Episode Show Notes

One of the most famous pair of outlaws in American history. Mythologized as a pair of tragic lovers. Outlaws. Infamous for their crime spree and their furious driving style. This week, Maia leads Grant through the back story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. From Clyde’s rough childhood to Bonnie’s concerned mother, the back story before their criminal records provide interesting clues and more than a few laughs. Donkeys get involved, birds are harassed, and the notorious Bo

Some are born for greatness, others are made. For Judit Polgár and her sisters, their father was not leaving it up to chance. Raised from birth to be chess prodigies, the Polgár sisters overcame communism, misogyny, and her own self doubt to become the youngest chess grandmaster in history and the first woman to ever break into the top ten chess players in the world. Win, lose, or draw, there is no questioning her legacy. This week, on Well, I Laughed. Chapters 00:00:00 Catch

Be a girl, do crime! This week Maia takes us to the streets of London and snitches on a girl gang with sticky fingers. The Forty Elephants gang was notorious for the crimes they pulled off. Using their wits, charm, and a eye for the most valuable merchandise in the store this all-girl group had no problem slipping out whatever they liked most. We also take a closer look at a few of the leading Queens like Mary Carr (subject of A Thousand Blows on Disney/Hulu), Alice Diamond,

To catch a criminal, sometimes you have to pretend to be a criminal. That was the thought process behind "Operation Sting" the very first organized sting operation in the United States lead by Lt Detective Bob Arscott of the DC Metro Police. The operation was "successful" at capturing criminals, less successful at coming up with their fake names. But in the aftermath of the operation some sticky questions remain. Did the operation catch criminals, or create them? This week's

Do you know your neighbors? Do you want to? François Clemmons is one of America's iconic examples of neighborly love. Through the combination of the love of his neighbors and his own love of music, we meet history's best neighbor: Mister Fred Rogers. A powerful advocate for educational television, Mister Rogers taught American children it was okay to feel and how to process big emotions. But his legacy extends to his friends and coworkers too. By turning his program into an e

Women are expected to be quiet and complacent. Where such an expectation would limit most women, a few have managed to use it for the greater good. When the NAZIs occupied the Netherlands during the second World War, resistance took many forms. For these ladies of liberty, it took on a violent and righteous resistance. Hannie Schaft, Freddie and Truus Oversteegen were known to on occasion to use their beauty to lure NAZI soldiers to their deaths, but that hardly scratches the

Some crimes are crimes of passion. And sometimes those crimes can leave us In the Dark as to what to do. When one intruder can't get enough of the treasures locked inside the homes of local residents, law enforcement is left with an impossible question: how do you get a bear to stop craving Doritos? In bucolic Lake Tahoe the bears are making a mess of things, if only the clean up was so simple. This week on Well, I Laughed learn about the hilarious misadventures of Hank the T

A percentage of the profits from Well, I Laughed in March of 2026 will be going to The National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Compassion Fund The case is infamous, but the details and the controversy surrounding the OJ Simpson trial are less well known. This week, Maia unpacks the horrific murder of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. We build a timeline of both the crime and the subsequent investigation and trial. There will be blood, a hero dog, a surprisingly slo

Have you ever looked someone up online to get a better sense of who they are? What data did you use? Americans have thousands of data points about themselves floating online, and some companies are more than happy to collect that data and use it however they see fit. Cambridge Analytica used it to try to influence elections all over the world. The scandal shocked the world when it came to light, but how illegal was their data collection? And how effective were they at influen

Call him Smoky the bandit because he is going to steal your heart. When Bill Wynne was fighting for the US in the Pacific during World War 2 he was prepared for whatever the enemy might throw at him, he did not expect a tiny Yorkshire Terrier named Smoky. Bill and Smoky were inseparable and (obviously) popular. What started as an unlikely meeting in the least hospitable of places quickly turned into magic. As Smoky raised spirits across the allied lines he became recognized a