Corn Mazes with Chelsey Weber-Smith
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can you find your way out of the maize? The corn maze has become an enduring attraction of the Ameri...
Pee-wee Herman Part 2 with Jamie Loftus
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the second part of our series, pop culture historian Jamie Loftus takes us through the meteoric r...
Pee-wee Herman Part 1 with Jamie Loftus
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What’s today’s secret word? Paul Reubens spent years bringing to life one of America’s most be...
The Hitler Diaries with Adrian Daub
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when you’re just a little too good at forging the diaries of Adolf Hitler? And why di...
Coyotes! with Lulu Miller
24 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who is out there behind the howling midnight parties in the distance? For generations we have coexis...
Inventing the Teenager with Harmony Colangelo
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Where did all these teens come from? Harmony Colangelo, co-host of This Ends at Prom, is here to exp...
Is Your House Too Clean? with Sarah Archer
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you scrubbed down the top of your fridge lately? Home & garden correspondent Sarah Archer i...
Hoax Memoir Spectacular!
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, flim flam correspondent and certified April Fool Chelsey Weber-Smith is here to talk abou...
Your Joy and Resilience Stories
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At the end of our last episode, we asked you to call in and tell us what has been bringing you joy, ...
The Worst Oscars Ever?? with Michael Schulman
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do Lily Tomlin, Snow White, and Kenny Ortega have in common? They were all part of the 61st Aca...
Emotional Labor with Rachel Monroe and Ash Compton of Bad Therapist
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is "emotional labor," and why is it probably not what your boyfriend accuses you of m...
Alice Kyteler and the First Witchcraft Trial in Ireland with Molly Aitken
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In County Kilkenny, Ireland, in an early year of a century not too long before our own, Alice Kytele...
Aron Ralston with Blair Braverman
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What would you do if you were pinned down by an 800-pound boulder, and no one knew where you were? I...
Singing in the New Year with Carolyn Kendrick and Each Machine
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There's one last present at the toe of our stocking, and it's a new album by producer Caro...
Santa Claus with Sarah Archer
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'Twas (the night before) the night before Christmas/ And all through the show/ We await Sarah A...
Cola Wars with Miles Klee
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Miles Klee can’t take it anymore. This week, a tale of corporate intrigue, world domination, and s...
Elizabeth Báthory with Princess Weekes
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Our alleged serial killers deserve better than this." Was Elizabeth Báthory the most pro...
Halloween History with Chelsey Weber-Smith
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Black cats and goblins and broomsticks and ghosts/ Covens of witches with all of their hosts/ You ma...
A MASSIVE SEANCE Live Show Tour with American Hysteria
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What could possibly go wrong when two skeptical podcasters try to summon a ghost? Join Sarah and Che...
Revolutions and Resistance with Kellie Carter Jackson
12 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kellie Carter Jackson, author of We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance, is here to take ...
Lawrence v. Texas Part 2 with Marcus McCann
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought nece...
Lawrence v. Texas Part 1 with Marcus McCann
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Or, is it legal to have gay sex in your own home? This week, Marcus McCann takes us back to the 2003...
The Jane Collective with Moira Donegan
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"As long as the law is male, women must be outlaws." — Linnea Johnson This week, Moira...
Dungeons & Dragons & The Satanic Panic with Adrian Daub
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we travel back to the 80s, when America’s parents decided to freak out over some kids ro...
Rosie Ruiz and the Marathon Women with Maggie Mertens
05 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Maggie Mertens tells us a tale of the first women who fought to run the marathon, and of one woman w...
Has the Supreme Court Always Been This Terrible? with Mackenzie Joy Brennan
22 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is “originalism,” and what does it have to do with all these bribes? Mackenzie Joy Brennan ...
Balloonfest ‘86! with Harmony Colangelo
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The city of Cleveland will not be made to apologize for its balloons. Harmony Colangelo defends the ...
Phones Are Good, Actually with Taylor Lorenz
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Taylor Lorenz fights our latest moral panic. Are phones really making kids anxious, or ar...
Immigration with Alejandra Oliva
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Alejandra Oliva, author of Rivermouth, came by to catch us up on the last few decades of American im...
The Tradwife Rises with Sarah Archer
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Archer came by to make an episode from scratch. What's the real history of the American h...
Rosa Parks with Princess Weekes
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Princess Weekes takes us to meet the real Rosa Parks.Find Princess on YouTube: Princess’ vi...
George Michael Part 2 with Marcus McCann
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Let's go outside in the sunshine. An extended cut of this episode is available for Patreon ...
George Michael Part 1 with Marcus McCann
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
He turned a bright spark into a flame.(Part 1 of 2!)You can buy Marcus McCann's book, Park Crui...
Hoax Spectacular! with Chelsey Weber-Smith
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah talks with Chelsey Weber-Smith, host of American Hysteria, about some of their favorite hoaxes...
BONUS Britney Spears Book Club with Eve Lindley
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Celebrity correspondent Eve Lindley came by to tell us about Britney Spears' memoir The Woman i...
The Oscars Streaker with Michael Schulman
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1974, Robert Opel ran naked through the Academy Awards telecast, and into American history. Today...
Balto with Blair Braverman
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Blair Braverman tells us how the legendary story of one good dog is actually a story of two good dog...
The Shoe Bomber with Miles Klee
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, writer Miles Klee tells us why we have to take our shoes off at the airport.Read Miles Kl...
Tiny Tim with Harmony Colangelo
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Harmony Colangelo tiptoes through the tulips with us. You can find Harmony at This Ends ...
The “Pro-Life” Movement with Megan Burbank
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
During what should’ve been Roe v. Wade’s 51st birthday week, Sarah and reproductive health polic...
The Battle of the Sexes with Julie Kliegman
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah teams up with writer and editor Julie Kliegman—author of the hotly anticipated book MIND GAM...
The Exorcist with Marlena Williams
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Exorcist turns 50 this week, so we invited Marlena Williams, author of Night Mother: A Personal ...
Influencers with Taylor Lorenz
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“The creatures outside looked from influencer to human, and from human to influencer, and from hum...
Cattle Mutilation with Rachel Monroe
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mulder and Scully were busy this week, so Monroe and Marshall are on the case. Did UFOs really trave...
Amy Winehouse with Eve Lindley
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, celebrity correspondent Eve Lindley tells Sarah about why we should all be thankful for A...
Our Dearest Fears with Chelsey Weber-Smith
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, American Hysteria’s Chelsey Weber-Smith gives Sarah some exposure therapy.You can find ...
Lizzie Borden with Princess Weekes
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Forty whacks with a wet noodle, Bart! This week, Princess Weekes tells Sarah the true story of the c...
Mindhunting with Sarah Weinman
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"What is it about the culture that has conditioned us to favor the wants and needs and desires,...
Changing Your Mind
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here's one from our bonus vault: you sent in your stories about moments when you found yourselv...
Sound of Freedom with Michael Hobbes AND Human Trafficking re-release
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Like so many other mostly imaginary topics, human trafficking is in the news again. Michael Hobbes—...
The Most Normal Girl in Cleveland with Heather Radke
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Heather Radke brings us a tale of pageants, eugenics, and butts.You can find Heather onli...
The Cottingley Fairies with Chelsey Weber-Smith
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Sarah tells her favorite kind of story to American Hysteria’s Chelsey Weber-Smith: one ...
Bonnie and Clyde (and Blanche and Buck) with Jamie Loftus
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Why don’t something happen?” Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow died in 1934, but their legend ge...
Fleetwood Mac's Rumours with Carolyn Kendrick
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we bring you a re-release from our bonus vault as Sarah tells Carolyn Kendrick about the ...
Renée Richards with Julie Kliegman
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Sports Illustrated’s Julie Kliegman volleys with Sarah about trans athlete Renée Richa...
Lesbian Seagulls with Lulu Miller
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fly with us, lesbian seagull. This week Radiolab’s Lulu Miller brings us a story of queer nature a...
The Hot Mess Express Spectacular!
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“I felt that empathy like it was directed towards me, and it helped me feel like my unhappiness wa...
We Need to Talk About the New York Times with Tuck Woodstock
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“What if you were writing a profile on someone named Janet and I was your editor, and I was like, ...
Debi Thomas with Leslie Gray Streeter
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1988, twenty-year-old American figure skater Debi Thomas headed to the Calgary Olympics to face...
Sinéad O'Connor with Allyson McCabe
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we fight the real enemy with Allyson McCabe. Here's where to find Allyson online he...
What Even Is Justice? with Amanda Knox
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, national treasure Amanda Knox talks with Sarah about what the American legal system claim...
Juvenile "Justice" with Josie Duffy Rice
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, criminal justice correspondent Josie Duffy Rice dives into America’s obsession with pro...
Chris McCandless with Blair Braverman
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, survival correspondent Blair Braverman tells Sarah the story of a Supertramp. In 1996, Jo...
Napster with Niko Stratis
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, a tale of two Shawns/Seans, their impossible dream, and the file sharing service that liv...
Karen Carpenter Part 2 with Carolyn Kendrick
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Carolyn and Sarah follow Karen from the height of her fame through her struggle to ...
Karen Carpenter Part 1 with Carolyn Kendrick
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Long ago and oh so far away, Carolyn and Sarah fell in love with Karen Carpenter when they saw her d...
Baby Jessica with Blair Braverman
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On October 14, 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell down a well in Midland, Texas. This week, Sar...
Beanie Babies with Jamie Loftus
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
They’re winsome and soft and so fun to cuddle/ With one of Ty’s Beanie Babies, you could never g...
Where Have All the Preppies Gone? with Avery Trufelman
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Put on your Docksiders for a stroll through history with Avery Trufelman, who shows us how Ivy style...
The Movie Rating System with Karina Longworth
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How did Poltergeist get that PG rating? Podcast legend Karina Longworth, host of You Must Remember T...
Flight 571: Survival in the Andes with Blair Braverman
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our survival correspondent Blair Braverman is here to tell us the story of Uruguayan Air Force Fligh...
Your Abortion Stories
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Abortion is healthcare and abortion is a human right. Abortion is racial justice. It’s economic...
Online Shopping with Amanda Mull
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why is it so hard to find the one thing you need? The Atlantic’s Amanda Mull is here to tell us th...
Hunting Serial Killers with Michael Hobbes
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Mike and Sarah reunite to hunt for serial killers, and try to figure out whether they’r...
The Donner Party with Chelsey Weber-Smith
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You may:1. Travel on the established trail2. Take the Hastings CutoffWhat is your choice?Chelsey Web...
Henry Lee Lucas with Rachel Monroe
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we’re taking the back roads with Rachel Monroe, who tells us how the most prolific seria...
Porn Wars with Nona Willis Aronowitz
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s some money, go see a Porn War. This week we’re going on a field trip to Times Square with...
Eugenics with Eric Michael Garcia
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Eric Michael Garcia tells Sarah about America’s barely forgotten pastime, plus the Supr...
Go Ask Alice Part 3 with Rick Emerson and Carmen Maria Machado
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah and Carmen complete their epic trilogy by meeting Rick Emerson on the edge of Mount Doom to di...
Go Ask Alice Part 2 with Carmen Maria Machado
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week Carmen and Sarah read the rest of Alice’s bitchin' diary, and ponder the truths tha...
Martha Stewart with Sarah Archer
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we’re dishing up a mouthwatering feast of history, gossip, and white collar crime. Guest...
The Dyatlov Pass Incident with Blair Braverman
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Sarah tries to solve the mystery of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, in which nine experienced ...
The Prison Boom with Shannon Heffernan
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Where did all these prisons come from? WBEZ’s Shannon Heffernan is here to give us part of the ans...
Go Ask Alice Part 1 with Carmen Maria Machado
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we begin our journey into the totally true not at all made up diary that has been scaring ...
Medieval Torture with Dana Schwartz
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We want to play a game. This week, Dana Schwartz stuffs us in an iron maiden and explains why the mo...
How Email Took Over the World with Anne Helen Petersen
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How did the information superhighway get so gridlocked? Guest Anne Helen Petersen tells Sarah the st...
Juliet's Balcony with Chelsey Weber-Smith
28 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What do Chopin, Kylie Jenner, baby carrots, and the War of the Worlds all have in common? They’re ...
Ronald Reagan and "The Welfare Queen" with Laci Mosley
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Laci Mosley (Scam Goddess) tells Sarah about Linda Taylor and the origins of the Welfare Queen myth ...
Bonus: Groundhog Day with Josh Gondelman
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What if there is no tomorrow? There wasn’t one today. Josh Gondelman is here to laugh and cry with...
CSI: Junk Science with Josie Duffy Rice
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Josie Duffy Rice and Sarah discuss the role of junk science in the criminal justice system. It is a ...
Winter Book Club: The Amityville Horror Part 3 with Jamie Loftus
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this final installment of the Amityville Horror Winter Book Club, Sarah tells guest host Jamie Lo...
Tom Cruise on Oprah’s couch with Willa Paskin
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Willa Paskin (of Slate's Decoder Ring) brings Sarah back to 2005, when Tom Cruise jumping on a ...
Talking Tammy Faye Bakker with Jessica Chastain
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jessica Chastain and Sarah discuss Tammy Faye Bakker. Chastain is the star and a producer of the new...
Winter Book Club: The Amityville Horror Part 2 with Jamie Loftus
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah continues telling guest host Jamie Loftus about the Amityville Horror, and the two touch on gh...
Winter Book Club: The Amityville Horror Part 1 with Jamie Loftus
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells guest host Jamie Loftus about the Amityville Horror, how it’s a Christmas story, and w...
Reconstruction with Jamelle Bouie
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jamelle Bouie explains to Sarah what the Reconstruction era was, why it remains relevant today, and ...
True Crime with Emma Berquist
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Emma Berquist stops by to tell us about how true crime doesn't have to make us better people, a...
Ed and Lorraine Warren with Jamie Loftus
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Special Guest Jamie Loftus tells Sarah about Ed and Lorraine Warren (of The Conjuring and Annabelle ...
Catherine the Great with Dana Schwartz
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Dana Schwartz tells Sarah about Catherine the Great. Topics of interest include the ve...
Mike Lives in a Downtown Hotel
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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