American Hysteria explores how fantastical thinking has shaped our culture – moral panics, urban legends, hoaxes, crazes, fringe beliefs, and national misunderstandings.... 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
In 2014, an urban legend formed around a cartoon cat chatbot when rumors spread across social media that a child... more
For this episode we chat about the sensational tales of cyberspace, from Slenderman to the Momo suicide game, with the... more
Nope, it's not an urban legend! Today we are talking to journalist and filmmaker Robin Washington who, like a huge... more
In 1974, running naked in public became a major fad led by students on college campuses across the nation. This... more
This episode will give context for our upcoming topic called The Streaking Craze using excerpts from previous shows including: Terrorism Pt.... more
Tickle Me Elmo, Beanie Babies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Pokemon cards. These trendy toys all inspired parental parking lot brawls and... more
Because so many Hallmark writers and directors also make horror movies, I called in podcasters Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed... more
They usually go something like this: A cranky career woman from the big city who has lost the true meaning... more
This episode gives context to our upcoming series on Hallmark Christmas Movies using excerpts from previous topics including The War... more
Colin Dickey is one of American Hysteria's biggest influences—our episodes called Talking to the Dead and Alien Abductions relied on... more
Paranormal podcast host (and major buddy) Jim Perry of Euphomet returns to discuss a couple of the many experiences that... more
Featuring poems, fiction, nonfiction, AND A GROUP SONG with work by Sarah Marshall (You're Wrong About, You Are Good), Alex... more
Here’s a preview from a podcast that's right up your dark alley! On Cautionary Tales, bestselling author Tim Harford finds... more
We'll see how possessed playthings have crept their way into the dark attic of America: Thomas Edison's little monsters, a... more
To get you ready for our upcoming episode called Haunted Dolls, we have selected some excerpts on Furby urban legends,... more
Our most classic American urban legend is back with a vengeance, promising to ruin Halloween yet again. With an updated... more
To get an extended director's cut of this episode, become a patron: patreon.com/americanhysteria For this Halloween Party, we are joined by... more
Not unlike the bubble markets of Beanie Babies and Cryptocurrency, the Florida Land Boom of the 1920s was a chaotic... more
The Florida Man meme, with its bizarre crime headlines and mugshots, has become one of our most popular and long-lasting... more
This episode will provide some context for our upcoming series on Florida Man. The excerpts are from Trash Talk Shows,... more
CW: Sexual violence. Since the 1970s, Loretta J. Ross has been an instrumental activist in the fight for 'Reproductive Justice',... more
Featuring yet another flamboyant abortionist, sideshow fetuses, Mother with a capital M, eugenic suspicions, and plenty more population panics. We'll... more
Featuring flamboyant abortionists, dangerously determined doctors, problematic feminists, opportunist politicians, and one sneaky pope, this two-part series will explore the... more
Our upcoming series is about the origins of the anti-abortion movement in the time before Roe vs Wade. This Context... more
Alice Sparkly Kat (who goes by Ace) is an astrologer and the author of the book ‘Postcolonial Astrology: Reading the... more
In 1941, hundreds of British secret agents were sent to the United States to spread creative anti-Nazi propaganda with the... more
Dr. Eric Kurlander is the author of Hitler’s Monsters: A Supernatural History of the Third Reich which details the occult... more
This episode is not about debunking astrology, it’s about something far more interesting: the role that star-gazing soothsaying advisors have... more
In honor of Pride month, here is a little rerelease of last year's special episode! Over the last ten years,... more
Featuring yet another flamboyant abortionist, sideshow fetuses, Mother with a capital M, eugenic suspicions, and plenty more population panics. We'll see how... more