Recent Episodes
32: Catching A Pyro
Jan. 18, 2022
In 1984, fast-moving fire in a hardware store in Pasadena killed four people. In January of 1987, a string of fires broke out in several different retail stores in the California Central Valley...two in Bakersfield, two stor…
31: The Killer Columnist
Jan. 11, 2022
There's no denying that It's unusual for a newspaper to give a prison inmate a platform to share commentary and opinions. But that's what The Bakersfield Californian did in the early 1970s. Management at the Californian was …
30 Steven Stayner: The Bakersfield Connection
Jan. 4, 2022
In 1972 a seven-year-old boy named Steven Stayner was abducted while he walked home from school in Merced, CA. His case drug on and went unsolved for so long, most people gave up any hope that Steven would ever be found aliv…
Encore: Rampage In Rosedale
Dec. 28, 2021
I'm taking this week off for the holidays. I'll be back next Tuesday-next year-with a new Notorious Bakersfield episode. Until then, here's is an earlier Notorious Bakersfield episode. Have a safe and happy New Year! If you…
E29: The Virgin Mary In Bakersfield
Dec. 21, 2021
During Christmas 1984 through to the New Year, the faithful and curious alike flocked to an East Bakersfield home to view what some claimed to be that of an apparition of the Virgin Mary. This is the story about The Virgin M…
E28: Killer Santa At Denny's
Dec. 14, 2021
In 1989, Kenneth Obney and a companion were ambushed by an assailant wearing a Santa costume in the parking lot of a Denny's restaurant in Bakersfield. If you'd like to support the Notorious Bakersfield podcast, you can buy …
E27: Cheyenne Sends His Regards
Dec. 7, 2021
In the previous episode of the Notorious Bakersfield podcast, you learned about Rudy "Cheyenne" Cadena's crimes, his rise in the ranks of the Mexican Mafia, and his assassination. For this episode, you'll learn about the 197…
E26: Bakersfield Me: The Mexican Mafia
Nov. 30, 2021
Edward James Olmos starred in and directed the 1992 movie American Me. The opening title card of the film says it was “inspired by a true story.” The lead character played by Olmos is named Montoya Santana. Everything writte…
E25: Franksgiving
Nov. 23, 2021
For 76 years, the last Thursday of November was the official Thanksgiving holiday...until 1939...when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed the Thursday before the last Thursday of November would be the official Tha…
E24: Rosedale Car Bombing
Nov. 16, 2021
In 1971, 9-year-old Eddie Owen watched from his bedroom window as his father Everett got in his pickup truck. As soon as Everett turned the key in the ignition, the bomb detonated. Over 50 years later and this case remains …
E23: Interview With Jody
Nov. 9, 2021
In episode 22, Notorious Bakersfield brought you the story of a 5-year-old girl who was abandoned on the side of a freeway south Bakersfield in 1969. Her name was Jody. For this episode, for the first time in 52 years, Jody…
E22: Abandoned On The Freeway
Nov. 2, 2021
In October 1969, a little girl named Jody was abandoned on the freeway south of Bakersfield. Officials didn't have a lot to go to positively identify her. When her story ran in newspapers and broadcast on local TV news prog…
E21: Halloween Episode
Oct. 26, 2021
For this episode of the Notorious Bakersfield podcast, I'm going to take a look back at how the people of Bakersfield responded to the 1938 radio adaptation of "War of the Worlds". This is considered one of the biggest Hallo…
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