Futility Closet

In 1855 a band of London thieves set their sights on a new target: the South Eastern Railway, which carried gold bullion to the English coast. The payoff could be enormous, but the heist would require meticulous planning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the first great train robbery, one of the most audacious crimes of the 19th century. We'll also jump into the record books and puzzle over a changing citizen. Intro: British birdwatcher Chris Watson discovered Scottish starlings memorializing forgotten farm machinery. Can a psychotic patient's "sane" self consent to a procedure on his "insane" self? Sources for our feature on the great gold robbery of 1855: David C. Hanrahan, The First Great Train Robbery, 2011. Donald Thomas, The Victorian Underworld, 1998. Adrian Gray, Crime & Criminals of Victorian England, 2011. Jonathan Oates, Great Train Crimes: Murder & Robbery on the Railways, 2010. G.A. Sekon, The History of the South-Eastern Railway, 1895. David