The Alarmist

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Professor Michael Doyle about the rise and fall of the Oneida Community. Author of The Minister’s War: John W. Mears, the Oneida Community and the Crusade for Public Morality, Mike shares some pertinent new information about one of the key figures in the Oneida community's downfall. Afterward, Patreon subscribers can listen to the post-interview breakdown with Fact Che...

Who’s to blame for the Rise & Fall of the Onedia Community?

This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back writer Jane Borden, author of Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America, to discuss the rise and fall of the Oneida Community. It’s highly likely you’ve eaten a meal with a set of Oneida silverware. But, are you familiar with their cult origins and problematic sex practices like “Sticky Love” or “Co...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Professor Serena Zabin about the series of chaotic events leading up to what is now called The Boston Massacre. Professor Zabin reiterates that the narratives spun on either side after the event may have been worlds apart, but the lives of the colonists and the troops were perhaps more closely intertwined than we thought. Afterwards, Patreon subscribers can hear the po...

Who’s to blame for The Boston Massacre?

On this week's REWIND, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back actor Bayne Gibby to discuss who’s ultimately to blame for the lives lost in The Boston Massacre. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Ever wonder where the phrase reading someone the “riot act” came from? Remember the importance that wigs once played in British society? And could a simp...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca revisits the 1980 New Mexico Prison Uprising with Dr. Robert Chase of Stony Brook University. Robert is a Professor of History and the author of We Are Not Slaves: State Violence, Coerced Labor, and Prisoners Rights in Postwar America and Caging Borders and Carceral States: Incarcerations, Migration Detention, and Resistance. His insight on the context and culture in which this up...

Who’s to blame for the 1980 New Mexico Prison Riot?

This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes Kate Downey, host of the CRAMPED podcast, to discuss the 1980 Prison Riot in New Mexico. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Did a Snitching System, designed for inmates to rat out fellow inmates for contraband, and abused by the guards lead to an even more hostile environment? Pair that wit...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with author and documentarian Idanna Pucci about the case against Maria Barbella and the efforts to overturn her death sentence by Electric Chair. Not only has Idanna written extensively about the case, her great-grandmother Cora Slocomb was the woman who led the campaign to overturn Maria’s death sentence! Afterward, Patreon subscribers can revisit the board with Rebecca a...

Who’s to blame for the Case of Maria Barbella?

This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes comedian Mo Fry Pasic, host of the podcast Worse Than You, to discuss the troubling case of Maria Barbella. She may have escaped the electric chair, but her story electrified the world. Did Maria’s status as a non-english speaking Italian immigrant and her unbiased, all male jury of “peers” create any difficulties for the initial ...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. William Hal Gorby about the 1907 Monongah Mining Disaster in West Virginia. Dr. Goby is a Professor of History at West Virginia University and received an Emmy nomination for his work on the PBS documentary The Mine Wars. His interview gives critical insight into the culture of mining at large and the predatory practices of the Fairmont Mining Company. Afterward, P...

Who’s to blame for the Monongah Mining Disaster?

This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with comedian Connor Ratliff about the 1907 Monongah Mining Disaster in West Virginia which claimed the lives of over 360 men and left over 1000 children without fathers. A very tragic origin story for what we know now as Father’s Day. Is this yet another story of Profit Over People? Did a pattern of exploitative hiring practices ...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca revisits the 1955 Le Mans Motor Race Disaster with journalist and non-fiction author Michael Cannell. Michael shares some incredible stories from his conversations with drivers involved in the race and helps us understand the problematic racing culture that dominated the sport during this time period. Afterwards, Patreon subscribers can revisit the board with Fact Checker Chris Sm...

Who’s to blame for the 1955 Le Mans Motor Race Disaster? 

This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes actor and comedian Curt Neill to discuss the fatal car crash at the Le Mans Motor Race which took the lives of 82 innocent bystanders and injured over 100 more. With WWII fresh on everyone’s mind, did Performative Patriotism lead to this tragic disaster? Could A Need for Speed be to blame? And why were they testing...

On this week's Aftermath REWIND, Rebecca speaks with Dr. J Stephan Edwards about the death (and life!) of Lady Jane Grey. Dr. Edwards Ph.D. in early modern European history, with an emphasis on Tudor-Stuart England, has led to a great fascination with the infamous Nine Day Queen. And his extensive research highlights some of the ways in which the history books might not be telling the full story. With new information to consider, F...

Who’s to blame for the death of Lady Jane Grey?

On this week's REWIND, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with Tod Perry and Alison Rosen, co-hosts of the podcast Upworthy Weekly, about who's to blame for the untimely death of Lady Jane Grey. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Did Lady Jane Grey’s intellect make her a target? Could a religious power struggle be to blame? Or was this the r...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca revisits the Italian Hall Disaster with architectural historian Alison K Hoagland. Professor Hoagland has written extensively about this tragic disaster and shares some fascinating new insights about what was known as Copper Country and the ethnic and economic landscape of Calumet. Afterwards, Patreon subscribers can revisit the board with Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Cla...

Who’s to blame for the Italian Hall Disaster?

This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with comedian, gamer and late-night writer Mike Drucker about the Italian Hall Disaster in Calumet, MI on Christmas Eve 1913. Was this horrible accident, which took the lives of 73 people (mostly children), merely an accident or was there something more sinister at play? Did a mining company's monopoly over the town lead to dangerous...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca is back in the recording studio with national bestselling author William Hazelgrove discussing Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast. Williams 2024 book Dead Air: The Night that Orson Welles Terrified America illustrates the level of pandemonium that ensued and he shares a few more interesting tidbits that really alter our understanding of this moment in American history....

Who’s to blame for the Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds Broadcast Panic?

This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) is celebrating 300 EPISODES with a LIVE taping at The Elysian Theater in Los Angeles! Together with special guests Amanda Lund, Jamila Webb and Dusty Warren they find out who’s to blame for the Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast of the War of the Worlds and the pandemonium which ensued. Fact Checker Chris Smith and...

A new favorite Guest Expert Returns! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with returning expert Dr. Michelle Martinez (Gremlins!) about the 90’s classic I Know What You Did Last Summer and the various tropes and devices used throughout the film. We knew about Urban Legends, but do you know what a “Yuppie Horror” or a “Final Girl” is? You will after this one. Afterward, Patreon Subscribers can hear the post-interview breakdown w...