American Hysteria explores how fantastical thinking has shaped our culture – moral panics, urban legends, hoaxes, crazes, fringe beliefs, and national misunders...
Julia Schifini and Amanda McLoughlin are the hosts of the podcast Spirits, a history and comedy show focused on mythology, folklore, and urban legends. Each week they pour a drink and deep dive into stories similar to the ones we cover here. On this episode, my new friends tell me the history of an early 2000s fad called The Game, one that you, dear listeners, have unfortunately already lost.
Check out the Spirits podcast!
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Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline
Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler
Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith
Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
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1:16:32
Chicken Soup for the Soul pt. 2 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'
Sarah Marshall and I are back for a second helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul, the 1993 best-selling collection of "inspirational" and "true" stories. In part two I tell Sarah about the pair of motivational wealth coaches who created the book and then explain what is currently happening at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment as new leadership has led it down a dark and exploitative path (allegedly). We'll talk more about the book's messages of neoliberal mysticism and prosperity gospel manifestation and put it all in the context of what is currently happening with the Chicken Soup for the Soul company as well as American politics at large.
Resources for LA residents affected by the fires
Places to Donate and Ways to Help:
LA Mutual Aid
California Fire Foundation
California Community Foundation
Dream Center
Canine Rescue Center
Get tickets to our LA live show A Massive Seance with You're Wrong About
Check out a main source for this episode: Soup to Nuts by Amanda Chicago Lewis for Business Insider
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
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1:37:54
Chicken Soup for the Soul pt. 1 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'
Many of you will remember the 1993 best-selling book of inspirational stories, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and its bite-sized, sappy triumphs of the human spirit. But shining a modern light on this book today, the collection hits a little bit differently. For part one of this two-part series, I tell podcaster Sarah Marshall of You’re Wrong About the history of this iconic text and read her some of its most batshit stories, and together we discuss their confusing and downright damaging messages. In part two, I’ll tell Sarah about the two motivational wealth coaches behind Chicken Soup for the Soul and the shocking controversies facing the company today. Throughout, we’ll discuss neoliberal mysticism and the prosperity gospel manifestation mindset of not only Chicken Soup for the Soul, but our longterm American culture as well.
Resources for LA residents affected by the fires
Places to Donate and Ways to Help:
LA Mutual Aid
California Fire Foundation
California Community Foundation
Dream Center
Canine Rescue Center
Get tickets to our live show A Massive Seance with You're Wrong About
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
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1:24:24
(Throwback) An Irresistible Movement with Reproductive Justice Activist Loretta J. Ross
Since the 1970s, Loretta J. Ross has been an instrumental activist in the fight for 'Reproductive Justice', a framework she and her colleagues created in 1994 that went beyond the pro-choice and pro-life debate. She has worked as the Director of the Women of Color Program for the National Organization for Women, the program director of the Black Women's Health Imperative the director of projects for the National Anti-Klan Network, and is an author and professor as well. Today Loretta will share some of her prolific personal and political journey and what it has taught her about the importance of solidarity, about how we create a strong movement genuinely dedicated to working together even when it's difficult to do.
Take a class, buy a book, and learn more about Loretta J. Ross at lorettajross.com
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53:10
In Pursuit of Pardons with Podcaster Shannon Lynch of 'The Alley: DC’s 8th and H Case'
Shannon Lynch is the host of the podcast The Alley: DC’s 8th and H Case, a detailed look at the 1984 murder of DC resident Catherine Fuller and the eight young Black men who were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a crime they did not commit. In this episode, Shannon will take us through the crime, the flawed investigation and trial, as well as the suppression of evidence that could have exonerated these men decades ago in hopes that the more their story is heard, the more likely it is that they will be granted a presidential pardon.
Get Involved:
Donate to the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project
Sign a Letter of Support
Listen to 'The Alley: DC's 8th and H Case' from New America wherever you get your podcasts
Get tickets to our live show A Massive Seance with You're Wrong About
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
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1:06:38
More Society & Culture podcastsMore Society & Culture podcasts
American Hysteria explores how fantastical thinking has shaped our culture – moral panics, urban legends, hoaxes, crazes, fringe beliefs, and national misunderstandings. Poet-turned-podcaster Chelsey Weber-Smith tells the strangest stories from American history and examines the forces that create the reality we share, and sometimes, the reality we don't.