Episodes

  • The Most Mysterious Bombing in American History
    May 7 2024
    Episode 36: The Most Mysterious Bombing in American History Without a doubt, the single most misused word in America today is terrorism. It is the word used or hinted at when any act of violence occurs. And 911 is constantly called a terrorist attack. This is an error. 911 was not a terrorist attack. We know what did it and why. A terrorist attack is one where no one knows who did it, why they did it, and no one claims credit for it. The act is done to strike terror in the hearts of citizens and, more importantly, to get the population to distrust the government. Why didn't the police know this act of violence was coming? Why didn't the government stop it from happening? And, critically, could it happen again in my neighborhood or where my children are going to school? There have been very few large-scale terrorist attacks in US history. Four of the largest occurred between 1910 and 1920. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Join Beach Blanket Books—a Facebook Event. The Fun begins on May 15th and lasts until the Summer Solstice on June 21st. Join in the games and win some prizes. Sign up now so you don't miss a thing! This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website ________________________________________________________________ Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ______________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Steve Levi, the host for Episode 36: The Most Mysterious Bombing in American History Steve Levi is a 70-something writer in Alaska. He specializes in the impossible crime and the Alaska Gold Rush. An impossible crime is one in which the detective must figure out HOW the crime was committed before he can go after the perpetrators. As an example, in THE MATTER OF THE VANISHING GREYHOUND, the detective must figure out how a Greyhound bus with four bank robbers, a dozen hostages, and $10 million can vanish off the Golden Gate Bridge. Steve’s books can be seen at www.authormasterminds.com/steve-levi and www.steverlevibooks.com. He also does two historical uploads a week. Send Steve your email, and he will include it in the mailings.
    Show More Show Less
    18 mins
  • Mysterious and Deadly Critters
    Apr 23 2024
    Episode 35: Mysterious and Deadly Critters Kissing Bug To find this deadly mystery and the murderers involved, Victoria looked no further than her backyard. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Join Beach Blanket Books—a Facebook Event. The Fun begins on May 15th and lasts until the Summer Solstice on June 21st. Join in the games and win some prizes. Sign up now so you don't miss a thing! This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website ________________________________________________________________ Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ______________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Victoria Hardesty, the host for Episode 35: Mysterious and Deadly Critters Victoria Hardesty has owned, bred, and shown Arabian Horses for more than 30 years. She and her husband operated their own training facility, serving many young people who loved and showed their own horses. She is the author of numerous articles in horse magazines and was the editor of two Arabian Horse Club newsletters, one of which was given the Communications Award of the Year by the Arabian Horse Association at their national convention. An avid reader from childhood, she read every horse story she could get her hands on. Victoria and her writing partner, Nancy Perez, have written seven novels about Arabian horses. Check out their website at http://www.wonderhorsebooks.com/author-bio and see their books at Victoria Hardesty and Nancy Perez | Bookshelf (authormasterminds.com).
    Show More Show Less
    17 mins
  • The Female Robinson Crusoe and Wrangel Island Expedition Mystery
    Apr 9 2024
    Episode 34: The Female Robinson Crusoe and Wrangel Island Expedition Mystery Ada Blackjack’s story reflects the harrowing experiences faced by those who venture into the Arctic and the often-overlooked capabilities and contributions of indigenous peoples to Arctic expeditions. In the annals of Arctic exploration, few tales evoke the blend of mystery and tragedy quite like the Wrangel Island Expedition. The year was 1921, and under the auspices of Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, a team was assembled to claim the desolate Wrangel Island. __________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Join Beach Blanket Books—a Facebook Event. The Fun begins on May 15th and lasts until the Summer Solstice on June 21st. Join in the games and win some prizes. Sign up now so you don't miss a thing! This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website ________________________________________________________________ Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ______________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Evan Swensen, your host for Episode 34: The Female Robinson Crusoe and Wrangel Island Expedition Mystery Evan Swensen, book publisher, editor, author, and Author Masterminds charter member along with his wife, Lois, publishes books by authors worldwide. He has been the publisher and editor of Alaska Outdoors magazine and producer of Alaska Outdoors television show and outdoor videos, and host of Alaska Outdoor Radio Magazine. He has been an Alaska resident since 1957. As a pilot, he has logged more than 4,000 hours of flight time in Alaska, in both wheel and float planes. He is a serious recreation hunter and fisherman, equally comfortable casting a flyrod or using bait, or lures. Evan has been published in many national magazines and is the author of five books and publisher of more than 1,000 books by other authors. Evan claims to have the best job in the world; he gets up in the morning, puts on his fishing vest, picks up his fly rod, kisses his wife goodbye, tells her he’s going to work—and she believes him. Author Masterminds: https://authormasterminds.com/evan-swensen Author Masterminds One Last Cast book: https://authormasterminds.com/details/XLxrX One Last Cast on Amazon: https://bit.ly/3H0OzTo One Last Cast short video: https://youtu.be/2wzwWmim-2g Alaska Outdoors https://alaskaoutdoorsmagazine.com. Alaska Outdoors Blog: https://alaskaoutdoorsmagazine.com/blog/ Alaska Outdoors Videos: https://bit.ly/37xjUzl
    Show More Show Less
    21 mins
  • The Mystery of Time
    Mar 26 2024
    Episode 33: The Mystery of Time There was a time when we thought we mastered time by clocking it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Fifty years ago, I thought I had mastered time when I strapped on my first Timex windup wristwatch. If I didn’t forget to wind it up every day, I had time under control. How little I understood about time back then. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website ________________________________________________________________ Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ______________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Cil Gregoire, your host for Episode 33: The Mystery of Time Cil Gregoire is an Alaska writer who has lived in the state for more than four decades fulfilling her Alaska dream. She has built a log cabin in the woods, commercial fished Bristol Bay and Norton Sound, and lived remotely in the northern Susitna Valley, the primary setting for many of her novels. Possessing a vivid imagination, her fiction specialty is sci-fi/fantasy. Links: Crystalline Aura https://youtu.be/mV-offy2myA Crystal Shards https://youtu.be/VkAxmu3Cwaw https://www.authormasterminds.com/cil-gregoire Facebook: https://bit.ly/3eHhE7k
    Show More Show Less
    25 mins
  • Mysterious Sudden Collapse of the Mayan Civilization
    Mar 12 2024
    Episode 32: Mysterious Sudden Collapse of the Mayan Civilization What caused the mysterious demise of the Maya? What was the cause that led to the disappearance of one of the greatest civilizations in the history of Mesoamerica? The collapse did not happen all at once; instead, it occurred over time from place to place, between about the late 8th and 925—about ±100 years. Exactly why any of this transpired, though, is a mystery. _______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website ________________________________________________________________ Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ______________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Carl Douglas, your host for Episode 32 My pseudonym as an author is Carl Douglass, adopted as a means of telling stories with gripping realism—the truth of which would not bring trouble to my door. My writing of gripping, realistic fiction began after I was obligated to retire from the private practice of neurosurgery due to sudden blindness in my left eye from a retinal detachment which caused loss of stereoscopic vision. I carried with me decades-long knowledge of doctors, hospitals, and institutions of higher learning, including some less than laudatory information. My military experience during the years of the recent unpleasantness in Vietnam also gave me considerable insight. Both of those lengthy experiences provided true grist for the mill of my writing, but neither of them need to connect the stories to the lives of the real people and places where the stories took place. In that sense, I know too much and have no wish to incriminate or to bring harm or embarrassment to real individuals or institutions. My rich and varied life has provided even more fodder to feed my mind and contribute realism to my written work. In my time, I have had to work due to lacking a sugar daddy. I have been a grease monkey, a lumber mill and forest worker, a lifeguard, a slaughterhouse worker, a diener in a morgue, a lab rat, an academic writer, a medical officer in a mental hospital, a naval officer and surgeon, a brig doctor, and a deep diving officer. I have been the husband of one fine wife, the father of four children—one deceased—eleven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. All of them have enriched the depth and breadth of my storytelling.
    Show More Show Less
    23 mins
  • Mysteries from the 1990s
    Feb 27 2024
    Episode 31: Mysteries from the 1990s I'm your host, Victoria Hardesty, and in this episode, I share several mysteries from the 1990s. Welcome aboard! Mysteries include: Who Abucted Amber Hagerman? Who did the Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre? Where did the Oakville Blobs come from? Who killed Yale Senior Suzanna Jovin? Who Sabotaged Amtrak’s Sunset Limited in 1995? What was the Cosford Incident? If it wasn’t O. J. Simpson, who was it? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website ________________________________________________________________ Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ______________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Victoria Hardesty, your host for Episode 31: Mysteries from the 1990s Victoria Hardesty has owned, bred, and shown Arabian Horses for more than 30 years. She and her husband operated their own training facility, serving many young people who loved and showed their own horses. She is the author of numerous articles in horse magazines and was the editor of two Arabian Horse Club newsletters, one of which was given the Communications Award of the Year by the Arabian Horse Association at their national convention. An avid reader from childhood, she read every horse story she could get her hands on. Victoria and her writing partner, Nancy Perez, have written seven novels about Arabian horses. Check out their website at http://www.wonderhorsebooks.com/author-bio and see their books at Victoria Hardesty and Nancy Perez | Bookshelf (authormasterminds.com).
    Show More Show Less
    17 mins
  • The Doomed Wilcox Expedition
    Feb 13 2024
    Episode 30: The Doomed Wilcox Expedition George Mallory once said, “I climb mountains because they are there.” Mallory died climbing Mt. Everest in 1924, and his body wasn’t found for 75 years. George Mallory represents both the passion and the danger for those who climb mountains. On July 18, 1967, a catastrophic snowstorm pummeled Alaska’s Mt. Denali, killing seven of the twelve young men in the Wilcox Expedition attempting to reach the summit. This is still the worst climbing disaster ever to occur in the United States.  We will never know what happened at the top of Mt. Denali. Experts can only guess the fate of those seven unlucky climbers. Sources My primary source for this newsletter was Denali’s Howl by Andy Hall. If you want to learn more about this tragic event, I highly recommend this book. Hall, Andy. 2014. Denali’s Howl. Plume, the Penguin Group. New York, NY. Manley, Kelley McMillan. 7-2017. Disaster on Denali. 5280.com/ Magazine https://www.5280.com/2017/06/disaster-on-denali/ Duke, Kevin. 3-28-2012. Finishing the climb: Babcock finally tells his story of Denali tragedy. Gvnews.com. https://www.gvnews.com/sports/finishing-the-climb-babcock-finally-tells-his-story-of-denali-tragedy/article_d158684c-78f7-11e1-871e-0019bb2963f4.html Worrall, Simon.  7-2014. The Denali climb that became one of the deadliest. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/140720-mountain-climbing-denali-mount-mckinley-alaska-national-parks ______________________________________________________________________ Read about Murder and Mystery in Alaska _________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club.  Check out the Author Masterminds Website ________________________________________________________________ Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ______________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Robin Barefield, your host for Episode 30 Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has written two nonfiction books, Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska and check out her podcast: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier.  Read more about Robin's books at Author Masterminds.  
    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
  • The Death of Juanita Richardson: Accident, Suicide, or Murder?
    Jan 30 2024
    Episode 29: The Death of Juanita Richardson: Accident, Suicide, or Murder? On June 22, 2006, Juanita Richardson fell to her death. The investigation of her death, and the subsequent trial and conviction of her husband, Thomas Richardson, was not ordinary. Sources: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on appeal from the Western District of Michiganhttps://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?s=MI&d=135150 Wife’s plunge sends Thomas Richardson to prison for life. May 20, 2008. The Associated Press https://www.mlive.com/grpress/2008/05/wifes_plunge_sends_thomas_rich.html The Oakland Press / Schoolcraft County jury convicts man in wife’s fatal fall. https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2008/04/17/schoolcraft-county-jury-convicts-man-in-wifes-fatal-fall/ Juanita Richardson Murder Case: Where is Thomas Richardson Today? https://spikytv.com/juanita-richardson-murder-case-where-is-thomas-richardson-today/ Interview: Natalie Torres, Michigan State Trooper ________________________________________________________________________ Read about Alaska's Savage River ________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club.  Check out the Author Masterminds Website _____________________________________________________ Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club _________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Valerie Winans, your host for Episode 29 Valerie Winans is a graduate of Northwestern Michigan College, a retired state government manager, and a former campground host in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Valerie is the author of three books: Alaska’s Savage River: Inside Denali National Park and Preserve, Road Trip with Remington Beagle: Michigan to Alaska and Back, and A Hero’s Journey: Life Lessons From A Dog And His Friends. A writer of both fiction and non-fiction, her books are written to inform and entertain readers of all ages. She currently resides with her husband in Traverse City, Michigan. More information can be found at www.valeriewinans.com.        
    Show More Show Less
    23 mins