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American Hysteria

American Hysteria

chelsey weber-smith

1 Creator

1 Creator

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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Top 10 American Hysteria Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best American Hysteria episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to American Hysteria for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite American Hysteria episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

American Hysteria - Sea Monkeys

Sea Monkeys

American Hysteria

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12/18/23 • 59 min

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 stores. In this episode, we will look closely at the history of Sea Monkeys and their ingenious but controversial creator, and take you through the comic book ad copy that marketed junky novelty items directly to children using language both deeply misleading and hilariously hyperbolic.

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Call our Urban Legends Hotline and share a teenage tale you heard growing up

This episode was 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

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4 Listeners

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American Hysteria - Boy Bands

Boy Bands

American Hysteria

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03/07/22 • 54 min

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 Rogers and by Riley Smith

Become a Patron and support our show!

Follow American Hysteria on social media:

Twitter: @AmerHysteria

Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast

Find our merch at americanhysteria.com

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

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3 Listeners

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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 content

Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts

Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline

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

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3 Listeners

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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 Ends at Prom

Check out our new merch line Folk Devils United

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

Hosted Chelsey Weber-Smith

Produced and Edited by Miranda Zickler

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

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American Hysteria - Womb Wars pt. 1

Womb Wars pt. 1

American Hysteria

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08/01/22 • 60 min

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

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3 Listeners

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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 and escalating violence of this increasingly militarized police force, it is necessary to understand the true roots of the NYPD, and see that even after close to 200 years, so much remains the same.

Listen to Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD

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

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

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American Hysteria - Toy Riots (Rerun)

Toy Riots (Rerun)

American Hysteria

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12/26/22 • 41 min

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

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3 Listeners

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American Hysteria - Womb Wars pt. 2

Womb Wars pt. 2

American Hysteria

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08/08/22 • 57 min

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

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2 Listeners

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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

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American Hysteria - True Crime

True Crime

American Hysteria

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10/19/20 • 53 min

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 human history as well. On this episode we will explore our most sensational boogiemen: uncaught sadistic geniuses, sociopathic hippy cults, allegedly handsome men with broken arms calling you into their cars, and silent killers slipping into your window at night. But we will also chart our historical reactions to this content, our intrinsic desire to become armchair sleuths and what that says about the psychology and biology of this thing called Justice, and how the public fear of these rare, sensationalized murders has aided Law and Order policies by making us all into future victims.

Please consider donating to the Insight Prison Project

American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith

Produced and edited by Clear Commo Studios

Research and cowriting assisted by Riley Smith

Co-Produced by Miranda Zickler

Voice Acting by Will Rogers

Become a Patron for extra episodes, interviews, and videos monthly!

Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast

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

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FAQ

How many episodes does American Hysteria have?

American Hysteria currently has 274 episodes available.

What topics does American Hysteria cover?

The podcast is about Society & Culture and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on American Hysteria?

The episode title 'Sea Monkeys' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on American Hysteria?

The average episode length on American Hysteria is 45 minutes.

How often are episodes of American Hysteria released?

Episodes of American Hysteria are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of American Hysteria?

The first episode of American Hysteria was released on Nov 5, 2018.

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