American Hysteria explores how fantastical thinking has shaped our culture – moral panics, urban legends, hoaxes, crazes, fringe beliefs, and national misunders...
This is a special episode I did for the podcast 'You're Wrong About' in 2022, and I wanted to finally bring it to you directly since the deep snowfalls of winter are looming on the ever-distant horizon. This is the harrowing tale of a wagon train trapped in the Sierra Nevadas in the harsh winter of 1864-1865, famously forced to cannibalize one another to stay alive, but that is only a small fraction of an almost unbelievable story. This is probably the piece of American history that fascinates me more than any other, so I'm excited to share it with you.
Over the next couple months we will be real busy on tour with You're Wrong About for 'A Massive Seance' west coast live show tour, so we will be putting out some fun interview episodes before we get back to our regularly scheduled programming!
GET TICKETS FOR A MASSIVE SEANCE HERE
Dec 3 + 4 in Portland
Dec 11 in Seattle
Jan 11 in San Francisco
Jan 24 in Los Angeles
Thank you to You're Wrong About for allowing us to use this episode! Make sure you listen to their show if you don't already <3
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1:12:54
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
For the 100th anniversary of the Macy's Parade, we are looking at the chaos energy that has always animated this cultural institution, from its explosive balloon disasters to its surprisingly unruly origins.
Get tickets for A MASSIVE SEANCE Live Show with You're Wrong About:
linktr.ee/amassiveseance
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 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
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58:03
Context Clues: All the World Loves a Parade
This episode will give some context for our upcoming episode about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, its unbelievable chaotic origins and its totally out of control early days. Excerpts will be included from our War on Christmas Special, Haunted Attractions, Early Drag Queens pt. 1, and Toy Riots.
Get tickets for A MASSIVE SEANCE Live Show with You're Wrong About:
linktr.ee/amassiveseance
Full episodes to check out:
War on Christmas Special (2019)
Haunted Attractions (2021)
Early Drag Queens pt. 1 (2023)
Toy Riots (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
Thank you to our sponsor OneSkin: Get 15% off OneSkin with the code AMERICAN at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod
Sound design and Production by Riley Swedelius-Smith
Edited by Miranda Zickler
Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
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47:01
Artificial Unintelligence with Perry Carpenter
Perry Carpenter is the author of the new book FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions. For this episode, we are discussing what it means to live in a world where artificial intelligence is altering our reality more and more, how we can navigate a deeply uncertain digital future, and what it all has to do with human nature and the nature of folklore.
Check out Perry book FAIK here
Find The FAIK Files podcast on Apple and Spotify
Find the Digital Folklore Podcast here
Find Perry Carpenter on LinkedIn, Twitter, and 8th Layer Media
Check out Perry's new op-ed with The Hill about our post-truth era
Get tickets to our live show called A Massive Seance with You're Wrong About
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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1:22:06
Falling for Fascism (re-release)
This episode was originally released right before the 2020 presidential election and is even more relevant as we face the 2024 election. Political philosopher Jason Stanley, author of the book How Fascism Works, helps us understand how countries slide into authoritarian systems through conspiracy theories, demonization of others, the systematic erosion of truth, and the manipulation of anxieties around race and gender.
Check out How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley as well as his new book Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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.
USA