Murderhobos
A historical biography podcast about men-at-arms and masculinity throughout history, hosted by historian Adam Franti.
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Special Episode: Let's Talk About Crossbows! (2023)
10/03/2023
Special Episode: Let's Talk About Crossbows! (2023)
Today on Murderhobos, another interim episode to slake your bloodthirst for season two. (Back, fiends!) This week, an interview Adam did with Dr. Stuart Ellis-Gorman for his podcast “Let’s Talk About Crossbows” back in February. Adam and Stuart talk Gotz von Berlichingen, late medieval Germany, and all things crossbow and crossbow-related. More interim episodes are on the way, and we hope to launch Season 2 by the end of the year. You can find Dr. Ellis-Gorman’s work at . His new book, “The Medieval Crossbow: A Weapon Fit To Kill A King”, is out now via Pen and Sword Books: Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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Special Episode: Lia De Beaumont, 1728 - 1810
07/07/2023
Special Episode: Lia De Beaumont, 1728 - 1810
Today on Murderhobos, our first guest episode! *Gasps, oohs and ahs* We're joined by fantasy author, friend of the show, and noted trans historian Alina Boyden to discuss transness in history. We talk about Lia De Beaumont, the Chevalière d'Éon, one of the most famous trans women in history, and a kickass swordswoman. We also talk about the way academic historians often fail to recognize trans experiences (and trans women in particular), and why that matters. You can find Alina and her books at Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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Special Episode: A.A. Ames, 1842 - 1911
05/12/2023
Special Episode: A.A. Ames, 1842 - 1911
Today on Murderhobos, a special episode produced by Tony. We’re headed all the way back to Minneapolis, circa 1900. As the mill capital of the world, Minneapolis was packed to the brim with seasonal workers, thriving brothels, and scheming card sharks. But to Mayor Albert Alonzo Ames, it was just a piggy bank waiting to be smashed open. Over the course of a year and a half, Ames turned the Minneapolis Police Department into the most powerful crime ring the city had ever seen. This episode originally appeared on KFAI's MinneCulture, available wherever you get your podcasts. Funding provided by Minnesota's Legacy Arts and Culture Amendment. Submit questions to [email protected] or twitter.com/murderhobospod by May 21st, 2023. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos Special Thanks: Erik Rivenes Deidre Hammond Adam Franti Sam Hills Julie Censullo Soundtrack, by order of appearance: Narcissus – Sousa’s Band (1902) Victor Record 354 Let Me Call You Sweetheart – Columbia Quartette (1911) Columbia Record A1057 Old Comrades March – Columbia Band (1900) Columbia Record A1608 Marching Through Georgia – Columbia Band (1901) Columbia Record A107 The Holy City – Henry Burr (1900) Columbia Record A242 God Save The King – Columbia Band (1902) Columbia Record A65 Calvary – Baritone Solo (1900) Columbia Record A267 Rubenstein’s Melody in F – Alexander Heindl (1901) Victor Monarch Record 3030 Come Out, Dinah, On The Green – Harry Macdonough (1901) Victor Monarch Record 1099 Poet and Peasant Overture – Sousa’s Band (1902) Victor Monarch Record 1552 Trumpet Quartette – Columbia Band (1900) Columbia Record 373 A Little Bit Off The Top – Ed Favor (1900) Victor Record A195 Then You’ll Remember Me – Tenor Solo (1901) Columbia Record A343
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Season 1 Q&A!
04/04/2023
Season 1 Q&A!
Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about Murderhobos Season 1. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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Ernest Hemingway Q&A!
01/22/2023
Ernest Hemingway Q&A!
The last biography Q&A episode of Season 1! Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about Ernest Hemingway. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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Ernest Hemingway, 1899 - 1961
01/08/2023
Ernest Hemingway, 1899 - 1961
Today on Murderhobos, Ernest Hemingway, a writer, sportsman, trophy hunter, and war correspondent, considered by many to be one of the best writers of the twentieth century. But what can studying Ernest Hemingway - and studying the study of Ernest Hemingway - teach us about masculinity in the mid-twentieth century? Submit questions to [email protected] or twitter.com/murderhobospod by January 15th, 2023. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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Sid Hatfield Q&A Episode!
12/25/2022
Sid Hatfield Q&A Episode!
Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about Sid Hatfield. Not the best audio quality on this one, apologies for the guerilla field recording. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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Sid Hatfield, 1891 - 1921
12/11/2022
Sid Hatfield, 1891 - 1921
Today on Murderhobos, Sid Hatfield, otherwise known as Smilin' Sid, a West Virginia miner, gunslinger, chief of police, and hero to the US labor movement. His public murder in 1921 spurred on what would become the largest domestic uprising in US history following the Civil War. How did his life and death interface with broader trends in American law enforcement and labor rights of the time? Submit questions to [email protected] or twitter.com/murderhobospod by December 18th, 2022. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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Theodore Roosevelt Q&A Episode!
11/27/2022
Theodore Roosevelt Q&A Episode!
Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about Theodore Roosevelt. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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Theodore Roosevelt, 1858 - 1919
11/13/2022
Theodore Roosevelt, 1858 - 1919
Today on Murderhobos, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, a trendsetter, politician, reformer, citizen soldier, and one of the most popular and influential American presidents of all time. How did a boy who grew up with severe asthma come to be known as one of history's chief promoters of the masculine lifestyle, and why is his legacy so important for understanding the United States in the 20th Century? Submit questions to [email protected] or twitter.com/murderhobospod by November 20th, 2022. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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Wild Bill Q&A Episode!
10/30/2022
Wild Bill Q&A Episode!
Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about Wild Bill Hickok. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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Wild Bill Hickok, 1837 - 1876
10/16/2022
Wild Bill Hickok, 1837 - 1876
Today on Murderhobos, James Butler Hickok, better known as Wild Bill Hickock, a wilderness scout, lawman, gambler, gunslinger, and half-hearted actor, who was one of the archetypal frontiersman and myth-makers of the American West. His short, violent life has been seen as a parallel to the American frontier experience. But could one man's life, and one man's lies, truly represent a whole era? Submit questions to [email protected] or twitter.com/murderhobospod by October 23rd, 2022. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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John Brown Q&A Episode!
10/02/2022
John Brown Q&A Episode!
Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about John Brown. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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John Brown, 1800 - 1859
09/18/2022
John Brown, 1800 - 1859
Today on Murderhobos: John Brown, an abolitionist, freedom fighter, and often considered one of America’s first domestic terrorists. Brown has remained a hugely divisive figure in American history, presented either as a insane zealot or a hero of the downtrodden, but his action and motivation is the contradiction of American democracy: how can a country that professes freedom and liberty for all keep four million people in bondage? Submit questions to or twitter.com/murderhobospod by September 25th, 2022. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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Hamilton Q&A Episode!
09/04/2022
Hamilton Q&A Episode!
Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about Alexander Hamilton. Sorry for the audio quality on this one! Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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Alexander Hamilton, 1757 - 1804
08/21/2022
Alexander Hamilton, 1757 - 1804
Today on Murderhobos, Alexander Hamilton: an orphan, rebel, lover, founding father, and America's most famous duellist. Hamilton's life and tragic death has inspired musicals, films, and books, but his personal writings expose the anxious reality of political and personal power in a time of duels and a culture of suspecion. What led Hamilton to his fatal duel, and what can we learn about the culture of American duelling in the early 19th century? Submit questions to or twitter.com/murderhobospod by August 28th, 2022. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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McBane Q&A Episode!
08/07/2022
McBane Q&A Episode!
Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about Donald McBane. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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Donald McBane, 1674 - 1732
07/24/2022
Donald McBane, 1674 - 1732
Today on Murderhobos, Scottish duellist, adventurer, gambler, procurer, and gladiator Donald McBane, whose experiences as an enlisted soldier from 1689 to 1710 spanned three wars in three decades, including brothel keeping, running gambling tents, and fighting duels against peers, only to culminate as a professional champion in the Bear Gardens of peacetime England. What can McBanes experiences teach us about military life at the turn of the 18th century, and about the tumultuous life of non-soldiers in an army on the move? Submit questions to [email protected] or twitter.com/murderhobospod by July 31st, 2022. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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Duel of the Mignons Q&A Episode!
07/10/2022
Duel of the Mignons Q&A Episode!
Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about Jacques de Caylus, Louis de Maugiron, and a bunch of other French dudes whose names I'm not gonna type in the show notes cause I'm lazy. Adam and his hats: Subscribe to the show on Patreon: Make a one-time donation to the show:
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Duel Of The Mignons, 1578
06/26/2022
Duel Of The Mignons, 1578
Today on Murderhobos, the Duel of the Mignons, a bloody duel in which six of King Henry III's courtiers fought to the death in the summer of 1578. These men were celebrities among the French elite, distinguished warriors, cultural icons, and alleged lovers of the king. The duel left two dead on the field, two to die in agony in the weeks following the encounter and two survivors. It was a low point in the troubled reign of King Henry III, a watershed moment in the history of the French duel and a prominent topic in historiography of sexuality. Submit questions to [email protected] or twitter.com/murderhobospod by July 3rd, 2022.
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Gotz Q&A Episode!
06/12/2022
Gotz Q&A Episode!
Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about the man with the iron hand, Götz von Berlichingen. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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Götz von Berlichingen, 1480 - 1562
05/29/2022
Götz von Berlichingen, 1480 - 1562
Today on Murderhobos, Götz von Berlichingen, a self-described “poor knight” whose career of plunder, feuding, and warfare continued for 50 years after the loss of his right hand in 1504. Armed with a prosthetic, Götz of the Iron Hand would ride as an enemy of bishops, in the service of rebel lords, and lead armies of revolutionary peasants, all in the supposed waning days of knighthood. Götz’ autobiography shows the nature of knightly feuds, warfare in the period of military revolution, and the end of the medieval period. Submit questions to [email protected] or twitter.com/murderhobospod by June 5th, 2022. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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William Marshal Q&A Episode!
05/15/2022
William Marshal Q&A Episode!
Adam is joined by Murderhobos producer Tony Williams to answer your questions about the life and times of William Marshal. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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William Marshal, 1147 - 1219
05/01/2022
William Marshal, 1147 - 1219
Today on Murderhobos, William Marshal, a 13th century Norman knight who became a friend and advisor to a string of English kings, whose astonishing career in the Norman tournament circuit made him one of the richest and most influential knights in the Angovine empire. His skill at arms in tournaments, rebellions, and dynastic warfare led many to claim William Marshal as the most famous knight in history. What can his life tell us about 13th century chivalry, warfare, politics, and chivalric romance? Submit questions to or twitter.com/murderhobospod by May 8th, 2022. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon Make a one-time donation to the show: bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos
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Introduction - First Episode 5/1
04/20/2022
Introduction - First Episode 5/1
Introducing Murderhobos, a new historical biography podcast from historian Adam Franti, focusing on men of violence and their historical context. First episode will be released 5/1.
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