Each episode opens the secret files of anti-vice investigators to piece together the portrait of a person from the hidden history of prostitution, gambling, and drinking in Lancaster, Pennsylvania around 1900.
A century ago Lancaster was known as a "wide open" city for prostitution, gambling, drinking because city officials encouraged and participated in vice. An undercover investigation of vice in 1913 left behind extensive records documenting the personalities and politics of Lancaster's underground economy. Using these files, this podcast unearths the surprising variety of people who struggled and sometimes succeeded in vice.
We discovered a doctors giving weekly exams in brothels in the early 1900s. Were they grifters or healers? This episode explores their careers and the controversies about their work in brothels. Narrated by M. Alison Kibler Written by M. Alison Kibler, Caitlin Bonner, Sara Smith and Frances Taylor Additional research assistance from Tatyana Ullman Additional voices from Caitlin Bonner, Vincent Smaldone and Sara Smith Thanks to LancasterHistory and Franklin & Marshall College for the...
17 Jul 2026
Rough Housing in Chinatown
No one was surprised when there was a rough house at the "chop suey" restaurant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, around 1900. Fights, vandalism, commercial sex, and gambling were regular features of the restaurant, boarding house, and laundries that made up this city's Chinatown. Find out more about the immigrant entrepreneurs who ran these businesses and the colorful customers who found adventure and refuge there. Written and narrated by M. Alison Kibler. Extra voices from Caitlin Bonner, V...
21 Mar 2026
Mary Stence, Living Quiet
Brothel keeper Mary Stence said that the key to her success was "living quiet." But, in many ways, this was misleading. This podcast explores the tumultuous and quiet aspects of her life and work around 1900. Written by Alison Kibler Research assistance from Ainsley McClure and Anna Chiaradonna. The narrator is Anna Barrett. Extra voices from Sarah Henchey and Vincent Smaldone. We thank the staff of LancasterHistory for their assistance with the Law and Order Society Papers. We are grateful f...
21 Mar 2026
A Young Man's Downfall
Did Howard Shenk, a minister's son, rape a young German woman in 1893? This episode tries to answer that question. Written by Alison Kibler The narrator is Anna Barrett. Sound engineering by the Institute of the Mechanical Surround and Vincent Smaldone. We thank the staff of LancasterHistory for their assistance with the Law and Order Society Papers. We are grateful for the financial support from Franklin & Marshall College. https://lancastervice.com
19 Aug 2025
Dr. David Franklin Kline, Abortionist
Dr. Kline was a respected physician in Lancaster, Pennsylvania around 1900. At the same time, he also worked for the brothels in town, as other doctors did. He provided abortions for sex workers and other Lancaster women. Listen to found out how he ended up in the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.
17 Apr 2025
Fair Elise and Mary: You'll be all right now
This is the second of two episodes about Fair Elise, a toddler who spent several years in a brothel. Listen to this episode after Fair Elise: Child of the Brothel. She ended up in a brothel in 1913 because of her parents' financial struggles and illnesses. At this point, brothels ran "wide open" in Lancaster, with the encouragement of city officials. Learn what it was like to live in a brothel and see how Fair Elise's life turns out. You might be surprised.
17 Apr 2025
Fair Elise: Child of the Brothel
This is the first of two episodes about Fair Elise, a toddler who spent several years in a brothel. She ended up in a brothel in 1913 because of her parents' financial struggles and illnesses. At this point, brothels ran "wide open" in Lancaster, with the encouragement of city officials. Learn what it was like to live in a brothel and see how Fair Elise's life turns out. You might be surprised.
11 Mar 2024
Barbara Foreman, Charity Girl
Barbara Foreman worked as a tobacco wrapper in the city in the early 1900s. She was part of a growing number of wage-earning women who traveled the streets downtown, where theaters, cafes and dance halls offered enticing respite from the drudgery of work. What do the secret Vice Files tell us about this young working woman?Writer and Producer: M. Alison KiblerNarrator: Rachel RubinsResearch Team: Jayden LaCoe, Kylie Loughney, Rachel Rubins, Dylan SykesGeneological research by Hope Glidd...
11 Mar 2024
Jennie Taylor, Proprietor of Disorderly Houses
The local newspapers of Lancaster, Pennsylvania wrote often about Jennie Taylor, the daughter of a formerly enslaved man. She made the papers when she was attacked by boyfriends, when she was arrested for public drunkenness or for running a "disorderly" house, and when she fought police officers. What do the unpublished Vice Files add to this publicity about Jennie Taylor? This episode focuses on how race shaped the public and secret sides of Jennie Taylor.Writer and Producer: M. Alison Kible...
8 Mar 2024
Amanda Breneman, Notorious Madam
Police arrested Amanda Breneman when they raided her brothel in 1914. In this case, unlike most other cases of women arrested for keeping "bawdy" houses, Amanda Breneman actually went to jail. The secret Vice Files help explain this surprising twist.Writer and Producer: M. Alison KiblerNarrator: Rachel RubinsResearch Team: Jayden LaCoe, Kylie Loughney, Rachel Rubins, Dylan SykesFinancial Support from the Center for Sustained Engagement with Lancaster at Franklin & Marshall CollegeAddition...
8 Mar 2024
Kennedy Eckert, Young Sport
Kennedy Eckert was a bell boy and a local billiards champion in Lancaster. Although these titles hint at Eckert's proximity to gambling and commercial sex, the unpublished Vice Files reveal surprising details about Eckert's experiences in the underworld of vice. Writer and Producer: M. Alison KiblerNarrator: Dylan SykesResearch Team: Jayden LaCoe, Kylie Loughney, Rachel Rubins, Dylan SykesFinancial Support from the Center for Sustained Engagement with Lancaster at Franklin & Ma...
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.9 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 8 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
3
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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