Sarah is a journalist obsessed with the past. Every week she reconsiders a person or event that's been miscast in the public imagination.
244 episodes transcribedWe start our new series with the story of a girl, a prince and the society that convinced them they liked each other. Digressions include camels, Beyo...
For our 100th episode, American Hysteria host Chelsey Weber-Smith visits our campfire to tell us about the time America was besieged by a killer clown...
“It’s like these men are being held in a bubble as science marches forward.” Mike tells Sarah how one of history's most unethical experiments cam...
Mike tells Sarah about the longest "non-therapeutic" experiment in medical history. Digressions include deep fried ice cream, Kato Kaelin an...
This week, Sarah makes a Nancy Grace-style argument against the prosecution. Digressions include '90s romantic comedies, Betty Broderick and flat...
Sarah tells Mike about her new foray into Dad Studies and, for the second time this week, discusses a horror movie about families from 1975 and sings...
Sarah tells Mike about the real-life conspiracy written between the lines of a 1970s horror novel. Digressions include "Rosemary's Baby (aga...
In another "mini" episode that accidentally turned mega, Mike tells Sarah about the Wayfair conspiracy theory and the sketchy statistical sc...
Mike tells Sarah how a silly sports promotion galvanized a reactionary movement. Digressions include “Charlotte’s Web,” Jane Fonda and German-language...
This week, Sarah walks Mike through Nancy Grace’s prosecution of American juries. Cameos include Mark Geragos (again), O.J. Simpson (inevitably) and J...
Sarah and Mike tell Laura and Adrian about how we met, how we research and what we would say to Jessica Simpson if we ever met her.Follow the The Femi...
This week, Nancy Grace makes her case against defense attorneys in general and Scott Peterson’s lawyer in particular. Digressions include Batman, toug...
“It’s interesting that we became enthusiastic about ASL in the process of teaching it to a population that couldn’t benefit from it.”Mike tells Sarah...
Special guest Candace Opper tells Mike and Sarah how a grunge star became the protagonist in one of America's most persistent conspiracy theories...
“The criminal justice system should treat everyone like a white teenage girl whose future it’s concerned about disrupting.” Sarah tells Mike about Mel...
Sarah tells Mike how a superhero’s genesis was a supervillain’s origin story all along. In our new deep dive, we tackle Nancy Grace’s “Objection!” and...
On June 17, 1994, the world screeched to a halt so 95 million Americans could watch a white SUV crawl through L.A. Today, we finally talk about the in...
“You really shouldn’t date people who go in thinking, ’This person has good bones but they’re a fixer-upper.’” This week, we complete our Jessica Simp...
In honor of Pride Month and revolutions past, present, and future, we're re-releasing our episode on the Stonewall Uprising. Let the sunshine in....
