Best Doomsday Initiative Podcasts (2025)

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Mall Santas pt. 2 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About' 1:38:54

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2d ago1:38:54

1:38:54

In part two of our two-part series, I show Sarah a more radical side of the American Mall Santa. I tell her stories of how, in some cases, the character transformed into a symbol of societal change and guerrilla protest, from the ladies who had to take his bearded place during WWII, to the Black Santa revolutionaries of the Civil Rights Movement, t…

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Mall Santas pt. 1 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About' 1:25:48

9d ago1:25:48

1:25:48

For this two-part holiday special, I tell Sarah Marshall all about the history of the American mall Santa Claus from the 1800s into the present day. For part one, we will learn about the eccentric men who created the look and vibe of the department store Kris Kringle, mass producing a jolly army of Santa proxies to whom kids could disclose their he…

101
Three or More Is a Riot with Jelani Cobb 35:55

16d ago35:55

35:55

Jelani Cobb is the Dean of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and the author of the new book Three or More Is a Riot: Notes on How We Got Here: 2012-2025 which he is here to talk with me about today. Since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement over a decade ago, Jelani has been reporting on the most consequential events from the fr…

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The Rocky Horror Picture Show with 'This Ends At Prom' 1:28:06

23d ago1:28:06

1:28:06

In honor of my favorite movie's 50th anniversary, I wanted to share an episode about The Rocky Horror Picture Show with all of you unconventional conventionalists, one that I recently recorded with my friends BJ and Harmony Colangelo for their fantastic coming-of-age film podcast, This Ends at Prom. Subscribe to This Ends At Prom wherever you get y…

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Listen Now: American Scandal | The West Memphis Three 8:02

28d ago8:02

8:02

On May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old boys were brutally murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. The tiny local police department launches an investigation but finds little physical evidence to lead them to a suspect. Eventually, outside pressure pushes them to charge someone with the killings, whether or not the evidence supports their conclusions. America…

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THE MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE (rewind) 53:33

1M ago53:33

53:33

Brace yourselves, we are marching along with the Macy's Parade to learn about the chaos energy that has always animated this cultural institution, from its explosive balloon disasters to its surprisingly unruly origins. Become a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠…

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The Devil We Know with Sarah Marshall 1:28:44

1M ago1:28:44

1:28:44

Sarah Marshall of You're Wrong About joins me to wade back into the tall tales that devil-spawned the friendship we have today. In honor of her brand new podcast miniseries from the CBC called The Devil You Know about the past, present and future of the Satanic Panic, we 'll check out some never-before-heard satanic cult source material from ⁠newsp…

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Disneyland’s Disastrous Opening Day with Riley Swedelius-Smith and Miranda Zickler 1:17:32

1M ago1:17:32

1:17:32

Our associate producer (and my brother) Riley Swedelius-Smith is here to tell our producer Miranda Zickler and me about the chaotic opening day of The Happiest Place on Earth way back in 1955. We’ll learn about the many quirks of Walt Disney, the events that unfolded as he tried to build his ludicrous dream, and how everything went down when it was…

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Bot Farms and the Troll Toll with Perry Carpenter 1:14:14

2M ago1:14:14

1:14:14

Have you ever wondered if the person you are arguing with in a social media comment section is really a person at all? Perry Carpenter is a cybersecurity expert, author of FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions, and host of The Faik Files podcast. I asked Perry to explain the phenomeno…

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BLOODY MARY 1:03:21

2M ago1:03:21

1:03:21

Bloody Mary...Bloody Mary...Bloody Mary...For our Halloween special, we are going to trace the history of the slumber party ritual known as Bloody Mary in which a young summoner stands in the dark in front of a mirror to call up a dangerous, blood-soaked witch-woman. By looking at the Victorian era occult divination games of girls, the many cemeter…

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Spontaneous Human Combustion with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About' 1:42:08

2M ago1:42:08

1:42:08

Sarah Marshall is here to teach me about the confounding phenomenon of Spontaneous Human Combustion in which a person is found almost totally incinerated with no explanation, seeming to have burst into flames from within. From the Victorian era to the modern day, we will look at historical cases and modern explanations to try to separate fact from …

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12 Ft Skeleton (rewind) 1:03:30

2M ago1:03:30

1:03:30

This is a rerelease of our 2023 Halloween special about the 12 Ft Skeleton Halloween craze and the strange history of our relationship to skeletons, both real and fake, stretching back hundreds of years. On 10/14 you can hear me on You're Wrong About covering Midnight Ghost Shows! I am doing a new series over on Patreon and Apple+ called Dispatches…

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Horror Movie Curses with 'What Went Wrong' Podcast 1:32:38

3M ago1:32:38

1:32:38

What Went Wrong hosts Chris Winterbauer and Lizzie Bassett join me to tell the stories of three allegedly cursed horror movies and the unexplained events that befell the cast, crew, and sometimes even audiences. Were these films really possessed by dangerous, otherworldly energy? Or are we dealing with social conditions, marketing gimmicks, and saf…

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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark with Liz "Cosbrarian" Gotauco 1:06:56

3M ago1:06:56

1:06:56

For this episode, I get schooled on the history of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, the children's horror book series that terrified 80s and 90s kids with its repurposed urban legends and folklore as well as genuinely terrifying illustrations. Liz Gotauco (AKA Cosbrarian), the creator of the F*cked Up Fairytales series, talks with me about how th…

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The Kennedy Curse with George Civeris 1:17:20

3M ago1:17:20

1:17:20

George Civeris is the host of the comedy podcast Straightiolab as well as a new podcast called United States of Kennedy that explores our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty and the ways that this family has continued to shape American life for decades. For this episode, George lays out the tale of the Kennedy Curse through a handful of t…

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Houdini's Afterlife with Sarah Marshall and Tim Harford 1:06:48

3M ago1:06:48

1:06:48

Tim Harford is the host of the podcast Cautionary Tales which recently put out a series on the most famous magician of all time, Harry Houdini. For this episode, Sarah Marshall of You’re Wrong About joins me as co-host to discuss with Tim the Victorian religion-turned-public spectacle known as Spiritualism, the wonderfully gullible Sir Arthur Conan…

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#Elsagate (rewind) 48:04

4M ago48:04

48:04

This is a rerelease of our 2021 episode. In 2017, YouTube Kids was embroiled in a major scandal when it was discovered that a dark underbelly of inappropriate cartoons, computer animations, and live action videos were lurking just under the surface of the supposedly safeguarded app. With themes of injections, sexuality, violence, scatology, and muc…

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Introducing: Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes 8:10

4M ago8:10

8:10

From Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate, to the Octopus Murders and the Waco Siege, the world is full of deception, manipulation, and destruction. Listen to Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes every Wednesday as we explore the real people at the center of the world’s most shocking secrets and nefarious organizations. Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crim…

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The Disturbing World of Mobile Game Ads with 'Panic World' Podcast 1:17:36

4M ago1:17:36

1:17:36

Warning: REALLY WEIRD EPISODE. On social media and YouTube, bizarre, shocking, disgusting, creepy, and confusing animated ads for simple mobile games have popped up over the last few years. In collaboration with the guys from the Panic World podcast, we watch (and describe) some of the freakiest ads I have found over time, analyze the advertising p…

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Dear Chelsey and Ask Sarah Marshall 1:13:34

4M ago1:13:34

1:13:34

In the spirit of American advice columnists Dear Abby and Ann Landers, I am joined by Sarah Marshall of the podcast You’re Wrong About to give our own unique advice to some of the funnier questions sent in to Dear Abby and Ask Ann Landers from the 1950s to the early 2000s. Get some of our new merch at americanhysteria.com, all profits go to The Sam…

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DEAR ABBY AND ANN LANDERS 1:13:27

4M ago1:13:27

1:13:27

Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren, also known as Dear Abby, were newspaper advice columnists answering questions and printing statements from their 100 million readers from the 1950s to the early 2000s. The flamboyant, eccentric women behind the columns, Eppie Lederer and Popo Phillips, had a fiery rivalry as they fought for the top spot of the adv…

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Titanic in Real Time 1:02:56

5M ago1:02:56

1:02:56

This is a bonus episode from our subscribers-only podcast Hysteria Home Companion. Our associate producer (and my brother) Riley Swedelius-Smith is here to tell us the absolutely wild and little-known story of how news of the Titanic shipwreck traveled to shore as the tragedy was all unfolding. We can use your support right now! ⁠⁠Become a Patron⁠⁠…

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Polybius: The Arcade Conspiracy 40:36

5M ago40:36

40:36

This is a bonus episode from our subscribers-only podcast Hysteria Home Companion. I share the history of an 80s urban legend with our producer Miranda Zickler, one about a dangerous video game that appeared in Portland arcades with possible links to the mysterious government agents known as the Men in Black and then disappeared without a trace. ⁠B…

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Not Just a Phase: Goths Through History with Christine Laskowski 1:15:14

5M ago1:15:14

1:15:14

Christine Laskowski shares her research into how an ancient barbarian people known as the Goths came to represent everything from edgy Hot Topic fashion and the band Joy Division to the Notre Dame cathedral and Flannery O'Connor's writing. Christine is the host of the podcast T&J, a limited series about 6th century Byzantium. Listen to the T&J podc…

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The Imaginary Gods of ChatGPT with Journalist Miles Klee 1:00:04

5M ago1:00:04

1:00:04

Miles Klee is the author of a recent Rolling Stone article titled People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies which tells the stories of ChatGPT users who have come to believe that their chatbot is a sentient spiritual being. For this episode, Miles and I discuss the experiences of these ChatGPT worshippers, why the chatbot’s answ…

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The FBI's White Christian Nation with Lerone A. Martin 1:23:34

5M ago1:23:34

1:23:34

Lerone A. Martin is the author of The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism . For this episode, Lerone explains how the FBI, led by J. Edgar Hoover, colluded with religious authorities to shape the soul of America throughout the 20th century. We’ll see how this revamped version of American …

1
Listen Now: American Scandal 6:29

6M ago6:29

6:29

Every scandal begins with a lie. But the truth will come out. And then comes the fallout and the outrage. Scandals have shaped America since its founding. From business and politics to sports and society, we look on aghast as corruption, deceit and ambition bring down heroes and celebrities, politicians and moguls. And when the dust finally settles…

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Staring at the Sun on LSD with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About' 1:22:40

6M ago1:22:40

1:22:40

Have you ever heard the urban legend about the group of hippie college students that went blind while staring at the sun during an LSD trip? This tale became a very powerful anecdote in the 1960s as politicians tried to regulate the spread of acid spread across college campuses. For this episode, Sarah Marshall of the podcast You’re Wrong About jum…

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The Call is Coming From Inside the House with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About' 1:31:03

6M ago1:31:03

1:31:03

You've probably heard the urban legend called the Babysitter and the Man Upstairs or at least know the idiom it inspired: “The call is coming from inside the house.” Sarah Marshall of the podcasts You’re Wrong About and You Are Good joins me as I share some new ideas about where this tale came from, focused on an epidemic of obscene phone calls in …

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THE HIPPIE BABYSITTER BABY ROAST 58:20

6M ago58:20

58:20

Have you ever heard the urban legend about the babysitter who takes LSD and accidentally bakes a baby in the oven believing it to be a raw turkey? For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we will explore the possible origins of and the meaning behind this piece of 1960s folklore. Become a Patron⁠⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes a…

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Context Clues: Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's High 51:21

6M ago51:21

51:21

This episode will give some extra context for our upcoming urban legend episodes: The Hippie Babysitter and the Baby Roast, The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs, and the one where the college students go blind staring at the sun on LSD. We use excerpts from our episodes: Fangirls (2022) Suburbia (2020) Mind Control (2019) Become a Patron⁠ to support…

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GENDER REVEAL PARTIES: Pride Rewind 42:51

7M ago42:51

42:51

Happy Pride month to all who observe! This is a rerelease of one of our favorite episodes. Over the last ten years, Gender Reveal Parties have exploded, figuratively and literally. Parents, communities, and social media followers alike can witness the moment that parents and families find out the sex of their future baby, but lately, these parties …

1
The Last Prison Rodeo with Journalist Adam Mahoney 57:35

7M ago57:35

57:35

Since 1965, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, has held an incredibly popular public event known as the Prison Rodeo where incarcerated men participate for cash prizes in contests so dangerous they have been banned from the professional rodeo circuit. Adam Mahoney is a reporter at Capital B and the author of a recent article ti…

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Mayhem! at the Minecraft Movie with BJ Colangelo 1:14:26

7M ago1:14:26

1:14:26

Over the last couple months, groups of Minecraft fans have been making TikTok videos of themselves wrecking havoc in theaters across the nation when their favorite moment of the new Minecraft movie plays. Culture writer and co-host of the podcast The Ends at Prom, BJ Colangelo, teaches me about wtf is going on and together we try not to moral panic…

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Lost Boy Larry with Producer Miranda Zickler 1:09:58

7M ago1:09:58

1:09:58

In 1973, mysterious communications from a young boy came over CB radios in the Southwest, leading to a massive search and rescue mission that generated far more questions than answers. For this episode, I tell American Hysteria Producer (and co-host of our subscribers-only podcast Hysteria Home Companion) Miranda Zickler about the dubious case now …

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BALLOON BOY 55:07

8M ago55:07

55:07

In 2009, the news reported live as a six-year-old boy careened through the air at 7,000 feet trapped inside a homemade balloon craft. Millions tuned into the harrowing saga, but once the balloon finally hit the ground, no little boy was found inside. Details then emerged that seemed to indicate it was all a hoax created by a family as part of a PR …

1
New Context: Gang Accusations and Initiations 1:50:52

8M ago1:50:52

1:50:52

Right now we are seeing accusations of gang associations used to to justify abducting immigrants off the street and sending them to either US detention centers or the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador with no due process. We have included a new introduction for this rerelease of our two part Gang Initiation series from 2024 in hopes that …

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Hoax Diary Spectacular with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About' 1:36:00

8M ago1:36:00

1:36:00

Sarah Marshall takes me on a journey through two possible historical literary deceptions and asks me to try to figure out what is real, what is fake, and what it all means. This is a sibling to our recent episode on You’re Wrong About called Hoax Memoir Spectacular, so make sure you check that out as well. Listen to 'You're Wrong About' and 'You Ar…

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The Runaway Nun Hoax pt. 2 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About' 1:27:42

8M ago1:27:42

1:27:42

*Please listen to part one of our series first.* 'The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk' was an 1800s true crime memoir about the horrors a runaway nun claimed to have suffered while living among debaucherous and murderous Catholic clergy in a convent-turned-torture chamber, and at the time, it was the second bestselling book in America. But was it r…

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The Runaway Nun Hoax pt. 1 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About' 1:22:59

8M ago1:22:59

1:22:59

'The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk' was an 1800s true crime memoir about the horrors a runaway nun claimed to have suffered while living among debaucherous and murderous Catholic clergy in a convent-turned-torture chamber, and at the time, it was the second bestselling book in America. But was it really a truthful account of Maria Monk’s life? Or…

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Luxury Doomsday with 'This is Propaganda' 1:01:54

9M ago1:01:54

1:01:54

The hottest new (and embarrassing) trend in the billionaire bubble is luxury doomsday shelters, wildly expensive bunkers that the ultra-rich believe will allow them to live extravagantly in a post-apocalyptic world. Join me, Joshua Belhumeur, and Malcolm Critcher of the podcast 'This is Propaganda' as we enter their futuristic world, try to underst…

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Hoax Spectacular! with You're Wrong About 1:06:50

9M ago1:06:50

1:06:50

This is a very special episode I did last year with the podcast You’re Wrong About in which Sarah Marshall and I swapped stories about some of our favorite historical hoaxes and pranks in honor of April Fools Day. Listen to You're Wrong About wherever you get your podcasts Become a Patron to support our show and get ad-free early episodes and bonus…

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Burlesque This Mess with Comic Stripper Woody Shticks 1:16:43

9M ago1:16:43

1:16:43

Woody Shticks is a comic stripper and burlesque performer as well as the director, production manager, and co-star of our recent live stage show with You’re Wrong About. For this episode, Woody and I talk about our histories with and philosophies around modern burlesque, and I tell him about the drama surrounding the first burlesque troupe to make …

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THONGS 1:10:30

9M ago1:10:30

1:10:30

Exposed thongs were all the rage in the early 2000s thanks to a handful of massive pop cultural moments, but as the craze reached the mainstream market and trickled down to teens and tweens, the skank-shaming heated up as did the moral panics and political backlash. Millennials, however, were far from the first generation to experience thong drama,…

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Context Clues: Let Me See That Thong 52:29

10M ago52:29

52:29

Thongs and the battles waged on their backs will be the focus of our upcoming episode. This collection of excerpts from previous episodes will provide some extra context: Wardrobe Malfunction (2019), Teenage Sex (2019), and The Streaking Craze (2023). Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe …

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Erasing History with Philosopher Jason Stanley 57:25

10M ago57:25

57:25

American philosopher Jason Stanley is the author of Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. For this episode, Jason helps us understand some of the attacks on educational institutes at home and abroad and how authoritarian movements purposefully repress and reject historical truths in favor of a different narrative tha…

1
David Lynch's Mulholland Drive with 'You Are Good' Podcast 1:27:30

10M ago1:27:30

1:27:30

RIP David Lynch, beloved director and otherworldly weirdo. The You Are Good feelings podcast about movies graciously invited me to talk about one of the most influential films and artists of my lifetime. Talking all things Lynchian with Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed, I tried to summarize this famously baffling plot of this film, mused about the con…

1
Invasion of the Drones with Podcaster Gabe Lenners 56:14

10M ago56:14

56:14

Gabe Lenners is the host of the new podcast Obscurum: Invasion of the Drones, which explores a mysterious wave of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena that happened in Nebraska and Colorado back in 2019, an event that has a lot in common with the recent wave of supposed drones seen in New Jersey and surrounding states. For this episode, I don my flexib…

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THE JERSEY DEVIL 51:35

11M ago51:35

51:35

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 bir…

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Context Clues: The Devil Went Down to Jersey 49:53

11M ago49:53

49:53

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 sh…