American Hysteria

chelsey weber-smith

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.

  • 55 minutes 35 seconds
    The Jersey Devil

    This Urban Legends Hotline episode features listener Brandon's inquiry about the legend of the Jersey Devil, a cryptid that has haunted the Pine Barrens of New Jersey for three hundred years. We will explore the various historical events that produced this creature's folklore: a dime museum's elaborate hoax, a radical Puritan woman said to have birthed a monster, a bitchy Quaker feud rife with satanic accusations, and the impoverished people of the Pine Barrens who helped cultivate the tale as a mode of protection.


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    Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts


    Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline at americanhysteria.com


    Check out our main source for this episode: The Secret History of the Jersey Devil


    Sound Designer and Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith

    Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler

    Voice Actor: Will Rogers

    Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith

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    10 February 2025, 8:10 am
  • 53 minutes 53 seconds
    Context Clues: The Devil Went Down to Jersey

    The famous cryptid known as the Jersey Devil will be the focus of our upcoming Urban Legends Hotline investigation. This episode will provide some context using excerpts from previous topics we have covered.


    Full episodes to check out:

    The Cannibal Pig People of Pig Hill (2023)

    Fake News (2020)

    Urban Legends (2021)


    Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content

    Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts


    Sound design and Production by Riley Swedelius-Smith

    Edited by Miranda Zickler

    Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith

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    3 February 2025, 8:10 am
  • 1 hour 16 minutes
    You Just Lost The Game with 'Spirits' Podcast

    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!


    Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content

    Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts


    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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    27 January 2025, 8:10 am
  • 1 hour 37 minutes
    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

    20 January 2025, 8:10 am
  • 1 hour 24 minutes
    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

    13 January 2025, 8:10 am
  • 53 minutes 10 seconds
    (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

    Donate to SisterSong at sistersong.net


    Get tickets to our live show with You're Wrong About in SF or LA


    Become a Patron and support our show!

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    6 January 2025, 8:10 am
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    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

    30 December 2024, 8:10 am
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    (Throwback) The Horror of Hallmark with Podcasters Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed of 'You Are Good'

    Because so many Hallmark writers and directors also make horror movies, I called in podcasters Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed of 'You're Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' to discuss the similarities between these two seemingly polar opposite genres.


    Subscribe to You Are Good and You're Wrong About


    Get tickets for our Live Show called A Massive Seance in SF and LA


    Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content


    Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith

    Produced by Miranda Zickler

    Assistant Produced by Riley Swedelius-Smith

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    23 December 2024, 8:10 am
  • 1 hour 13 minutes
    Beyond Belief: Fiction or Fiction with Guide to the Unknown Podcast

    Remember the late '90s mystery show Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? where you had to figure out which stories were true and which were fake? For this episode I tell the wild life story of the mysterious man who provided the "true" stories which were certainly beyond belief. I'm joined by wonder-siblings Will Rogers (our voice actor!) and Kristen Rogers-Anderson of Guide to the Unknown, a podcast that explores urban legends, the paranormal, horror movies, haunted places, and creepy pop culture. We take a trip down memory lane to discuss this cheesy gem which was also an early inspiration for what would one day become American Hysteria.


    Listen to or watch Guide to the Unknown


    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

    Find us on Instagram @americanhysteriapodcast

    Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline or get your mitts on some merch at americanhysteria.com


    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

    16 December 2024, 8:10 am
  • 59 minutes 4 seconds
    The Great Glawackus Hoax with Pat and Val of Connecticut Cryptids

    Patrick Scalisi and Valerie Ruby-Omen are the creators of the 2023 book Connecticut Cryptids: A Field Guide to the Weird and Wonderful Creatures of the Nutmeg State. Together they have documented Connecticut's most important cryptids, those elusive, folkloric creatures that have not been proven to actually exist but that pop up in different forms throughout time and all over the world. For this episode, Pat and Val tell me the wild story of the Glawackus, a 1966 hoax that got totally out of hand.


    Get a copy of Connecticut Cryptids


    Get tickets to our live show called 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

    Find us on Instagram @americanhysteriapodcast

    Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline or get your mitts on some merch at americanhysteria.com


    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

    9 December 2024, 8:10 am
  • 1 hour 12 minutes
    The Donner Party with 'You're Wrong About'

    This is a special episode I did for the podcast 'You're Wrong About' in 2022, and I wanted to finally bring it to you directly since the deep snowfalls of winter are looming on the ever-distant horizon. This is the harrowing tale of a wagon train trapped in the Sierra Nevadas in the harsh winter of 1864-1865, famously forced to cannibalize one another to stay alive, but that is only a small fraction of an almost unbelievable story. This is probably the piece of American history that fascinates me more than any other, so I'm excited to share it with you.


    Over the next couple months we will be real busy on tour with You're Wrong About for 'A Massive Seance' west coast live show tour, so we will be putting out some fun interview episodes before we get back to our regularly scheduled programming!


    GET TICKETS FOR A MASSIVE SEANCE HERE

    Dec 3 + 4 in Portland

    Dec 11 in Seattle

    Jan 11 in San Francisco

    Jan 24 in Los Angeles


    Thank you to You're Wrong About for allowing us to use this episode! Make sure you listen to their show if you don't already <3

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    2 December 2024, 8:10 am
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