by Dead Reckoning Podcast
Welcome to Dead Reckoning, the podcast where death isn't the end of the story. Hosted by writer and creator Courtney Minick, and journalist and author Beth Winegarner, based in San Francisco. Produced by Carolyn Kissick and Here Lies a Story. Artwork by Dante Silliman.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
5/6/2025
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May 29, 2026
<p>You've probably heard about Jim Jones, the People's Temple, and the infamous mass killing at Jonestown, but did you know that all of this kicked off in San Francisco? That Jim Jones was deeply entangled with city leadership, participating in corruption and cover-ups? It's … not great!</p> <p>Join Courtney and Beth for the real story of People's Temple: How they settled in San Francisco, placed their cronies at every level of government, and co-opted the civil rights and social justice movements of the era to their own nefarious ends. Beth also tells us how the tragedy and controversies live on through ongoing issues with the victims' burial monument in Oakland.</p> <h3>Show Notes</h3> <p><a href="https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/">Jonestown Archive at SDSU</a></p> <p><a href= "https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Thousand-Lives/Julia-Scheeres/9781416596400"> A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheeres</a></p> <p><a href= "https://bookshop.org/p/books/season-of-the-witch-enchantment-terror-and-deliverance-in-the-city-of-love-david-talbot/40a04521b445145b?ean=9781439108246&next=t&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=dsa_nonbrand&utm_content=%7Badgroupname%7D&utm_term=aud-1885352274224:dsa-19959388920&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=12440232635&gbraid=0AAAAACfld40thoW83371MemqGq28HB5my&gclid=CjwKCAiAlfvIBhA6EiwAcErpydXWtr8-GQVk7LOvoxTBAED8aWv2pIxuYO7FVaPs_2Rw0Au7S02_tBoCG7kQAvD_BwE"> Season of the Witch by David Talbot</a></p> <p><a href= "https://open.spotify.com/episode/62eqehugfUo9mXzXypkXbU">Last Podcast on the Left: Jonestown</a></p> <p>Latest on Buck Kamphausen's legal situation: <a href= "https://www.vallejosun.com/vallejo-businessman-faces-new-fines-for-funeral-home-businesses/"> https://www.vallejosun.com/vallejo-businessman-faces-new-fines-for-funeral-home-businesses/</a></p> <p><strong>Corruption in San Francisco Agencies:</strong></p> <p>In the <a href= "https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-08/2024%20Public%20Integrity%20Recommendation%20Implementation%20Status%2008.01.24%20FINAL.pdf"> Department of Public Works</a></p> <p>In <a href= "https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/f-department-building-inspection-chief-010522738.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGZWk0LBwhZ4j3zqpWSVHe-t-V6fWG-eplCyDeWA7NrrG5jGCxoDA0dlBJAlafvNnyTX-F4fszWpB4_UQrEmmk3ZagxcpZ-A892d1G6mQYHcVFEO4qQQoGKN1cT_CX4mBYVa3jSoCrhRnvQp2GPGkw16hmLKAUVJDDsfgtRr-eeH"> the</a> <a href= "https://www.courthousenews.com/former-san-francisco-building-inspector-gets-one-year-sentence-in-bribery-case/"> Department</a> of <a href= "https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/rodolfo-pada-sf-dbi-bribes-21947232.php"> Building</a> <a href= "https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/three-construction-planning-firm-executives-charged-bribing-san-francisco-dept"> Inspection</a></p> <p>In the <a href= "https://www.kqed.org/news/11955753/jury-convicts-top-sf-official-in-corruption-trial-here-are-5-takeaways"> PUC</a></p> <p>On the <a href= "https://sfstandard.com/2026/02/10/san-francisco-planning-commission-kathrin-moore-ethics/"> Planning Commission</a></p> <p><img src= "//assets.libsyn.com/show/577320/47500627111_2b67f55d84_w.jpg" alt= "" width="339" height="400" /></p>
May 6, 2026
<p>Long before we had protracted, bad-faith government arguments over the political football of welfare, food, and medical aid, we had ALMSHOUSES. If you were poor, sick, or hungry in the United States, this is where you went for help. Were they great? Probably not! Were they better than the workhouses in England that sold your body after you died? Yes!</p> <p>Join Courtney and Beth to learn about the Almshouse in San Francisco, which opened in the 1850s and is now a skilled nursing facility. We trace the origins of indoor and outdoor poor relief in the US, talk about what the women of the Almshouse were up to, and speculate wildly on whether people are buried on the property.</p> <h3>Show Notes</h3> <p><a href= "https://ia804505.us.archive.org/16/items/lagunahondahospi2001impa/lagunahondahospi2001impa.pdf"> Laguna Honda</a> - architectural review that includes history</p> <p><a href= "https://www.britannica.com/topic/almshouse">Encyclopedia Britannica article</a></p> <ul> <li>On <a href= "https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-service">Social Services</a></li> </ul> <p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2967126.pdf">Almshouse Women</a></p> <p>Book - <a href= "https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-b-katz/in-the-shadow-of-the-poorhouse-tenth-anniversary-edition/9780465024520/?lens=basic-books">In the Shadow of the Poorhouse</a> by Michael Katz</p> <p><a href= "https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/poor-relief-almshouse/"> Social Welfare History Project</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.kedits.com/">KEDITS on Substack</a> - modern labor economy analysis</p> <p> </p>
April 20, 2026
<p>San Francisco just agreed to pay $750,000 in a settlement to a former investigator for the Medical Examiner's office, who says she was fired after she accused the office's director of throwing away a human skull. Beth and Courtney talk about the lawsuit, allegations of bullying and bigotry in the Medical Examiner's office, and the unidentified man whose remains are at the center of the story. <!-- notionvc: 789db8e7-b781-4f3c-91cc-81ba496437fe --></p> <h3>Show Notes</h3> <p><strong>Sources/For further reading:</strong></p> <p>"SF Medical Examiner Lags in Ruling on Deaths" <a href= "https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/s-f-medical-examiner-lags-in-ruling-on-deaths-5006771.php#photo-5500915"> https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/s-f-medical-examiner-lags-in-ruling-on-deaths-5006771.php#photo-5500915</a></p> <p>"San Francisco to Pay $750K in Lawsuit Alleging Top Official Threw Away Human Skull" <a href= "https://www.kqed.org/news/12072739/san-francisco-to-pay-750k-in-lawsuit-alleging-top-official-threw-away-human-skull"> https://www.kqed.org/news/12072739/san-francisco-to-pay-750k-in-lawsuit-alleging-top-official-threw-away-human-skull</a></p> <p>"S.F. to pay $750K after employee says she was fired for reporting missing skull" <a href= "https://archive.is/20260414221457/https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s-f-to-pay-750k-to-employee-over-missing-skull-22204428.php#selection-1565.0-1565.272"> https://archive.is/20260414221457/https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s-f-to-pay-750k-to-employee-over-missing-skull-22204428.php#selection-1565.0-1565.272</a></p> <p>San Francisco Superior Court, case number CGC-24-612139 at SF County Civil Court Case Info <a href= "https://sf.courts.ca.gov/online-services/case-information">https://sf.courts.ca.gov/online-services/case-information</a></p> <p>"Roaches, worms, and hellish elevator rides: SF's crumbling courthouse" <a href= "https://sfstandard.com/2024/11/18/inside-crumbling-san-francisco-hall-of-justice/"> https://sfstandard.com/2024/11/18/inside-crumbling-san-francisco-hall-of-justice/</a></p> <p>"San Francisco settles suit involving Jeff Adachi autopsy dispute" <a href= "https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigation/san-francisco-jeff-adachi-autopsy/3177264/"> https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigation/san-francisco-jeff-adachi-autopsy/3177264/</a></p> <p>"Supervisors denounce leak of police report on death of Jeff Adachi" <a href= "https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/supervisors-denounce-leak-of-police-report-on-death-of-jeff-adachi/article_30220e50-3c05-548e-a57d-48d96bf99a9d.html"> https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/supervisors-denounce-leak-of-police-report-on-death-of-jeff-adachi/article_30220e50-3c05-548e-a57d-48d96bf99a9d.html</a></p> <p>"SFPD rate of solving crimes, already well below the national average, gets worse" <a href= "https://missionlocal.org/2022/04/sfpd-rate-of-solving-crimes-already-well-below-national-average-gets-worse/"> https://missionlocal.org/2022/04/sfpd-rate-of-solving-crimes-already-well-below-national-average-gets-worse/</a></p> <p>"The year in crime 2024: 4 charts that tell the story" <a href= "https://sfstandard.com/2026/01/02/san-francisco-2025-crime-stats/"> https://sfstandard.com/2026/01/02/san-francisco-2025-crime-stats/</a></p> <p>On national rape kit backlogs <a href= "https://www.endthebacklog.org/what-is-the-backlog/">https://www.endthebacklog.org/what-is-the-backlog/</a></p> <p><img src= "https://slack-imgs.com/?c=1&o1=ro&url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.sfstandard.com%2Fimage%2F994911177489%2Fimage_f3tp0hke2t4fn5pv4jovgshs3e%2F-S1200x630-FPNG" width="377" height="251" /></p>
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Welcome to Dead Reckoning, the podcast where death isn't the end of the story.
Hosted by writer and creator Courtney Minick, and journalist and author Beth Winegarner, based in San Francisco.
Produced by Carolyn Kissick and Here Lies a Story. Artwork by Dante Silliman.
This podcast updates daily.
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
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