C13Originals Drops Investigative Podcast Series Exploring the Heist of Dorothy’s Iconic Ruby Slippers

C13Originals, the Peabody Award-nominated documentary studio division of leading premium podcast studio Cadence13, an Audacy company, today announced No Place Like Home, an original documentary podcast series narrated by Seyward Darby, author and editor-in-chief of The Atavist Magazine, and journalist Ariel Ramchandani, that investigates the heist of a pair of Dorothy’s iconic ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz, their mysterious return, the wild story of what happened in between, and unanswered questions about who took the slippers and why.

The eight-part limited podcast series also explores the life of Judy Garland, and the larger cultural significance that one of the most famous props in movie history continues to have in Hollywood and the world-at-large, in a nostalgic twist circling this heist.

Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz are among the most iconic and nostalgic objects in Hollywood movie history, a rare collector’s item worth millions. And in the summer of 2005, a pair was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in the small town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Garland’s hometown. They were missing for about thirteen years until one day they mysteriously reappeared in an FBI sting operation. Although the shoes were eventually recovered, there are more questions left than answers. The FBI still hasn’t announced who stole them, where they went, or the circumstances surrounding their return.

Set against the nostalgic backdrop of one of the most famous movies ever made, No Place Like Home investigates the heist of the ruby slippers, following the story of the crime from start to finish, and the mystery that still surrounds the events to this day. Who stole the shoes and where were they hidden? Was it an inside job, or part of a larger criminal enterprise?

Guests include: the owner of the stolen shoes, Michael Shaw, and other Hollywood memorabilia collectors; former Director of the Judy Garland Museum John Kelsch; Judy Garland’s son Joe Luft; Judy Garland historians and biographers; FBI agents, including an art crime specialist; Ryan Lintelman, the entertainment curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and Dawn Wallace, the Smithsonian’s objects conservator; memorabilia experts including Joe Maddalena, who formerly ran Profiles in History, the world’s largest auctioneer of memorabilia; and residents of Grand Rapids, MN, including the woman who discovered the theft back in 2005.

No Place Like Home will launch on June 15, 2021, on Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Spotify, and everywhere podcasts are available. New episodes of this eight-episode limited series will be available on Tuesdays.

“We have been following this story for three years, and we are thrilled that C13Originals is helping us shepherd it into the world,” said co-hosts Seyward Darby and Ariel Ramchandani. “Like so many people, we grew up watching The Wizard of Oz, learning the songs, and dressing up as the characters. But working on the podcast, we realized just how deeply the movie, its themes, and its iconography are ingrained in America’s cultural DNA. We’re excited to take listeners on that journey with us.”

“The Wizard of Oz, Judy Garland, and those ruby slippers mean so much to Hollywood, and to everyone who’s ever been touched by this iconic movie,” said Chris Corcoran, Chief Content Officer of Cadence13. “Combining this nostalgia with a classic real life heist story is an adventure that’s so unique and special, and C13Originals can’t wait to share it with fans around the world.”

No Place Like Home is a production and creation of C13Originals, Executive Produced by Chris Corcoran, written and created by Ariel Ramchandani and Seyward Darby, directed by Lloyd Lochridge, edited by Alistair Shurman, and produced by Paige Hymson.

Seyward Darby is the editor in chief of The Atavist Magazine and the author of the book Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism.

Ariel Ramchandani is a freelance journalist. She’s written for The Economist, The Guardian, WIRED, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, among other publications, and writes regularly for The Atlantic.

C13Originals is the production studio behind Gangster Capitalism; It Was Said; Relative Unknown; One Click; Root of Evil; Once Upon a Time…in the Valley; Hope, Through History; and Long May They Run.