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.
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Sarah is a journalist obsessed with the past. Every week she reconsiders a person or event that's been miscast in the public imagination.
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Just Between Us is a comedic variety show where Allison Raskin and Gabe Dunn openly discuss everything from mental health to sex and all the stuff in-between. Each week, they’ll answer a question from a listener seeking advice, interview someone fascinating, participate in a rarely winnable game show and discuss a random topic affecting the world. Jump from highbrow to lowbrow in a single episode! Sometimes multiple times! Nothing is off limits for these New York Times best selling authors w ...
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Hoax Spectacular! with Chelsey Weber-Smith
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Sarah talks with Chelsey Weber-Smith, host of American Hysteria, about some of their favorite hoaxes—from the Loch Ness Monster to the Taco Liberty Bell—and ponder the value of pranks in a world of misinformation. You can find Chelsey here. You can find American Hysteria here. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Whe…
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Francine and the Wolves of Wall Street with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'
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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 checki…
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He turned a bright spark into a flame. (Part 1 of 2!) You can buy Marcus McCann's book, Park Cruising: What Happens When We Wander Off the Path, here. Content warning: this episode briefly discusses suicide around minute 13. An extended cut of this episode is available for Patreon and Apple Podcast subscribers. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Epi…
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The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals
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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 content Or subscribe to…
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BONUS Britney Spears Book Club with Eve Lindley
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Celebrity correspondent Eve Lindley came by to tell us about Britney Spears' memoir The Woman in Me. This is part one of a four-part saga we're currently releasing on Patreon and Apple Plus, and in this episode we get into Britney's family history, her childhood, her years of searching for stardom, and her life until the eve of "...Baby One More Ti…
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When Conspiracies Aren't Just Theories with Journalist Tom Risen
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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. To…
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The Oscars Streaker with Michael Schulman
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In 1974, Robert Opel ran naked through the Academy Awards telecast, and into American history. Today, Michael Schulman, a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Oscar Wars, tells Sarah the story of gay history, art, and tragedy that happened after Robert’s fifteen minutes were over. Read Michael’s work here. Support You're Wrong About: Bo…
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Bigfoot's Big Adventure with Author John O'Connor
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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 here Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associate Producer: Riley…
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Blair Braverman tells us how the legendary story of one good dog is actually a story of two good dogs. Read Blair’s book, Small Game Read Blair’s Patreon (and learn more about sled dogs!) Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show, You Are Good Links: https://bookshop.org/p/books/s…
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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 punis…
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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 o…
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This week, writer Miles Klee tells us why we have to take our shoes off at the airport. Read Miles Klee at Rolling Stone. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show, You Are Good Links: https://www.rollingstone.com/author/miles-klee/ http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout https://www.t…
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'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 content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Thank you to our sponsors:…
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Alligators in the Sewer with 'You're Wrong About' [Live at SketchFest]
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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 Hotline Check out our new merch line Folk Devils United Become a Patron to support our sh…
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This week, Harmony Colangelo tiptoes through the tulips with us. You can find Harmony at This Ends at Prom here! Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show, You Are Good Links: https://podpeople.me/this-ends-at-prom http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout https://www.teepublic.com/store…
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The “Pro-Life” Movement with Megan Burbank
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During what should’ve been Roe v. Wade’s 51st birthday week, Sarah and reproductive health policy reporter Megan Burbank take a look at the movement, decades in the making, to tear down abortion rights in America, starting with the hypocrisy at its root. Is what we know as the pro-life movement a religious effort or a political movement? And how di…
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The Paranormal Entertainment Industry with Sapphire Sandalo and Jim Perry
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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 littl…
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The Indiana Cyclone: America's First Munchausen Case with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'
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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 coun…
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The Battle of the Sexes with Julie Kliegman
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Sarah teams up with writer and editor Julie Kliegman—author of the hotly anticipated book MIND GAME—to look back at tennis's Battle of the Sexes, between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs (aka the Libber and the Lobber). No pigs were harmed in the making of this episode or in the Houston Astrodome on September 20, 1973. You can find Julie (and MIND …
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We Are All Pro Wrestlers with Entertainment Journalist BJ Colangelo
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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 Claw Check out her podcast This E…
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The Exorcist with Marlena Williams
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The Exorcist turns 50 this week, so we invited Marlena Williams, author of Night Mother: A Personal and Cultural History of the Exorcist, to come tell us about the little possession movie that changed America forever. Was the set cursed by Satan himself, or plain old 70s misogyny? What makes a country going through a cultural upheaval embrace stori…
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