EPISODE 15

Welcome to another unruly chapter of Intoxicating History with your favorite hosts, Henry Jeffreys and Tom Parker Bowles. In today’s escapade, we’re taking you on a wild ride back to America’s Prohibition era—a time when high-minded ideals collided with reckless abandon and gave birth to a carnival of bootleggers, speakeasies, and legal loopholes that only the richest could exploit.

We begin our journey by looking at how temperance, initially a noble quest to uplift society and curb the scourge of drunkenness, soon morphed into a chaotic rollercoaster of absurdity. What was supposed to be a crusade for public morality quickly devolved into an era of ingenious rebellion. The law, rather than quelling the nation’s thirst, merely redirected it into the murky underground, spawning notorious bootleg operations where alcohol was as prized as gold.

We delve into the fascinating world of speakeasies—the secret, dimly lit watering holes where the jazz was hot, the drinks were hotter, and the rules? Well, they didn’t really exist. Here, our narrative takes on a mischievous tone as we uncover how society found ways to circumvent the restrictions with a twinkle of defiance and a cheeky disregard for authority. It’s a time when the ordinary citizen, brimming with rebellious spirit, became an impromptu master of disguise, sneaking into these covert establishments with a palpable sense of thrill and the promise of a clandestine toast.

No Prohibition episode would be complete without the indomitable Carrie A. Nation. With her trademark hatchet in hand, she stormed saloons and smashed every symbol of the opulent drinking culture in a dramatic crusade of destruction. We share her larger-than-life persona and the wild stories of how she became a one-woman wrecking crew against establishments that symbolized the very excesses that Prohibition was meant to eliminate. Her fervor and fearless antics not only made her a legendary figure but also a living symbol of the era’s mounting absurdity.

And then there’s Al Capone—a name that still resonates with the thrill of underworld mystique. In our exploration, we peel back the layers of his notorious reign in Chicago. We recount the jaw-dropping escapes, the ingenious tax evasion schemes, and the sheer audacity that made his empire a byword for the criminal ingenuity of the time. Capone’s exploits serve as a perfect counterpoint to Carrie A. Nation’s fiery rebellion; while she hacked at the old guard with unyielding rage, Capone built an empire on the very chaos that Prohibition unleashed.

But the plot thickens even further as we introduce you to ‘the Real McCoy’—a figure whose legacy of authenticity in an otherwise murky underworld set the benchmark for what genuine, unadulterated bootlegging looked like. His story, woven through with daring scams, unexpected alliances, and a rugged charm, is the unexpected twist in our narrative that reminds us that sometimes, the most notorious figures arise from the strangest of circumstances.

Throughout this episode, we, Henry and Tom, invite you to journey with us into this tumultuous period where idealism met ingenuity, and chaos created culture. With our signature blend of wit, historical mischief, and a touch of irreverent humor, we promise an episode that’s as informative as it is wildly entertaining. So grab your favorite dram, settle in, and let’s raise a glass to the paradoxical spirit of Prohibition—where the fight for sobriety ironically brewed one of the most boisterous chapters in American history.