Have you ever heard the urban legend about the group of hippie college students that went blind while staring at the sun during an LSD trip? This tale became a very powerful anecdote in the 1960s as politicians tried to regulate the spread of acid spread across college campuses. For this episode, Sarah Marshall of the podcast You’re Wrong About jumps down two rabbit holes with me: one that leads to a messy political hoax in Philadelphia and another to a conspiracy theory created, for once, by me. We'll see how a sensational story like this one can help drum up anti-drug public support and lead to the law-and-order victory of an opportunist politician's dreams.

Resources to Help Our Immigrant Neighbors:

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

Leave us a message on the Urban Legends Hotline 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

Staring at the Sun on LSD with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'