American Hysteria explores how fantastical thinking has shaped our culture – moral panics, urban legends, hoaxes, crazes, fringe beliefs, and national misunderstandings.... more
This episode will give some context for our upcoming episode about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, its unbelievable chaotic origins... more
Perry Carpenter is the author of the new book FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes,... more
This episode was originally released right before the 2020 presidential election and is even more relevant as we face the... more
In the 19th century, America and Europe experienced a panic over premature burial, believing that anyone could be accidentally declared... more
This is a preview for "Candyman: The True Story Behind the Bathroom Mirror Murder." On April 22, 1987, 52-year-old Ruthie... more
'Buried Alive,' our upcoming Halloween special, looks at the American fear and fascination with premature burial. We'll explore the panic... more
What could possibly go wrong when two skeptical podcasters try to summon a ghost? Join Sarah Marshall of You're Wrong... more
Today Sarah Marshall transports us to the old world of British Hysteria to reveal the mysterious story of the Enfield... more
Generation Alpha has made the uncanny, creepy, and chaotic YouTube series 'Skibidi Toilet' into a viral YouTube sensation, so much... more
The human body is a miracle. But when it’s not working, it can be the stuff of nightmares. On this new... more
Our upcoming episode is about the massively successful and deeply uncanny YouTube series Skibidi Toilet, the first content that Generation... more
Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika is a Peabody Award-winning audio journalist and an assistant professor of journalism at New York University. His... more
Brittany Spanos is a senior writer for Rolling Stone Magazine who has taught a course at NYU called Topics in... more
The life of the conspiracy theory that claims Elvis Presley faked his death is an almost unbelievable journey through gimmick-crazy... more
The idea that Elvis Presley did not die in August of 1977, that he instead faked his death, has become... more
Our paranormal correspondent Jim Perry is back to tell us about his recent ghost hunt inside the Queen Mary ship,... more
For part two of our series, we are returning to the phenomenon called 'Tarantism' that began in the Middle Ages... more
The phenomenon called 'Tarantism' began in the Middle Ages in southern Italy where the bite of a local spider caused... more
Rod Crawford is the curator of the arachnids and related research collections at Seattle’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.... more
For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are dissecting the myth that the average person swallows a certain number of... more
This is an update on the new developments surrounding one of my favorite movies of all time, The Blair Witch... more
For this episode, the hosts of the new podcast Pretendians, Robert Jago and Angel Ellis, explain Indigenous Identity Fraud, the... more
Fur and Loathing is a new investigative podcast from Nicky Woolf about an unsolved 2014 chlorine gas attack on the... more
Reporter and Radiolab producer Matthew Kielty and musician Chad Matheny (AKA Emperor X) were both part of a 2014 episode... more
How do we warn people 10,000 years in the future about nuclear waste sites that will remain extremely dangerous for... more
For some context for our upcoming series that we have not yet revealed, we will revisit excerpts from our past... more
Amanda Montell is the host of the podcast Sounds Like A Cult as well as the author of the new... more
Sarah Marshall joins me to chat about how, in 1968, one unsuspecting young woman’s bustline almost caused a stock market... more
In the late 1950s, an organization known as SINA started a campaign with the mission of clothing naked animals for... more
Journalist and author Tom Risen is here to tell me about some of the real conspiracies that the CIA and... more
John O'Connor is the author of The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster, a cross-country... more
For the second part of this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are continuing to explore various tall tales of ruthless... more
For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are answering a listener message about a story of street gangs initiating wannabes... more
'Gang Initiations' is the topic of our upcoming series, and this episode will provide extra context using excerpts from three... more
Live at SF Sketchfest, Sarah Marshall tells me about the urban-legendary alligators in the sewers of New York City. But... more
Today I'm joined by paranormal corespondent Jim Perry of the podcast Euphomet and Sapphire Sandalo of the podcast Stories With... more
In this episode I tell podcaster Sarah Marshall a truly wild story I uncovered about the first recognized case of... more
Pop culture correspondent and major Pro Wrestling fan BJ Colangelo and I discuss the quirky history of this manly soap... more
Author of the book Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, historian Wendy Woloson joins me to discuss the... more
The novelty pets known as Sea Monkeys have delighted and disappointed millions of American children since they were first marketed... more
This is a rerelease of last year's holiday special! Find our new merch at americanhysteria.com/merch They usually go something like this:... more
This is a story from a recent episode of our exclusive Patreon/Apple + talk show Hysteria Home Companion, where producer... more
(explicit content warning) This *Urban Legends Hotline* episode dives deep into the viral myth that 90s shock rocker Marilyn Manson... more
To celebrate five long years of American Hysteria, our producer Miranda Zickler interviews Chelsey about the origins of the podcast... more
For our very special two-part Halloween conversation, Sarah Marshall and I are going to be sharing the less serious things... more
Home Depot's 12 ft. Skeleton decoration first premiered in the fall of 2020 and sold out immediately, the nationwide obsession... more
Our Halloween special will cover the 12 ft. Skeleton craze and the history of skeleton decorations in America. This episode... more
Please enjoy this rewind of last year's Halloween special called Haunted Dolls. Coming up next week we'll start our Halloween... more
Justin McHenry, author of the forthcoming book Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake Place, tells me an expansive tale... more
To unpack the movie trope of the Murderous Man in a Dress, prolific horror film analysts and writers BJ and... more
For part two of our series, we are starting in the anti-gay moral panic of the 50s and 60s to... more
This series will cover the moral panics and cultural crazes that have long followed the controversial art form once called... more
Our upcoming series, Early Drag Queens, will cover the surprising relationship between "female impersonation" and American masculinity in the time... more
As the social media and the news got word of the new cases of leprosy found in Florida, a slew... more
BJ Colangelo is an editor at Slash Film and the writer of “The Only Guide To Barbie Lore You Will... more
This is a collaborative look at the panics around Furby with the podcast Unspookable, a show much like ours that... more
Jamie Loftus is the author of the recent New York Times bestselling book 'Raw Dog: The Naked Truth about Hot... more
*Urban Legends Hotline* The inbred cannibal pig people who are said to inhabit Pig Hill in Meadville, PA attack teenagers... more
Harmony Colangelo is one of the hosts of This Ends at Prom, a podcast that analyzes coming of age teen... more
In the year 2000, a group of rowdy skateboarders and loosely defined "performers" came to MTV with a pitch that... more
This episode will give context for our upcoming series on Jackass, an early reality show starring a group of skateboarders... more
Blake Pfeil is the host of 'abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast,' a multimedia travelogue exploring abandoned spaces across the United... more
*Urban Legends Hotline* Lauren's story: On a rural road outside Chicago, the ghosts of children killed in a school bus-train... more
For part two of my conversation with Sarah, I finish telling her about a satanic panic era "memoir" published by... more
Over the next two episodes, I tell Sarah the story of another one of Jack Chick's occult experts using his... more
Who was Jack Chick, really? For the final episode in our series we will explore his childhood, his time in... more
An ex-druid grand priest for the illuminati, an undercover Jesuit agent of destruction, a woman married to the devil, and... more
Cartoons of satanic witch cults, Illuminati world domination, demonic homosexuals, and the pressing choice of hell or salvation were the... more
Chick Tracts, what are they? You'll find out in our upcoming three-part series that covers a fundamentalist comic artist who... more
Are we being invaded?? I sure thought so. Today we are talking quite animatedly to our official paranormal correspondent Jim... more
Cartoons of satanic witch cults, Illuminati world domination, demonic homosexuals, and the pressing choice of hell or salvation were the horror hallmarks... more