American Hysteria

Mara Wilson is a writer, actor, and the former star of the 1996 classic movie Matilda as well as the author of the memoir 'Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame'. In this episode, Mara shares her relationship to the character that many in the public still see her as 25 years later, and we talk about the dramaturgy of living, our on-stage and off-stage personas, and for Mara, the pressure that comes from yet another mask. We’ll also talk about mental health, queerness, drag and burlesque, and finding one's self among those who most fully embrace the performance.Get a copy of Mara's book Where Am I Now?Subscribe to Queery now! Become a Patron to watch our entire Live Variety Hour and our brand new podcast Walk with MeProduced by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Follow American Hysteria on social media:Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch and more at americanhysteria.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new American archetype known as the “Influencer” has existed in various forms long before the advent of social media, and long before Kendall Jenner and the offensive brand activism of a now infamous Pepsi commercial. For this episode, we will trace the history of how corporate brands have used the idea of personal “authenticity” to sell us shit we don’t need since the mid 1800s: we’ll hear about the early form of visual social media that swept America in the 1860s, the story of the first living brand, Aunt Jemima, the handcrafted PR industry created by Sigmund Freud’s propagandist nephew, the skateboard sponsorships of the late 1990s. We’ll look too at the psychological and biological imperatives behind the “brand”, both those of companies and those of our own, and whether this thing we call authenticity even exists at all.Subscribe to Lolita Podcast now!Become a Patron to get access to our brand new podcast Walk with Me American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithSound design by Clear Commo Studios Research and co-writing by Riley SmithCo-produced and edited by Miranda Zickler Voice acting by Will Rogers 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

Gael Aitor is a senior in high school and the host of the podcast Teenager Therapy, a show where he and four other teenagers talk about mental health and the experiences they share with a rare and empathetic nuance. Today Gael and I will explore the differences and similarities between Gen Z and Millennials and the importance of moving through our egos and being vulnerable. Today, I’ll check in with the kids to find out if they are, in fact, alright.Next week: InfluencersMake sure you subscribe to Teenager Therapy!Subscribe to Beach Too Sandy Water Too WetBecome a Patron to watch our entire Live Variety Hour and our brand new podcast Walk with MeProduced by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Follow American Hysteria on social media:Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch and more at americanhysteria.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Live Variety Hour is not your run-of-the-mill podcast live show, but an actual two-hour theatrical production performed in 2019. For the first time ever, you can get access to the full video on Patreon (pay what you can)! Using my background as a drag and performance art producer, a handful of my brilliant creative partners and I created a vaudevillian bananas bonanza with skits, drag, dance, stand-up comedy, and videos from clips you'll remember from season one. Expect a lot of weird surprises along the way. Special guests include Satan, Tinky Winky, John Harvey Kellogg, and Alex Jones. Head to our Patreon for access to our live show and so much more!*No one turned away for lack of funds, email americanhysteriapodcast@gmail.com for link*Acting, writing, and production byLily OrreyErin McCarthyWill RogersChelsey Weber-SmithProduced/edited by Riley Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the nation grapples with a volatile culture war over just what version of American history our children will grow up learning, in this episode we will see that the Public School has always been a complicated, explosive, sometimes bizarre socio-political battleground. We’ll look at the messy transformations of children’s curricula through the conservative and progressive clashes over the bible, evolution, Black anti-literacy laws, Indian boarding schools, anti-commie-patriotism, good suburban morals, multiculturalism, and a radical public television program called Sesame Street. Become a Patron to get access to our brand new podcast Walk with MeSubscribe to Everyone's a Critic!American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithSound design by Clear Commo Studios Research and co-writing by Riley SmithVoice acting by Will RogersCo-produced and edited by Miranda Zickler   Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen, it really helps us out! 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

Ellen Cushing's recent piece in The Atlantic called “I was a teenage conspiracy theorist” tells her story as a young Illuminati-truther during the post-9/11 years. Her history with conspiracy theories isn't all that different from my own, so I asked Ellen to join me to talk about our experiences to try to explain what these stories were like back in the 2000s, and how they intersect with the stories we hear now. We’ll also ask the biggest question of all, how do we combat this alternate reality? As the subtitle on Ellen’s article reads, “Want to know why wild conspiracism can be so irresistible? Ask a 14-year-old girl.”Read Ellen's piece, I Was a Teenage Conspiracy TheoristBecome a Patron for extra episodes, interviews, and videos monthly, including our brand new podcast Walk with MeThis episode has sound by Clear Common StudiosProduced by Miranda ZicklerPlease leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen, it really helps us out! 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

Join me and our Disney darling of the day, podcaster Sarah Marshall of ‘You’re Wrong About’ and ‘Why Are Dads?’ as we discuss our love for Disney parks, the weird history of animatronics, and Disneyland’s hilarious, disastrous opening day. So grab a Dole Whip, sit back and enjoy the tour through this gleefully haunted mansion of America.Listen to You’re Wrong AboutListen to Why Are Dads?Subscribe to the One Strange Thing podcast today! Thanks to our sponsor Skillshare, get your free trial of Premium Membership skillshare.com/hysteriaBecome a Patron for extra episodes, interviews, and videos monthly, including our brand new podcast Walk with Me Produced by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Follow American Hysteria on social media:Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch and more at americanhysteria.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Disney has been presenting a fairytale reality within a reality since the 1920s, a far cuter reality that mimics our reality until reality is no longer reality at all. Make sense? For this episode, we will look at the possible underlying biological reasons for the success of the Disney corporation and the history of this ever-softening societal construction we call childhood. We’ll explore both the finished and unrealized projects of the company, and how they have long presented us with a much sweeter version of our past, present, and future. So join us as we trace the American dream that started with a mythic man named Walt Disney and see if you can tell what’s real.Next week: Animatronic America with Sarah Marshall of ‘You’re Wrong About’ and ‘Why Are Dads?’This episode was sponsored by Anchor, head to Anchor.fm to make your own podcast!Subscribe to the One Strange Thing podcast today! Become a Patron for extra episodes, interviews, and videos monthly, including our brand new podcast Walk with Me  American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithSound design by Clear Commo Studios Research and co-writing by Riley SmithVoice acting by Will RogersCo-produced and edited by Miranda Zickler Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen, it really helps us out!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

Alissa Bennett is co-host of The C-Word podcast on Luminary as well as a decorated historian of bad behavior. “By sifting through the cultural trash heap of history,” her podcast dives deep into the lives of famous women who have been called "Crazy" throughout history, the stories that we’re told about them through the tabloid press, and the real life that was happening behind the scenes. Alissa is also the author of four zines; collections of essays reflecting on dozens of fascinating characters in pop culture deviance. She mines the depths of the internet for strange truths and even stranger gossip, while weaving in personal anecdotes of her own. Today we will be discussing why we love trash media of all kinds. We’ll even give The Final Thought, usually reserved for Jerry Springer, to Alissa’s child genius Ollie. Let's get trashy.Check out the C-Word podcast and Alissa's ZinesSubscribe to the One Strange Thing podcast today!Thanks to our sponsor Skillshare, get your reef trial of Premium Membership skillshare.com/hysteriaBecome a Patron for extra episodes, interviews, and videos monthly, including our brand new podcast Walk with MeProduced by Miranda ZicklerSound design by Clear Commo Studios 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

There are few pieces of popular culture as problematic as the trash talk shows of the 1980s and 90s. Many of us remember Jerry Springer, Geraldo, Jenny Jones, and so many others trying to outdo each other in a parade of sensationalized deviance. The more outrageous, the better, but some of what was considered outrageous then is different than it is today. These programs certainly reinforced stereotypes and exploited their guests for profit, but like the Freak Shows of the past, they also offered national visibility for unseen individuals and the groups they represented. This episode explores how this platform changed American culture for better and for worse, the elitist attitudes that looked down on this low brow entertainment, and how these hallmark American productions are mirrored in our fist fights today, online and offThanks to our sponsor Skillshare, get your reef trial of Premium Membership skillshare.com/hysteriaSubscribe to the One Strange Thing podcast today!Become a Patron for extra episodes, interviews, and videos monthly, including our brand new podcast Walk with Me American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithSound design by Clear Commo Studios Research and co-writing by Riley SmithCo-produced and edited by Miranda Zickler   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