199 episodes
American Hysteria American Hysteria +
-
- Society & Culture
-
-
4.6 • 113 Ratings
-
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.
-
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 Street Sweater Girl.
Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content
Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts
Head to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our 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 -
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 content
Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts
Find us on Instagram @americanhysteriapodcast
Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline or get your mitts on some merch 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 -
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, and the Kennedys—and One Senator's Fight to Save Democracy,'" which he wrote with his father, James Risen, another journalist who has spent decades covering intelligence agencies.
Get Tom's Book
Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler
Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith
Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
Head to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline!
Head to FACTORMEALS.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off your first purchase
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
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 here
Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler
Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith
Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
Go to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off your order
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
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 Suffering
Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline
Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content
Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts
Sound designer and associate producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith
Producer: Miranda Zickler
Voice Actor: Will Rogers
Written, produced and hosted by by Chelsey Weber-Smith
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
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 creeping into the suburbs, looking for human sacrifices.
Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline
Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content
Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts
Sound designer and associate producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith
Producer: Miranda Zickler
Voice Actor: Will Rogers
Written, produced and hosted by by Chelsey Weber-Smith
Thank 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 americanhysteria50 to get 50% off.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Customer Reviews
Always great, often seminal
Incredible show, amazing topics. I always learn a lot but several episodes have completely changed my perspective on really important issues, like the episode on the intentional stoking of racial tensions by landowners and politicians among the working class in the immediate post-emancipation US. Everyone involved in that one needs to be seriously proud, it belongs in the classroom, such an amazingly clear and impactful narrative presentation of a horrifying and crushingly predictable aspect of the history of racism. Engineering hate for the sake of greed. Other all time greats are those on the history of drag and the recent talking crap episode on the origins of consumer culture. Just revelatory for someone who was largely unfamiliar with the topics. The lighter episodes are great too and often really funny. Please keep making them for as long as your hearts are in it.
AMAZING
I have been listening to American hysteria for years now it basically got me through my first year of uni and is sooooo good Chelsea is doing amazing work and they continue to be at the forefront of fascinating cultural analysis – the links that they make between different elements of culture are so clever and intricate and I always get excited when there is a new episode💞
Excellent podcast
A really fascinating look at America and the hysterical moral panics, some nonsense, some somewhat justified. It helps me see why we are where we are now.