Bonnie and Clyde’s Final Ride

About this episode

The episode discusses the final moments of Bonnie and Clyde's crime spree and the public perception of them as outlaws during the Great Depression.

May 23, 1934. On a muggy Louisiana morning, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow speed toward the Texas border. They’ve been on the run for over a year—wanted for robbery and murder—and the lurid news accounts of their exploits have made them famous. But today, Bonnie and Clyde’s legendary crime spree comes to an end … in a hail of bullets. Why did some come to view these Depression Era outlaws as agents of chaos the country needed? And what was the real motivation behind their crimes? Special thanks to our guest, John Neal Phillips, author of Running With Bonnie and Clyde: The Ten Fast Years of Ralph Fults . ** This episode originally aired May 22, 2023. Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com Follow on Instagram: @historythisweekpodcast Follow on Facebook: ⁠HISTORY This Week Podcast⁠ To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com

People in this episode

Guest: John Neal Phillips

Topics covered

• Bonnie and Clyde
• crime spree
• Depression Era
• outlaws
• American history

Keywords

• Bonnie and Clyde
• crime
• outlaws
• history
• Great Depression
• John Neal Phillips

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Running With Bonnie and Clyde: The Ten Fast Years of Ralph Fults

More episodes of HISTORY This Week

• Why the Crusades Became Cool Again · June 8, 2026 · 27 min
• How Higgins and His Boats Won the War · June 1, 2026 · 30 min
• WWII with Tom Hanks (Episode 1 – The Beginning) · May 27, 2026 · 40 min
• The Secretary of War Who Feared the Bomb · May 25, 2026 · 34 min
• The Berlin Airlift and the Birth of the New World Order (Part 2) · May 11, 2026 · 28 min
• Introducing: Family Lore · May 7, 2026 · 38 min