American Hysteria

chelsey weber-smith

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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.

Hoax Spectacular! with You're Wrong About

This is a very special episode I did last year with the podcast You’re Wrong About in which Sarah Marshall and I swapped stories about some of our favorite historical hoaxes and pranks in honor of April Fools Day. Listen to You're Wrong About wherever you get your podcastsBecome a Patron to support our show and get ad-free early episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsLeave us a message on our Urban Legends HotlineCarolyn Kendrick produced this episode for YW

Mar 31, • 1:10:50

Burlesque This Mess with Comic Stripper Woody Shticks

Woody Shticks is a comic stripper and burlesque performer as well as the director, production manager, and co-star of our recent live stage show with You’re Wrong About. For this episode, Woody and I talk about our histories with and philosophies around modern burlesque, and I tell him about the drama surrounding the first burlesque troupe to make it big in the United States back in the 1860s. This sexier-than-usual episode will show that the radical joy of art forms like burlesque continue to s

Mar 24, • 1:20:43

Thongs

Exposed thongs were all the rage in the early 2000s thanks to a handful of massive pop cultural moments, but as the craze reached the mainstream market and trickled down to teens and tweens, the skank-shaming heated up as did the moral panics and political backlash. Millennials, however, were far from the first generation to experience thong drama, and for this episode we will go back through the last ten decades to see how half of the time moral guardians have tried to legislate the thong out o

Mar 17, • 1:14:30

Context Clues: Let Me See That Thong

Thongs and the battles waged on their backs will be the focus of our upcoming episode. This collection of excerpts from previous episodes will provide some extra context: Wardrobe Malfunction (2019), Teenage Sex (2019), and The Streaking Craze (2023).Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsSound design and Production by Riley Swedelius-SmithEdited by Miranda ZicklerHosted by Chelsey Weber-Smit

Mar 10, • 56:29

Erasing History with Philosopher Jason Stanley

American philosopher Jason Stanley is the author of Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. For this episode, Jason helps us understand some of the attacks on educational institutes at home and abroad and how authoritarian movements purposefully repress and reject historical truths in favor of a different narrative that benefits their attempts at grabbing more and more power away from the people.Get a copy of Erasing HistoryBecome a Patron to support our show and ge

Mar 3, • 1:01:25

David Lynch's Mulholland Drive with 'You Are Good' Podcast

RIP David Lynch, beloved director and otherworldly weirdo. The You Are Good feelings podcast about movies graciously invited me to talk about one of the most influential films and artists of my lifetime. Talking all things Lynchian with Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed, I tried to summarize this famously baffling plot of this film, mused about the concept of Duende, and cried on mic about the Unified Field. Whether you are a fan of David Lynch or not, I hope you enjoy this conversation that was ver

Feb 24, • 1:31:30

Invasion of the Drones with Podcaster Gabe Lenners

Gabe Lenners is the host of the new podcast Obscurum: Invasion of the Drones, which explores a mysterious wave of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena that happened in Nebraska and Colorado back in 2019, an event that has a lot in common with the recent wave of supposed drones seen in New Jersey and surrounding states. For this episode, I don my flexible skeptic hat while Gabe tells me about his illuminating experience reporting from the ground, first seeing drones himself, and then interviewing loc

Feb 17, • 1:00:14

The Jersey Devil

This Urban Legends Hotline episode features listener Brandon's inquiry about the legend of the Jersey Devil, a cryptid that has haunted the Pine Barrens of New Jersey for three hundred years. We will explore the various historical events that produced this creature's folklore: a dime museum's elaborate hoax, a radical Puritan woman said to have birthed a monster, a bitchy Quaker feud rife with satanic accusations, and the impoverished people of the Pine Barrens who helped cultivate the tale as a

Feb 10, • 55:35

Context Clues: The Devil Went Down to Jersey

The famous cryptid known as the Jersey Devil will be the focus of our upcoming Urban Legends Hotline investigation. This episode will provide some context using excerpts from previous topics we have covered. Full episodes to check out:The Cannibal Pig People of Pig Hill (2023)Fake News (2020)Urban Legends (2021)Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsSound design and Production by Riley Swedelius-Smith

Feb 3, • 53:53

You Just Lost The Game with 'Spirits' Podcast

Julia Schifini and Amanda McLoughlin are the hosts of the podcast Spirits, a history and comedy show focused on mythology, folklore, and urban legends. Each week they pour a drink and deep dive into stories similar to the ones we cover here. On this episode, my new friends tell me the history of an early 2000s fad called The Game, one that you, dear listeners, have unfortunately already lost. Check out the Spirits podcast!Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bon

Jan 27, • 1:16:32

Chicken Soup for the Soul pt. 2 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

Sarah Marshall and I are back for a second helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul, the 1993 best-selling collection of "inspirational" and "true" stories. In part two I tell Sarah about the pair of motivational wealth coaches who created the book and then explain what is currently happening at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment as new leadership has led it down a dark and exploitative path (allegedly). We'll talk more about the book's messages of neoliberal mysticism and prosperity gospel man

Jan 20, • 1:36:54

Chicken Soup for the Soul pt. 1 with Sarah Marshall of You're Wrong About

Many of you will remember the 1993 best-selling book of inspirational stories, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and its bite-sized, sappy triumphs of the human spirit. But shining a modern light on this book today, the collection hits a little bit differently. For part one of this two-part series, I tell podcaster Sarah Marshall of You’re Wrong About the history of this iconic text and read her some of its most batshit stories, and together we discuss their confusing and downright damaging messages. I

Jan 13, • 1:23:24

(Throwback) An Irresistible Movement with Reproductive Justice Activist Loretta J. Ross

Since the 1970s, Loretta J. Ross has been an instrumental activist in the fight for 'Reproductive Justice', a framework she and her colleagues created in 1994 that went beyond the pro-choice and pro-life debate. She has worked as the Director of the Women of Color Program for the National Organization for Women, the program director of the Black Women's Health Imperative the director of projects for the National Anti-Klan Network, and is an author and professor as well. Today Loretta will share

Jan 6, • 53:10

In Pursuit of Pardons with Podcaster Shannon Lynch of 'The Alley: DC’s 8th and H Case'

Shannon Lynch is the host of the podcast The Alley: DC’s 8th and H Case, a detailed look at the 1984 murder of DC resident Catherine Fuller and the eight young Black men who were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a crime they did not commit. In this episode, Shannon will take us through the crime, the flawed investigation and trial, as well as the suppression of evidence that could have exonerated these men decades ago in hopes that the more their story is heard, the more likely it i

Dec 30, 2024 • 1:06:38

(Throwback) The Horror of Hallmark with Podcasters Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed of 'You Are Good'

Because so many Hallmark writers and directors also make horror movies, I called in podcasters Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed of 'You're Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' to discuss the similarities between these two seemingly polar opposite genres.Subscribe to You Are Good and You're Wrong AboutGet tickets for our Live Show called A Massive Seance in SF and LABecome a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentHosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithProduced by Miranda Zickler

Dec 23, 2024 • 1:04:27

Beyond Belief: Fiction or Fiction with Guide to the Unknown Podcast

Remember the late '90s mystery show Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? where you had to figure out which stories were true and which were fake? For this episode I tell the wild life story of the mysterious man who provided the "true" stories which were certainly beyond belief. I'm joined by wonder-siblings Will Rogers (our voice actor!) and Kristen Rogers-Anderson of Guide to the Unknown, a podcast that explores urban legends, the paranormal, horror movies, haunted places, and creepy pop c

Dec 16, 2024 • 1:13:35

The Great Glawackus Hoax with Pat and Val of Connecticut Cryptids

Patrick Scalisi and Valerie Ruby-Omen are the creators of the 2023 book Connecticut Cryptids: A Field Guide to the Weird and Wonderful Creatures of the Nutmeg State. Together they have documented Connecticut's most important cryptids, those elusive, folkloric creatures that have not been proven to actually exist but that pop up in different forms throughout time and all over the world. For this episode, Pat and Val tell me the wild story of the Glawackus, a 1966 hoax that got totally out of hand

Dec 9, 2024 • 59:04

The Donner Party with 'You're Wrong About'

This is a special episode I did for the podcast 'You're Wrong About' in 2022, and I wanted to finally bring it to you directly since the deep snowfalls of winter are looming on the ever-distant horizon. This is the harrowing tale of a wagon train trapped in the Sierra Nevadas in the harsh winter of 1864-1865, famously forced to cannibalize one another to stay alive, but that is only a small fraction of an almost unbelievable story. This is probably the piece of American history that fascinates m

Dec 2, 2024 • 1:12:54

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

For the 100th anniversary of the Macy's Parade, we are looking at the chaos energy that has always animated this cultural institution, from its explosive balloon disasters to its surprisingly unruly origins.Get tickets for A MASSIVE SEANCE Live Show with You're Wrong About:linktr.ee/amassiveseanceBecome 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 Hotline or get your mitts o

Nov 25, 2024 • 58:50

Context Clues: All the World Loves a Parade

This episode will give some context for our upcoming episode about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, its unbelievable chaotic origins and its totally out of control early days. Excerpts will be included from our War on Christmas Special, Haunted Attractions, Early Drag Queens pt. 1, and Toy Riots.Get tickets for A MASSIVE SEANCE Live Show with You're Wrong About:linktr.ee/amassiveseanceFull episodes to check out:War on Christmas Special (2019)Haunted Attractions (2021)Early Drag Queen

Nov 18, 2024 • 47:01

Artificial Unintelligence with Perry Carpenter

Perry Carpenter is the author of the new book FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions. For this episode, we are discussing what it means to live in a world where artificial intelligence is altering our reality more and more, how we can navigate a deeply uncertain digital future, and what it all has to do with human nature and the nature of folklore.Check out Perry book FAIK hereFind The FAIK Files podcast on Apple and Spotif

Nov 11, 2024 • 1:22:06

Falling for Fascism (re-release)

This episode was originally released right before the 2020 presidential election and is even more relevant as we face the 2024 election. Political philosopher Jason Stanley, author of the book How Fascism Works, helps us understand how countries slide into authoritarian systems through conspiracy theories, demonization of others, the systematic erosion of truth, and the manipulation of anxieties around race and gender. Check out How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley as well as his new book

Nov 4, 2024 • 30:24

Buried Alive!

In the 19th century, America and Europe experienced a panic over premature burial, believing that anyone could be accidentally declared dead and entombed before their time was really up. Led by a movement of quacky Spiritualists, the panic culminated in the creation of safety coffins with mechanisms that promised to save anyone who awoke six feet underground. Mere decades later, burial artists began performing all over America as a part of advertising gimmicks. They spent months undergr

Oct 28, 2024 • 1:00:36

Presenting: “Candyman: The True Story Behind the Bathroom Mirror Murder”

This is a preview for "Candyman: The True Story Behind the Bathroom Mirror Murder." On April 22, 1987, 52-year-old Ruthie Mae McCoy called 911 to report that someone was trying to enter her Chicago housing project apartment through the bathroom medicine cabinet. Police thought she was imagining things, but when authorities finally checked on McCoy two dayslater, they found her dead with four gunshot wounds. From “48 Hours”, “Candyman: The TrueStory Behind the Bathroom Mirror Murder,” revisits th

Oct 27, 2024 • 7:55

Context Clues: Grave Mistakes

'Buried Alive,' our upcoming Halloween special, looks at the American fear and fascination with premature burial. We'll explore the panic that swept the nation in the 1800s, leading to the creation of safety coffins for those potentially entombed too soon, and the spectacles drummed up by eccentric performers who competed to see who could stay buried alive the longest. This episode provides more historical context through excerpts from our previous episodes, Death, The 12 Foot Skeleton, and Quac

Oct 21, 2024 • 50:29

A MASSIVE SEANCE Live Show Tour with YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT

What could possibly go wrong when two skeptical podcasters try to summon a ghost? Join Sarah Marshall of You're Wrong About and Chelsey Weber-Smith of American Hysteria for a historical, theatrical, ecstatic spectacular for the living and dead. Hold hands with your favorite disembodied voices for a spiritualist séance* featuring fireside conversation, mystifying tricks, special guests, and music from The Little Lies – the only Fleetwood Mac tribute band that may actually be ghosts. This winter,

Oct 18, 2024 • 1:43

I Was a Teenage Poltergeist with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

Today Sarah Marshall transports us to the old world of British Hysteria to reveal the mysterious story of the Enfield Poltergeist and joins me at the seance table to discuss the great unknown and the ghosts we know. Donate to help those affected by the recent hurricanes:Mutual Aid Disaster ReliefBelovedAshevilleCentral Florida Mutual AidListen to You're Wrong About and You Are Good wherever you get your podcastsBecome a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content

Oct 14, 2024 • 1:38:26

Skibidi Toilet

Generation Alpha has made the uncanny, creepy, and chaotic YouTube series 'Skibidi Toilet' into a viral YouTube sensation, so much so that a famous director may soon be taking it to the big screen, despite the fact that the phenomenon has been called both brainrot and dangerous to the youth. On this episode, we will explain what Skibidi Toilet is, hear about similar internet videos enjoyed by Millennials and Gen X, and learn about famous art movements like net.art, Dadaism, and Surreali

Oct 7, 2024 • 1:04:40

Listen Now: MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries

The human body is a miracle. But when it’s not working, it can be the stuff ofnightmares. On this new series from master storyteller MrBallen, they’resharing medical horror stories and diagnostic mysteries that are surgicallycalibrated to make your blood run cold.From bizarre, unheard-of diseases and miraculous recoveries to strangemedical mishaps and unexplainable deaths — you’ll never hear the phrase“heart-stopping” in the same way again. MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries is afirst-of-its-

Oct 7, 2024 • 32:40

Context Clues: Brr Skibidi Dop Dop Dop Yes Yes

Our upcoming episode is about the massively successful and deeply uncanny YouTube series Skibidi Toilet, the first content that Generation Alpha's influence has made into a world-wide sensation. Billions of views on YouTube and TikTok are attributed to the original videos and the innumerable fan videos that followed, and soon we may see this bizarro phenomenon on the big screen with a famous director attached. Skibidi Toilet has been called both brainrot and dangerous to the youth, and

Sep 30, 2024 • 1:04:36

The Untold History of the NYPD with Chenjerai Kumanyika of Empire City

Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika is a Peabody Award-winning audio journalist and an assistant professor of journalism at New York University. His latest podcast, Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD “takes listeners on a journey to uncover the hidden history of the largest police force in the world – from its roots in slavery, to rival police gangs battling across the city, to everyday people who resisted every step of the way.” With the national spotlight yet again on the corruption

Sep 23, 2024 • 1:03:32

Taylor Swift Decoded with Pop Music Journalist Brittany Spanos

Brittany Spanos is a senior writer for Rolling Stone Magazine who has taught a course at NYU called Topics in Recorded Music: Taylor Swift, which analyzes "the culture and politics of teen girlhood in pop music, fandom, media studies, whiteness and power as it relates to her image." Today we are talking about conspiracy theories that come from within the hardcore Swiftie fanbase, and the ones that come from outside, often via the right wing media. Follow Brittany Spanos on Twitter and InstagramB

Sep 9, 2024 • 1:04:38

Elvis is Alive!

The life of the conspiracy theory that claims Elvis Presley faked his death is an almost unbelievable journey through gimmick-crazy hucksters and true blue believers, the tales turning the king of rock and roll into something more like a cryptid than a superstar, evidence caught in blurry photographs and in secret messages, all covered up by shadowy forces. This zany story shows how conspiracies theories are born, how they transform, and how they never seem to die, no matter what, much

Sep 2, 2024 • 1:11:37

Context Clues: The King is Dead Probably

The idea that Elvis Presley did not die in August of 1977, that he instead faked his death, has become one of the most famous and enduring conspiracy theories of all time, essentially elevating the former superstar to the status of a cryptid. For this context clues episode, we are revisiting our 2022 episode called Fangirls which covers the rise of music fandom, including Elvis'. Next week we will explore the bizarre, fantastical creation of the Elvis is Alive movement and the many stra

Aug 26, 2024 • 55:28

The Disney Gimmick That Conjured a Ghost with Jim Perry of Euphomet

Our paranormal correspondent Jim Perry is back to tell us about his recent ghost hunt inside the Queen Mary ship, where he discovered that Walt Disney had installed some ghostly gimmicks decades ago, inadvertently creating a haunting that continued on long after Disney sold the vessel. We discuss what happens when horror entertainment influences our consciousness and helps to create our modern relationship to the paranormal.Listen to Euphomet wherever you get your podcastsCheck out Spec

Aug 12, 2024 • 58:14

Tarantism: Dancing Mania pt. 2 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

For part two of our series, we are returning to the phenomenon called 'Tarantism' that began in the Middle Ages in southern Italy where the bite of a local spider caused bizarre and contagious symptoms almost like that of demonic possession and the only antidote was trance-like, vigorous dancing. Today we look at all the theories about what caused this dancing mania: Was it all truly a reaction to the venom? A religious possession? A full-blown hysteria? A feminist revolt? Or an archaic

Aug 5, 2024 • 1:22:26

Tarantism: Dancing Mania pt. 1 with Sarah Marshall of You're Wrong About

The phenomenon called 'Tarantism' began in the Middle Ages in southern Italy where the bite of a local spider caused bizarre symptoms almost like that of demonic possession. The only cure was to dance vigorously for hours or days with the dance itself seeming to become contagious. Was it all truly a reaction to the venom? A religious possession? A full-blown hysteria? A feminist revolt? Or an archaic cult’s secret rituals? Sarah and I try to figure it out over this two part series. Become a Patr

Jul 29, 2024 • 1:05:16

Spider Slander: Confronting the Myths with Expert Rod Crawford

Rod Crawford is the curator of the arachnids and related research collections at Seattle’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. His website called Spider Myths debunks the many misconceptions about spiders, and for this episode, he joins me to discuss some of these urban legends and bogus facts. Many of them may surprise you!Check out Rod Crawford's website Spider MythsBecome a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hy

Jul 22, 2024 • 46:08

The Average Person Swallows Eight Spiders a Year in Their Sleep

For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are dissecting the myth that the average person swallows a certain number of spiders in their sleep by following this false fact's bizarre and mysterious trail on the early internet, looking at other spider-related urban legends, searching for pop culture references to spiders in mouths, as well as old newspaper articles about the alleged dangers of swallowing spiders, and analyzing the surprising theories behind American's fear of these eight-

Jul 15, 2024 • 1:01:47

Rewind: Believing in the Blair Witch (Updated!)

This is an update on the new developments surrounding one of my favorite movies of all time, The Blair Witch Project, paired with our 2019 minisode. When news broke that the film's production company Lionsgate will be reviving the franchise with genre giant Blumhouse, the three original actors took to social media with a serious bone to pick. The Blair Witch Project masqueraded as real found footage of three college students who went missing in the woods while recording a documentary on

Jun 24, 2024 • 24:44

Pretendians: Indigenous Identity Fraud with Robert Jago and Angel Ellis

For this episode, the hosts of the new podcast Pretendians, Robert Jago and Angel Ellis, explain Indigenous Identity Fraud, the phenomenon of scam artists pretending to be indigenous in order to receive certain kinds of benefits. We talk about the motivations of these Pretendians, how they get away with it, the effects these charlatans have on the indigenous peoples they attempt to emulate, and how these living caricatures overshadow the true identities of various indigenous communities

Jun 17, 2024 • 53:58

A Terrorist Attack on the Furries with Nicky Woolf

Fur and Loathing is a new investigative podcast from Nicky Woolf about an unsolved 2014 chlorine gas attack on the world’s largest Furry convention, an assumed safe place for those who create animal avatars using elaborate costumes. Nicky takes me through the case, shares his experience at a recent convention, discusses misconceptions and urban legends about the Furry community, and explains a dark subculture that lurks in the fringes of this otherwise inclusive and colorful world.Subsc

Jun 10, 2024 • 52:54

Long Live the Ray Cat with Emperor X and Matt Kielty

Reporter and Radiolab producer Matthew Kielty and musician Chad Matheny (AKA Emperor X) were both part of a 2014 episode of the 99% Invisible podcast called Ten Thousand Years that asked the same question we did in our Talking to the Future episode: how do we communicate warnings about nuclear waste to humans ten thousand years in the future when language, symbols, and familiar technologies have all fallen away? Matt was a contributor to the episode, helping bring the strange story to a much lar

May 20, 2024 • 58:29

Talking to the Future: Nuclear Semiotics

How do we warn people 10,000 years in the future about nuclear waste sites that will remain extremely dangerous for longer than human civilization has existed? When language, symbols, and technologies are lost to time, how can we get our message across? Atomic Priesthoods, Radiation Cats, Forests of Thorns, manufactured folklore, these are just a few of the unorthodox ideas of government-sponsored academics trying to answer this baffling puzzle.Become a Patron to support our show and ge

May 13, 2024 • 1:07:11

Context Clues: Going Nuclear

For some context for our upcoming series that we have not yet revealed, we will revisit excerpts from our past episodes: Horror Movies pt. 1, The End of the World, and Alien Abductions pt. 1 and 2. We encourage you to listen to the full episodes!Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsSound design and Production by Riley Swedelius-SmithEdited by Miranda ZicklerHosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithChec

May 6, 2024 • 43:08

Magical Overthinking with Amanda Montell

Amanda Montell is the host of the podcast Sounds Like A Cult as well as the author of the new book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, a collection of personal essays on various cognitive biases, those flawed ways of thinking that were very important for early humans but now cause all kinds of problems in our technologically advanced world. Amanda explains why these cognitive biases originally existed, how they manifest in the personal and political, and what

Apr 29, 2024 • 1:05:54

Francine and the Wolves of Wall Street with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

Sarah Marshall joins me to chat about how, in 1968, one unsuspecting young woman’s bustline almost caused a stock market bust when thousands of Wall Street employees became obsessed with watching her walk to work. I also tell Sarah about an absurd 20-year-long craze called Girl-Watching that taught "genteel" men the "refined art" of covertly checking out women, as well as the avant-garde artist and feminist responses to the treatment of Francine Gottfried who would come to be known as the Wall S

Apr 22, 2024 • 1:18:08

The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals

In the late 1950s, an organization known as SINA started a campaign with the mission of clothing naked animals for the sake of decency. Today we will look at this bizarre moral crusade and its leader, whose life you'll have to hear about to believe.Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsFind us on Instagram @americanhysteriapodcastLeave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline or get your mi

Apr 1, 2024 • 1:06:05

When Conspiracies Aren't Just Theories with Journalist Tom Risen

Journalist and author Tom Risen is here to tell me about some of the real conspiracies that the CIA and the FBI were involved in from the 50s to the 70s and how, in 1975, one senator finally took these agencies to task, revealing shocking truths that would be used for decades to make the conspiracy theories we know today seem far more plausible. Tom writes about government surveillance and spy agencies and is the co-author of the bestselling book 'The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI,

Mar 25, 2024 • 1:16:54

When Conspiracies Aren't Just Theories with Journalist Tom Risen

Journalist and author Tom Risen is here to tell me about some of the real conspiracies that the CIA and the FBI were involved in from the 50s to the 70s and how, in 1975, one senator finally took these agencies to task, revealing shocking truths that would be used for decades to make the conspiracy theories we know today seem far more plausible. Tom writes about government surveillance and spy agencies and is the co-author of the bestselling book 'The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia

Mar 25, 2024 • 1:17:07

Bigfoot's Big Adventure with Author John O'Connor

John O'Connor is the author of The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster, a cross-country adventure and investigation into the lore around Bigfoot as well as the personalities of those who spend their lives chasing this elusive creature.Get John's book hereProducer and Editor: Miranda ZicklerAssociate Producer: Riley Swedelius-SmithHosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithGo to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 and use code americanhyste

Mar 18, 2024 • 53:41

Gang Initiations pt. 2

For the second part of this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are continuing to explore various tall tales of ruthless gang initiations from the 1990s onward, as well as looking at the sweeping anti-gang laws of the 80s and 90s that had devastating effects on communities and categorized entire neighborhoods as gang associates, enacting severe punishments based on erroneous assumptions and outright lies.Call for a Ceasefire and Help End Civilian SufferingLeave us a message on our Urban L

Mar 4, 2024 • 54:10

Gang Initiations pt. 1

For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are answering a listener message about a story of street gangs initiating wannabes with frightening rituals including driving around with their headlights off and murdering the first good samaritan who gives them a courtesy flash. We'll explore several scares that have flared up due to different versions of this urban legend, as well as real crimes wrongfully blamed on these initiations, all leading to the feeling that street gangs were creepin

Feb 26, 2024 • 1:01:13

Context Clues: Ganging Up

'Gang Initiations' is the topic of our upcoming series, and this episode will provide extra context using excerpts from three previous episodes—Urban Legends, Drugs, and Dangerous Teens.Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsThank you to our sponsors:Factor’s delicious, ready-to-eat meals make eating better every day easy. Head to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhyster

Feb 19, 2024 • 37:49

Alligators in the Sewer with 'You're Wrong About' [Live at SketchFest]

Live at SF Sketchfest, Sarah Marshall tells me about the urban-legendary alligators in the sewers of New York City. But of course, that's only one of the many manholes we open.Make sure you listen to You're Wrong About!Leave us a message on our Urban Legends HotlineCheck 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 PodcastsProducer and Editor: Miranda ZicklerAssocia

Feb 12, 2024 • 1:14:24

The Paranormal Entertainment Industry with Sapphire Sandalo and Jim Perry

Today I'm joined by paranormal corespondent Jim Perry of the podcast Euphomet and Sapphire Sandalo of the podcast Stories With Sapphire as well as the TV shows Ghost Town Terror, Paranormal Caught On Camera, and Paranormal Nightshift. We'll discuss what it’s like to work on very different kinds of projects in the supernatural sphere and get a little behind the scenes look at classic reality ghost shows. We’ll talk about the dream of diversifying away from the formulaic industry of ghost

Jan 22, 2024 • 56:23

The Indiana Cyclone: American's First Munchausen Case with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

In this episode I tell podcaster Sarah Marshall a truly wild story I uncovered about the first recognized case of Munchausen Syndrome (Factitious Disorder) in the United States. An alleged professional wrestler and American folk anti-hero called the Indiana Cyclone faked symptoms of injury and illness while blowing through hospitals across the country from the 1950s to the 1970s, leaving a bizarre kind of terror in his wake.Catch Sarah and I at SF SketchFest on Feb 2nd and Feb 3rd!Make sure you

Jan 15, 2024 • 1:15:36

We Are All Pro Wrestlers with Entertainment Journalist BJ Colangelo

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 contentO

Jan 8, 2024 • 1:13:51

Talking Crap with Historian Wendy Woloson

Author of the book Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, historian Wendy Woloson joins me to discuss the long-time American obsession with pointless, poorly-made products and novelty items like Sea Monkeys, X-ray specs, fake vomit, and exploding cigars. Today we will go into much more detail analyzing this definitively American crap and what it all means about our history and society.Get Wendy's book!Check out our new merch line Folk Devils UnitedBecome a Patron to support our show

Dec 27, 2023 • 1:11:06

Sea Monkeys

The novelty pets known as Sea Monkeys have delighted and disappointed millions of American children since they were first marketed in the early 1960s, with the nostalgia-fueled craze returning decade after decade, even after the creator was linked to Neo-Nazi activities. Described in the highly exaggerated ad copy as the most lovable pets in America, these tiny, allegedly monkey-like aquatic creatures are actually nothing more than microscopic brine shrimp, usually used as fish food in pet store

Dec 18, 2023 • 59:45

Hallmark Christmas Movies [rewind]

This is a rerelease of last year's holiday special! Find our new merch at americanhysteria.com/merchThey usually go something like this: A cranky career woman from the big city who has lost the true meaning of Christmas arrives in a small town where she falls in love with a handsome handyman or baker or Christmas tree farmer and together they vanquish whatever big business force threatens the idyllic community. The Christmas spirit leads her to let go of her own ambitions and embrace a

Dec 12, 2023 • 1:00:26

The Many Lives of a Carnival Corpse | Subscriber Sneak Peek

This is a story from a recent episode of our exclusive Patreon/Apple + talk show Hysteria Home Companion, where producer Miranda and I take turns sharing stories related to the topics we are covering. For this one that we felt was too good not to share far and wide, Miranda tells me the story of a mysterious hanging cadaver that once decorated a California dark ride and unravels the decades-long, Forrest Gumpian journey of one long dead man.Become a Patron by heading to patreon.com/amer

Nov 27, 2023 • 26:34

Marilyn Manson's Rib Removal

(explicit content warning) This *Urban Legends Hotline* episode dives deep into the viral myth that 90s shock rocker Marilyn Manson had ribs surgically removed so that he could perform autofellatio. We'll look at two other famous and controversial artists who also had this rumor attached to them, learn about another related tale that went around during Victorian times, and see how the rib removal story became perhaps the most widely told pop culture urban legend of the Millennial generation.Call

Nov 20, 2023 • 52:41

...And This is American Hysteria [Five Year Anniversary Special]

To celebrate five long years of American Hysteria, our producer Miranda Zickler interviews Chelsey about the origins of the podcast and how their own life has impacted the content. Chelsey also answers questions that listeners have sent in over the years and gets into feelings around queerness, solidarity, faith, and death. And we celebrate you, our dear listeners, who have made all of this possible. Thank you <3Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and b

Nov 13, 2023 • 57:18

Listen Now: MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries

Follow MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge the first 8 episodes, early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today.The human body is a miracle. But when it’s not working, it can be the stuff of nightmares. On this new series from master storyteller MrBallen, we’re sharing medical horror stories and diagnostic mysteries that are surgically calibrated to make your blood run cold. From bizarre, unheard-of diseases and miraculous recoveries

Nov 9, 2023 • 7:18

FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY EPISODE!! We want to hear from you!

For the next couple days we are taking any burning questions you may have for a little Q&A as well as comments about your personal experiences with our weird little show over the last few years. Anything you might like to share, we want to hear it! Let us know whether you’d like us to use your name or not.Write us a message on our website at americanhysteria.com,DM us on Instagram @americanhysteriapodcastSend us an email at americanhysteriapodcast@gmail.comGet us those questions and comments by

Nov 6, 2023 • 1:38

Our Dearest Fears with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

For our very special two-part Halloween conversation, Sarah Marshall and I are going to be sharing the less serious things that scare us: our favorite phobias, eerie feelings, and uncanny upsets. In this episode, I share the things that freak me out, from stilts and spiders to giraffes and medieval art. in order to hear all about what freaks Sarah out, head to the You're Wrong About feed, do not miss it my ghouls!Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus conten

Oct 30, 2023 • 1:16:31

The 12 ft. Skeleton

Home Depot's 12 ft. Skeleton decoration first premiered in the fall of 2020 and sold out immediately, the nationwide obsession fueling an underground black market. Memes and tweets made 'Skelly' the hottest Halloween fad of the last three years, and for some reason, the internet's biggest crush. For this episode, we will not only explore how the craze around this big old bone daddy unfolded, but we will also take you through our centuries-long bizarro relationship with human skeletons, both the

Oct 23, 2023 • 1:01:24

A MASSIVE SEANCE With You’re Wrong About in Portland, OR

American Hysteria is combining mystical forces with our dark darling best friend podcast You’re Wrong About this December 6th in Portland, Oregon for our new live show called A MASSIVE SÉANCE Holiday Spectacular for the Living and Dead. Hope to see your beautiful spirits materialize there!Become a Patron at patreon.com/americanhysteria or subscribe on your Apple podcast app to get access to the ticket presale codeFollow the top link at linktr.ee/americanhysteria to get tickets, which will be on

Oct 18, 2023 • 2:07

Context Clues: Who's Your Bone Daddy?

Our Halloween special will cover the 12 ft. Skeleton craze and the history of skeleton decorations in America. This episode will give some extra context using segments from:Haunted AttractionsDeathHorror Movies pt. 1Join our Patreon or subscribe on Apple+ for ad-free early episodes and bonus content!Call into our Urban Legends Hotline and share your teenage tale!This episode was produced by Riley Swedelius-SmithProduced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices.

Oct 16, 2023 • 52:40

Haunted Dolls [rewind]

Please enjoy this rewind of last year's Halloween special called Haunted Dolls. Coming up next week we'll start our Halloween series called 'The 12 ft. Skeleton.' Then we'll be teaming up with our sibling podcast You're Wrong About for another Halloween special!For this rewind, we'll see how possessed playthings have crept their way into the dark attic of America: Thomas Edison's little monsters, a demonic Raggedy Ann, a living ventriloquist dummy, a deadly voodoo curse, and an online m

Oct 9, 2023 • 1:00:16

Wondery Presents: Even the Royals

Admit it: you’re obsessed with royal families – watching them, gossiping about them, wanting to be them. It’s the stuff of fantasy. But for real life royals, the crown jewels can be more like shiny handcuffs. There are expectations and rules – and if you break them, the consequences are big, and very public. And no, we’re not just talking about Harry and Meghan. There are royal families and wild royal tales from around the world and throughout history that you have never heard before.From Wonder

Oct 5, 2023 • 8:23

Lemuria: The Strangest Place to Never Exist with Author Justin McHenry

Justin McHenry, author of the forthcoming book Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake Place, tells me an expansive tale of an alleged long lost continent first written about in early scientific works, then harnessed by esoteric eccentrics and new age mystics, mutating over the decades into fantastical fuel that is embedded in the strangest of conspiracy theories and cults to this very day.Preorder Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake PlaceBecome a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free ep

Sep 18, 2023 • 56:15

The Killer Crossdresser with Horror Analysts BJ and Harmony Colangelo

To unpack the movie trope of the Murderous Man in a Dress, prolific horror film analysts and writers BJ and Harmony Colangelo discuss with me all the complicated trans and drag “representation” in movies like Sleepaway Camp, Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, Dressed to Kill, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. We’ll look at how these crossdressing killers have affected the psyche of Americans through the decades, whether there is anything redeemable about these characters, and what they

Sep 11, 2023 • 1:15:48

Early Drag Queens pt. 2

For part two of our series, we are starting in the anti-gay moral panic of the 50s and 60s to see how the drag scene continued to transform underground, with female impressionists dazzling the starlets they tried to copy as closely as possible. We'll be introduced to a nationwide pageant circuit which allowed drag queens the opportunity to compete just like Miss America contestants, leading to a popular and well-reviewed documentary that revealed the controversial personal lives of thes

Sep 4, 2023 • 1:01:31

Early Drag Queens pt. 1

This series will cover the moral panics and cultural crazes that have long followed the controversial art form once called "female impersonation." For part one of our two part series, we'll start back in the 1800s to look at the earliest drag balls put on by formerly enslaved men as well as the police raids that made front page news. We'll learn about a famous Vaudeville star known for his hyper-feminine on-stage and hyper-masculine off-stage personas. We'll explore a time when gay was

Aug 28, 2023 • 55:30

Context Clues: Long Live the Queens

Our upcoming series, Early Drag Queens, will cover the surprising relationship between "female impersonation" and American masculinity in the time before the gay and transgender civil rights movements. This episode will give historical context with excerpts from these previous episodes:Gender Reveal PartiesTrash Talks ShowsHorror Movies pt. 1Join our Patreon for ad-free early episodes and bonus content!Call into our Urban Legends Hotline and share your teenage tale!This episode was produced by R

Aug 21, 2023 • 51:56

Love in the Time of Leprosy with Advocate José Ramirez, Jr.

As the social media and the news got word of the new cases of leprosy found in Florida, a slew of misinformation and stigmatization followed. José P. Ramirez Jr. is the author of the memoir Squint: My Journey With Leprosy (Hansen's Disease), which leads readers through the mystery illness that took over his life as a teenager in the 1960s, his diagnosis at age 20, and his years spent at the only facility for people with Leprosy in the United States, but it was far more than just a hospital. Toda

Aug 14, 2023 • 59:41

Blame It on Barbie with Entertainment Journalist BJ Colangelo

BJ Colangelo is an editor at Slash Film and the writer of “The Only Guide To Barbie Lore You Will Ever Need,” a comprehensive look at the cultural movement of America's pinkest lady. On this episode, BJ will take us through the moral panics, conspiracy theories, and misunderstandings that have followed this controversial toy starting back in the 1960s and continuing into this very day. Read The Only Guide To Barbie Lore You Will Ever Need Listen to This Ends at Prom Become a Patron to support

Jul 24, 2023 • 1:24:51

Furby's Revenge

This is a collaborative look at the panics around Furby with the podcast Unspookable, a show much like ours that takes a more kid-friendly approach to understanding urban legends. In honor of the return of Furby to toy stores in July 2023, we revisit some of the ridiculous myths and freaky stories around the hottest toy of the late 90s, and look deeper into what it says about human nature and America as a whole.Listen to our good buddies at UnspookableBecome a patron of our show!This ep

Jul 17, 2023 • 50:06

Hot Dog Urban Legends with Comedian Jamie Loftus

Jamie Loftus is the author of the recent New York Times bestselling book 'Raw Dog: The Naked Truth about Hot Dogs.' Together we discuss some very weird hot dog-related urban legends and conspiracy theories as a companion to our episode about the cannibal pig people of Pig Hill. We'll also learn about the history and politics of this great American meat tube and most importantly, we interrogate the aggressively gendered branding of gas station jumbo pickles.Get a copy of Jamie's book Raw

Jul 3, 2023 • 1:00:15

The Cannibal Pig People of Pig Hill

*Urban Legends Hotline* The inbred cannibal pig people who are said to inhabit Pig Hill in Meadville, PA attack teenagers who park on its lovers lane. But these are far from the only human-pig hybrids featured in American urban legends. For this episode, not only are we sharing different variations of the tale, but we are also digging deep into the weird history of pigs: Puritan bestiality trials, soldier-eating feral swine, hybrid animal experiments, the pigs who ruled the early cities

Jun 26, 2023 • 57:51

My Pronouns are Jack/Ass with Podcaster Harmony Colangelo of 'This Ends at Prom'

Harmony Colangelo is one of the hosts of This Ends at Prom, a podcast that analyzes coming of age teen girl movies through a queer feminist lens, using her perspective as a trans woman and her wife’s experience as a cisgender woman. Today we are discussing the teen boy content of Jackass, how it affected our own journey with gender, how it changed the American culture of masculinity, what it says about Peter Pan Syndrome, and why we can’t get enough of these dirty and delightful boy-men

Jun 12, 2023 • 1:07:54

Jackass

In the year 2000, a group of rowdy skateboarders and loosely defined "performers" came to MTV with a pitch that would showcase their vulgar antics—outrageous stunts, shocking pranks, and gross-out humor. Tweens and teens from all over the nation became enthralled with Jackass, leading to some copycat incidents and a customary moral panic. For this episode, we will be exploring the roots of the show, the shockingly uncensored, purposefully offensive skateboard magazines and videos of the

Jun 5, 2023 • 1:05:16

Context Clues: Welcome to Jackass

This episode will give context for our upcoming series on Jackass, an early reality show starring a group of skateboarders and unorthodox performers that filmed their stunts and pranks, becoming the outrageous superstars of the new millennium. Episodes used: Influencers Rotten.com Haunted Attractions The Streaking Craze Join our Patreon for ad-free early episodes and bonus content! This episode was produced by Riley Smith Produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad cho

May 29, 2023 • 50:20

Unabandoned with Podcaster Blake Pfeil of 'All-American Ruins'

Blake Pfeil is the host of 'abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast,' a multimedia travelogue exploring abandoned spaces across the United States. Together, we discuss what our deep love of these American ruins means, how it relates to queerness, to addiction and recovery, capitalism and politics, and how these spaces can help us recultivate the empathy we need to find solidarity. Listen to abandoned: All-American Ruins wherever you get your podcasts or head to allamericanruins.com Become a

May 15, 2023 • 1:12:14

The Ghost Children of Munger Road

*Urban Legends Hotline* Lauren's story: On a rural road outside Chicago, the ghosts of children killed in a school bus-train collision are said to push cars uphill, off the tracks, and out of harm's way, leaving their handprints in baby powder dusted on the bumper by local legend-tripping teenagers. So we investigated this urban legend, versions of which are told in small towns all over the country, by searching through old newspapers for related historical crashes, and then by unearthi

May 8, 2023 • 48:06

Interview with the Ex-Vampire (pt. 2) with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

For part two of my conversation with Sarah, I finish telling her about a satanic panic era "memoir" published by Chick Publications in the early 1990s which culminates in the author's transformation into a real-life vampire only able to survive by drinking human blood. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Listen to You're Wrong About wherever you get your podcasts American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda

Apr 17, 2023 • 47:18

Interview with the Ex-Vampire (pt. 1) with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

Over the next two episodes, I tell Sarah the story of another one of Jack Chick's occult experts using his "memoir" published by Chick Publications in the early 1990s which culminates in his transformation into a real-life vampire. We also discuss other memoirs of cultic abuse and participation written during the Satanic Panic and how they contributed to the hysteria. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Listen to You're Wrong About wherever you

Apr 10, 2023 • 54:52

Chick Tracts pt. 3

Who was Jack Chick, really? For the final episode in our series we will explore his childhood, his time in WWII, the comic moral panic happening at the beginning of his career, and how it all shaped the nightmarish world he would come to create through his work. We'll explore the negative impacts of his egregious messaging while at the same time looking at how beloved his lurid and campy cartoons have become.Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus co

Apr 3, 2023 • 57:02

Chick Tracts pt. 2

An ex-druid grand priest for the illuminati, an undercover Jesuit agent of destruction, a woman married to the devil, and a doctor who battled demons and satanists alongside her – these are the people who brought Jack Chick the life stories he would use to create his tracts, comics, and books. For this episode, we are going to hear their sensational tales, explore their relationships to Jack, and expose both their lies and their crimes.Become a Patron to support our show and get early a

Mar 27, 2023 • 1:09:24

Chick Tracts pt. 1

Cartoons of satanic witch cults, Illuminati world domination, demonic homosexuals, and the pressing choice of hell or salvation were the horror hallmarks of Baptist indie comic artist Jack Chick's sensational world, his stories told through small booklets that his fans were instructed to leave anywhere a stranger might stumble across them. With a billion of these (often unintentionally hilarious) melodramatic little comics sold throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s, and into the present day, Chick Public

Mar 20, 2023 • 1:01:18

Context Clues: A Cartoonish Hell Awaits You

Chick Tracts, what are they? You'll find out in our upcoming three-part series that covers a fundamentalist comic artist who was a hidden architect of the satanic panic, illuminati, and gay agenda hysterias. Jack Chick printed hundreds of millions of his bible tracts, small stapled together cartoon booklets full of blood sacrificing witches, evil secret societies, and sensationalized sin, based on the stories of "experts" like a druid high priest, a Catholic secret agent, and two women

Mar 13, 2023 • 42:21

OMG WTF UFOs with Jim Perry of Euphomet

Are we being invaded?? I sure thought so. Today we are talking quite animatedly to our official paranormal correspondent Jim Perry of the podcast Euphomet, a documentary series that explores the unknown and our relationship to it. This episode includes our thoughts on the recent unidentified aerial phenomena, the first UFO hysteria of the 1940s, and how our otherworldly encounters have something to do with both personal and national trauma. Check out Euphomet! Become a Patron to support our sho

Feb 20, 2023 • 1:00:00

Talking Angela

In 2014, an urban legend formed around a cartoon cat chatbot when rumors spread across social media that a child predator was operating the app, actually visible in the reflection of her big blue eyes. We'll look at the moral panic that cropped up around Talking Angela, and take a look at how urban legends are often a patchwork of clumsy crowdsourced creativity taken far too seriously.Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentAmerican Hysteria i

Feb 13, 2023 • 39:14

Urban Legends in the Internet Wilderness with the Digital Folklore Podcast

For this episode we chat about the sensational tales of cyberspace, from Slenderman to the Momo suicide game, with the guys behind the new podcast Digital Folklore, an immersive experience that explores online culture, internet monsters, memes, and urban legends as an accessible and entertaining way to learn about academic folklore concepts. We'll get deep into what these new stories tell us about ourselves, American society, and the wilderness of the modern internet. Subscribe to Digital Folkl

Feb 6, 2023 • 57:40

Introducing: Deadly Cure

Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure is a podcast about a family on the fringe whoconvinced tens of thousands of people across the globe to buy a miracleliquid made of poison, the international conspiracy they ignited, and thepeople who fought to take them down.   Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure is a Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & Sony MusicEntertainment production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 1, 2023 • 8:04

When Naked Swimming was Required in Gym Class with Journalist Robin Washington

Nope, it's not an urban legend! Today we are talking to journalist and filmmaker Robin Washington who, like a huge number of boys in high school between the 1920s and 1970s, was required to swim naked during gym class. Not only has Robin created documentaries like the PBS film You Don't Have to Ride Jim Crow!, he is also a founder of the Alliance of Black Jews. But Robin is here to talk to us specifically about the trauma that was his 1970s high school swim class and a shocking experience once s

Jan 23, 2023 • 58:14

The Streaking Craze

In 1974, running naked in public became a major fad led by students on college campuses across the nation. This provocative prank was surprisingly well-received, considered a playful call back to the college fads of yore like the riotous panty raids that burned across campuses in the 1950s. We'll look at the most outrageous moments from these crazes and see how streaking was used to discredit the political actions of students protesting against the Vietnam War and in the name of civil rights. B

Jan 16, 2023 • 57:56

Introducing: Chameleon: Dr. Dante

Dr. Ronald Dante is a talented hypnotist (and not an actual doctor) whose mind-bending schemes span decades. Dante worked the smoke-filled nightclubs of 1960s Hollywood and rode the self-help craze of the 1980s and 90s, hypnotizing women out of their fortunes, taking out hits on his rivals and opening up one of the biggest fake universities in history. Host Sam Mullins tracks Dante through yacht clubs, prison cells, trailer parks and theme parks to uncover the unbelievable true story of the grea

Jan 12, 2023 • 7:38

Context Clues: Naked or Afraid

This episode will give context for our upcoming topic called The Streaking Craze using excerpts from previous shows including: Terrorism Pt. 1 Mind Control Teenage Sex For ad-free, early episodes and bonus content became a Patron at patreon.com/americanhysteria This episode was co-produced by Riley Swedelius-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 9, 2023 • 40:02

Toy Riots (Rerun)

Tickle Me Elmo, Beanie Babies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Pokemon cards. These trendy toys all inspired parental parking lot brawls and suburban shadow economies. For our Christmas hangover, we revisit the outrageous toy riots that marked the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, many of which flared up around the holiday season. Includes a little interview with my Grannie about her experience securing a Tickle Me Elmo AT ALL COSTS.Become a Patron of our show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone

Dec 26, 2022 • 41:06

Wondery Presents: Frozen Head

Listen to Frozen Head: https://wondery.app.link/Frozenhead-AHHosted by Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart from the hit show Morbid. You can binge the entire series early and ad-free right now by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App.When 90-year-old Laurence Pilgeram drops dead on the sidewalk outside his condo, you might think that’s the end of his story. But, really, it’s just the beginning. Because Laurence and others like him have signed up to be frozen and brought back to

Dec 22, 2022 • 4:57

The Horror of Hallmark with Podcasters Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed of 'You Are Good'

Because so many Hallmark writers and directors also make horror movies, I called in podcasters Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed of 'You're Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' to discuss the similarities between these two seemingly polar opposite genres. Subscribe to You Are Good and You're Wrong About Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch

Dec 19, 2022 • 1:00:38

Hallmark Christmas Movies

They usually go something like this: A cranky career woman from the big city who has lost the true meaning of Christmas arrives in a small town where she falls in love with a handsome handyman or baker or Christmas tree farmer and together they vanquish whatever big business force threatens the idyllic community. The Christmas spirit leads her to let go of her own ambitions and embrace a more traditional lifestyle and of course, someone's dad is always Santa. Sound familiar? We will explore the

Dec 12, 2022 • 1:02:26

Context Clues: The Hallmarks of Hallmark's "Hallmark Christmas"

This episode gives context to our upcoming series on Hallmark Christmas Movies using excerpts from previous topics including The War on Christmas, The Gay Agenda, and Suburbia. Listen to The War on Christmas Listen to The Gay Agenda Listen to Suburbia Become a Patron at patreon.com/americanhysteria This Context Clues produced by Chelsey Weber-Smith and Riley Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 5, 2022 • 45:44

Land of Delusion with Cultural Historian Colin Dickey

Colin Dickey is one of American Hysteria's biggest influences—our episodes called Talking to the Dead and Alien Abductions relied on his books Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places and The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained. His newest piece is called Land of Delusion and it explores two new bizarre conspiracy theories that center around secret societies and buried histories. We’ll talk about the conspiratorial tales we keep telli

Nov 28, 2022 • 53:57

Haunted Objects of Our Affection with Podcaster Jim Perry of Euphomet

Paranormal podcast host (and major buddy) Jim Perry of Euphomet returns to discuss a couple of the many experiences that have made it impossible for us to live purely skeptical lives: his time getting personal with a haunted doll and my time getting personal with the ghost that tried to burn my house down. As usual, expect lots of philosophical waxing from both of us about the mysteries of the supernatural and about how no one really knows anything, no matter what they say.Listen to Eup

Nov 7, 2022 • 57:43

Our Halloween Open Mic

Featuring poems, fiction, nonfiction, AND A GROUP SONG with work by Sarah Marshall (You're Wrong About, You Are Good), Alex Steed (You Are Good), BJ Colangelo (This Ends at Prom), Will Rogers (Guide to the Unknown), Carolyn Kendrick (You're Wrong About, You Are Good), Miranda Zickler (Kuinka), Riley Swedelius-Smith (American Hysteria), and Chelsey Weber-Smith (me duh)To get an mp3 of our Halloween song, head to patreon.com/americanhysteriaIn order of appearance:Will RogersGuide to the U

Oct 31, 2022 • 44:08

Halloween Sadism from Cautionary Tales

Here’s a preview from a podcast that's right up your dark alley! On Cautionary Tales, bestselling author Tim Harford finds the morals in moments from the greatest mistakes and tragic catastrophes of the past. This Halloween season, he’s exploring “Halloween sadism” – where a stranger puts something dangerous in the treats collected by children. Razor blades in apples. Rat poison in chocolate. That sort of thing. Fantastical reports of trouble pop up every spooky season, but is trick or treating

Oct 28, 2022 • 15:39

Haunted Dolls

We'll see how possessed playthings have crept their way into the dark attic of America: Thomas Edison's little monsters, a demonic Raggedy Ann, a living ventriloquist dummy, a deadly voodoo curse, and an online market where you can buy yourself a soul trapped in the body of a doll. Become a Patron and support our show! Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produc

Oct 24, 2022 • 1:00:09

Context Clues: The Uncanny Valley of the Dolls

To get you ready for our upcoming episode called Haunted Dolls, we have selected some excerpts on Furby urban legends, demon-possessed toys, and uncanny killer clowns. Listen to Furby here Listen to Satanic Panic pt. 1 here Listen to Phantom Clowns here Become a Patron at patreon.com/americanhyseria Produced by Chelsey Weber-Smith, Riley Smith, and Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 17, 2022 • 39:47

Rainbow Fentanyl: Poisoned Halloween Candy Rerelease

Our most classic American urban legend is back with a vengeance, promising to ruin Halloween yet again. With an updated introduction to our 2018 episode, we'll explore the newest fearful iteration: Rainbow Fentanyl. Are drug traffickers really passing out a deadly drug disguised as colorful candy in order to get kids hooked? And if not, who stands to gain from reviving this debunked tall tale? For more information about how to access Naloxone (Narcan), you can use this link to the National Harm

Oct 11, 2022 • 46:52

Halloween is Millennial Christmas with Podcaster Sarah Marshall of You're Wrong About

To get an extended director's cut of this episode, become a patron: patreon.com/americanhysteriaFor this Halloween Party, we are joined by our favorite undead friend Sarah Marshall, and she and I will answer some spooky questions asked by the waking nightmare that is our producer, Miranda Zickler. We scream like hovering banshees about horror movies, Halloween costumes, trick-or-treating, and even play a little game of horror villain F-ck Marry Kill because we are disgusting!Listen to Y

Oct 3, 2022 • 1:04:34

Florida Scam

Not unlike the bubble markets of Beanie Babies and Cryptocurrency, the Florida Land Boom of the 1920s was a chaotic craze that caused the largest migration in American history. This episode follows the ridiculous life of Carl Fisher, one of the most flamboyant gimmick artists in American history who helped convince thousands of people to spend their life savings of on his half-baked dream.Become a Patron and support our show!Follow American Hysteria on social media:Twitter: @AmerHysteri

Sep 19, 2022 • 39:33

Florida Man

The Florida Man meme, with its bizarre crime headlines and mugshots, has become one of our most popular and long-lasting social media staples. This episode will explore the strange history of the state that produced our Florida men, from cracker cowboys to rum runners, circus freaks to spring breakers. We’ll also look behind the memes into the dark forces that swirl around America's weirdest superhero. Become a Patron and support our show! Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @Am

Sep 12, 2022 • 1:01:44

Context Clues: Feeling Like a Freak on a Beach

This episode will provide some context for our upcoming series on Florida Man. The excerpts are from Trash Talk Shows, Drugs, and Rednecks. Become a Patron and support our show! Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Production for this episode by Riley Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 5, 2022 • 30:38

An Irresistible Movement with Reproductive Justice Activist Loretta J. Ross

CW: Sexual violence. Since the 1970s, Loretta J. Ross has been an instrumental activist in the fight for 'Reproductive Justice', a framework she and her colleagues created in 1994 that went beyond the pro-choice and pro-life debate. She has worked as the Director of the Women of Color Program for the National Organization for Women, the program director of the Black Women's Health Imperative the director of projects for the National Anti-Klan Network, and is an author and professor as w

Aug 15, 2022 • 51:26

Womb Wars pt. 2

Featuring yet another flamboyant abortionist, sideshow fetuses, Mother with a capital M, eugenic suspicions, and plenty more population panics. We'll see how the battle over family planning took very different forms from 1900 up to when Roe vs. Wade made abortion federally legal. We'll see how conversations around the history of abortion and birth control continue to leave out the most important voices, the voices of those who can get pregnant, instead promoting racial population fantasies and f

Aug 8, 2022 • 57:13

Womb Wars pt. 1

Featuring flamboyant abortionists, dangerously determined doctors, problematic feminists, opportunist politicians, and one sneaky pope, this two-part series will explore the surprising origins of the anti-abortion movement long before Roe v. Wade changed everything. We'll see how the bodies of those who can get pregnant have been used as potent weapons of both population wars and power grabs by forces seeking to control the future.Head to Podvoices.help for information on how you can ge

Aug 1, 2022 • 1:00:10

Context Clues: Maybe it Ain't About the Babies

Our upcoming series is about the origins of the anti-abortion movement in the time before Roe vs Wade. This Context Clues episode combines clips from three previous episodes to give some context. Become a Patron and support our show! Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Produced by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear

Jul 25, 2022 • 33:39

Postcolonial Astrology with Alice Sparkly Kat

Alice Sparkly Kat (who goes by Ace) is an astrologer and the author of the book ‘Postcolonial Astrology: Reading the Planets through Capital, Power, and Labor’. Today they share with us their perspective on the power of the practice and how it has served those in power and those looking for empowerment in different ways. Get a copy of Postcolonial Astrology! @alicesparklykat on twitter @alicesparklykat on instagram Become a Patron and support our show! Follow American Hysteria on social media

Jul 5, 2022 • 42:15

The Planetary Propaganda of the Anti-Nazi Astrologer

In 1941, hundreds of British secret agents were sent to the United States to spread creative anti-Nazi propaganda with the hopes of convincing the American people to support military intervention. This included a flamboyant astrologer sent to give false predictions about the imminent downfall of Adolph Hitler. Head to choice.crd.co to get involved/find resources in respond to the overturning of Roe V. Wade Become a Patron and support our show! Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter

Jun 27, 2022 • 41:10

The Supernatural Imaginary of the Third Reich with Historian Eric Kurlander

Dr. Eric Kurlander is the author of Hitler’s Monsters: A Supernatural History of the Third Reich which details the occult practices and pseudosciences that many high ranking Nazis investigated at length. This episode will explore the 'supernatural imaginary' the early Nazi party was able to cultivate through a mash-up of esoteric beliefs, astrology, eastern and western religion, and pseudoscience, World Ice Theory, and sensational conspiracy theories. Listen carefully and you will start to hear

Jun 20, 2022 • 1:01:23

Astrology

This episode is not about debunking astrology, it’s about something far more interesting: the role that star-gazing soothsaying advisors have played in American politics, and the secret history of how first ladies, presidents, and other politicians have been influenced by those swearing that they can see the future.  Become a Patron and support our show! Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch at americanhysteria.com

Jun 13, 2022 • 54:51

Pride Rewind: Gender Reveal Parties

In honor of Pride month, here is a little rerelease of last year's special episode! Over the last ten years, Gender Reveal Parties have exploded, figuratively and literally. Parents, communities, and social media followers alike can witness the moment that parents and families find out the sex of their future baby, but lately, these parties have gotten so out of hand as to cause massive wildfires, explosions, damage to homes, injuries, and death. For this episode, we will try to figure

Jun 6, 2022 • 44:51

All the Other Snuff with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

*CW: Brief description of animal abuse, some brief descriptions of death*Sarah Marshall is the host of our sibling podcasts You’re Wrong About and You Are Good, and is also an expert on satanic panic in all its myriad forms. Today we discuss the decade that produced snuff urban legends, the other horror movies that added to the lore, and learn about the way this tale continues to express itself on the shadowy dark web.Make sure you listen to You’re Wrong About and You Are GoodBecome a P

May 23, 2022 • 58:11

Rotten.com

Rotten.com was a shock website from the late 90s and early 2000s that collected the most gruesome and explicit photos on the early internet. After a series of outrages pushed it into the public eye, the site would become an unlikely voice in the battle for online free speech at a time when the government was first attempting to censor the net. Become a Patron and support our show! Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merc

May 16, 2022 • 28:16

Snuff Films

Snuff films are alleged murders filmed for the purpose of distribution, an urban legend that has been circulating since the porn wars of the 1970s. We'll explore the Manson Family rumor that first sparked the story, the hoax film that led to feminist protests, the Christian organization that laid the foundation, and a mysterious home movie found tied to a cluster of balloons. We'll also see what it all has to do with Winnie the Pooh as well as what it can teach us about how false storie

May 9, 2022 • 55:06

Context Clues: Pornography

This rerelease will give some context for next week's new episode called Snuff Films. Become a Patron and support our show! Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research and co-writing by Riley Smith Co-produced and edited by Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers and by Lily Or

May 2, 2022 • 42:46

Hear ye! Hear ye! Extra extra hear all about it!

Just a handful of little announcements as we take a few weeks off (back in late April). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 4, 2022 • 2:40

The Séance of Selena with Poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva

Melissa Lozada-Oliva is a Guatemalan-Colombian-American poet, screenwriter, and educator, and co-host of the podcast Say More. She is the author of a novel in verse called Dreaming of You, about bringing 90s Mexican-American pop star Selena back to life through a séance and the disastrous consequences that follow. Along with our producer Miranda, we talk about the life and death of Selena who was murdered by a 'crazed fan', about the power of poetry and lyrics, and our favorite karaoke

Mar 28, 2022 • 40:51

Scene Queens with Podcasters BJ and Harmony Colangelo of 'This Ends at Prom'

'This Ends at Prom' is a podcast that dives deep into coming-of-age and teen girl movies from the queer, feminist cisgender and transgender perspectives of wives and film analysts BJ and Harmony Colangelo. Today we chat about millennial pop groups, the emo scene, pop punk, hair metal, gender contamination, boy band haircuts, and what we hope for the next generation of stars and the fans that make them. Listen to This Ends at Prom! Twitter: @thisendsatprom @BJColangelo @Veloci_trap_tor Becom

Mar 21, 2022 • 1:00:33

Boy Bands

Behind every manufactured boy band there is what the press calls a Svengali, a puppet master who assembles the group and styles everything about them. This episode will introduce us to the eccentric producers and talent agents who have long shaped pop music from behind the curtain. American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research and co-writing by Riley Smith Co-produced and edited by Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Roge

Mar 7, 2022 • 57:16

Fangirls

Hysterical fangirls have become so commonplace in popular music that we hardly pay attention to them anymore, no matter how loud they scream. But there was a time when the screaming, crying, fainting teenage fan was seen not only as a psychological puzzle but also as a major threat to the American empire. Today we’ll cover four eras of landmark swooning starting in the mid-1800s and heading through to Beatlemania, taking a look at the moral panics they inspired and the new power these teenage gi

Feb 21, 2022 • 49:53

Context Clues: Teenage Sex

To prepare for our series called Fangirls and Boy Bands, we are heading back to the fantastical realm of the teenager and the reactionary moral panics their sex lives have inspired since the days of the Puritans. In this episode, pay special attention to the invention of the teenager in the 1920s and 40s as well as the way the small revolutions that music and dance were able to incite, and then come back next week when we will break down the archetype of hysterical fangirl and see how these seas

Feb 14, 2022 • 39:48

Introducing Spectacle: Las Vegas

It’s a city that shouldn’t exist. An oasis in the desert, a mirage — it’s a city of buzzing neon, flowing fountains, and fortunes made and lost. A city of hedonism: concerts, casinos, showgirls, and all-you-can-eat buffets. But how did Vegas become “Sin City”? A place that promotes a fantasy of adult freedoms: a vacation from boundaries, rules, accountability? A place where people from all over the world visit to be their wildest, most uninhibited selves, even if it’s just for just a couple nigh

Feb 10, 2022 • 8:02

Twitter Saves Megan from the Westboro Baptist Church

*Please listen to our Westboro Baptist Church episode first!!* Megan Phelps-Roper was born and raised in the WBC, a fervent believer and lover of cruel funeral pickets. But when she got on Twitter to preach the hatred of God, she was met with thousands of replies from thousands of different people, a few of whom would slowly help reveal to her the error of her ways.Make sure you read Unfollow by Megan Phelps-RoperBecome a Patron and support our show!Follow American Hysteria on social me

Jan 31, 2022 • 41:42

The Westboro Baptist Church

The Westboro Baptist Church outraged both sides of the political spectrum throughout the 90s, 2000s and 2010s, picketing the funerals of AIDS victims and soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, touting their loud and always shockingly foul-mouth message that America was doomed because we had accepted homosexuality. Today we explore their most memorable “antics”, the life of their asshole leader and the family that makes up most of their following, trying our best to demystify one of Am

Jan 24, 2022 • 1:03:40

Context Clues: Televangelists

Next week we will be covering the Westboro Baptist Church, the small family clan and hyper-Calvinist group who have long outraged both the left and the right with their severe anti-gay and anti-military funeral pickets. To put their story into context, this rerelease will illuminate the history of American mainstream Christianity and show what the major players of the Evangelical right were really up to behind closed doors as they criticized the publicly inflammatory tactics of the WBC. Become

Jan 17, 2022 • 58:12

E.T. Phone Hollywood: 'Hysteria Home Companion' Patreon Sneak Peek

This is a sneak peek of our new Patrons-only podcast Hysteria Home Companion, where we share with you all the hottest gossip from the cutting room floor. This week we’re talking about the outrageous celebrity alien encounters of Demi Lovato, Anne Heche, Elvis Presley, Fran Drescher, and Miley Cyrus.Head to patreon.com/americanhysteria to get access to Hysteria Home Companion and much more!Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith and Miranda ZicklerOriginal music by Emily Westman, check out her wor

Jan 10, 2022 • 5:08

Normalizing the Paranormal with Podcaster Jim Perry of Euphomet

Today we're talking to podcaster Jim Perry, the host of Euphomet, a paranormal documentary series that explores the unknown and our relationship to it through the stories of supernatural Experiencers. But Euphomet is less interested in what is real and what isn't and more interested in the emotional side to the most unexplainable experiences, including our own. Become a Patron Check out Euphomet Check out Guide to the Unknown American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Webe

Jan 3, 2022 • 59:04

War On Christmas (Rerelease)

In this classic episode, learn about the battles fought for and against this controversial American holiday from the Puritans to the present as well as some of the forgotten traditions that may change your perspective on this "season of giving" for good.American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithProduced and edited by Clear Commo StudiosResearch and cowriting assisted by Riley SmithCo-Produced by Miranda ZicklerVoice Acting by Will RogersBecome a Patron for

Dec 26, 2021 • 53:16

Alien Abductions pt. 2

For part two of our series, we will look at skeptics' explanations for the alien abduction phenomenon to see what factors they believe may be creating these visions: repressed memory hypnotherapy, sleep paralysis, and cultural fears. We will also ask what deep human needs may be expressing themselves through these stories of 21st century secular supernaturalized trauma.Become a Patron today to get access to our follow-up talk show 'Hysteria Home Companion' and much moreCheck out Guide t

Dec 20, 2021 • 55:11

Alien Abductions pt. 1

For part one of our two-part series, we will learn about the lives of some of the most influential abductees and the people who've studied them in order to set the stage for part two, in which we will use every intellectual tool at our humble human disposal to try to better understand what on earth, or off of earth, is going on.Become a Patron today to get access to our follow-up talk show 'Hysteria Home Companion' and much moreHead to truebill.com/americanhysteria to start saving money

Dec 13, 2021 • 58:35

Context Clues: Satanic Ritual Abuse

Satanic Ritual Abuse in Space? To get us ready for our two-part series on Alien Abductions, we are talking about the flurry of spurious satanic ritual abuse memories that were unintentionally implanted by therapists during repressed memory hypnotherapy. As it turns out, the majority of stories of alien abductions were also recovered using the same techniques. Join us next Monday for part one of Alien Abductions!Become a Patron and support our show!Check out The Constant: A History of Ge

Dec 6, 2021 • 40:36

The Polyamorous Cult of Ayn Rand: 'Hysteria Home Companion' Patreon Sneak Peak

Here's a little more information about our new Patron's-only talk show Hysteria Home Companion, in which producer Miranda Zickler and I dive deeper into the show's current topic and share all the gossip from the cutting room floor as well as a little more of our personal experience with the whole self esteem thing. Our most recent episode focuses on the strange circle that surrounded writer and conservative cult leader Ayn Rand, how she used philosophy to get what she wanted, and like many insuf

Dec 2, 2021 • 4:40

Am I Good? With 'You Are Good' Podcast Hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed

Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed host the feelings/movie podcast 'You Are Good'. On this episode, we talk about our own self-esteem, the movies that made us, and break down the secular myths we've created. Sarah is also the host of 'You’re Wrong About', so expect lots of Satanic Panic content too. Become a Patron, a new 'Hysteria Home Companion' is out Monday Follow @youaregoodpod on twitter and Instagram Head to truebill.com/americanhysteria to start saving money today American Hysteria is wri

Nov 22, 2021 • 55:07

The Self-Esteem Movement

In the late 1980s, a New Age America began telling children that they were special, that if they just believed in themselves all their dreams would come true. Not only that, but spiritual seekers and psychologists began making claims that programs in self-esteem could solve all our most pressing national issues, an idea soon supported by law and order conservatives as well. The value of self-esteem as a social savior has settled into our culture as an almost unquestioned truth, but what

Nov 15, 2021 • 52:16

Context Clues: Get Rich Quick

This rerelease episode is about America's lifelong obsession with Get Rich Quick magical thinking. It will help us put into context next week's brand new episode called Self-Esteem and the magical thinking behind a movement that promised to solve all of America's ills, inside and out, based entirely on a lie.To listen to Flash Forward, head to flashforwardpod.com or anywhere you get your podcasts!To listen to Morbidology head to morbidology.com or anywhere you get your podcasts!Become a

Nov 8, 2021 • 55:31

NEW PATREON SHOW: Hysteria Home Companion

If you want to learn more about the topics covered on American Hysteria, subscribe to our Patreon talk show with myself and producer Miranda Zickler in which we gossip about all the juicy stuff left out of the episodes, share our own experiences with the content, and chat about what else we've been interested in this month. Today we reveal a little more about McKamey Manor and Russ McKamey, talk more on the institution of the haunted house and our own experiences with fear, give you our

Nov 1, 2021 • 1:37

Haunting From the Heart with Renowned Scare Actor Shar Mayer

Today we talk to the wonderful Shar Mayer, a 45-year veteran of Scare Acting known in the haunt community as "The Mother of Monsters".Become a Patron, 'Hysteria Home Companion' starts MondayLearn more about Shar MayerWatch Haunters: The Art of the ScareCheck out Web Crawlers hereAmerican Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithSound design by Clear Commo StudiosProduced by Miranda ZicklerFollow American Hysteria on social media:Twitter: @AmerHysteriaInstagram: @A

Oct 25, 2021 • 37:05

Haunted Attractions

Today we'll be talking about the fake-blood-covered history of Haunted Attractions, their raucous origins wrangling violent pranksters, the gory charity haunts that once ruled the scene, and the extreme iterations that still scandalize and fascinate the nation. We ask the burning question: Why do some of us love to be scared?Become a Patron! 'Hysteria Home Companion' talk show coming this month!American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithSound design by Clea

Oct 18, 2021 • 48:45

Context Clues: Talking to the Dead

This ghostly re-release (with a new introduction) is here to help us fit next week's brand-new episode 'Haunted House Attractions' into a larger American haunted history. Re-listen or listen for the first time, you might be surprised by what the "other side" has to say. Become a Patron and support our show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 11, 2021 • 36:35

We're Baaaaack: 'Haunted House Attractions' Coming October 18th

Join us October 18th for our spooky season premiere on Haunted House Attractions and learn a little more our show's new structure. Click here to become a Patron!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 4, 2021 • 2:34

#Elsagate

In 2017, YouTube Kids was embroiled in a major scandal when it was discovered that a dark underbelly of inappropriate cartoons, computer animations, and live action videos were lurking just under the surface of the supposedly safeguarded app. With themes of injections, sexuality, violence, scatology, and much more, we will explore these bizarre, uncanny valley videos made by mysterious content creators using low-budget methods and popular characters like Elsa, Spiderman, Peppa Pig, and Shrek in

Aug 16, 2021 • 49:48

Rewind: The Mandela Effect

In preparation for our upcoming *Weirdest Episode of All Time*, we are rereleasing this minisode on a mysterious phenomenon where large numbers of people remember an event or cultural detail differently than it really was. From the spelling of 'Berenstain Bears' to the funeral procession of Nelson Mandela, people have explored these cognitive discrepancies through the lens of both mass psychology and of course, the multiverse theory. We'll see how the internet expanded these odd mis-memories int

Aug 9, 2021 • 15:06

Talking to Strangers with Comedian Chris Gethard (Part Two)

(Make sure you listen to part one first!) Today, Chris shares his experience becoming a sudden villain in the fringe conspiratorial zeitgeist, and then we move gracefully on to sharing the value we have found in talking to strangers, him as a podcaster who has conversations on an anonymous hotline, and myself as a former hitchhiker. Chris hosts the podcast Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People, stars in a new stand-up special Half My Life, and is the author of Weird New York. Watch Chris Geth

Jul 19, 2021 • 29:33

Dangerous Attractions with Comedian Chris Gethard (Part One)

Chris Gethard is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, actor, filmmaker and author of Weird New York as well as an editor at Weird New Jersey and Weird US, all of which cover local ghost stories, urban legends, and roadside attractions. Over the next two episodes we will be discussing the most dangerous waterpark in history, the last vestiges of American tourist traps, the outrageous 1980s and 90s childhood experience, what urban legends can tell us about cultural clashes, and much more of al

Jul 12, 2021 • 57:05

Gender Lies and Liberation with Trans Historian Susan Stryker

Susan Styker is the author of Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution as well as a filmmaker, distinguished professor, and longtime activist for the LGBTQ community. She began transitioning in the late 1980s, a very different era for gender nonconformity than the one we find ourselves in today. In this episode we discuss fragmentation within the wide rainbow umbrella, issues between feminists and transgender women, and how to deal with the generational and ideological gaps that have

Jun 28, 2021 • 48:39

Gender Reveal Parties

Over the last ten years, Gender Reveal Parties have exploded, figuratively and literally. Parents, communities, and social media followers alike can witness the moment that parents and families find out the sex of their future baby, but lately, these parties have gotten so out of hand as to cause massive wildfires, explosions, damage to homes, injuries, and death. For this episode, we will try to figure out what in the world is going on here by exploring the history of gendered baby items, of th

Jun 14, 2021 • 45:21

Rewind: Talking to My Christian Friends About Gay Stuff

Pride Rerelease! This is a listener favorite. Back in 2018, I had my two Christian friends on the show, who wished to remain anonymous, as they shared some pretty anti-establishment opinions. Brianna is a poet who got her masters with me at the University of Virginia, and her husband Patrick has a master’s degree in biblical and theological studies and teaches the bible at a private high school. Brianna and Patrick are dedicated to questioning and exploring their faith in big ways, and today we’

Jun 7, 2021 • 28:00

THE GAY AGENDA (Pride Re-release)

Listen or re-listen to learn all about our panics surrounding what amounts to the queer illuminati and their evil plans to recruit children and overthrow the government, plus some queer history of the US dating back to precolonial indigenous tribes. We are leading up to our pride special coming later in the month on our new and dangerous American obsession, Gender Reveal Parties. Look for more Pride content all through June!Become a Patron to get access to Chelsey's other podcast Walk w

Jun 1, 2021 • 36:41

The Skeleton of Chelsey Weber-Smith

Finally, it is ME CHELSEY WEBER-SMITH as our interview guest, questioned lovingly by our producer Miranda Zickler. We will discuss season four, what I learned, what we didn’t cover and why, the power of the Rainbow Coalition solidarity, couples we would make out with in a haunted house, a dream dinner party with Mary-Kate and Ashley, the importance of Teen Dramas, and yes that’s right, I talk for too long about my spiritual journey and current relationship to the Great Unknown. Thank you for a g

May 10, 2021 • 49:24

Urban Legends

The kids' book series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was based largely on urban legends, and when I read them for the first time I realized that I had heard them before, but as something true that happened to a friend of a friend. For our season four finale, I will be sharing my own journey with contemporary myths, from that first book series through the 1998 teen slasher Urban Legend, the landmark work of Mr. Urban Legend, and the man who finally got to the bottom of the most memora

May 3, 2021 • 1:00:32

Rewind: The Momo Suicide Challenge

In preparation for our season finale next week on Urban Legends, we wanted to replay our deep dive into the 2018 viral internet urban legend about "Momo", a creepy humanoid figure with giant eyes, an uncanny too-wide smile, and grotesque chicken legs. Momo was somehow believed to be involved in mysterious texts that teens and kids were receiving on messaging apps, giving them escalating dangerous challenges sometimes ending in self-harm and suicide. Obviously, these kind of stories abound in the

Apr 26, 2021 • 14:31

Horror Movies, pt. 2

The genres of modern scary movies known as slashers, meta-horror, torture porn, and social thrillers, each tell us about the anxieties of the generation in which they came to exist. Like part one, this episode explores the themes present in some of the most important films in the horror canon; themes of feminism and satanic ritual abuse, of Reagan-era morality and greed, of moral ambiguity in times of war, and those that are coming to define the smoldering culture wars we find ourselves in today

Apr 19, 2021 • 59:50

Rewind: Monsters

We need a little extra time for Horror Movies II, so here is a re-release of a very related and very important episode. Monsters come from the darkness, from the depth of lakes and swamps, from the shadows of forests and hills, and live too in the dark parts of all of us. However, this episode is less about Bigfoot and more about the idea of the monstrous, and how it has been used as a tool to demonize black folks since the first slave ships landed in America, both through folktales and famous w

Apr 12, 2021 • 37:22

On Haunted Houses with Carmen Maria Machado

Carmen Maria Machado is the author of three books, the award-winning Her Body and Other Parties, a collection of vibrantly haunting short stories, In the Dream House, a bestselling memoir and examination of queer relationship abuse, and most recently, a graphic novel horror story called The Low Low Woods. She has also taught several courses at the University of Pennsylvania, most relevant today, a fiction course called The Art of Haunting. Today we are over the harvest moon to talk to C

Apr 5, 2021 • 55:21

SATANIC PANIC EMERGENCY RE-RELEASE

Lil Nas X and the sexy-ass Satanic imagery featured in Call Me By Your Name has sparked a mini Satanic panic, especially after his Satan Shoes went viral, the ones that contain a drop of human blood. This two-part re-release of our Satanic Panic episodes dives deep into evil cartoons, toys, and games, heavy metal's backward messages, the suspicion of hypnotized teenaged devil worshippers, fake memoirs by alleged members of Satanic cults, and the unfortunate union between feminist and fundamental

Mar 30, 2021 • 1:09:44

Horror Movies, pt. 1

Horror movies, consistently written-off by critics, exist unbound from mainstream respectability and because of this, they can often tell us the brutal truth. For this two-part series, we will be investigating what horror movies, their plots, their victims, and their villains reflect back to us about the dominant repressed fears of each generation. From the Big Bug movies of the atomic era, the earliest monster movies of post-WWI eugenics, the psychotherapy gender-panic of Psycho inspir

Mar 29, 2021 • 52:48

Rewind: Believing in the Blair Witch

Leading up to our two-part Horror Movies series, we wanted to return to this little prequel focused on one of my most favorite horror movies ever and the wild story behind one of the most successful horror hoaxes of all time. So listen for the first time or rewind this old Blockbuster VHS and listen again. For more on horror movies and their link to culture, check out our other episodes on Monsters, Rednecks, the Satanic Panic, Phantom Clowns, and Talking to the Dead. There is always more conte

Mar 22, 2021 • 17:38

Unmasking Matilda with Mara Wilson

Mara Wilson is a writer, actor, and the former star of the 1996 classic movie Matilda as well as the author of the memoir 'Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame'. In this episode, Mara shares her relationship to the character that many in the public still see her as 25 years later, and we talk about the dramaturgy of living, our on-stage and off-stage personas, and for Mara, the pressure that comes from yet another mask. We’ll also talk about mental health, queerness, drag

Mar 15, 2021 • 47:16

Influencers

The new American archetype known as the “Influencer” has existed in various forms long before the advent of social media, and long before Kendall Jenner and the offensive brand activism of a now infamous Pepsi commercial. For this episode, we will trace the history of how corporate brands have used the idea of personal “authenticity” to sell us shit we don’t need since the mid 1800s: we’ll hear about the early form of visual social media that swept America in the 1860s, the story of the

Mar 8, 2021 • 54:36

Gen Z and the Millennial with Gael from Teenager Therapy

Gael Aitor is a senior in high school and the host of the podcast Teenager Therapy, a show where he and four other teenagers talk about mental health and the experiences they share with a rare and empathetic nuance. Today Gael and I will explore the differences and similarities between Gen Z and Millennials and the importance of moving through our egos and being vulnerable. Today, I’ll check in with the kids to find out if they are, in fact, alright. Next week: Influencers Make sure you subscr

Mar 1, 2021 • 41:55

American Hysteria: LIVE VARIETY HOUR (Watch the full show!!)

Our Live Variety Hour is not your run-of-the-mill podcast live show, but an actual two-hour theatrical production performed in 2019. For the first time ever, you can get access to the full video on Patreon (pay what you can)! Using my background as a drag and performance art producer, a handful of my brilliant creative partners and I created a vaudevillian bananas bonanza with skits, drag, dance, stand-up comedy, and videos from clips you'll remember from season one. Expect a lot of weird surpri

Feb 22, 2021 • 2:08

Children's Programming

As the nation grapples with a volatile culture war over just what version of American history our children will grow up learning, in this episode we will see that the Public School has always been a complicated, explosive, sometimes bizarre socio-political battleground. We’ll look at the messy transformations of children’s curricula through the conservative and progressive clashes over the bible, evolution, Black anti-literacy laws, Indian boarding schools, anti-commie-patriotism, good suburban

Feb 15, 2021 • 57:20

We Were Teenage Conspiracy Theorists

Ellen Cushing's recent piece in The Atlantic called “I was a teenage conspiracy theorist” tells her story as a young Illuminati-truther during the post-9/11 years. Her history with conspiracy theories isn't all that different from my own, so I asked Ellen to join me to talk about our experiences to try to explain what these stories were like back in the 2000s, and how they intersect with the stories we hear now. We’ll also ask the biggest question of all, how do we combat this alternate

Feb 8, 2021 • 48:42

Animatronic America with Sarah Marshall of 'You’re Wrong About'

Join me and our Disney darling of the day, podcaster Sarah Marshall of ‘You’re Wrong About’ and ‘Why Are Dads?’ as we discuss our love for Disney parks, the weird history of animatronics, and Disneyland’s hilarious, disastrous opening day. So grab a Dole Whip, sit back and enjoy the tour through this gleefully haunted mansion of America. Listen to You’re Wrong About Listen to Why Are Dads? Subscribe to the One Strange Thing podcast today!  Thanks to our sponsor Skillshare, get your free trial

Feb 1, 2021 • 50:12

Disneyfication

Disney has been presenting a fairytale reality within a reality since the 1920s, a far cuter reality that mimics our reality until reality is no longer reality at all. Make sense? For this episode, we will look at the possible underlying biological reasons for the success of the Disney corporation and the history of this ever-softening societal construction we call childhood. We’ll explore both the finished and unrealized projects of the company, and how they have long presented us with a much s

Jan 25, 2021 • 59:13

The Theater of Trash with Alissa Bennett

Alissa Bennett is co-host of The C-Word podcast on Luminary as well as a decorated historian of bad behavior. “By sifting through the cultural trash heap of history,” her podcast dives deep into the lives of famous women who have been called "Crazy" throughout history, the stories that we’re told about them through the tabloid press, and the real life that was happening behind the scenes. Alissa is also the author of four zines; collections of essays reflecting on dozens of fascinating

Jan 18, 2021 • 40:30

Trash Talk Shows

There are few pieces of popular culture as problematic as the trash talk shows of the 1980s and 90s. Many of us remember Jerry Springer, Geraldo, Jenny Jones, and so many others trying to outdo each other in a parade of sensationalized deviance. The more outrageous, the better, but some of what was considered outrageous then is different than it is today. These programs certainly reinforced stereotypes and exploited their guests for profit, but like the Freak Shows of the past, they also offered

Jan 11, 2021 • 1:00:01

'Falling for Fascism' Emergency Re-Release

Due to the what appears to be an attempted coup happening right now at the Capitol, I wanted to re-release this vital interview immediately. Please listen and share if you can. This is the colossal power of conspiracy theories. Today we are talking to Jason Stanley, Jewish-American professor of philosophy at Yale University and author of the New York Times bestselling book 'How Fascism Works'. He'll help us understand more about the relationship between conspiracy theories, moral panics, and th

Jan 6, 2021 • 35:58

War on Christmas (Re-Release)

This is a re-release of our War on Christmas Special from 2019, which definitely still feels relevant in this very different year of 2020. From all of us at American Hysteria, we send you our love and our cautious hope for 2021, and we wish you Happy Holidays. This episode was sponsored by BetterHelp, head to betterhelp.com/americanhysteria

Dec 21, 2020 • 50:48

Seekers and Swindlers with Glynn Washington

Podcaster and storyteller Glynn Washington grew up in an extremist religious sect called the Worldwide Church of God and also hosted the Heaven’s Gate podcast about the UFO cult that famously committed a mass suicide in 1997. He’ll tell us all about this experience and how it shaped him, and together we will talk about how cults draw well-meaning people in, and what it means to be a seeker.For more monthly content become a Patron and get access to our new exclusive podcast called Walk w

Dec 14, 2020 • 25:42

Charismatic Leaders

The charismatic leaders we are talking about today offer utopia and doomsday, salvation and absolute truth, perfection of the self and of the world at large, as long you dedicate yourself completely to the reality of these embodied Gods. Their radical alternate realities can draw in hundreds, thousands, even millions, as they preach spiritual wholeness and heaven, equality and communalism, or apocalyptic visions of a degrading nation, promising they alone can make it great again. For this episod

Dec 7, 2020 • 1:05:34

Walk with Me

“I would like to step out of my heart/and go walking beneath the enormous sky”, poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote in 1918, probably consumed with a similar human anxiety to the one we each bear every weirdass day of our lives. This is the first episode of our new biweekly Patron’s-only podcast where you’ll come on a walk with me, either literally or figuratively, from wherever you happen to be. Walks facilitate, by nature of our very biology, more creative ways of thinking about the world;

Nov 30, 2020 • 40:07

Black Evangelicalism and the Christian Right with Anthea Butler and Lerone A. Martin

Today we are talking to two scholars of religion, Professor Lerone A. Martin of Washington University in St. Louis and Professor Anthea Butler of the University of Pennsylvania about the relationship between white and black evangelicalism and televangelism in the 20th century through the present day. Lerone is also the author of Preaching on Wax: The Phonograph and the Making of Modern African American Religion and Anthea is the author of Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making a Sanctified

Nov 23, 2020 • 56:32

Televangelists

At this point in American culture, televangelists are often seen as overblown parodies, with their pleas for private jets, their fiery sermons, their many scandalous falls from grace. However, millions of people believe in the messages of these celebrity Christians who preach the Prosperity Gospel, that money donated to their megachurches will return to the donor in fantastical ways. Since the 1950s, conservative political preaching has slowly weaved into the gospels of prominent televa

Nov 16, 2020 • 53:49

Falling for Fascism with Jason Stanley

Today we are talking to Jason Stanley, Jewish-American professor of philosophy at Yale University and author of the New York Times bestselling book 'How Fascism Works'. He'll help us understand more about the relationship between conspiracy theories, moral panics, and the tactics of fascist movements.Make sure you check out Jason's book 'How Fascism Works', it's vital!Next time on the show: TelevangelistsHosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithProduced by Miranda ZicklerSound by Clear Commo Studio

Nov 9, 2020 • 35:29

Fake News

PLEASE VOTE!!! Fake news was the unofficial buzzword of 2016, as incendiary disinformation spread prolifically across the tabloids, TV news reports, and social media, along with accusations of liberal media bias and even accusations of a democratic satanic cult. Some of what we are covering today are fantastical hoaxes that duped a gullible American public, priming future generations with a preference for the almost-unbelievable. But we’ll also look at how atrocity propaganda has been used by op

Nov 2, 2020 • 53:29

CrimeCon and Columbiners with Rachel Monroe

Today we’ll be talking with one of the big influences for our True Crime episode, Rachel Monroe, author of Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession. Rachel talks to us about true crime fandom, getting to know the real people behind the sensational stories, and the impact of crime narratives on public policy.Next time on the show: Fake NewsPLEASE VOTE OMG PLEASE VOTE!!!!!Hosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithProduced by Miranda ZicklerSound by Clear Commo StudiosSponsore

Oct 26, 2020 • 48:06

True Crime

To this day, glossy tabloids show the face of a six-year-old pageant girl murdered in a wine cellar in 1996, and 20 years later, an NBC special about the unsolved case still pulled in more viewers than the Emmys. Over the last few years, America has experienced a serious boom in True Crime entertainment; endless docuseries, TV shows, films, podcasts, and books, but our fascination with crimes that have nothing at all to do with us is a part of American history, and in fact, a part of hu

Oct 19, 2020 • 53:32

Happy Halloween, It's Season Four!

American Hysteria is back for season four beginning October 19th! Join us as we investigate our ‘vehicles of hysteria’, everything from True Crime to Televangelists, Tabloid Talk Shows to Fake News to see how pop culture, the media, misinformation, and disinformation have influenced and manipulated the reality we share, and sometimes, the reality we don’t. Become a Patron for more content every month Follow us on social media Instagram: @americanhysteriapodcast Twitter: @amerhysteria Learn mor

Oct 5, 2020 • 2:13

KILLER CLOWNS with 'You're Wrong About'

Just in time to kick off this Halloween season, I got to be a guest on the amazing podcast ‘You’re Wrong About’ talking what else, but killer clowns. Mike Hobbes and Sarah Marshall are super smart and hilarious journalists obsessed with the past. Every week they reconsider a person or event that's been miscast in the public imagination. They talk about everything and everyone from Tonya Harding to Koko the Gorilla, from sexting to acid rain, and of course the Satanic Panic. 'You're Wrong About'

Sep 21, 2020 • 57:32

Introducing Uncover: Dead Wrong

Presenting the first episode of the latest season of Uncover: Dead Wrong from CBC Podcasts. It dives deep into a botched police investigation, missing evidence, and a wrongful conviction in a city plagued with more than a hundred unsolved missing and murdered cases. Dead Wrong takes you through the twisting, unbelievable story of Glen Assoun who spent more than 17 years in prison for the murder of Brenda Way, a crime he did not commit, and asks who really killed Brenda? Listen to the rest of th

Aug 7, 2020 • 47:09

WE GOT MERCH

We finally have the extremely dope merch you’ve been asking for, and it's ready for preorder! The design (from Brothers Design Co (https://brothersdesignco.com/) ) reimagines our razor-blade-in-the-apple logo with brand new nods to the illuminati and the Satanic Panic. Shipping in September just in time for our season four premiere and Halloween, find the design on our social media or our website. Links below! Get a special discount code with you follow us on social media.Click here to

Jul 31, 2020 • 2:43

Rewind: #WayfairGate // Satanic Panic

Over our summer break, we will be rereleasing some of our old episodes as they become relevant in the present moment with an intro explaining their new context. This episode talks about a brand new conspiracy theory called #WayfairGate which alleges that the furniture company is trafficking children in boxes through the mail. We'll explore the theory first and then give you a chance to re-listen to the related topic of satanic ritual abuse we covered in season one in our episode called

Jul 27, 2020 • 45:58

Death

For our season finale, we will be exploring our ultimate human fear, our number one cognitive dissonance that arguably leads to all our American hysterias, all our archetypes, beliefs, and delusions, our moral panics. We’ll be taking at look at the historical progression of how Americans have dealt with mortality starting with a place known as the Disneyland of Death, then traveling back to learn about the Puritan idea of the Good Death, and then see how the mass casualties of the Civil War and

Jun 22, 2020 • 53:20

Wondery presents Murder in Hollywoodland

It's February 2nd 1922, and all of Hollywood is about to wake up and learn that William Desmond Taylor, the most famous film director in town, was murdered in his home last night. The investigation will shine a light on some of Hollywood's most scandalous affairs, backroom deals, and underground drug dens. This real life Murder Mystery is one of the most iconic "whodunnit" cases of the 20th century that will leave you guessing and second guessing who killed William Desmond Taylor for weeks to co

Jun 17, 2020 • 5:02

What We Inherit: A Brief History of American Racism

The national and international protests over the death of George Floyd have generated larger and more widespread conversations about systemic racism in the United States. We hope to use our platform to help provide context and understanding around our shared moment in history, to show how our past creates our present, and to help illuminate how anti-Black racism has been passed on through our culture and politics, changing with each generation but also very much staying the same.Here ar

Jun 15, 2020 • 40:26

Introducing Truth vs Hollywood

Introducing the newest Audioboom original podcast, Truth vs Hollywood. Join Film lovers David Chen and Joanna Robinson as they do a deep dive into well known films and discuss how similar they are to the actual story.  Truth vs Hollywood premieres 6/12. Subscribe to Truth vs Hollywood on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truth-vs-hollywood/id1510582080) or wherever you listen. **Proceeds from this ad will be donated**

Jun 12, 2020 • 13:06

A message from the team

Like many shows, we are taking a break this week. We will be back next Monday with an audio guide that we hope can provide historical context and understanding around the nation-wide protests. After that we will be back with our season finale. Please take care of yourselves and others.Here are some nonprofits and groups to support:People's Kitchen CollectiveReparationsHomeless BackpacksGiveDirectly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 8, 2020 • 3:50

#Gamergate

The internet hate campaign known as #gamergate began in February of 2013 when video game developer Zoe Quinn put out a simple, text-based game called Depression Quest that attempted to show players what it was like to live with this illness. After receiving positive reviews and write-ups, a swath of misogynistic trolls in the gaming community took to message boards to rail on the game they saw as a feminist, political correctness conspiracy to infiltrate their male dominated space, and

Jun 1, 2020 • 24:26

Men's Rights

In 2014, a young man named named Elliot Rodger went on a killing spree as revenge for the beautiful women who had denied him the sex he believed he was entitled to. In February of 2020, talk radio host Rush Limbaugh was presented with one of the highest national honors, a man who has never shied away from his theories about the oppressive forces of “Feminazis.” There are growing subcultures of men who subscribe to the idea that is is American men, not women, who are the true victims of

May 25, 2020 • 53:26

The Curse of the Lottery

Have you ever heard of the Curse of the Lottery? The legend that most, if not all big winners eventually face everything from bankruptcy to untimely death? We’ll explore whether there is any truth to this alleged phenomenon through a handful of stories that both support and refute this modern urban legend, a kind of folkloric Monkey’s Paw story that tells us, be careful what you wish for.American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithProduced and edited by Clea

May 4, 2020 • 28:45

Get Rich Quick

The search for untold riches has always been at the heart of America, from its very beginning as a nation founded on the search for gold. For this episode, we’ll look at several manifestations of this hope to “get rich quick” and the psychology of luck and ritual, of dreams themselves, both dreams of the future, and dreams that predict it. We’ll start with the most modern get rich quick ideas in the style of The Secret, the 2006 self-help book that make Americans believe that all you need to do

Apr 27, 2020 • 54:41

Introducing An Acquired Taste

Every week Bethany and Kathleen get together to chat about their lives and what's weird in the world, and they're inviting you to join them! Pull up a chair. Pour yourself something warm or strong or bubbly. There's room at the Table for everyone! Subscribe now on Apple! (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/an-acquired-taste-podcast/id1138061190)

Apr 7, 2020 • 7:08

Confederate Monuments and The Lost Cause

Since the tragedies of the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville and the Charleston Church shooting that killed nine black members, the display of monuments and flags representing the fallen Confederacy have been hotly debated. Are they racist symbols of hate or are they symbols of an unshakable Southern pride? Arguing that the American Civil War was fought over states' rights instead of the preservation of slavery, this alternative narrative called The Lost Cause is still taught in

Apr 6, 2020 • 24:40

Rednecks

For this episode we are dissecting the archetype of American rednecks, hillbillies, and those we call white trash, a group often accused of being the “real” racists who make up the deplorable “Trump Country." But we'll be examining who is really to blame, starting with the plantation elites of the 1700s who created categories of race to break up the poor who were revolting against the government, resulting in centuries of brutal slavery and what we now know as white privilege. We’ll loo

Mar 30, 2020 • 55:19

Beards

On this episode we explore the history of one of the most hipster of trends, how facial hair has come to represent masculinity, the pastoral fantasy, and of course, white supremacy. Whether our men wear beards or go clean-shaven says more than you might expect about the culture of the time, and it certainly says some interesting things about the trend that defines the modern hipster. American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Produced and edited by Clear Commo Stu

Mar 23, 2020 • 21:15

Hipsters

Throughout my lifetime I have been both a middle class college student and a summer hitch-hiker dead set on finding the real heart of America, and on this episode I’ll cop to the facts: I’m a poser. We will explore one of the most hated archetypes of the modern age: the ironically-dressed middle and upper class young adults whose aggressive individuality is anything but. The hipsters we know today are not a new phenomenon, and neither is the phenomenon we know as ‘cool.' We’ll look at t

Mar 16, 2020 • 51:48

School Spirit

Whether you were a cheerleader, a football player, a painted fan, or a bad kid under the bleachers, you will certainly remember this very American phenomenon called school spirit. Beginning with the creation of the modern high school after the Great Depression, we’ll take a look at the development of this aggressive pride, of cheerleading, of the pledge of allegiance, and how school spirit has acted since its beginnings as a kind of training wheels for nationalism.American Hysteria is w

Mar 9, 2020 • 20:14

Suburbia

For this episode, we are covering the uncanny cul-de-sacs of American suburbia, how this way of life formed, and how it has served as both a wholesome and creepy national archetype since a devastating 1871 Chicago fire caused the first affluent white flight from the city. We’ll look at how architects designed the manicured, identical, segregated white suburbs that popular culture eventually turned into horror movie fodder. Along with the lawns and trees that represent a long term obsession with

Mar 2, 2020 • 51:55

Got Milk?

Growing up in the 90s, kids were targeted by a widespread campaign featuring what felt like every single cool celebrity sporting an iconic white mustache and singing the praises of milk. But, nutritionally, milk isn't all its cracked up to be. So where did this uniquely American obsession start, and how did this beverage, one that humans are not naturally designed to drink, become a symbol for our nation and even for white supremacy?American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey W

Feb 24, 2020 • 19:39

Presenting Uncover: Satanic Panic

We are proud to rep Uncover's newest season that focuses on our favorite subject here at American Hysteria: the Satanic Panic. If you're looking for a smart deep-dive into this insane phenomenon, subscribe now to Uncover (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncover/id1364665348)  wherever you get your podcasts.

Feb 22, 2020 • 1:22

Burgers

Welcome to our season three premiere! Whether we’re conscious of it or not, hamburgers have always been an American symbol, a metaphor for our special brand of cognitive dissonance as well as our obsession with masculinity, dominance, and conquering. We have heard a lot about the horrors of factory farming, but this episode hopes to look at our relationship to meat and animals in a different way. We’ll look at the plains of the west where colonizers killed millions buffalo to make way f

Feb 17, 2020 • 47:00

Season Three Trailer

We are stoked to announce that our season three premieres this coming Monday, February 17th! On this season we're going to explore our most ingrained beliefs, delusions, and archetypes, how cognitive dissonance shapes our culture, and how our reality is created by the stories we tell, especially the stories we tell ourselves. Listen to American Hysteria's season three premiere February 17th wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 10, 2020 • 1:54

Team Huddle: An American Hysteria Q&A

For this episode, we gather the American Hysteria team together to answer some of the questions asked on social media. We share our experience making the show and just what goes into the production, both literally and emotionally. We also share some intel about our newest season, premiering February 17th. Hear from: Host Chelsey Weber-Smith Producer Rod Rodriguez of Clear Commo Studios (https://clearcommo.com/) Research Assistant Riley Smith With this episode hosted by Panic Monday's Miranda Zic

Feb 3, 2020 • 41:41

Celebrity Urban Legends: 'Panic Monday' Off-Season Talk Show

This is our off season talk show, ‘Just Another Panic Monday.’ If you are new to American Hysteria, head to the main episodes of season one or two to get a feel for our show, and then catch up with us here! Season three will premiere February 17, 2020. Whether it was Marilyn Manson's rib removal, Mr. Rogers's secret tattoos, George Bush's Satanic lineage, Tommy Hilfiger's racist comments, or Katy Perry's past as Jon Benet Ramsey, it's more than likely that you've gossiped about at least one of t

Jan 20, 2020 • 35:24

Looking for An Alien Vortex with Euphomet

Since we are on a break this week, I wanted to share with you my former work with an incredible paranormal podcast called Euphomet. Together with host and my good friend Jim Perry, we were once invited to Sedona, AZ to climb to the top of Bell Rock in search of alien vortexes with a man famous in his time-- the only attorney to actually sue the US Government for UFO information under the Freedom of Information Act. So today, balance your healthy skepticism with a little bit of magic, or

Jan 6, 2020 • 25:56

War On Christmas Special

This is a surprise early Season Three premiere! Merry Whatever y'all! Learn about the history of America's relationship to Christmas, and the several wars that have been fought in the name of and against this always controversial holiday, as well as some of the darker sides and forgotten traditions that may change your perspective on the season of giving for good. American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Produced and edited by Clear Commo Studios Research and co

Dec 26, 2019 • 55:46

Bloody Mary: 'Panic Monday' Off-Season Talk Show

This is our off season talk show, ‘Just Another Panic Monday.’ If you are new to American Hysteria, head to the main episodes of season one or two to get a feel for our show, and then catch up with us here! The urban legend Bloody Mary has long acted as a rite of passage for slumber partiers all over the United States and beyond. Perhaps you once heard stories from your peers of this terrifying phantom's appearance in dimly lit mirrors, or even saw something sinister yourself, candle in hand. Po

Dec 16, 2019 • 39:39

We need your help!

Join our Patreon now! American Hysteria has officially left our network and we are striking out on our own for the very first time. We need your help to keep the show going strong while we work on season three. If American Hysteria has been important to you, please consider donating to our Patreon and actively join us in the work that we do. You'll get extra content each month, live streams, shout-outs on the show, and even a chance to help us with the process of creating American Hysteria. Than

Dec 3, 2019 • 2:21

Black Friday: 'Panic Monday' Off-Season Talk Show

This is our off season talk show, American Hysteria: Just Another Panic Monday. Our regular season will return in the winter. Please donate to our Patreon! (https://www.patreon.com/americanhysteria)   For the next several weeks, my co-host Miranda Zickler and I will explore a handful of our favorite American freak-outs in a more casual way, while still giving you the same stories you love. This week’s topic: Black Friday. We'll learn the history of this strange American phenomenon that sees cons

Dec 2, 2019 • 34:36

Vaping: 'Panic Monday' Off-Season Talk Show

This is our off season talk show, American Hysteria: Just Another Panic Monday. Our regular season will return in the winter.   For the next several weeks, my co-host Miranda Zickler and I will explore a handful of our favorite American freak-outs in a more casual way, while still giving you the same stories you love. This week’s topic: Vaping, the terrifying new flavor of the month. We’ll explore the real causes of mysterious new afflictions that have left two thousand people sick and led to 39

Nov 18, 2019 • 28:18

Disney Subliminal Messages: 'Panic Monday' Off-Season Talk Show

This is our off season talk show, American Hysteria: Just Another Panic Monday. Our regular season will return this winter. For the next several weeks, my co-host Miranda Zickler and I will explore a handful of our favorite American freak-outs in a more casual way, while still giving you the same stories you love. This week’s topic: subliminal messages in Disney movies, from the dicks in the Little Mermaid to Aladdin’s apparent command for teenagers to take off their clothes, we’ll see if

Nov 4, 2019 • 24:07

Mind Control

For our season finale, I am going to step into the unknown recesses of the mind, especially my own. I’ll share my upsetting brush with a self-actualization program that taught me that life is empty and meaning when I was ten-years-old. I’ll give a partial history of psychology’s changing ideas about how we think about thinking. Then we’ll look at the Cold War beginnings of this concept called brainwashing when American POWs suddenly became communist sympathizers, and how the US governme

Oct 21, 2019 • 57:43

Terrorism: Part Two

In part one of Terrorism, we looked at the history of domestic extremists on both the left and the right, from the slave revolts of the 1700s up through the formation and then rebranding of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as their violence during the era of desegregation. From there we looked at far left groups that developed in the late 1960s and early 70s, the Black Panthers and their sometimes allies, the Weather Underground. For part two, we'll move into the modern era, with the militia m

Oct 14, 2019 • 36:30

Terrorism: Part One

Since 9/11, the fear of terrorism has centered on what we call Islamic extremism, but this two-part episode will instead explore a topic that is becoming more and more prevalent in our news cycle: domestic terrorism, the kind that is directed at Americans by Americans. We will explore both the radical movements of the far left and far right since this nation’s dark beginnings, and how one movement sought to use violent intimidation to maintain the status quo of white supremacy while the other si

Oct 7, 2019 • 41:18

Wardrobe Malfunction

Eighty-four million Americans witnessed the greatest pop culture spectacle of 2004, when Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Their live performance ended with what became known as a “wardrobe malfunction” when Justin ripped away a portion of Janet’s leather top, revealing her right breast complete with nipple piercing. This salacious scandal, sometimes called Nipplegate roused a moralistic America, even helping President George W. Bush to win his second te

Sep 30, 2019 • 15:16

Pornography

Pornography has existed all over the world for all recorded time, and now porn websites are visited by an estimated 60 million Americans every month. With each new technological advancement, porn soon follows, and each generation subsequently fears for our vulnerable women and our uncontrollable men. For this episode, we’ll spend most of our time in the 1970s, also known as the “Golden Age of Porn,” when America was introduced to Andy Warhol’s Blue Movie, Deep Throat, Playboy, and Hustl

Sep 23, 2019 • 36:14

Violent Video Games

AFTER SHOCK: Since the 1970s, violent video games have been a popular scapegoat used by Republicans and Democrats alike to explain mass shootings. From the extremely simplistic Death Race to the more realistic Mortal Kombat, Doom, and Call of Duty, what do our most comprehensive studies tell us about the effects of gory video games? How much have they truly influenced school shooters? And what does this manufactured panic act to cover up? American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Ch

Sep 16, 2019 • 15:10

Dangerous Teens

Despite how these last few years have felt, schools are still statistically the safest place our kids and teenagers can be. Our evolving archetype of the goth mass shooter that was born out of the Columbine massacre isn’t accurate to who those young men really were, nor what they hoped to to achieve. From the Reagan and Bush era wars on crime and drugs came another kind of juvenile threat known as Superpredators, as The Central Park Five case demonized black kids as a violent mob wrecki

Sep 9, 2019 • 39:03

Furby

AFTER SHOCK: Many of us were gifted a strange robotic creature in the last years of the 1990s, a furry animatronic friend that children taught to speak, or so America believed. With misconceptions around the technology of Furby came strange urban legends and conspiracy theories about its possible use as spy equipment, the possibility of it crashing planes and stopping life support machines, and its alleged demonic possession that left an entire generation of kids haunted for years to come. Amer

Sep 2, 2019 • 14:31

Toy Riots

After the heavy first half of this season, I wanted us to take a little break together and have some fun. We will be covering the volatile toy riots of the 1980s and 90s, from Cabbage Patch Kids to Tickle Me Elmo to Beanie Babies to Pokemon. Let’s take a trip down memory lane to when adults created a market for these toys out of thin air, with pointless plush selling for tens of thousands of dollars, and we’ll even hear a little from my Grannie about her personal mission to find a precious Tickl

Aug 26, 2019 • 37:00

LIVE VARIETY HOUR

For this very special episode, we present to you a mash-up of some of our favorite parts of American Hysteria’s LIVE VARIETY HOUR in Seattle. Special guests include Tinky Winky, Satan, Alex Jones, and John Harvey Kellogg. Expect drag, banned dances, urban legends told in the high school halls, favorite PSAs from the 80s and 90s, and even a little romance. CWS hosts this round up of the most hilarious and horrifying moments from season one. You’re gonna want to see our videos, make sure

Aug 19, 2019 • 39:33

Two Flexible Skeptics Contemplate the Unknowable Universe: American Hysteria in Conversation with the Something Scary Podcast

Today I plan to lose all creditability among our dedicated skeptics by sharing my ghost experiences, talking about astrology, and even getting a tarot card reading. Instead of abandoning me, I ask you to indulge yourself into the unknown for just one episode. With the amazing Sapphire Sandalo of Something Scary asking me the kinds of questions I love, I promise to keep my skepticism alive while also respecting the great mysteries that have always fueled me, and led me here, to American

Aug 12, 2019 • 39:59

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon

AFTER SHOCK: In the summer of 1944, Americans saw terrifying headlines about a possible Nazi chemical weapons strike in the form of an invisible poison gas. Underneath those headlines, a small town in Illinois began experiencing apparent “anesthetic attacks” by a mysterious figure that would come to be known as the Mad Gasser of Mattoon. Could it have been an escaped Nazi hellbent on the town's destruction? An urban legend leading to a mass hysteria? Or a sadistic homosexual trying to p

Aug 5, 2019 • 14:35

Monsters

Monsters come from the darkness, from the depth of lakes and swamps, from the shadows of forests and hills, and live too in the dark parts of all of us. However, this episode is less about Bigfoot and more about the idea of the monstrous, and how it has been used as a tool to demonize black folks since the first slave ships landed in America, both through folktales and famous works of fiction. We also explore how Darwin's theory of evolution affected white Americans and led to the actual creatio

Jul 29, 2019 • 36:28

Ted Bundy

AFTER SHOCK: This 1970s rockstar biopic of a man whom we can all agree should be deeply reviled isn’t a new or shocking concept in America, the country with the world record for serial killers in the last 100 years. Zac Efron's sculpted and lovable Ted Bundy personifies an ongoing American obsession with this allegedly handsome killer turned celebrity, a man who confessed to 30 murders and brutal sexual assaults. What does it mean that these boogeymen for which we carry pepper spray, ch

Jul 22, 2019 • 12:29

Celebrity

Whether we like to admit it or not, we have celebrities that we follow, and we can watch their dramatics play out on a public stage, their dramatics that remind us of our own. On this episode, we will trace the major events that shaped American fame as we know it, forming our fantastical ideas about celebrities and their personas on and off screen. We’ll explore the anthropology and psychology behind our celebrity celebrity obsession, a process that is actually embedded in our very DNA. We’ll al

Jul 15, 2019 • 37:35

Parrot Fever

AFTER SHOCK: On this week's show we talk about a disease known as Parrot Fever that frightened the nation in 1929, leading to parrots being abandoned in the streets and thrown overboard from ships. But just as quickly, the hysteria gave way to ridicule as America and the media made Parrot Fever into a joke, a made-up illness, a silly panic. But in reality, sickness and death struck 20% of those who contracted Parrot Fever, and though the concern was overblown, the denial of its existenc

Jul 8, 2019 • 11:57

Quackery

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Lifestyle-brand ‘Goop’ and the expensive products it peddles are just the newest in a long line of medical quackery leading back to the 1800s. America has a long history with selling and buying Snake Oil, bogus cures to any ailment you can imagine, starting with the cowboy showman of the wild west, who sold to the masses through traveling vaudevillian performances. In addition to fake cures, historical American doctors and scientists also have a dark history of identifying and

Jul 1, 2019 • 40:00

Cooties

We all remember the very real threat of cooties, a contractable playground malady that developed out of the adult fear of germs. Cooties have long acted as a tool of kiddy quarantine as well as a tool to define who are the social others of the school hierarchy. Today we will dive into the long history of cooties, from wartime trenches to the jungle gym. American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithProduced and edited by Clear Commo StudiosResearch and cowritt

Jun 24, 2019 • 12:42

Germs

In a real sense, germs are our only modern predator and they are invisible and impossible to detect; what could be scarier? America has adjusted to the threat of germs by not only working toward cures and vaccinations, but by making uncleanliness in general a cultural symbol meant to separate social others from the affluent. Anxieties about race and immigration, about gender and sexuality and class, played out in the way products were marketed, as well as in how public policy and public

Jun 17, 2019 • 34:09

Griefbots

American Hysteria presents the AFTER SHOCK, a follow-up minisode to the main episode before it, basically The Shit They Didn't Show or From The Cutting Room Floor. We'll cover one interesting story every other week. This episode is about 'griefbots,' a new form of AI that app developers are creating. By scouring social media posts and text messages of deceased persons, they work to design chat bots that loved ones and future generations can actually interact with. One developer is even

Jun 10, 2019 • 15:36

Talking to the Dead

For the season two premiere, we are exploring the rich American history of Spiritualism, a massive 80-year trend of popular culture lasting from the Civil War to the Jazz age in which mediums began speaking to, and then speaking for, the spirits of the dead. A sudden craze of magical, fun, gross, and sexy parlor room séances swept the nation, materializing during the awe-inspiring age of invention and scientific inquiry. But the movement also had a political side; for the first time wom

Jun 3, 2019 • 33:43

Presenting American Hysteria: Season Two

Join us next week, Monday, June 3rd, for the premiere of season two where we cover the creepy, sexy, gross, and surprisingly political American movement of Talking to the Dead. Find out what more you can expect from our coming season, from terrorism to dangerous teens, from medical quackery to the dangers of the crossword puzzle. In the meantime, if you love the show, please leave us a five star review, it really helps the show out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 27, 2019 • 1:38

14: American Hysteria LIVE in Seattle

For the very first time, American Hysteria is putting on a live variety-hour vaudevillian show so that you can experience our first season of moral panics, urban legends, and conspiracy theories in a totally different way. You've never seen a live podcast show like this. [Get your tickets here](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-hysteria-variety-hour-seattle-tickets-61051071398) June 27th at the Columbia City Theater in Seattle

May 13, 2019 • 1:26

Viral: Believing in the Blair Witch

This is the 20 year anniversary of one of my favorite movies of all time, The Blair Witch Project, a movie that masqueraded as real found footage of three college students who went missing in the woods while recording a documentary on the local legend. The story of the missing students and the lore of the Blair Witch were both widely believed during its monumental release, and we are covering just how the directors and marketing team were able to pull off one of the greatest hoaxes in A

May 6, 2019 • 16:24

Viral: The Mandela Effect

Our culture, our society, our very sense of self, relies heavily on a faith in our memories as perfectly accurate. But what if our memories aren’t as reliable as we think? What if we can recall vividly, things that never actually happened? And what if that can extend out to an entire culture, a whole group collectively remembering something wrong? The Mandela Effect, however, says that parallel dimensions are to blame for discrepancies of mass childhood memories, such as the spelling of

Apr 22, 2019 • 13:06

11: Skylark Presents: Feminist Folklore

Feminist Folklore is a weekly podcast from Skylark Media, assistant produced by Chelsey Weber-Smith. Each week, Carlea Holl-Jensen and Rachel Marr share a different folk story or fairytale from around the world and dive into what it says about past and present ideas of gender, class, race, and more.  Subscribe to Feminist Folklore on Apple podcasts or where ever you're listening right now. You can also find the show at [skylarkmedia.com/podcasts/feministfolklore](http://www.skylarkmedia.com/p

Apr 15, 2019 • 1:26

Viral: The Momo Suicide Challenge

The newest viral internet urban legend focuses on an entity named Momo, a creepy humanoid figure with giant eyes, a strange too-wide smile, and grotesque chicken legs, said to message teens and kids on messaging apps with escalating dangerous challenges ending in self-harm and suicide. On this mini episode, we'll explore this and other panics that look for something to blame for the issue of adolescent mental health. These mini episodes will cover the strangest viral phenomena of the world wide

Apr 8, 2019 • 15:26

The End of the World

It has been said that the apocalypse is as American as apple pie, and for our season finale we are exploring different versions of the end of the world, the hyper-religious, the new age, and the scientific, as well as Chelsey’s personal experience with the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse. The stories we tell about the end of time tend to involve not only a series of cataclysmic, devastating events, but also the saving of an elect few, and the punishing and death of the rest. While none of the end

Mar 25, 2019 • 44:07

The Calm Down: The Morality of Drugs and the Opioid Crisis

This week we will be discussing the history of drug panic in the United States and its effects in the present day. My guest is Sarah Deutsch, a friend of mine from high school who received her masters in Public health from the City University of New York. Sarah went on to become the Director of Outreach and Prevention for a syringe exchange in Washington Heights, where she worked for many years. Currently, Sarah is working in Washington State to scale up programs that serve people who u

Mar 18, 2019 • 25:01

Drugs

When a security camera caught footage of a 31-year-old Florida resident eating the face of a homeless man, the news and social media dubbed him the Miami Zombie, and it was widely speculated that he was under the influence of a new synthetic drug called Bath Salts, a claim that was later found to be false. Hysterical drug rhetoric has long talked of zombies and monsters and aggressors with superhuman strength and an imperviousness to police bullets, and panic around drug use has long been manufa

Mar 11, 2019 • 34:47

The Calm Down: Murdered on Lovers' Lane

For this week's episode of the Calm Down, my guests are the women of Feminist Folklore. Each week Carela Holl-Jensen and Rachael Marr consider what fairytales, folk stories, and urban legends can tell us about culture at large, about beliefs surrounding gender and sexuality and the prescribed roles of women. Today we’ll be discussing different interpretations of the Hook man urban legend as well as the true crime stories of Lover’s Lane, while we dissect the phenomenon of the teenage urban legen

Feb 25, 2019 • 23:53

Teenage Sex

In 1996, Scream taught American teenagers the first rule to surviving a horror movie. Never, ever have sex. Classic slasher movies have their roots in an urban legend we all heard growing up: a guy and a girl are parked on a deserted lover’s lane making out while a hook-handed killer is on the loose. The 2000s gave us urban legends about dangerous teen sex games, Rainbow parties and sex bracelets, as well as bans on high school dances over grinding and twerking, and with the recent outrage over

Feb 18, 2019 • 36:21

The Calm Down: Talking to My Christian Friends About Gay Stuff

For the Calm Down this week my guests are my two Christian friends who wish to remain anonymous, as they are sharing some anti-establishment opinions. Brianna is a poet who got her masters with me at the University of Virginia, and her husband Patrick has a master’s degree in biblical and theological studies and teaches the bible at a private high school. Brianna and Patrick are dedicated to questioning and exploring their faith in big ways, and today we’ll talk about their changes of heart as y

Feb 11, 2019 • 27:00

The Gay Agenda

The purse-carrying, tutu-wearing purple Teletubby Tinky Winky was outed as a homosexual in 1999, capping off a decade of conspiratorial anti-gay writings and videos that influenced politics straight up to supreme court. Accused of using kids shows and public schools to influence impressionable minds and recruit new young homosexuals, the gay militants were secretly powerful agents of a massive conspiracy to bring down traditional American values and take over the country. The creation of the Gay

Feb 4, 2019 • 36:07

6: Introducing Feminist Folklore

Introducing another great podcast from Skylark Media! Feminist Folklore is a weekly storytelling and discussion podcast where each week, hosts Carlea and Rachael share a fairy tale, myth, or legend from around the world, and discuss it from a feminist perspective. Does Snow White pass the Bechdel test? How different would Sleeping Beauty really be if you replaced the heroine with a sexy lamp? Whether you love Disney princesses or chilling ghost stories, Feminist Folklore has something for y

Jan 29, 2019 • 1:37

The Calm Down: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Clown

On the Calm Down this week we are talking Phantom clowns, horror movies, and the uncanny valley. My guest is John Campopiano, an independent filmmaker, writer, and film collector who works for PBS’ Frontline His debut documentary explored Stephen King's Pet Sematary, and his latest project, now in post production, is an all encompassing look at the 1990 miniseries IT starring Tim Curry. John has also co-written a new short film inspired by IT called 'Georgie,' which is due out in the spring, bot

Jan 27, 2019 • 26:08

Phantom Clowns

For most of us living in the US, clowns have become much more associated with horror than the laughter of kids. The “killer clown” epidemic went viral in 2016, with reports across the nation of evil clowns trying to lure children into the woods, attacking adults, and threating harm to local schools, but as you might guess, they were all hoaxes or hysteria. However, it wasn’t the first time that America was invaded by Phantom Clowns. For this episode, I will trace the history of our relationship

Jan 21, 2019 • 37:30

The Calm Down: Kids in Cauldrons and Satanic Ritual Abuse

For this week’s Calm Down we are talking about part two of Satanic Panic that focused on Satanic ritual abuse. My guest is American Hysteria’s editor and producer Rod Rodriguez of Clear Commo Studios. A US Army Reserve Intelligence Officer, Rod earned his masters in Mental Health Counseling from Capella University in 2015\. He surprised the hell out of me the other day by revealing his experience both growing up embroiled in his own hometown Satanic scare and as a grad student studying traumatiz

Jan 14, 2019 • 27:36

Satanic Panic: Part Two

*Please be aware that this episode talks about child sexual abuse* We recommend listening to part one of Satanic Panic first. In 1980s America, when 60% of people believed that devil worship was a serious problem, two new characters, Stranger Danger’s murderous pedophile and the Satanist, blurred into a new villain and psychological archetype: The Satanic pedophile. In part one, we saw how Satanic hysteria was sown through pop culture, sensational media, and religious hucksters, causing the wide

Jan 7, 2019 • 37:32

5: AH The Calm Down: He's Baaaack! Satanic Panic Themes in Riverdale and Sabrina

Welcome to The Calm Down, this week Chelsey is talking Satanic Panic with two friends and coworkers, siblings Will Rogers and Kristen Rogers Anderson. Will is the writer behind Skylark media’s audio drama Blackwood, an amazing series following three high school students who investigate a local urban legend. Kristen is American Hysteria’s social media manager, as well as a cohost with Will on the hilarious horror podcast Guide to the Unknown. The three of them discuss Satan’s reign of the 1980s,

Dec 17, 2018 • 23:21

Satanic Panic: Part One

This episode is part one of our two-part series on perhaps the most mystifying moral panic in US history, the 1980s and early 90s 'Satanic Panic.' For this episode, Chelsey covers the rise of organized Satanism beginning in the late 60s, as well as the adversarial countercultures of the hippies and the metalheads, and their apparent Satanic crimes that would be hailed as proof of their evil, as well as proof that teens, as well as children, were in serious moral peril. Satan was allegedly hypnot

Dec 10, 2018 • 35:05

The Calm Down: Hidden Anti-Semitism in Conspiracy Thought and Getting to Know Satan

The Calm Down is a mini episode of American Hysteria coming every other week. Today we’re following up on last week’s show about the illuminati, please listen to that episode first. My guest is Mark Gunnery, a queer Jewish journalist who produces the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU, Washington DC's NPR station. He is currently working on a podcast series about Sabbatai Tzvi, a 17th century false messiah who changed the course of Jewish history. We’ll talk about the Jewish Illuminati conspiracy theories

Dec 3, 2018 • 22:44

The Illuminati

For this episode, we'll explore the mother-of-all conspiracy theories, the Illuminati, an alleged secret society and their evil world domination plan known as the New World Order. Chelsey takes a stroll down memory lane with friend Austin Smith, to a time when they believed in the Illuminati and found what seemed like proof. We’ll explore the history of the theory itself, why some people are more prone to believing than others, and how at the heart of the theory lies a dark ideology tha

Nov 26, 2018 • 36:44

2: AH The Calm Down: Needles & Strangers & the Illuminati, Oh My!

Every other week host Chelsey Weber-Smith will sit down with a guest to breakdown the previous episode, reveal all the stuff that was left out, as well as chat about the next week’s topic. This week, Chelsey and long time friend Jake Weholt, who you will remember from the Stranger Danger episode and their own hometown panic, discuss Stranger Danger, Poisoned Halloween Candy, the Illuminati, and the importance of critical thinking. TCD’s guest this week is Jake Weholt Hosted by Chelsey W

Nov 19, 2018 • 23:41

Poisoned Halloween Candy

This episode takes a look at our history with candy, the desire and the panic, and explains why sweets have always been a source of fear for parents. Starting with the strange 1800s religious beliefs of Dr. Harvey Kellogg, about candy leading to sexual deviancy, we'll move through the goofy urban legends of the 1970s, to the 80s and 90s when people allegedly began finding dangerous objects in their foods, like syringes in Pepsi cans and poison in Halloween candy.American Hysteria is wri

Nov 12, 2018 • 33:22

Stranger Danger

This episode explores the evolution of American's bogeyman, the Stranger, and reveals how rare these types of kidnappings really are. Through looking at the sensational child snatching crimes that have shaped our culture from the 1800s to the 1980s, and how we have responded to them in the media, in books, with PSAs and made-for-TV movies, host Chelsey Weber-Smith explains the problem with Stranger Danger and what this moral panic might be covering up. American Hysteria is written and produced

Nov 12, 2018 • 35:59

Introducing American Hysteria

American Hysteria is a brand new podcast exploring our moral panics, urban legends, and conspiracy theories, how they shape our psychology and culture, and why we end up believing them. Host Chelsey Weber-Smith will attempt to understand why we fear the wrong things, explore how these fears shape our past, present, and future in sometimes hilarious and sometimes devastating ways, and also what these bizarre panics might be covering up. Topics range from Stranger Danger to Poisoned Hallo

Nov 5, 2018 • 1:30