On November 12th, 2012, the Accomack County volunteer fire departments got a call. An abandoned house had suddenly gone up in flames. And then, just hours later, a second fire was reported. Then a third. Over the next few months, there would be a lot more fires—nearly 90 in all. It was all anyone could talk about in Accomack. Someone was burning down the entire county. Monica Hesse's book is American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: iTunes.com/CriminalShow. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Episode transcripts are posted on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Support for criminal comes from Betterhelp online therapy.
Betterhelp offers convenient, affordable online therapy designed to fit into busy schedules.
Therapy offers tools to help you with life's inevitable obstacles.
And it can also help you remember to take the time to celebrate your wins and give you a new perspective on where you are and where you might like to be.
Take a moment.
Visit betterhelp.com criminal today to get 10% off your first month.
That's betterhelphelp.com criminal.
Planes, trains, and automobiles, that's how we get around.
But it hasn't always been the case for agents.
Humans have been adapting and revolutionizing how we travel.
So what does the future hold?
That's what we're going to be exploring in our new special series on the future of travel.
Whether it's electric powered planes, trains that go at hyper speeds, or automobiles that are full self driving, someday they will be, even though Elon promises them far too early.
In any case, it's really important to talk about where we're going and what we're going to do about climate change and a range of things.
Tune in to the future of travel, a pivot special series brought to you by Virgin Atlantic.
You can find it on the pivot feed wherever you get your podcasts.
This episode contains adult language.
Please use discretion.
So there was this app that you could download in 2012 that would broadcast police scanner activity around you.
And there was a period of time in late 2012 and early 2013 where the third busiest community where people were listening to police activity was New York.