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
An announcement!Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PaypalBuy stickers, magnets, T-sh...
Bonus: The Great Protein Fiasco
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From our friends at Maintenance Phase, the story of how Nestlé executives, global health institutio...
The McDonald's Hot Coffee Case
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah how a tragic story became a national punchline and a decades-long moral panic. Digr...
Re-Release: Dan Quayle vs. Murphy Brown
06 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While our next episode's in the oven, enjoy this gem from the YWA vault!Support us:Subscribe ...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Runaway Grand Jury
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the defense hires Alan Dershowitz, Marcia Clark questions witnesses and Jill Shively trie...
Summer Book Club: "The Satan Seller" (The Debunking!)
09 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we debunk Mike Warnke right out of his cabin and into the lake, using Cornerstone Magazine...
Summer Book Club: "The Satan Seller" (Part 3)
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We finish our San Bernardino joyride through Mike Warnke’s 1972 “memoir” with a hex, a horribl...
Summer Book Club: "The Satan Seller" (Part 2)
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our journey through Mike Warnke's 1972 "memoir" about his rise through th...
Summer Book Club: "The Satan Seller" (Part 1)
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah and Mike return to Camp You're Wrong About for another Satanic Panic story hour. This tim...
Cancel Culture
07 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike and Sarah have big feelings about an enduring debate. Digressions include “Carrie,” party p...
The Chicks vs. The Iraq War
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah about an impending conflict, a dissident singer and America's first internet-e...
"Political Correctness"
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah how liberal magazines turned a "kids these days" moral panic into a natio...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mr. F. Lee Bailey
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bob Shapiro is on a mission from God, F. Lee Bailey joins the Dream Team, and we get in our DeLorean...
Vanessa Williams Part 2: Saving The Best For Last
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Cassie da Costa tells Mike and Sarah how Vanessa fell from grace and picked herself ba...
Bonus: Dr. Oz
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike reached new levels of rantiness on his other show and we wanted to make sure all our beloved de...
Vanessa Williams Part 1: Becoming Miss America
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah how a 20-year-old singer, actress and French horn player became Miss America with l...
Bonus: "The Dark Knight"
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah's other show has a special guest! Maintenance Phase co-host Aubrey Gordon visits Why Are ...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: The DeLorean Detour
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
To tell the story of the "dream team" we must begin by going back to the future. This week...
Tipper Gore vs. Heavy Metal: The Hearing
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah the real reason Congress called a bunch of rockers to Washington D.C. Digressions i...
Tipper Gore vs. Heavy Metal: The Case Against "Porn Rock"
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah how a congressional wife started a moral crusade. Digressions include Sheena Easton...
The Anti-Vaccine Movement
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Eric Michael Garcia tells Mike and Sarah about the deep roots of a pernicious modern m...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: The Arraignmaker
25 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we put on our suits and head back to the courtroom. O.J. Simpson pleads not guilty, Marci...
Shannon Faulkner & Sex Discrimination at The Citadel
18 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah how a troll-ish experiment turned a South Carolina teenager into one of the most ma...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: My Fair Paula
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk about the early days of Paula and O.J.’s relationship and the celebrity cameos r...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Paula Escapes From L.A.
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week we return to the O.J. Simpson trial and learn what Paula Barbieri did after the Bronco c...
The Stanford Prison Experiment
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah the complicated story of an over-simplified study. Digressions include Tonya Hardin...
Losing Relatives to Fox News
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah what makes older Americans more vulnerable to misinformation — and who is deliver...
The Newsboys' Strike of 1899 (Part 2)
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike about the thrilling conclusion to a children’s labor action and an overlooked Dis...
The Newsboys' Strike of 1899 (Part 1)
23 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike about media history, labor organizing, century-old moral panics — and the unlikel...
Bonus: The "Twinkie Defense"
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Was Harvey Milk's killer really given a light sentence after claiming that junk food made him d...
The Electoral College
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Topical episode! Special guest Jamelle Bouie tells Sarah and Mike about his problematic Founding Fat...
Princess Diana Part 5: The Crash
09 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“You can be a hot mess express and still leave the world better than you found it.” In the final...
Princess Diana Part 4: The Divorce
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Diana leaves the royal family with her reputation intact and her title slightly edited. D...
Halloween Re-Release: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
31 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What if the scariest thing in America is unfettered capitalism and unaccountable corporations? Sourc...
Bonus: Why Are Dads on "Terminator 2"
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike comes on Sarah’s new show to talk about robots, dads, the little metal hands guys and "...
Bonus: The President's Physical Fitness Test
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike has a new podcast! Here's the first episode, in which he debunks the absurd Cold War traum...
Halloween Special: Creepy Encounters
19 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Mike and Sarah dissect the Creepy Encounters subreddit and how to handle our creepy feeli...
Princess Diana Part 3: The Affairs
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Diana swaps out her husband for a Horse Dude and Mike and Sarah act out other people&apos...
Princess Diana Part 2: The Wedding
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Diana gets married, joins her new family and meets the press. Digressions include Judy Ga...
Princess Diana Part 1: The Courtship
28 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We start our new series with the story of a girl, a prince and the society that convinced them they ...
Killer Clowns
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For our 100th episode, American Hysteria host Chelsey Weber-Smith visits our campfire to tell us abo...
Tuskegee Syphilis Study Part 2: The Truth
14 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“It’s like these men are being held in a bubble as science marches forward.” Mike tells Sarah ...
Tuskegee Syphilis Study Part 1: The Lie
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah about the longest "non-therapeutic" experiment in medical history. Digres...
Deep Dive Week 4: Nancy Grace v. The Constitution
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Sarah makes a Nancy Grace-style argument against the prosecution. Digressions include &ap...
Bonus Episode! Sarah’s New Podcast “Why Are Dads”
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike about her new foray into Dad Studies and, for the second time this week, discusses ...
The Stepford Wives
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike about the real-life conspiracy written between the lines of a 1970s horror novel. D...
Wayfair and Human Trafficking Statistics
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In another "mini" episode that accidentally turned mega, Mike tells Sarah about the Wayfai...
Disco Demolition Night
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah how a silly sports promotion galvanized a reactionary movement. Digressions include...
Murder
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah about the most common forms of violence in America and how they differ (twist!) fro...
Deep Dive Week 3: Nancy Grace v. The Jury
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Sarah walks Mike through Nancy Grace’s prosecution of American juries. Cameos include M...
Bonus Episode! Sarah and Mike on "The Feminist Present" Podcast
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah and Mike tell Laura and Adrian about how we met, how we research and what we would say to Jess...
Deep Dive Week 2: Nancy Grace v. The Defense
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Nancy Grace makes her case against defense attorneys in general and Scott Peterson’s la...
Koko The Gorilla
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“It’s interesting that we became enthusiastic about ASL in the process of teaching it to a popul...
Courtney Love
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Candace Opper tells Mike and Sarah how a grunge star became the protagonist in one of ...
"The Prom Mom"
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“The criminal justice system should treat everyone like a white teenage girl whose future it’s c...
Deep Dive: Nancy Grace's "Objection!" (Week 1)
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike how a superhero’s genesis was a supervillain’s origin story all along. In our n...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: The Bronco Chase
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On June 17, 1994, the world screeched to a halt so 95 million Americans could watch a white SUV craw...
Quarantine Deep Dive: Jessica Simpson’s “Open Book” (The Conclusion!)
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“You really shouldn’t date people who go in thinking, ’This person has good bones but they’r...
Re-Release: The Stonewall Uprising
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of Pride Month and revolutions past, present, and future, we're re-releasing our episo...
Anastasia
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“I’m being pulled into planet myth … and I like it here.” Special guest Dana Schwartz tells ...
Quarantine Deep Dive: Jessica Simpson’s “Open Book” (Week 3)
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss Jessica's reality-show marriage and its painfully ordinary end. Digressions include ...
The Disappearance of Chandra Levy
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“It’s a mess and a nightmare and maybe it’s disingenuous to think you can turn the story of so...
Quarantine Deep Dive: Jessica Simpson’s “Open Book” (Week 2)
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“Her parents’ financial success is dependent on her abdomen.” This week, Jessica moves to L.A....
Quarantine Deep Dive: Jessica Simpson’s “Open Book” (Week 1)
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Our journey through late-'90s pop stardom begins with an intervention and ends with an audition...
The Y2K Bug
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah how an obscure technical glitch became a nationwide mobilization. Digressions inclu...
Quarantine Book Club: “Michelle Remembers” (Week 5)
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We conclude our book club with Michelle's escape from the dungeon. The dead baby trend continue...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: When Kato Met Marcia
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike about the clash of the titans, the fury at the grand jury. We follow Kato, the wise...
Quarantine Book Club: “Michelle Remembers” (Week 4)
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, our lithe psychiatrist takes his favorite patient hiking, a priest burns some furniture a...
Quarantine Book Club: “Michelle Remembers” (Week 3)
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah and Mike continue into the depths. With Dr. Pazder home from Mexico, he and Michelle continue ...
Marie Antoinette
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“What’s sad about her has nothing to do with the content of her character.” Special guest Dana...
Quarantine Book Club: “Michelle Remembers” (Week 2)
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah and Mike continue their journey into the book that launched a thousand lawsuits. Michelle and ...
The Exploding Ford Pinto
02 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah about a dying industry, a dangerous car and the Pulitzer Prize-winning article that...
Quarantine Book Club: “Michelle Remembers” (Week 1)
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah describes the spark that ignited the Satanic Panic. Our setting is a therapist’s office in 1...
D.C. Snipers Part 4
23 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the final chapter of our series on the D.C. sniper attacks, Mike finally tells Sarah about the D....
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Marcia Clark Part 2
09 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike about a week in the life of Marcia Clark, who became America’s most famous prosec...
D.C. Snipers Part 3
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah about the indoctrination of Lee Boyd Malvo and the beginning of the sniper attacks....
Valentine’s Day Re-Release: Anna Nicole Smith
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Valentine’s Day re-release! Sarah and Mike reflect on one of the only love stories they’ve ever ...
Why Didn’t Anyone Go to Prison for the Financial Crisis?
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“Every big fish you catch, you end up with a hole in the net.” Mike tells Sarah how America’s ...
D.C. Snipers Part 2
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah how a nice Jamaican kid became the disciple of a mean American adult. Digressions i...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Kato Kaelin Part 2
20 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike the ending to the story of the mimbo and the alibi. Digressions include O. Henry, N...
D.C. Snipers Part 1
06 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“If you’re black, you can’t get work as a serial killer even if you’re manifestly qualified....
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Kato Kaelin Part 1
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike how an aspiring actor protected and then betrayed Nicole Brown Simpson without know...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Paula Barbieri Part 2
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
"There’s no precedent for women in this family being treated like they matter." Sarah te...
Human Trafficking
25 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah how NGOs, activists and George W. Bush resurrected the 'stranger danger' ...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Marcia Clark Part 1
14 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike how Marcia Clark got the slam-dunk case that ended her career as a trial lawyer. Di...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Paula Barbieri Part 1
01 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
"Centering conversations around blame is not the most useful thing for us to be doing." Sa...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Nicole Brown Simpson Part 2
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“You can’t expect people to know the exact kind of help they need.” We continue our deep dive...
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Nicole Brown Simpson Part 1
03 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Mike and Sarah begin their epic journey into O.J. Simpson's trial for the murders of Nicole Bro...
The Wardrobe Malfunction
19 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Our first live show! Mike tells Sarah about Janet Jackson, the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime show and the...
‘Yoko Ono Broke Up The Beatles’
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Mike tells Sarah how the myth of meddling wives serves to exonerate terrible husbands. Digressions i...
Gangs
22 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“Isn’t it amazing how we can only imagine our monsters capitalistically?” Mike tells Sarah how...
The Victims’ Rights Movement
16 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“When you allow emotion into the courtroom, bias rushes in alongside it.” Special guest Rachel M...
Sex Offenders
07 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“Things are not going to get better if we make the people who scare us seem more powerful.” Mike...
Tonya Harding Part 2
26 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“The story that did the most damage to the people in it was the one that made the most money.” S...
Tonya Harding Part 1
18 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah tells Mike the story of a world-class figure skater who worked at a mall potato restaurant. Di...
The Stonewall Uprising
27 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“Humans aren’t good at remembering what got us where we are.” Mike tells Sarah how a turning p...
Kitty Genovese and “Bystander Apathy”
20 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“Once you tell a story incorrectly once, you can’t control where it goes.” Sarah tells Mike ho...
Sexting
11 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“We’re uncomfortable with the evidence that teen girls have sexual agency.” Special guest Amy ...
The American Taliban
05 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“He’s been punished even more than the American prison system can aspire to punish anyone”: Mi...