The Satanic Panic

What do John Hinckley Jr. and a jazz age tuberculosis patient have in common? Legal correspondent ​​Mackenzie Joy Brennan takes Sarah through some of the strange cases that helped make—and break—the insanity defense in America. Our story includes a woman who carried her (alleged) ... Show More

Can you find your way out of the maize? The corn maze has become an enduring attraction of the American autumnal experience, seen at touristy family farms next to pumpkin patches and haunted houses. But what are the historical roots of this iconic living puzzle? Sarah guides the ... Show More

In the second part of our series, pop culture historian Jamie Loftus takes us through the meteoric rise of Pee-wee Herman and the withering of Paul Reubens' world as dubious allegations surface that threaten to turn a beloved children’s character into a real life villain. Jamie t ... Show More

In the 1980s, “Satanic Panic” was a mass hysteria that consumed communities and ruined lives—all over things that never even happened. In this new five-part series, we’re examining the origins of the panic, tracing back through the decades to see how the fear of Satan’s influence ... Show More

In the 1980s, “Satanic Panic” was a mass hysteria that consumed communities and ruined lives—all over things that never even happened. In this new five-part series, we’re examining the origins of the panic, tracing back through the decades to see how the fear of Satan’s influence ... Show More

In the 1980s, “Satanic Panic” was a mass hysteria that consumed communities and ruined lives—all over things that never even happened. In this new five-part series, we’re examining the origins of the panic, tracing back through the decades to see how the fear of Satan’s influence ... Show More

Emboldened by power- and money-hungry conmen, Evangelical doomsdayers set the stage for an epic showdown of biblical proportions. The fight for the souls of every last American was beginning, they claimed, and Satan was coming to drag us all to hell. Learn more about your ad choi ... Show More

In the years since the Satanic Panic, it's become obvious that the crimes people were accused of never really happened. But while none of the nightmarish stories of ritual abuse in Satan’s name were true, it doesn’t mean there weren’t real victims… Learn more about your ad choice ... Show More

In the 1980s, “Satanic Panic” was a mass hysteria that consumed communities and ruined lives—all over things that never even happened. In this new five-part series, we’re examining the origins of the panic, tracing back through the decades to see how the fear of Satan’s influence ... Show More

Satanic Panic Strikes Again!! This time overseas. Stefanie and Matt marvel at how seriously everyone is taking claims gleefully made by children that their father molested them and made them murder babies. Apparently Zorro is partially to blame for this disaster. 

In the mid 1980s a new conspiracy theory proliferates across America - that cabals of Satanists are secretly preying on children and polluting the culture. This ‘Satanic panic’ is a madness with bizarre and dreadful consequences – as an unsuspecting young woman in New Jersey is a ... Show More

On part two of our Warnke series, we discuss how exactly Mike Warnke sold his Satanic high priest story to the Evangelical crowd for 20 years, and how his influence helped to kickstart the Satanic Panic of the eighties and nineties.Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under C ... Show More