American Hysteria

For this episode, we are covering the storied history of the Butt, that humorous, salacious, anxiety-inducing part of the body, the shape and meaning of which has changed depending on the time period. Heather Radke is a reporter, essayist, RadioLab contributing editor, and the author of the book Butts: A Backstory, and she shares with me both the amusing and the darker aspects of this backstory, including its racialized history and the way that especially white culture has understood, appropriated, and exploited the body part on an ongoing basis. We’ll discuss why and how the butt has gone in and out of style over the centuries, what it has meant at different times to different types of people, and what may be the future of the butt as we know it.

Get a copy of Butts: A Backstory

Heather's Substack: Petite Patate

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Get some of our new merch at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, all profits this month go to The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led mutual aid group in Gaza

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

Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Associate Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Additional editing by ⁠⁠⁠Kaylee Jasperson⁠⁠⁠

Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
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For all of American history, we have been obsessed with the idea that what you eat is about more than just the purity of the body, it’s about a kind of metaphorical purity as well. For this episode, journalist Zoe Rom, co-host of the podcast Your Diet Sucks takes us through our strange history of clean living movements focusing on quacky 19th century characters and their bizarre and sometimes dangerous ideas about health, as well as the outrageous methods they used on their adherents, men like Sylvester Graham, inventor of Graham crackers, and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, inventor of Corn Flakes. We discuss the biblical origins of clean living movements, what health food purity has to do with Eugenics, and how these ideas have followed us through the many stages of this nation’s history, manifesting again in the culture and politics of today.

Subscribe to Your Diet Sucks wherever you get your podcasts

Zoë's Website

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Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Get some of our new merch at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, all profits this month go to The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led mutual aid group.

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

Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Associate Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Additional editing by ⁠⁠Kaylee Jasperson⁠⁠

Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1859, a powerful solar storm known as the Carrington Event hit the world, disrupting early technology in a shocking way. Our guest today is Ben Bradford, host of the podcast Are We Doomed? A show that investigates the greatest risks facing our society, our planet, and our species and asks whether the threat is real or hyped up and how we can make it out alive. For this episode, he tells me about what happened during the Carrington Event, teaches me the science around solar storms, and explains how they have affected us in the modern era, and together we discuss what action, if any, needs to be taken.

Subscribe to Are We Doomed? wherever you get your podcasts

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

Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Get some of our new merch at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, all profits this month go to The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led mutual aid group.

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

Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Associate Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Additional editing by ⁠Kaylee Jasperson⁠Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the height of their popularity, the 1920s era Ku Klux Klux counted millions of Americans as part of their secret society, and as we covered in part one, became a kind of pop culture phenomenon using a PR team, family-friendly events, and region-based prejudices while the leaders got rich off an effective proto-pyramid scheme. For part two, we are going to look at how the Klan transformed from a money-making endeavor into a political machine, the messy behind-the-scenes power struggles, the shocking crime that would finally bring them down, and how those scapegoated by the KKK fought back. Then we will compare this iteration of the Klan to the administration we are dealing with today.

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

Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Get some of our new merch at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, all profits this month go to The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led mutual aid group.

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

Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sound Designer and Associate Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Voice Actor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Will Rogers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We often think of the Ku Klux Klan as anonymous, masked vigilante terrorists, but for several years of the 1920s, joining their ranks was a mass pop cultural craze, leading to millions signing up and millions more supporting them. For part one of this two part series, we'll learn about the proto-pyramid scheme of the second KKK in which a PR company assembled a national sales team to whip up the many racial, religious, and cultural grievances of white Protestant Americans, convincing them to pay up to join a real life fantasy role-playing game in the form of a fraternal order. Through marketing the Klan as a patriotic, upstanding, and normal social club, they also used family-friendly events to bring in more paying members, all while committing their trademark acts of violence and intimidation behind the scenes.

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

Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Get some of our new merch at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, all profits this month go to The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led mutual aid group.

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

Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sound Designer and Associate Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Voice Actor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Will Rogers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices