- 55 minutes 39 secondsHalloween Pranks with Chelsey Weber-Smith
Choose wisely: trick or treat? Starting in the late 1800s, the spooky and goofy version of Halloween we know today became a time of ruckus and sometimes dangerous pranks by kids and teenagers that caused widespread property damage and bodily harm. For this episode, Halloween correspondent Chelsey Weber-Smith joins Sarah to take a look at old newspaper articles detailing these pranks, and the reactions they elicited until the adults of the mid-20th century finally took control back from the youth, trying their best to soften the annual Purge-esque mayhem. Digressions include how to eat a cactus (and why), the killer clown panic, and the horror of midnight margaritas.
More Chelsey Weber-Smith:
Listen to American Hysteria
Follow on Instagram
Original music in this episode brought to you by Magpie Cinema Club
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
13 October 2026, 11:00 am - 2 hours 19 minutesThe Crocodile Hunter with Brianna Bowman
Crikey! How does a man decide to wrangle giant reptiles for a living? For this episode, ocean correspondent Brianna Bowman shares the life story of Australian icon Steve Irwin, the beloved Crocodile Hunter who captured the slithering hearts of kids in the late 90s and 2000s. Starting with his lizard- and snake-laden childhood and his early work with “problem crocodiles,” Brianna takes Sarah through Steve’s romance with Terri, the equally animal-obsessed love of his life; their career together at the Australia Zoo and rise to TV stardom; and the shocking news of his improbable death. Digressions include sea anemones, Jurassic Park, and H2O: Just Add Water.
More Brianna Bowman:
http://www.briannabowman.com
https://www.patreon.com/c/rewildingkeiko
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler:
http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster
Brianna recommends:
Steve's papers that he coauthored: pone.0000949 1..5 and Estuarine crocodiles ride surface currents to facilitate long‐distance travel - Campbell - 2010 - Journal of Animal Ecology - Wiley Online Library
Steve explaining the research to Conan and other things: Crocs...IN SPACE
His allegedly last show at Australia Zoo: Steve Irwin’s very last show at Australia Zoo, before he passed away. : r/interestingasfuck
Some great Crocodile Hunter clips: Steve’s Wildest Croc Encounters | The Crocodile Hunter | Animal Planet His captures for Read's research happen at 10:18
His memorial service: STEVE IRWIN MEMORIAL TRIBUTE
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
29 September 2026, 11:00 am - 1 hour 13 minutesBack to School with Gabe Henry
Who will you be this year? No matter your age, it’s likely that your body remembers the school calendar, and with the blooming aisles of binders and pencils and backpacks, it’s easy to feel like a nervous, hopeful kid waiting for that first day back in class. For this episode, Antiquated Education Correspondent Gabe Henry tells Sarah about the history of the shopping season known as Back to School, from the Depression-era department store promotions and the original mascots, to the development of trendy clothes, lunch boxes, and notebooks, and into the memorable commercials and new gadgets of the 1980s and 90s. Together they discuss the commercialization of ritual and what the promises of Back to School shopping taught us about the reinvention of the self. Digressions include the Nickelodeon blimp, Fred Meyer Jewelers, and the Ann Getty baby craze.
More Gabe Henry:
Get Gabe's book "Enough is Enuf: Our Failed attempts to Make English Easier to Spell"
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler:
http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
15 September 2026, 11:00 am - 1 hour 12 minutesBallet with Megan Burbank
Megan Burbank’s gotta dance. The centuries-old dance style known as ballet has been stereotyped in our modern world with images of refined, wispy, frighteningly disciplined young women fighting viciously for roles in ethereal productions. For this episode, Adult Dance Correspondent Megan Burbank shares with Sarah the history and transformation of this misunderstood art from its early days as a fancy French aristocratic performance, to its post-French Revolution embrace by the working class, and finally into 20th century America when the expected body of the ballerina began to take shape. Megan also shares her own experience as a late-onset ballerina, dispelling myths about what ballet is, who can participate, and what we can learn about ourselves through its techniques. Together they discuss the line between art and sport, the aspects of horror found in many ballets, and whether it is too late for all of us to become the prima ballerina of our dreams. Digressions include: Final Destination acupuncture, the smell of the Scholastic book fair, and the questionable advertising employed by Tab soda.
Send your submissions for our Halloween Listener Spectacular (scary stories or Halloween nostalgia) to [email protected] before August 31st!
Referenced:
How Political Anxiety Turned Me into a Late-Onset Ballerina
International Adult Ballet Festival
More Megan Burbank:
Burbank Industries on Substack
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 September 2026, 7:00 am - 1 hour 25 minutes"Heaven is for Real" with Adrian Daub
If your four-year-old told you about a trip to heaven, would you believe them? For a pastor named Todd Burpo, the answer was yes. In 2010, his book Heaven Is For Real—co-authored by Lynn Vincent—became a runaway bestseller. This week, Sarah tells In Bed with the Right co-host Adrian Daub the story of this strange little book, and how it reveals more about us than it does the afterlife. Digressions include Shakerism, The Big Lebowski, and the ongoing debate around pets in heaven.
Send your submissions for our Halloween Listener Spectacular (scary stories or Halloween nostalgia) to [email protected] before August 31st!
More Adrian Daub:
Adrian’s new book What Tech Calls Governing comes out August 18th
Listen to In Bed with the Right
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
11 August 2026, 3:40 pm - 1 hour 6 minutesLightning Round! with Chelsey Weber-Smith
Send your submissions for our Halloween Listener Spectacular (scary stories or Halloween nostalgia) to [email protected] before August 31st!
How many maligned women can you name in 30 seconds? For this episode, Sarah gives Chelsey Weber-Smith of American Hysteria a lightning round pop quiz on You’re Wrong About topics over the years with stakes so high that you’ll have to hear them to believe them. Digressions include an evil preteen softball team, the alternative pronunciation of pasta, horror movie publicity stunts, and at what point an infant becomes a baby.
More Chelsey Weber-Smith:
Listen to American Hysteria
Follow American Hysteria on instagram
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merchLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
28 July 2026, 11:00 am - 58 minutes 11 secondsWhat I Love: A Listener Summer Special
How do I love thee? For this special episode, we asked you to send us a voice message about something you love. From gas station coffee to tap dancing to rocks to the inner lives of rats, you answered—and showed us that when we experience the things that other people love, that love starts to feel like our own.
Edited + produced by Miranda Zickler
Original music in this episode is brought to you by Miranda Zickler and AJ McKinley, otherwise known as Magpie Cinema Club
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
14 July 2026, 11:00 am - 2 hours 31 minutesThe JFK Assassination Part 2 with Mackenzie Joy Brennan
But seriously, who really killed JFK? For part two of the JFK Assassination series, law correspondent Mackenzie Joy Brennan takes Sarah through the conspiracy theories that have surrounded the tragedy to see how the combination of too much information and too little information helped solidify a general feeling that things were not as they seemed. Together, they go over the Warren Commission report, the Zapruder Film, and the story of the “magic bullet,” and look at how Oliver Stone’s movie JFK changed our collective memory of what happened that day and who was really to blame. Digressions include the Sharpie art on burned CDs, the series premiere of Monk, and the unfortunate nostalgia for George W. Bush.
More Mackenzie Joy Brennan:
http://www.mkzjoybrennan.com
Edited + produced by Miranda Zickler:
http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonsterFact checking by Julie Kliegman
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
30 June 2026, 11:00 am - 1 hour 43 minutesThe JFK Assassination Part 1 with Mackenzie Joy Brennan
Where is Dana Scully when you need her? For the first installment of this two-part episode, legal correspondent Mackenzie Joy Brennan tells Sarah about what happened before, during, and after the moment that John F. Kennedy was shot in that Dallas motorcade, the lasting cultural images that have been burned into the public consciousness, and the story of the man who shot the man and the man who shot the man who shot the man. Plus, the conspiracy theory that walked so that the paranoias of today could run — and how we can orient ourselves in reality despite our strongly held beliefs. Digressions include Oregon Trail bison, jaundiced tans, and the triumph of 90s legal thrillers.
More Mackenzie Joy Brennan:
http://www.mkzjoybrennan.com
Edited + produced by Miranda Zickler:
http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonsterFact checking by Julie Kliegman
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
23 June 2026, 11:00 am - 1 hour 26 minutesCrying in Baseball with Julie Kliegman
Could there be a little crying in baseball as a treat? Sports correspondent Julie Kliegman is here to tell Sarah about the history of women’s baseball and softball and to finally teach her the rules of the game. From the days when women played alongside men, to the first women’s team in the 1940s, to the sexist rules placed on their teams, and the impressive modern players that are changing the game, they discuss the past and present through the lens of the 1992 film A League of Their Own. Together they try to follow the sport around what Sarah calls the Crazy Straw of Progress and around a loving baseball diamond that has long led the players home. Digressions include the imaginary Supreme Court case Woman v. Horse, Fried Green Tomatoes, and gym parachute week.
More Julie Kliegman:
https://www.juliekliegman.com/
Pre-order a signed copy of Julie's new book Finding Renée Richards from Astoria Bookshop.org and get 15% off with code YWAPOD15Edited + Produced by Miranda Zickler:
http://linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonsterMore You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merchLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
9 June 2026, 11:00 am - 1 hour 12 minutesRainbows with Lulu Miller
Why are there so many songs about rainbows (and what’s on the other side)? A bridge between worlds, a map to a pot of gold, the centerpiece of a Lisa Frank trapper-keeper, and of course, an ever-changing symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, the rainbow has been a profound part of the human experience for thousands of years. For this early Pride Month episode, science correspondent and bisexual seagull Lulu Miller explains to Sarah the history of our understanding of rainbows: why they exist, what they are made out of, and what they have represented. Together they discuss the figures that have tried to pin down this natural wonder, the power of its spectrum of meaning, and the comfort and terror of the infinity it once represented. Digressions include the boring transcendence of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the secret joys of trigonometry, and the best gay Hannibal Lecter.
More Lulu Miller:
https://radiolab.org/team/lulu-millerLulu on Instagram
Lulu's book Why Fish Don't ExistOriginal music in this episode brought to you by Magpie Cinema Club featuring Brendan Liu
Except for "Roy G Biv" from this episode of Lulu's WNYC show Terrestrials, which is written and performed by Alan Goffinski and included on The Bridge EP
And also Spanish Flea by Herb AlpertEdited + Produced by Miranda Zickler:
http://linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster
The poem Lulu read was Singularity by Marie HoweMore You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merchLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
26 May 2026, 11:00 am - More Episodes? Get the App