A father and his daughter go missing in Labette County, Kansas in late 1872. A neighbor searches for them, and he never comes home. His wife sounds the alarm. Search parties descend on the Bender farm. The Benders are long gone, but the victims of their murderous deeds remain. Local authorities hunt for the Bender clan, but justice proves elusive.

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FRONTIER TRAGEDY Ep. 6 | Bloody Benders, Part 2

In 1870, a “family” called the Benders moves to Labette County in southern Kansas. There are four people in the group, but no one in the area fully understands the relationship between them. They build a small cabin near a well-used trail and offer the space as an inn for travelers. Before long, strange activities and criminal acts are reported at the Bender cabin. And then, travelers go missing.

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FRONTIER TRAGEDY Ep. 5 | Bloody Benders, Part 1

WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of cannibalism.

The Donner Party experiences the worst case scenario. They’re starving and living in crude shelters. A small group begins the trek over the mountains to find help, but it loses members along the way. The people who remain trapped near Truckee Lake become increasingly desperate. But early in the new year of 1847, rescue parties start to arrive at the camps near the lake. The rescuers can hardly believe the conditions of the camps and the people. And the survivors tell the story of the most infamous wagon train in American history.

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FRONTIER TRAGEDY Ep. 4 | Donner Party, Part 4

The Donner Party faces another punishing trip across a desert before it finally reaches the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the border between Nevada and California. The party has lost a ton of time, but the travelers still believe they can make it over the mountains and into central California before winter. They make it as far as Truckee Lake – now Donner Lake – before they become trapped by blizzards.

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FRONTIER TRAGEDY Ep. 3 | Donner Party, Part 3

The Donner-Reed caravan passes the halfway point of its journey to California, and now the real problems begin. After meeting legendary mountain man, Jim Bridger, the caravan chooses to take an unproven road across central Utah. They believe it is a shortcut which will save them hundreds of miles. It turns out to be a disaster, and the trip across the Great Salt Lake Desert leads to a heartbreaking decision.

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FRONTIER TRAGEDY Ep. 2 | Donner Party, Part 2

In 1846 in Springfield, Illinois, the Donner family teams up with the Reed family to form the core of a caravan that will travel to the rich farmland of California. The problem is, they’re already late. They soon discover that they’re among the very last travelers to begin the journey to the West, and the hardships begin almost immediately.

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FRONTIER TRAGEDY Ep. 1 | Donner Party, Part 1

Black Barrel Media and QCODE proudly share a preview of Mission History, a podcast that chronicles the tales of legendary military leaders, epic campaigns, and covert missions that remained hidden for years. 

The first season journeys through the American Revolutionary War and pays homage to some of the elite soldiers on both sides of the conflict. It traces the origin from protests to rebellion to revolution. It illuminates the strategies of the leaders from both sides, the commanders on the battlefields, and the soldiers on the front lines.

From the Boston Massacre to Bunker Hill … from the battles of Brooklyn, Brandywine, and Saragota to the battles of Camden, Cowpens, and Guilford Courthouse … and finally, to Yorktown … Mission History brings you the story of the American Revolutionary War presented by the Historic Camden Foundation in Camden, South Carolina.

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NEW SHOW | “Mission History”

Noiser presents a brand-new podcast: Real Survival Stories. Hosted by John Hopkins, the show brings you astonishing tales of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary survival situations.
In this taster episode, we meet Matt Lewis - a rookie sailor who goes looking for adventure... and finds it. Joining the crew of a deep sea fishing trawler, Matt is on board as the vessel sails out of Cape Town. But far out in the South Atlantic, a polar storm will catch them all unawares. Battered by giant swells, before they know what's hit them they're taking on water. The ship is going down...
If you enjoy this taster episode, search 'Real Survival Stories' in your podcast app and hit follow for weekly episodes - including Part 2 of Matt Lewis's tale.
For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial.
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Introducing "Real Survival Stories" from Noiser

A mysterious remedy called “snake oil” became one of the most enduring parts of the Old West. Of all the scammers who traveled the towns of the West selling the magical potion, Clark Stanley rose to the top. He is one of the primary reasons that we still use the label “snake oil salesman” today.

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SWINDLERS Ep. 6 | “The Snake Oil King”

Charles Baggs, who became known as Doc Baggs, followed the gold rush to Colorado in the late 1850s. He quickly decided that there were easier ways to make money than by mining for gold. For years, he ran elaborate cons in Denver, and he always found ways to outwit the legal system.

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SWINDLERS Ep. 5 | “Fool’s Gold”

A woman who used the name “Lottie Deno” became one of the most successful gamblers in the West. She kept her true identity secret from most people as she moved through towns in Texas, including Fort Griffin, where she crossed paths with Doc Holliday.

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SWINDLERS Ep. 4 | “Lottie Deno”

In 1872, two men devised one of the most audacious plans of the Old West era. They started a campaign to convince high-profile businessmen that a barren patch of ground was the first diamond mine in North America. It was the scam of all scams – but did it work?

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SWINDLERS Ep. 3 | “The Great Diamond Hoax”

George Devol spent 40 years gambling on trains and riverboats. He was clever and creative, and he needed all his wiles to escape some close calls.

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SWINDLERS Ep. 2 | “Riverboat Gambler”

From Colorado to Alaska, Jefferson “Soapy” Smith made a name for himself as one of the premier con artists of the Old West. He used a variety of tricks to swindle people out of their money, but none was more famous than the soap-with-a-prize scam.

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SWINDLERS Ep. 1 | “Soapy Smith”

While the Navajo try to adjust to life at a new home, Kit Carson returns to the army for one more mission. He leads a column to the stronghold of the Kiowa and Comanche in Texas to try to stop their attacks on the Bosque Redondo reservation. Soldiers clash with warriors in the Battle of Adobe Walls, the final engagement of Kit Carson’s career.

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KIT CARSON Ep. 6 | “The Battle of Adobe Walls”

Kit Carson begins the chapter that will be the darkest of his life. He follows an order to force the Navajo – by any means necessary – to move to the Bosque Redondo reservation. Carson’s scorched earth campaign works, and the U.S. Army marches thousands of Navajo to their new home in an event that will be known as The Long Walk.

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KIT CARSON Ep. 5 | “The Navajo Long Walk”

By 1862, the Civil War has stretched across the continent to the farthest territories of the West. Kit Carson joins the effort in New Mexico and leads a unit of volunteers at the Battle of Valverde. In the next engagement, the Battle of Glorieta Pass, Union forces stop the Confederate threat in New Mexico and effectively end the fighting in the territory. With the war subsiding in New Mexico, army officers turn their attention to the Navajo and the Apache, and the beginning of the reservation system.

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KIT CARSON Ep. 4 | “Civil War”

While the largest battles of the Mexican American War happen in Mexico, Kit Carson adds another layer to his growing legend during fighting in California. American units put down an uprising in Taos and Santa Fe that threatens Kit’s family, and Kit transforms himself into a rancher after the war even as another war looms on the horizon.

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KIT CARSON Ep. 3 | “The Mexican American War”

Kit Carson becomes the steady and reliable guide for John C. Fremont’s historic expeditions to California. The first two are relatively routine, but the third takes an unexpected and consequential twist. The exploratory expedition turns into a military campaign to battle Native American tribes and to take California from Mexico.

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KIT CARSON Ep. 2 | “The Bear Flag Revolt”

Christopher “Kit” Carson is born in Kentucky, grows up in Missouri, and then heads west in search of adventure. He becomes a Mountain Man in the early years of exploration of the West. He marries and begins a family, and then has a fateful meeting with the man who will change his life in more ways than one: John C. Fremont.

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