American Hysteria

American Hysteria +
American Hysteria
AMERICAN HYSTERIA

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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.

  1. 1D AGO

    Balloon Boy

    In 2009, the news reported live as a six-year-old boy careened through the air at 7,000 feet trapped inside a homemade balloon craft. Millions tuned into the harrowing saga, but once the balloon finally hit the ground, no little boy was found inside. Details then emerged that seemed to indicate it was all a hoax created by a family as part of a PR stunt for a reality TV show. On this episode, we explore the story of Balloon Boy, ask whether the event was indeed a hoax, and look at the early history of the hot air ballooning craze in the 18th and 19th centuries where hoaxes and wild spectacles were a foundational part of the emerging scientific field. 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

    59 min
  2. Introducing This American Life

    2D AGO

    Introducing This American Life

    This American Life delivers thought provoking investigative pieces and deeply personal stories that really stick with you. They have been putting out some of their best episodes lately, so this is a perfect time to dive back in. We have become regular listeners again and we hope that you will join us.

    3 min

  3. MAY 5

    New Context: Gang Accusations and Initiations

    Right now we are seeing accusations of gang associations used to to justify abducting immigrants off the street and sending them to either US detention centers or the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador with no due process. We have included a new introduction for this rerelease of our two part Gang Initiation series from 2024 in hopes that we can illuminate how these types of accusations and their consequences are straight out of the American playbook. Head to immigrantjustice.org/know-your-rights 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

    1h 53m

  4. APR 28

    Hoax Diary Spectacular with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

    Sarah Marshall takes me on a journey through two possible historical literary deceptions and asks me to try to figure out what is real, what is fake, and what it all means. This is a sibling to our recent episode on You’re Wrong About called Hoax Memoir Spectacular, so make sure you check that out as well. 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 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

    1h 40m

  5. APR 21

    The Runaway Nun Hoax pt. 2 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

    *Please listen to part one of our series first.* 'The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk' was an 1800s true crime memoir about the horrors a runaway nun claimed to have suffered while living among debaucherous and murderous Catholic clergy in a convent-turned-torture chamber, and at the time, it was the second bestselling book in America. But was it really a truthful account of Maria Monk’s life? Or was it all a hoax, a piece of propaganda meant to incite hatred of the early immigrant folk devils of American culture? In this two part series, Sarah Marshall of 'You’re Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' joins me to try to separate fact from fiction, talk about the similarities between this this book and other hoax memoirs, and discuss the particular ways that anti-immigrant rhetoric has remained the same for two centuries. 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 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

    1h 32m

  6. APR 14

    The Runaway Nun Hoax pt. 1 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

    'The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk' was an 1800s true crime memoir about the horrors a runaway nun claimed to have suffered while living among debaucherous and murderous Catholic clergy in a convent-turned-torture chamber, and at the time, it was the second bestselling book in America. But was it really a truthful account of Maria Monk’s life? Or was it all a hoax, a piece of propaganda meant to incite hatred of the early immigrant folk devils of American culture? In this two part series, Sarah Marshall of 'You’re Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' joins me to try to separate fact from fiction, talk about the similarities between this this book and other hoax memoirs, and discuss the particular ways that anti-immigrant rhetoric has remained the same for two centuries. 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 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

    1h 27m

  7. APR 7

    Luxury Doomsday with 'This is Propaganda'

    The hottest new (and embarrassing) trend in the billionaire bubble is luxury doomsday shelters, wildly expensive bunkers that the ultra-rich believe will allow them to live extravagantly in a post-apocalyptic world. Join me, Joshua Belhumeur, and Malcolm Critcher of the podcast 'This is Propaganda' as we enter their futuristic world, try to understand their tech bro mindset, and take a look at the history of prepping to see how unchecked capitalism has transformed the way we think about the end of the world. Listen to 'This is Propaganda' wherever you get your podcasts and check out brink.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 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

    1h 6m

  8. MAR 31

    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 podcasts Become a Patron to support our show and get ad-free early episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Carolyn Kendrick produced this episode for YWA 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

    1h 11m
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Hosts & Guests

4.3
out of 5
3,112 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Channel
    American Hysteria +
  • Creator
    chelsey weber-smith
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2025
  • Episodes
    252
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 chelsey weber-smith
  • Show Website
    American Hysteria
  • Provider
    Wizard Radio Limited

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