The Taliesin Massacre

This Stuff You Should Know episode dives into the fascinating and deeply troubling story of Frank Lloyd Wright's personal life and the tragic events that unfolded at his masterpiece estate, Taliesin. The hosts explore Wright's affair with his mistress Mamah Borthwick, his abandonment of his wife and six children, and the shocking 1914 murder-arson attack by a mentally ill handyman named Julian Carlton that killed seven people on the property. Beyond the scandal and tragedy, they also touch on Wright's later marriages, his eventual productive years creating iconic buildings like Fallingwater and the Guggenheim, and why it's possible to appreciate an artist's genius while acknowledging their personal failings.