logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
1h 24m

Chicken Soup for the Soul pt. 1 with Sar...

CHELSEY WEBER-SMITH
About this episode

Many of you will remember the 1993 best-selling book of inspirational stories, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and its bite-sized, sappy triumphs of the human spirit. But shining a modern light on this book today, the collection hits a little bit differently. For part one of this two-part series, I tell podcaster Sarah Marshall of You’re Wrong About the history of this iconic text and read her some of its most batshit stories, and together we discuss their confusing and downright damaging messages. In part two, I’ll tell Sarah about the two motivational wealth coaches behind Chicken Soup for the Soul and the shocking controversies facing the company today. Throughout, we’ll discuss neoliberal mysticism and the prosperity gospel manifestation mindset of not only Chicken Soup for the Soul, but our longterm American culture as well.


Resources for LA residents affected by the fires

Places to Donate and Ways to Help:

LA Mutual Aid

California Fire Foundation

California Community Foundation

Dream Center

Canine Rescue Center


Get tickets to our live show A Massive Seance with You're Wrong About


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

Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts


Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler

Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith

Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Oct 5
Horror Movie Curses with What Went Wrong Podcast
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? ... Show More
1h 32m
Sep 29
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark with Liz "Cosbrarian" Gotauco
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 ... Show More
1h 6m
Sep 22
The Kennedy Curse with George Civeris
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 ... Show More
1h 17m
Recommended Episodes
Aug 27
Super Soul Summer: David Brooks The Road To Character
Original Air Date: November 20, 2017 Enjoy this episode, specially selected for our Super Soul Summer—a series celebrating some of the greatest Super Soul moments and messages to inspire and uplift your spirit. New York Times columnist, political pundit and bestselling author Dav ... Show More
33m 52s
Feb 2025
Eric Puchner: “Dream State” | Oprah’s Book Club
BUY THE BOOK!https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/744560/dream-state-by-eric-puchner Buy at Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dream-state/id6504841280Listen to the Audiobook on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4x3YoAvjZDfv7zEFg4CB8N?si=547a878fa812404f In thi ... Show More
45m 29s
Mar 2025
Earthly Reads: Prentis Hemphill on What It Takes to Heal 1:6
In the sixth and final episode of our Earthly Reads series, we are honored to welcome back Prentis Hemphill, author of What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World. This episode offers a preview of the live Earthly Reads Book Study, join us there to acce ... Show More
43m 13s
Aug 2024
Super Soul Special: Oprah Winfrey: Grace and Gratitude
Original Air Date: January 27, 2021One of Oprah’s favorite quotes comes from German mystic Meister Eckhart. He said, “If the only prayer you say in your entire life is ‘thank you,’ that will be enough.” Oprah says when she started keeping a gratitude journal more than 20 years ag ... Show More
24m 9s
Jan 2025
Eckhart Tolle: “A New Earth” | Oprah’s Book Club
BUY THE BOOK! “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle available here. “The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment” by Eckhart Tolle available here. "Stillness Speaks" by Eckhart Tolle available here. For more information you can visit Eckhart To ... Show More
57m 2s
Mar 2025
Douglas Stuart on Shuggie Bain, Storytelling, and the Human Condition (Part Two)
This event is part of Conversations at the Kiln, a new event series at Kiln Theatre programmed by Intelligence Squared. For more events with speakers from the worlds of literature, art, poetry and politics, click here. Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain a ... Show More
37m 8s
Oct 2024
Episode 263 : Ruth Returns
Ruth, one of our guests from Season 1, comes back to update us on her life and share her cringey MLM journal entries. As Ruth reads her inner most thoughts as a Hun deep in Pure Romance, we comment and reflect on what she was saying and what she really meant in those last years l ... Show More
1h 24m
Dec 2024
Claire Keegan: “Small Things Like These”| Oprah’s Book Club
BUY THE BOOK!Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, published by Grove Atlantic and available now wherever books are sold, with the audio version also available here. Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks premieres with a New York Times bestseller which the newspaper named ... Show More
50m 44s
Sep 2023
BEST OF THE GIST: U.S. History Edition
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, an extra from our two-part interview with Heather Cox Richardson, which aired this past week. She read every copy of the New York Times from the end of the Civil War to the turn of the century. Listen to find out why. Then, to keep the his ... Show More
31m 32s