Pop culture correspondent and major Pro Wrestling fan BJ Colangelo and I discuss the quirky history of this manly soap opera, its changing landscape in terms of gender and sexuality, as well as the complicated psychology of kayfabe, in which staged performances are presented as genuine.Read BJ's Review of The Iron ClawCheck out her podcast This Ends at PromCheck out our new merch line Folk Devils UnitedBecome a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsLeave us a message on our Urban Legends HotlineHosted Chelsey Weber-SmithProduced and Edited by Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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American Hysteria explores how fantastical thinking has shaped our culture – moral panics, urban legends, hoaxes, crazes, fringe beliefs, and national misunderstandings. Poet-turned-podcaster Chelsey Weber-Smith tells the strangest stories from American history and examines the forces that create the reality we share, and sometimes, the reality we don't.