American Hysteria

For some context for our upcoming series that we have not yet revealed, we will revisit excerpts from our past episodes: Horror Movies pt. 1, The End of the World, and Alien Abductions pt. 1 and 2. We encourage you to listen to the full episodes!Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsSound design and Production by Riley Swedelius-SmithEdited by Miranda ZicklerHosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithCheck out our new merch line Folk Devils UnitedLeave us a message on our Urban Legends HotlineThank you to our sponsors:Factor’s delicious, ready-to-eat meals make eating better every day easy. Head to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amanda Montell is the host of the podcast Sounds Like A Cult as well as the author of the new book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, a collection of personal essays on various cognitive biases, those flawed ways of thinking that were very important for early humans but now cause all kinds of problems in our technologically advanced world. Amanda explains why these cognitive biases originally existed, how they manifest in the personal and political, and what we can do to understand, combat, and maybe even harness them to our advantage.Get a copy of The Age of Magical OverthinkingFollow Amanda Montell and her new podcast Magical Overthinkers on InstagramBecome a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsHead to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends HotlineProducer and Editor: Miranda ZicklerAssociate Producer: Riley Swedelius-SmithHosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah Marshall joins me to chat about how, in 1968, one unsuspecting young woman’s bustline almost caused a stock market bust when thousands of Wall Street employees became obsessed with watching her walk to work. I also tell Sarah about an absurd 20-year-long craze called Girl-Watching that taught "genteel" men the "refined art" of covertly checking out women, as well as the avant-garde artist and feminist responses to the treatment of Francine Gottfried who would come to be known as the Wall Street Sweater Girl.Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsHead to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends HotlineProducer and Editor: Miranda ZicklerAssociate Producer: Riley Swedelius-SmithHosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the bizarre campaign of dressing animals for decency standards by the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals. Learn about the eccentric leader G. Clifford Kraut Jr. and the unique outfits for animals. Discover the public reactions, from positive invitations to extreme backlash with death threats. Delve into the whimsical journey of Count Von Blitzstein, a flamboyant character, and the creation of fictional political candidate Yeta Bronstein. Dive into elaborate pranks, social commentary, and unconventional satire by Alan Abel.

Journalist and author Tom Risen is here to tell me about some of the real conspiracies that the CIA and the FBI were involved in from the 50s to the 70s and how, in 1975, one senator finally took these agencies to task, revealing shocking truths that would be used for decades to make the conspiracy theories we know today seem far more plausible. Tom writes about government surveillance and spy agencies and is the co-author of the bestselling book 'The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, and the Kennedys—and One Senator's Fight to Save Democracy,'" which he wrote with his father, James Risen, another journalist who has spent decades covering intelligence agencies.Get Tom's BookProducer and Editor: Miranda ZicklerAssociate Producer: Riley Swedelius-SmithHosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithHead to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline!Head to FACTORMEALS.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off your first purchase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John O'Connor is the author of The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster, a cross-country adventure and investigation into the lore around Bigfoot as well as the personalities of those who spend their lives chasing this elusive creature.Get John's book hereProducer and Editor: Miranda ZicklerAssociate Producer: Riley Swedelius-SmithHosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithGo to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off your order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the second part of this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are continuing to explore various tall tales of ruthless gang initiations from the 1990s onward, as well as looking at the sweeping anti-gang laws of the 80s and 90s that had devastating effects on communities and categorized entire neighborhoods as gang associates, enacting severe punishments based on erroneous assumptions and outright lies.Call for a Ceasefire and Help End Civilian SufferingLeave us a message on our Urban Legends HotlineBecome a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsSound designer and associate producer: Riley Swedelius-SmithProducer: Miranda ZicklerVoice Actor: Will RogersWritten, produced and hosted by by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are answering a listener message about a story of street gangs initiating wannabes with frightening rituals including driving around with their headlights off and murdering the first good samaritan who gives them a courtesy flash. We'll explore several scares that have flared up due to different versions of this urban legend, as well as real crimes wrongfully blamed on these initiations, all leading to the feeling that street gangs were creeping into the suburbs, looking for human sacrifices.Leave us a message on our Urban Legends HotlineBecome a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsSound designer and associate producer: Riley Swedelius-SmithProducer: Miranda ZicklerVoice Actor: Will RogersWritten, produced and hosted by by Chelsey Weber-SmithThank you to our sponsors:Factor’s delicious, ready-to-eat meals make eating better every day easy. Head to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'Gang Initiations' is the topic of our upcoming series, and this episode will provide extra context using excerpts from three previous episodes—Urban Legends, Drugs, and Dangerous Teens.Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsThank you to our sponsors:Factor’s delicious, ready-to-eat meals make eating better every day easy. Head to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off.Sound design and co-production by Riley Swedelius-SmithProduced and edited by Miranda ZicklerHosted by Chelsey Weber-SmithCheck out our new merch line Folk Devils UnitedLeave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 HotlineCheck out our new merch line Folk Devils UnitedBecome a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsProducer and Editor: Miranda ZicklerAssociate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices