"Our alleged serial killers deserve better than this." Was Elizabeth Báthory the most prolific serial killer of all time, or was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Do we even have the tools to know? And what about that bathing in the blood of virgins thing? Lizzie correspondent Princess Weekes is here with your election night distract-a…

Black cats and goblins and broomsticks and ghosts/ Covens of witches with all of their hosts/ You may think they scare me, you're probably right/ But American Hysteria's Chelsey Weber-Smith is on the show tonight. It's a tale of mischief, mayhem, and adults trying to keep their kids safe by nailing meat to the walls. What is Halloween? Can there be…

What could possibly go wrong when two skeptical podcasters try to summon a ghost? Join Sarah and Chelsey Weber-Smith (of American Hysteria) for a historical, theatrical, ecstatic spectacular for the living and dead. Hold hands with your favorite disembodied voices for a spiritualist séance* featuring fireside conversation, mystifying tricks, specia…

Kellie Carter Jackson, author of We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance, is here to take us on a trip through American history where we learn about revolutions, change, and joy not from a few white men, but from generations of Black women. Kellie Carter Jackson https://www.kelliecarterjackson.com/ Read We Refuse https://www.kelliecarterj…

"Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress. As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom." — Justice Anthony Kennedy This week, Marcus McCann brings us to the end of our sto…

Or, is it legal to have gay sex in your own home? This week, Marcus McCann takes us back to the 2003 Supreme Court case that challenged a Texas anti-sodomy law--with little stops along the way for Mexican food, the endowment of James Dean, and peevish police. (Part 2 coming next week!) Dale Carpenter's book Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v…

"As long as the law is male, women must be outlaws." — Linnea Johnson This week, Moira Donegan takes us back to Chicago in 1969, when an underground feminist collective got fed up with doctors, and started providing abortions themselves. Moira's podcast In Bed with the Right Moira in the Guardian Moira on the tradwife Support You're Wrong About: Bo…

This week we travel back to the 80s, when America’s parents decided to freak out over some kids rolling dice and drawing things on graph paper! Adrian Daub walks Sarah through the history of Dungeons & Dragons, and the panic it inspired. Content note: The story we're telling today also involves suicide; please listen with care. Find Adrian online h…

Maggie Mertens tells us a tale of the first women who fought to run the marathon, and of one woman who decided to cut to the finish line. Find Maggie online here. Find Maggie's book Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women online here. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else t…

What is “originalism,” and what does it have to do with all these bribes? Mackenzie Joy Brennan has some answers. Find Mackenzie online here. You can find Abortion Access Front online here. "Anita Hill" episode of You're Wrong About. The US supreme court just basically legalized bribery by Moira Donegan Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on…

The city of Cleveland will not be made to apologize for its balloons. Harmony Colangelo defends the mistake on the lake. You can find Harmony on This Ends at Prom. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show: You Are Good [YWA co-founder] Mike's other show: Maintenance Phase Links: …

This week, Taylor Lorenz fights our latest moral panic. Are phones really making kids anxious, or are kids just good at noticing what's going on? Listen to Taylor's podcast, Power User Read Taylor in the Washington Post ...and her book, Extremely Online Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sara…

Alejandra Oliva, author of Rivermouth, came by to catch us up on the last few decades of American immigration policy--and to talk about how the world as we know it is not the world as it must be. Alejandra's website: olivalejandra.com Read Rivermouth, out now in paperback: https://bookshop.org/a/10832/9781662602672 Further Reading: Greg Grandin The…

Sarah Archer came by to make an episode from scratch. What's the real history of the American housewife? Where did the tradwife come from, and why? Is she okay? Will we be okay? And who is she churning all that butter for? Sarah Archer's accompanying Substack post https://open.substack.com/pub/saraharcher/p/going-to-business Sarah Archer's bibliogr…

Today, Princess Weekes takes us to meet the real Rosa Parks. Find Princess on YouTube: Princess’ video, “The 1920s Sex Scandal You’ve Never Heard of” Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show: You Are Good [YWA co-founder] Mike's other show: Maintenance Phase Links: https://youtub…

Let's go outside in the sunshine. An extended cut of this episode is available for Patreon and Apple Plus subscribers. You can buy Marcus McCann's book, Park Cruising: What Happens When We Wander Off the Path, here. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show: You Are Good [YWA co-f…

He turned a bright spark into a flame. (Part 1 of 2!) You can buy Marcus McCann's book, Park Cruising: What Happens When We Wander Off the Path, here. Content warning: this episode briefly discusses suicide around minute 13. An extended cut of this episode is available for Patreon and Apple Podcast subscribers. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Epi…

Sarah talks with Chelsey Weber-Smith, host of American Hysteria, about some of their favorite hoaxes—from the Loch Ness Monster to the Taco Liberty Bell—and ponder the value of pranks in a world of misinformation. You can find Chelsey here. You can find American Hysteria here. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Whe…

Celebrity correspondent Eve Lindley came by to tell us about Britney Spears' memoir The Woman in Me. This is part one of a four-part saga we're currently releasing on Patreon and Apple Plus, and in this episode we get into Britney's family history, her childhood, her years of searching for stardom, and her life until the eve of "...Baby One More Ti…

In 1974, Robert Opel ran naked through the Academy Awards telecast, and into American history. Today, Michael Schulman, a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Oscar Wars, tells Sarah the story of gay history, art, and tragedy that happened after Robert’s fifteen minutes were over. Read Michael’s work here. Support You're Wrong About: Bo…

Blair Braverman tells us how the legendary story of one good dog is actually a story of two good dogs. Read Blair’s book, Small Game Read Blair’s Patreon (and learn more about sled dogs!) Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show, You Are Good Links: https://bookshop.org/p/books/s…

This week, writer Miles Klee tells us why we have to take our shoes off at the airport. Read Miles Klee at Rolling Stone. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show, You Are Good Links: https://www.rollingstone.com/author/miles-klee/ http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout https://www.t…

This week, Harmony Colangelo tiptoes through the tulips with us. You can find Harmony at This Ends at Prom here! Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show, You Are Good Links: https://podpeople.me/this-ends-at-prom http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout https://www.teepublic.com/store…

During what should’ve been Roe v. Wade’s 51st birthday week, Sarah and reproductive health policy reporter Megan Burbank take a look at the movement, decades in the making, to tear down abortion rights in America, starting with the hypocrisy at its root. Is what we know as the pro-life movement a religious effort or a political movement? And how di…

Sarah teams up with writer and editor Julie Kliegman—author of the hotly anticipated book MIND GAME—to look back at tennis's Battle of the Sexes, between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs (aka the Libber and the Lobber). No pigs were harmed in the making of this episode or in the Houston Astrodome on September 20, 1973. You can find Julie (and MIND …