Podbit · Last Podcast On The Left
John Wayne Gacy sent Stephen King art from prison. Joe Hill found it so disturbing he opened his debut novel Heart-Shaped Box with it. Then Henry revealed Gacy allegedly ran a serial-killer art assembly line.
Where this was said
At 7:23 · chapter starts 4:20
After the pleasantries, Joe Hill immediately launches into a memorably grotesque story: a fan at a Boise book signing handed him a doctor's leather bag that turned out to contain his late father's embalming equipment, complete with rotten-meat odor and chemical stench. Joe had it chucked immediately. Stephen one-ups with his own signing memory — a fan asking where the 'Nazi books' were — before the conversation pivots to the truly disturbing: John Wayne Gacy sent Stephen King prison art. Joe reveals this was so deeply unsettling it became the opening paragraph of his debut novel Heart-Shaped Box. Henry then insists Gacy allegedly ran a production line in prison using other incarcerated serial killers including Herbert Mullin to mass-produce paintings attributed to him. Stephen and Joe are skeptical but intrigued. The segment is a perfect tonal preview of what makes LPOTL tick: true crime energy wrapped in literary conversation.
John Wayne Gacy sent Stephen King art from prison, an experience so disturbing it became the seed of the opening paragraph of Joe Hill's debut novel Heart-Shaped Box.
Henry Zabrowski claimed John Wayne Gacy orchestrated an art production system in prison using other incarcerated serial killers, including Herbert Mullin, as an assembly line to create paintings under his direction.
Joe Hill sweats through 3 pages; Stephen King responds 45 minutes later with 5 more. Writing with his dad is less collaboration and more survival.
A man used ChatGPT as a de facto lawyer, sharing self-incriminating details in his chats. When the transcripts were subpoenaed, the judge ruled no attorney-client privilege applied and admitted the chats as evidence against him. AI first passes are useful — treating AI as your counsel is dangerous.
CIA operative Edwin Wilson armed Muammar Gaddafi with 10,000 machine guns and 20 tons of C4 hidden in barrels of mud and flew them to Libya himself. He was sentenced to 52 years and served 12 in solitary. He was also a founder of the same arms network Oliver North contracted for the Contras.
Kim Dotcom's legal nightmare had nothing to do with copyright infringement. He donated to WikiLeaks and Julian Assange — and the US government charged him under RICO statutes, seeking 186 years in prison as payback.
More than a decade after his indictment, the US is still trying to extradite Kim Dotcom from New Zealand — even after he suffered a stroke. He cannot be convinced the authorities are on his side; only the legal process, run by his lawyers, keeps him free.
The illegal wildlife trade and the drug trade aren't just parallel industries — they actively overlap. Smugglers force-fed cocaine to boa constrictors to evade customs, packed drugs beneath layers of live animals in crates with spitting cobras on top, and exploited the chronic under-resourcing of US Fish and Wildlife inspection teams.
Mario Tabraue was sentenced to over 100 years in prison for murder and drug trafficking. He served 12. Nobody — not even the DEA agent who put him there — knows why he got out. That agent, Larry Lovelace, now lives in rural West Virginia with a gun within reach every night, still expecting retaliation.
Anson Wong from Malaysia was the Pablo Escobar of the global reptile trade, supplying rare animals — including Komodo dragons — to buyers across the world. He was caught in a sting, extradited to the US, and served the longest wildlife crime sentence at the time. The animals seized from him went on to stock some of America's biggest zoos.
Zelig Williams landed a role in Hamilton at just 19 while still in college — a rare achievement in a world where most Broadway dreams die young. By 28 he was a veteran ready to mentor the next generation, until he disappeared without a trace on October 3, 2024.
Season 5 of Dateline: Missing in America brings six new unsolved mysteries. The show is explicitly asking listeners to engage — because a detail someone remembers might be the break investigators need.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.