American Hysteria

Latest Episodes:

Alligators in the Sewer with 'You're Wrong About' [Live at SketchFest] Feb 12, 2024

Show notes

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 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

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

The Paranormal Entertainment Industry with Sapphire Sandalo and Jim Perry Jan 22, 2024

Show notes

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 little behind the scenes look at classic reality ghost shows. We’ll talk about the dream of diversifying away from the formulaic industry of ghost bros and Christian-influenced endings to allow the paranormal to take different forms, understood in different ways by very different kinds of people.

Donate to PCRF

Learn more about Sapphire's work

Learn more about Jim's work

Go to Quice.com/hysteria to get free shipping and 365 day returns

Hosted Chelsey Weber-Smith

Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler

Associated Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith

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

The Indiana Cyclone: America's First Munchausen Case with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About' Jan 15, 2024

Show notes

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 country from the 1950s to the 1970s, leaving a bizarre kind of terror in his wake.

Catch Sarah and I at SF SketchFest on Feb 2nd and Feb 3rd!

Make sure you listen to You're Wrong About and You Are Good (duh duh duh!)

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

Music direction by Riley Swedelius-Smith

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

We Are All Pro Wrestlers with Entertainment Journalist BJ Colangelo Jan 08, 2024

Show notes

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

Talking Crap with Historian Wendy Woloson Dec 27, 2023

Show notes

Author of the book Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, historian Wendy Woloson joins me to discuss the long-time American obsession with pointless, poorly-made products and novelty items like Sea Monkeys, X-ray specs, fake vomit, and exploding cigars. Today we will go into much more detail analyzing this definitively American crap and what it all means about our history and society.

Get Wendy's book!

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

American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith

Produced and Edited by Miranda Zickler

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

SEA MONKEYS Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

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.

Get our Folk Devils United merch here

Become a Patron or subscribe on Apple Podcasts to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content

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

Hallmark Christmas Movies [rewind] Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

This is a rerelease of last year's holiday special! Find our new merch at americanhysteria.com/merch

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

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

Voice acting by Will Rogers

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

The Many Lives of a Carnival Corpse | Subscriber Sneak Peek Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

This is a story from a recent episode of our exclusive Patreon/Apple + talk show Hysteria Home Companion, where producer Miranda and I take turns sharing stories related to the topics we are covering. For this one that we felt was too good not to share far and wide, Miranda tells me the story of a mysterious hanging cadaver that once decorated a California dark ride and unravels the decades-long, Forrest Gumpian journey of one long dead man.

Become a Patron by heading to patreon.com/americanhysteria

Or subscribe on your Apple Podcast App

Producer/Edited by Miranda Zickler

Music by Emily Westman

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

MARILYN MANSON'S RIB REMOVAL Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

(explicit content warning) This *Urban Legends Hotline* episode dives deep into the viral myth that 90s shock rocker Marilyn Manson had ribs surgically removed so that he could perform autofellatio. We'll look at two other famous and controversial artists who also had this rumor attached to them, learn about another related tale that went around during Victorian times, and see how the rib removal story became perhaps the most widely told pop culture urban legend of the Millennial generation.

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

Become a Patron or subscribe on Apple Podcasts to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content

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

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

...And This is American Hysteria [Five Year Anniversary Special] Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

To celebrate five long years of American Hysteria, our producer Miranda Zickler interviews Chelsey about the origins of the podcast and how their own life has impacted the content. Chelsey also answers questions that listeners have sent in over the years and gets into feelings around queerness, solidarity, faith, and death. And we celebrate you, our dear listeners, who have made all of this possible. Thank you <3

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

Produced, edited, and hosted by Miranda Zickler

Sound design by Clear Commo Studios

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