A podcast that explores the horrible humans in history that haunt the pages of our history books. We talk about well known historical villains and also dive deep into history to find those lesser known stories. Some of these stories of murder and deceit will seem so far fetched that you won't believe they are real! Come along as we explore all the Horrible Humans in History and the horrible things they have done.
In this episode of Horrible Humans in History, we talk about Pedro Alonso López—known as the Monster of the Andes—from his birth in 1948 amid Colombia’s violent civil conflict, through a childhood of poverty, abandonment, and repeated abuse that left him homeless on the streets of Bogotá, to his early prison years for car theft and the hardening that followed. After his release in 1978 he embarked on a multi-year killing spree targeting vulnerable young girls across Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, later claiming more than 300 victims while authorities confirmed at least 110 in Ecuador alone. Captured in Ambato in 1980 after a mother’s alert and a flood that exposed bodies, he confessed, received Ecuador’s then-maximum 16-year sentence, served only 14 for good behavior, was deported, briefly institutionalized in Colombia, and released again in 1998 on minimal bail before vanishing after a final sighting in Bogotá in 1999. The end of the episode will have an unexpected ending you won’t want to miss.
5 Aug 2026
Episode 75 - Hermine Braunsteiner
In this gripping episode of Horrible Humans in History we uncover the full, astonishing life of Hermine Braunsteiner Ryan — the ordinary Austrian woman who became one of the most feared Nazi concentration camp guards, known as the "Stomping Mare" of Majdanek. From her humble Catholic upbringing in 1920s Vienna and frustrated dreams of becoming a nurse, to her voluntary service at Ravensbrück and Majdanek where she earned a reputation for savage brutality, selections, and stomping prisoners with her steel-studded boots, the story traces her path through the horrors of the Holocaust. We follow her postwar reinvention: a light Austrian prison sentence, marriage to an American GI, emigration to the United States, and decades as a friendly, fastidious housewife in quiet Queens, New York — until Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal and a New York Times reporter knocked on her door in 1964. The episode explores her dramatic extradition, the marathon Majdanek trial in Germany, her 1981 life sentence, later medical release, and death in 1999, while examining the deeper questions of ordinary evil, denial, delayed justice, and how her case helped create America’s Nazi-hunting Office of Special Investigations. A sobering, unforgettable portrait of how history can hide in plain sight.
14 May 2026
Episode 74 - Herod the Great
Herod the Great was one of the most powerful and feared rulers of the ancient world. Rising from an outsider family with strong Roman connections, Herod fought his way to the throne through war, political alliances, and ruthless violence. Best known from the biblical story surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ, Herod became infamous for his paranoia, executions, and alleged order to kill the children of Bethlehem in the Massacre of the Innocents. Yet he was also a brilliant builder who transformed Judea with massive projects like the expansion of the Temple in Jerusalem and the fortress of Masada. This episode explores Herod’s turbulent rise to power, his brutal reign, his conquest of Jerusalem, the murders of his own family members, and the lasting legacy of a king remembered as both a political genius and a terrifying tyrant.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
15 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
23 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
89
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
77
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