Futility Closet

The discovery of the gruesome remains of a human body buried in a doctor's cellar shocked London in 1910. In this week's podcast we'll recount the dramatic use of the recently invented wireless telegraph in capturing the main suspect in the crime. We'll also hear a letter that Winston Churchill wrote to Winston Churchill and puzzle over why a sober man is denied a second beer. Sources for our feature on the telegraphic nabbing of Edwardian uxoricide Hawley Harvey Crippen: Erik Larson, Thunderstruck, 2006. Associated Press, "Wireless Flashes Crippen and Girl Aboard Montrose," Los Angeles Herald, July 29, 1910. "Captain Sure Suspects are Pair Police Seek," Los Angeles Herald, July 29, 1910. Proceedings of Crippen's 1910 trial at Old Bailey Online. "Crippen Mystery Remains Despite DNA Claim," BBC News, Oct. 18, 2007 (accessed June 16, 2015). Mark Townsend, "Appeal Judges Asked to Clear Notorious Murderer Dr. Crippen," Guardian, June 6, 2009 (accessed June 16, 2015). Here's Winston Churchill's June 1899 letter t