Abstract
American Hysteria explores the impact of conspiracy theories, moral panics, crazes, and “fantastical thinking” on our cultural landscape and their role in society. The podcast puts sociology, anthropology, history, and psychology in conversation to examine how widespread fantastical thinking develops and why we might adopt beliefs that reflect a questionable reality. With 157 episodes to date and a new one released every two weeks, the podcast’s host, Chelsey Weber-Smith, covers a variety of topics from toys and children’s programming, to multilevel marketing schemes, to holidays, to the paranormal. Weber-Smith also discusses the cultural history of current events and phenomena such as movements against reproductive rights and health care, gender-reveal parties, the “gay agenda,” influencers, terrorism, and religious extremism. Given this, American Hysteria provides excellent material for courses across the sociology curriculum and at all levels, including those that are cross-disciplinary or team-taught by faculty with different areas of expertise. Attention to inequalities and systems of oppression makes this podcast a particularly useful text for teaching sociology.
The five seasons of the show each have broad themes to organize the episodes. Season one is the most general, introducing listeners to the overarching issues and narratives covered in the podcast, although there is heavy attention paid to the Satanic Panic phenomenon and hauntings. Season two focuses on the “fantastical thinking that has shaped American culture,” including popular culture, politics, and religion with noted intersectional discussions (season two, episode zero). Season three looks at “our most ingrained beliefs, delusions, and archetypes” with a focus on cognitive dissonance (season three, episode zero). Season four is about “vehicles of hysteria” and examines how popular culture and media have impacted reality—shared and otherwise. Season five began in early 2022 and has a rather broad focus, similar to the first season. Overall, the order of episodes as organized by season has little impact on understanding later episodes, so instructors likely don’t need to take this into account, although the themes may help in finding episodes suitable for a specific course. Full-length episodes of the podcast average 45 minutes and combine historical information, archival audio, rich descriptions of images and video, and interviews with guests in an engaging storytelling format.
Of particular interest in relation to the format is the potential for using the podcast as an example in research methods courses that include ethnography, content analysis, and archival work. Although presented as narratives, the episodes use well-researched archival and historical information alongside interviews and personal experiences, giving many episodes a reflexive tone. The storytelling format also lends itself to the podcast being a model for students who are assigned to create their own podcasts for class. Christopher’s (2020) “Analyzing Masculinities with Digital Media: A Podcast Assignment” published in TRAILS can help instructors create a similar assignment and would pair well with American Hysteria as a model, especially for the assignment step asking students to make an outline because the episodes are organized well. Combined with the resources Christopher provides about storytelling for podcasts, instructors would be able to help students make engaging podcasts in their own classes.
An interesting and helpful aspect of American Hysteria is the “Context Clues” episodes beginning in season five, which frame upcoming topics. For example, prior to the release of two episodes about the Westboro Baptist Church (season five, episodes 17 and 18), a “Context Clues” episode discusses televangelists (season five, episode 16) to cover the history of connections between politics, culture, and the evangelical movement. For those unfamiliar with the Westboro Baptist Church and its severe anti-gay political and social rhetoric in particular, the episode about televangelists provides good background before the deep dive about the church. “Context Clues” are also available for episodes about Hallmark, haunted dolls and toys, fangirls, and boy bands, among others. Two episodes related to the American Dream, “Context Clues: Get Rich Quick” (season five, episode six) and “The Self-Esteem Movement” (season five, episode seven), could be used when talking about social class in an introductory course or in a class about inequalities.
American Hysteria has a mix of episodes ranging from lighthearted to serious that would appeal to students in almost any sociology course. There are typically multiple themes in each episode, so many could be used in more than one course, such as in the episode “Hallmark Christmas Movies” (season five, episode 51) which has discussions about media representations of gender, the family, and public debates about racial diversity and the Hallmark brand. Having students watch different Hallmark movies alongside the episode could lead to interesting discussions. In a rereleased episode about poisoned Halloween candy, they update the introduction to discuss Rainbow Fentanyl, a new spin on a long-running suburban panic spread through social media with ties to xenophobia and racism through the fear of immigration from the southern U.S. border (“Rainbow Fentanyl: Poisoned Halloween Candy Rerelease,” season five, episode 43). Shortly after the Supreme Court vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, four episodes were released covering the history of the anti-abortion movement discussing eugenics, religion, politics, and power alongside anti-racist organizing related to reproductive health care and solidarity in social movements (season five, episodes 34–38). Although each episode deals with multiple issues, instructors would be able to make discussions appropriately complex based on the course level and theme. For example, using “Context Clues: Maybe It Ain’t about the Babies” (season five, episode 34) would be useful in an introductory or lower-level undergraduate course, whereas using all four episodes about the anti-abortion movement might be helpful for more in-depth discussions in upper- or graduate-level courses about gender or social movements.
Throughout the podcast, Weber-Smith does an excellent job of addressing issues of inequality and bringing in discussions of gender, class, race, sexuality, and religion. The episode “Gender Lies and Liberation with Trans Historian Susan Stryker” (season four, episode 29) features a discussion between Chelsey Weber-Smith, Miranda Zickler, and Susan Stryker about the past 100 years of trans history based on Stryker’s (2017) book Transgender History. This episode would be an excellent addition to a course about gender or trans studies, especially when using Stryker’s book or one of her articles. There are also episodes focused on topics covered more broadly as social structures or institutions in sociology courses, for example, “Men’s Rights” (season three, episode 12), “What We Inherit: A Brief History of American Racism” (season three, episode 14), “Suburbia” (season three, episode four), “Celebrity” (season two, episode seven), and “Beards” (season three, episode seven), which is about facial hair and masculinity. These could be used for courses in specialty areas and also in introductory-level survey classes that are often organized into themes or chapters about gender, race, social class, and popular culture, for example.
Helpful for instructors and students are the content warnings provided in the description and at the beginning of the episode for those that have a significant discussion about things people might be retraumatized by if they were to engage with the material (e.g., sexual assault and intimate partner violence). Should instructors decide to assign these specific episodes, they might consider providing students with alternative material or giving students the time range they should skip over in an episode if the discussion is contained in one section. Access to Hysteria Home Companion is available for Patreon members, which provides additional content related to American Hysteria in a talk show format as Weber-Smith and co-producer Miranda Zickler have conversations about what was left out of episodes and their experiences with some of the topics. Although having students pay for Patreon access may not be feasible, information from episodes of Hysteria Home Companion could be used by instructors with institutional budgets for class materials to supplement discussions of American Hysteria in class.
I find far more strengths to the podcast than I do downsides, but there are two of note, both related to the lack of transcript availability, not about the content or usefulness of the podcast itself. Transcripts are not readily available at this time, which can present a hurdle with accessibility when wanting to assign episodes. Another possible struggle for students may be the narrative/storytelling format. Although I believe this is a real strength of the podcast and something that makes it quite enjoyable, those who have a hard time focusing on audiobooks may find some episodes of American Hysteria to be a challenge, particularly those without interviews. That said, being able to read the podcast may help students stay on task. Oslawski-Lopez and Kordsmeier (2021) point out that transcripts can help all students retain information, most likely by encouraging a reduction in multitasking if they choose to listen and read at the same time or read instead of listen. Although not as good as a transcript, apps and browser plug-ins with speech-to-text capabilities could be a workaround if students are given information about how to use them effectively.
Something particularly unique about the podcast has to do with the background of the host: Chelsey Weber-Smith used to believe some things they now question or critique in the show; they were raised to believe in the supernatural, paranormal, and hoaxes because they grew up with a father who heavily believed in the Illuminati. They are open about their personal relationship to relevant topics and often share stories from when they were younger. For example, in “We Were Teenage Conspiracy Theorists” (season four, episode 13), Weber-Smith talks with Ellen Cushing about their shared history of conspiratorial beliefs and misinformation. Cushing’s (2020) article in The Atlantic, “I Was a Teenage Conspiracy Theorist,” describes her experience developing a belief in the Illuminati after a journalism teacher in high school mentioned it in passing. In the podcast episode, the two discuss their beliefs as young people in the shadow of political and social rhetoric about the war in Iraq, Bush presidency, and 9/11. They point out that broad conspiratorial ideologies and theories often begin as selective critical thinking, despite widespread views that conspiracy theorists are basement dwellers who lack intelligence. Cushing says she knew at a young age that people with wealth have a lot of power, and the Illuminati conspiracy was a way for her to make sense of inequities she didn’t have another way of understanding at the time. Weber-Smith echoes these sentiments and explains in many episodes that some beliefs with questionable basis in reality can lead us down a misguided path to making sense of the world. “We Were Teenage Conspiracy Theorists” is an especially good episode for use in an introductory course where students are learning to think sociologically and use their sociological imaginations. Unlike many conversations in popular culture that view conspiracy theories and fantastical thinking through an individualistic lens, American Hysteria recognizes the role of culture, society, and socialization in the development of these beliefs and why it can be difficult for people to give up the comfort they find in them.
Overall, American Hysteria is an engaging and informative podcast appropriate for teaching sociology at all levels of the curriculum in a variety of courses. Episodes can be used as entertaining supplements to academic texts or as standalone materials for more specific discussions. As moral panics, hoaxes, misinformation, and conspiracies continue to proliferate, the podcast provides background for understanding how we got here and where we might be headed.