Explore every episode of the podcast American Hysteria

Warning: REALLY WEIRD EPISODE. On social media and YouTube, bizarre, shocking, disgusting, creepy, and confusing animated ads for simple mobile games have popped up over the last few years. In collaboration with the guys from the Panic World podcast, we watch (and describe) some of the freakiest ads I have found over time, analyze the advertising psychology behind these “productions,” and look at the history of these kinds of click-baity internet marketing tricks. Listener beware, this episode contains all manner of uncomfortable and upsetting subject matter, and may not be appropriate for probably anyone. Watch Panic World's video version of this episode on YouTube @panicworldpod later this week and subscribe to their audio wherever you get your podcasts Get some of our new merch at ⁠americanhysteria.com⁠, all profits go to The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led mutual aid group who are on the ground in Gaza delivering food and supplies to displaced families. ⁠⁠Become a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Leave us a message on the ⁠⁠⁠Urban Legends Hotline⁠⁠⁠ Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Associate Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the spirit of American advice columnists Dear Abby and Ann Landers, I am joined by Sarah Marshall of the podcast You’re Wrong About to give our own unique advice to some of the funnier questions sent in to Dear Abby and Ask Ann Landers from the 1950s to the early 2000s. Get some of our new merch at americanhysteria.com, all profits go to The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led mutual aid group who are on the ground in Gaza delivering food and supplies to displaced families. ⁠Become a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Leave us a message on the ⁠⁠Urban Legends Hotline⁠⁠ Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Associate Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You've probably heard the urban legend called the Babysitter and the Man Upstairs or at least know the idiom it inspired: “The call is coming from inside the house.” Sarah Marshall of the podcasts You’re Wrong About and You Are Good joins me as I share some new ideas about where this tale came from, focused on an epidemic of obscene phone calls in the 1960s and a true crime story that was happening at the same time. We also discuss whether this urban legend may have actually created the entire slasher film genre. Listen to our new house band Magpie Cinema Club Listen to 'You're Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' wherever you get your podcasts ⁠⁠Become a Patron⁠⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ Leave us a message on the Urban Legends Hotline at americanhysteria.com Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠ Associate Producer: ⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠ Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*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 unearthing reports of bizarre "mock accidents" that have occurred near Munger Road for decades. I even headed out all by myself to a rural road in Washington State said to be haunted by similar helpful ghosts, to see if there is any truth to this urban legend, or if it's all just an illusion. Listeners like you can now share urban legends from your childhood and if selected, we will investigate your story in depth, sometimes even testing it out ourselves. CW: Train accidents, death If you have an urban legend you'd like us to explore, head to americanhysteria.com and leave us a message! Thanks to Lauren and to Nick Smith, check out his film Munger Road on Amazon Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer: Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 get your podcasts American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Publications has played no small role in the creation of the most famous moral panics, conspiracy theories, and urban legends in American history. For part one, we will totally submerge you in his strange reality using some of the most outrageous examples of his work. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer: Miranda Zickler Voice acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 battling demons in a witch infested hospital. Chick Tracts are ridiculously brutal, deeply offensive, unintentionally hilarious morality plays meant to be left in random places by random Christians, in order to scare straight whatever lucky sinner happens to find them. Join our Patreon for ad-free early episodes and bonus content! This episode was co-produced by Riley Smith and Miranda Zickler Produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever heard the urban legend about the babysitter who takes LSD and accidentally bakes a baby in the oven believing it to be a raw turkey? For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we will explore the possible origins of and the meaning behind this piece of 1960s folklore. Become a Patron⁠⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline at ⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠ Sound Designer and Associate Producer: ⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠ Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠ Voice Actor: ⁠⁠Will Rogers⁠⁠ Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Co-written by Riley Swedelius-Smith Co-edited by Miranda Zickler Voice acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Folklore! Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 shared by millions of boys but long forgotten by the rest of America. Learn more about Robin's work at robinwashington.com Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Co-researched and co-edited by Riley Swedelius-Smith Co-produced and co-edited by Miranda Zickler Voice acting by Will Rogers Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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.fm/adchoices

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 at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Produced by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 history of Hallmark, the formula that makes these cheesy productions so successful, the Christmas Movie Wars of the last few years, as well as the controversies over diversity and "family-friendly" entertainment. 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 at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Co-produced and co-edited by Miranda Zickler Co-researched and co-edited by Riley Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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 telling and how we address this increasingly disturbing Land of Delusion. Try Scribd now to get Colin Dickey's Land of Delusion Find more of Colin's work here Join our Patreon! Produced by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode will give some extra context for our upcoming urban legend episodes: The Hippie Babysitter and the Baby Roast, The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs, and the one where the college students go blind staring at the sun on LSD. We use excerpts from our episodes: Fangirls (2022) Suburbia (2020) Mind Control (2019) Become a Patron⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ Leave us a message on the Urban Legends Hotline at americanhysteria.com Sound design and Production by ⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠ Edited by ⁠Miranda Zickler⁠ Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Euphomet Follow Jim on Twitter // Instagram Join our Patreon! Produced by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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/americanhysteria In order of appearance: Will Rogers Guide to the Unknown BJ Colangelo This Ends at Prom Sarah Marshall You’re Wrong About You Are Good Alex Steed You Are Good Miranda Zickler Kuinka Carolyn Kendrick Riley Swedelius-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 really something to worry about? Or is there a deadlier danger awaiting children on Halloween night? Hear the full episode, and more from Cautionary Tales, at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/cthalloween?sid=hysteria Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Co-produced and co-edited by Miranda Zickler Co-researched and co-editing by Riley Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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 Reduction Coalition 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 Edited by Miranda Zickler and Riley Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To get an extended director's cut of this episode, become a patron: patreon.com/americanhysteria For 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 You're Wrong About and You Are Good Produced and hosted by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios And Chelsey Weber-Smith talked and giggled like a child clown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Co-production and co-editing by Miranda Zickler Co-research and co-writing by Riley Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Co-production and co-editing by Miranda Zickler Co-research and co-editing by Riley Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Happy Pride month to all who observe! This is a rerelease of one of our favorite episodes. 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 the strange divination methods once used to guess the biological sex, and take a look at the idea of rituals around the mystery of pregnancy. Of course, we’ll also ask questions about the regressive nature of this blue and pink gender binary, and I will share a little about my own childhood growing up as a non-binary kid, a word I wouldn’t know for two decades. Become a Patron⁠⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline at ⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠ Associate Producer: ⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠ Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠ Voice Actor: ⁠⁠Will Rogers⁠⁠ Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 well. Today Loretta will share some of her prolific personal and political journey and what it has taught her about the importance of solidarity, about how we create a strong movement genuinely dedicated to working together even when it's difficult to do. Take a class, buy a book, and learn more about Loretta J. Ross at lorettajross.com Donate to SisterSong at sistersong.net Become a Patron and support our show! American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Produced by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 fears. Head to Podvoices.help for information on how you can get involved in the fight for abortion rights 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 Co-production and co-editing by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Voice Acting by Will Rogers Co-research and co-editing by Riley Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 get involved in the fight for abortion rights 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 Commo Studios Voice Acting by Will Rogers Research and edited by Riley Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Commo Studios Voice Acting by Will Rogers Research and Production for this episode by Riley Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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: 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 Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Adolf 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: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Produced by Miranda Zickler Research by Riley Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 some things that sound eerily similar to the fringe beliefs becoming normalized in modern America. Read Eric's book 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 Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Researched and edited Riley Smith Produced and editing by Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*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 Good 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 Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 merch at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Researched and edited Riley Smith Produced and editing by Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since 1965, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, has held an incredibly popular public event known as the Prison Rodeo where incarcerated men participate for cash prizes in contests so dangerous they have been banned from the professional rodeo circuit. Adam Mahoney is a reporter at Capital B and the author of a recent article titled The Wildest Show in the South: Spectacle and Suffering at America’s Biggest Prison. For this episode, Adam discusses with me the surreal reality of the Angola prison rodeo and his experience attending, gives me a background on the dark history of the penitentiary itself, and tells me the various perspectives of those involved in this shocking and deeply American spectacle. Read more of Adam’s work at capitalbnews.org Or follow him on Twitter @AdamLMahoney Leave us a message on the Urban Legends Hotline at americanhysteria.com ⁠Become a Patron⁠⁠⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠ Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠⁠ Associate Producer: ⁠⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠⁠ Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 stories can be used in a variety of ways by groups with different agendas. 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 Researched and edited Riley Smith Produced and editing by Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Orrey  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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