Episode Archives

New “Murder of Frank Little” Tour!

Several fans of Season 1 of Death in the West have stopped in Butte (or even made a pilgrimage there!) to visit some of the key places we talk about in the “Murder of Frank Little.” One family even wrote up their own little mini-tour brochure! Well, those of you who may not be so ambitious to make your own tour are in luck: Leif Fredrickson has written a digital/walking tour based on our podcast. 

The tour is part of a larger set of tours that are being developed as part of a digital tour app called “The Story of Butte.” With the app, you can visit historical sites and take historical tours (in Butte or virtually). The tours connect physical places in the city and include interpretive text, images and other media (such as oral history clips). It is a very awesome project, spearheaded by Butte Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization and the Butte-Silver Bow Archives. 

To check out the “Murder of Frank Little Tour,” and other cool Butte tours, you can download the Story of Butte app from Apple or Google Play stores. You can also access the tours through the website storyofbutte.org.

 

D.B. Cooper 50th Anniversary Episode

Before season two kicks off in earnest on 1/4/22, here’s a quick primer into the legendary case that will be part of our focus during the upcoming series. Fifty years ago this week, on 11/24/1971, a man calling himself “Dan Cooper” hijacked a Northwest Orient flight from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon and demanded a $200,000 ransom from the airline. What happened next would make the mystery man–who would be remembered as “DB Cooper”–an iconic figure in the outlaw history of the west and inspire half a century’s worth of investigation and speculation: he jumped.

Episode 10: Butte/America

In the final episode of season one, we examine Frank Little’s legacy a century after his death and hear the theories of his murder from leading experts. Plus, one final trip to Butte, Montana, as locals grapple with the mining town’s past, present and future.

For episode transcripts, go here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14CGmKknaov2o9UNejGp20XpOYWOGVnF7

Episode 9: Why Copper is Red

In episode nine, after two years interviewing experts and sifting through the evidence, we present our best theory of who killed Frank Little. We also spend some quality time with the rogues gallery of crooked cops, seedy businessmen, company gunmen, corporate lawyers and patriotic vigilantes who’ve been linked to the murder over the years.

For episode transcripts, go here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14CGmKknaov2o9UNejGp20XpOYWOGVnF7

Episode 8: Theories

In episode eight, we begin to comb through the many theories surrounding Frank Little’s unsolved murder and meet some of the case’s most colorful researchers. Plus, after Little’s death, the federal government cracks down on the IWW.

For episode transcripts, go here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14CGmKknaov2o9UNejGp20XpOYWOGVnF7

Episode 7: Tinder Box

In episode seven, Frank Little arrives in Butte, Montana where, after 13 days of hell-raising speeches and furious organizing, he’s murdered by unknown assassins. The Death in the West team invades the sixth floor of the Hennessy Building and reports from what was once the nerve center of the Anaconda Company.

For episode transcripts, go here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14CGmKknaov2o9UNejGp20XpOYWOGVnF7

Episode 6: The Desert

In episode six, America dives into WWI and conflicts between workers and their bosses reach a fever pitch across the West. The physical toll of multiple beatings begins to weigh on Frank Little as he travels from Arizona to Chicago and finally to Butte, Montana during the final days of his life.

For episode transcripts, go here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14CGmKknaov2o9UNejGp20XpOYWOGVnF7

Episode 5: The Message

In episode five, Montana’s Copper Kings do battle in court, the state legislature, the press and even the underground tunnels of Butte’s mines. Frank Little assumes a leadership role during the IWW’s free speech fight in towns across the West.

For episode transcripts, go here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14CGmKknaov2o9UNejGp20XpOYWOGVnF7

Episode 4: A Western War

In episode four, a brazen bombing kills Idaho’s ex-governor, and the ensuing rift in the labor movement puts Frank Little on a collision course with history. Plus, Zach and Leif go 100 feet down a mine called Orphan Girl to see what life was like for Butte, Montana’s underground workers.

Episode 3: The Black Heart of Montana

In episode three, the DITW team visits a vintage, prohibition-era speakeasy and learns how Butte, Montana’s massive underground copper deposits transformed it from a mining camp to an urbanized center of wealth and power. In Oklahoma, the Little’s family’s dream of homesteading hits rock bottom.