American Hysteria

Miles Klee is the author of a recent Rolling Stone article titled People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies which tells the stories of ChatGPT users who have come to believe that their chatbot is a sentient spiritual being. For this episode, Miles and I discuss the experiences of these ChatGPT worshippers, why the chatbot’s answers have sometimes encouraged this type of divine delusion, and what history has to say about the human relationship between spirituality and technology. Read Miles' Rolling Stone article 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 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

Lerone A. Martin, a Stanford Religious Studies professor and author of The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover, discusses the troubling alliance between the FBI and white Christian nationalism. He reveals how J. Edgar Hoover manipulated American Christianity to promote conservative politics, affecting cultural perceptions of law enforcement. Martin highlights the FBI's impact on civil rights movements and the merging of capitalism with faith during the Cold War. He urges a reexamination of extremism and dialogue to mend ideological rifts, echoing Hoover's legacy in today’s political climate.

Every scandal begins with a lie. But the truth will come out. And then comes the fallout and the outrage. Scandals have shaped America since its founding. From business and politics to sports and society, we look on aghast as corruption, deceit and ambition bring down heroes and celebrities, politicians and moguls. And when the dust finally settles, we’re left to wonder: how did this happen? Where did they trip up, and who is to blame? From the creators of American History Tellers, Business Wars and Tides of History comes American Scandal, where we take you deep into the heart of America’s dark side to look at what drives someone to break the rules and what happens when they’re caught. Hosted by Lindsay Graham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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: Immigrant Advocates Network CHIRLA's iRelief Fund NNiR Report ICE Raids Hotlines 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

You've probably heard the urban legend called the Babysitter and the Man Upstairs or at least know the idiom it inspired: “The call is coming from inside the house.” Sarah Marshall of the podcasts You’re Wrong About and You Are Good joins me as I share some new ideas about where this tale came from, focused on an epidemic of obscene phone calls in the 1960s and a true crime story that was happening at the same time. We also discuss whether this urban legend may have actually created the entire slasher film genre. Listen to our new house band Magpie Cinema Club 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

Have you ever heard the urban legend about the babysitter who takes LSD and accidentally bakes a baby in the oven believing it to be a raw turkey? For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we will explore the possible origins of and the meaning behind this piece of 1960s folklore. 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

This episode will give some extra context for our upcoming urban legend episodes: The Hippie Babysitter and the Baby Roast, The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs, and the one where the college students go blind staring at the sun on LSD. We use excerpts from our episodes: Fangirls (2022) Suburbia (2020) Mind Control (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 Leave us a message on the Urban Legends Hotline at americanhysteria.com Sound design and Production by ⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠ Edited by ⁠Miranda Zickler⁠ Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Pride month to all who observe! This is a rerelease of one of our favorite episodes. Over the last ten years, Gender Reveal Parties have exploded, figuratively and literally. Parents, communities, and social media followers alike can witness the moment that parents and families find out the sex of their future baby, but lately, these parties have gotten so out of hand as to cause massive wildfires, explosions, damage to homes, injuries, and death. For this episode, we will try to figure out what in the world is going on here by exploring the history of gendered baby items, of the strange divination methods once used to guess the biological sex, and take a look at the idea of rituals around the mystery of pregnancy. Of course, we’ll also ask questions about the regressive nature of this blue and pink gender binary, and I will share a little about my own childhood growing up as a non-binary kid, a word I wouldn’t know for two decades. 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 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

In this episode, Adam Mahoney, a reporter at Capital B and author of 'The Wildest Show in the South,' unveils the shocking reality of the Angola prison rodeo, where inmates engage in perilous contests for cash. He delves into the dark legacy of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, originally a slave plantation, and discusses the exploitation and systemic injustices tied to this spectacle. Mahoney highlights the emotional connections forged through arts and crafts, contrasting cultural identities and the ethics of using incarcerated individuals as entertainers.

Over the last couple months, groups of Minecraft fans have been making TikTok videos of themselves wrecking havoc in theaters across the nation when their favorite moment of the new Minecraft movie plays. Culture writer and co-host of the podcast The Ends at Prom, BJ Colangelo, teaches me about wtf is going on and together we try not to moral panic while discussing what this new craze means. We’ll also talk about how the Minecraft mayhem compares (or doesn't care) to both The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the rebellious mayhem that we ourselves once wrought upon the nation.   Listen to This Ends at Prom wherever you get your podcasts Follow @BJColangelo on TikTok and Instagram ⁠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