and dismemberment of his pregnant wife
News of the Times Short 74
The Time: 1831
The Story: Murder and dismemberment of his pregnant wife
| This was a really huge case in its day. Yes, there is an evil mistress also involved in this who ap…
Ep18 The Time: 1869 to 1871
THE TIME: 1869 TO 1871
Some of the highlights in this edition covering news items between 1869 to 1871 include:
The execution of Margaret Waters, infamous baby farmer and murderer,
The child whipped…
Short 27: 1870 The baby farmer serial murderess
News of the Times Short 27
The Time: 1870
The Story: The baby farmer serial murderess
| Quite a famous case still in the UK. For those unfamiliar with the term "Baby Farmer". This was siilar to childca…
Headline 18: Some of the headlines of 1869 to 1871
The Time:1869 to 1871
Headline stories and events that give a flavour of 1869 to 1871
You can find the complete podcast from this time period in our Series 1 / Episode18.
Individual stories from this …
Short 61: 1713 Charged for cursing the Queen
News of the Times Short 61
The Time: 1713
The Story: Charged for cursing Queen Anne
| Unlike the freedom of speech enjoyed in many countries now, any kind of slander of royalty could lead to whipping, …
Short 68: 1889 Starving a baby
News of the Times Short 68
The Time: 1889
The Story: Starving a baby
| A common theme during this time was the number of babies and small children murdered either through starvation or just a lack of c…
Short 54:1840 Trolling a funeral
News of the Times Short 54
The Time: 1840
The Story: Trolling a funeral
| A true story of a man who, on his death bed, tries to clear his soul which also involves naming his fellow conspirators. The co…
Short 51: 1766 The incredible story of Captain Glass
News of the Times Short 51
The Time: 1766
The Story: The incredible story of Captain Glass
| Before there was Jack Sparrow, there was Captain Glass! This is one of our favourites!
| We upload short…
Short 69:1894 Stalking obsession leading to murder
News of the Times Short 69
The Time: 1894
The Story: Stalking obsession leading to murder
| A sad case of stalking with the often times murderous outcome.
| We upload short historical news stories d…
Short 22: 1919 A confession of murder
News of the Times Short 22
The Time: 1919
The Story: A confession of murder
| There was a lot of discussion at the time regarding the after effects on soldiers from World War 1 who had been exposed to…
Short 23: 1731 Caught in the act by the fiddler
News of the Times Short 23
The Time: 1731
The Story: Caught in the act by the fiddler
| Considered a funny story in its day, a couple in a haystack caught by a resting fiddler and the prank he pulls on…