You're Wrong About
Sarah is a journalist obsessed with the past. Every week she reconsiders a person or event that's been miscast in the public imagination.
Episodes (50)
The Insanity Defense with Mackenzie Joy Brennan
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...
Corn Mazes with Chelsey Weber-Smith
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....
Pee-wee Herman Part 2 with Jamie Loftus
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...
Pee-wee Herman Part 1 with Jamie Loftus
What’s today’s secret word? Paul Reubens spent years bringing to life one of America’s most beloved characters, Pee-wee Herman, an icon of joy for weirdos of all ages. In the first of this two part...
The Hitler Diaries with Adrian Daub
What happens when you’re just a little too good at forging the diaries of Adolf Hitler? And why did so many people want to read them? In 1983, the West German news magazine Stern bought sixty volumes...
Coyotes! with Lulu Miller
Who is out there behind the howling midnight parties in the distance? For generations we have coexisted in varying degrees of rivalry, conflict, and admiration with the North American canine known as...
Inventing the Teenager with Harmony Colangelo
Where did all these teens come from? Harmony Colangelo, co-host of This Ends at Prom, is here to explain how, before Americans got to worry about what teenagers were up to, we first had to decide what...
Is Your House Too Clean? with Sarah Archer
Have you scrubbed down the top of your fridge lately? Home & garden correspondent Sarah Archer is here to tell us how and when we got so obsessed with the antiseptically clean house as a status...
Hoax Memoir Spectacular!
This week, flim flam correspondent and certified April Fool Chelsey Weber-Smith is here to talk about a fistful of fake memoirs, featuring girls raised by wolves; the chicken pox of James Frey; what...
Your Joy and Resilience Stories
At the end of our last episode, we asked you to call in and tell us what has been bringing you joy, connecting you to your community, and where you’ve been finding hope in these last few months. These...
The Worst Oscars Ever?? with Michael Schulman
What do Lily Tomlin, Snow White, and Kenny Ortega have in common? They were all part of the 61st Academy Awards, a broadcast now remembered as the worst of all time, and masterminded by Allan Carr...
Emotional Labor with Rachel Monroe and Ash Compton of Bad Therapist
What is "emotional labor," and why is it probably not what your boyfriend accuses you of making him do when you want him to go to Ikea with you? Psychotherapist Ash Compton and journalist Rachel...
Alice Kyteler and the First Witchcraft Trial in Ireland with Molly Aitken
In County Kilkenny, Ireland, in an early year of a century not too long before our own, Alice Kyteler was accused of witchcraft. But the story doesn't end there. This week, Molly Aitken—author of...
Aron Ralston with Blair Braverman
What would you do if you were pinned down by an 800-pound boulder, and no one knew where you were? In 2003, Aron Ralston had to answer that question. Today, our survival correspondent Blair Braverman...
Singing in the New Year with Carolyn Kendrick and Each Machine
There's one last present at the toe of our stocking, and it's a new album by producer Carolyn Kendrick. We'll be back with a regular episode next week, but for now, come listen to some music, and join...
Santa Claus with Sarah Archer
'Twas (the night before) the night before Christmas/ And all through the show/ We await Sarah Archer with eyes all aglow/ To blow the dust off some old books from the shelf/ And tell us the tale of a...
Cola Wars with Miles Klee
Miles Klee can’t take it anymore. This week, a tale of corporate intrigue, world domination, and soda. Read Miles Klee at Rolling Stone. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute...
Elizabeth Báthory with Princess Weekes
"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...
Halloween History with Chelsey Weber-Smith
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...
A MASSIVE SEANCE Live Show Tour with American Hysteria
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...
Revolutions and Resistance with Kellie Carter Jackson
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...
Lawrence v. Texas Part 2 with Marcus McCann
"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...
Lawrence v. Texas Part 1 with Marcus McCann
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...
The Jane Collective with Moira Donegan
"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,...
Dungeons & Dragons & The Satanic Panic with Adrian Daub
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...
Rosie Ruiz and the Marathon Women with Maggie Mertens
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...
Has the Supreme Court Always Been This Terrible? with Mackenzie Joy Brennan
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. ...
Balloonfest ‘86! with Harmony Colangelo
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...
Phones Are Good, Actually with Taylor Lorenz
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...
Immigration with Alejandra Oliva
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....
The Tradwife Rises with Sarah Archer
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...
Rosa Parks with Princess Weekes
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...
George Michael Part 2 with Marcus McCann
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...
George Michael Part 1 with Marcus McCann
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...
Hoax Spectacular! with Chelsey Weber-Smith
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...
BONUS Britney Spears Book Club with Eve Lindley
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...
The Oscars Streaker with Michael Schulman
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...
Balto with Blair Braverman
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...
The Shoe Bomber with Miles Klee
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...
Tiny Tim with Harmony Colangelo
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...
The “Pro-Life” Movement with Megan Burbank
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...
The Battle of the Sexes with Julie Kliegman
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...
The Exorcist with Marlena Williams
The Exorcist turns 50 this week, so we invited Marlena Williams, author of Night Mother: A Personal and Cultural History of the Exorcist, to come tell us about the little possession movie that changed...
Influencers with Taylor Lorenz
“The creatures outside looked from influencer to human, and from human to influencer, and from human to influencer again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” Taylor Lorenz, author...
Cattle Mutilation with Rachel Monroe
Mulder and Scully were busy this week, so Monroe and Marshall are on the case. Did UFOs really travel across the galaxy to experiment on American cows in the 1970s? And if so, why did they come back...
Amy Winehouse with Eve Lindley
This week, celebrity correspondent Eve Lindley tells Sarah about why we should all be thankful for Amy Winehouse. Note: this episode depicts struggles with eating disorders, addiction and self harm....
Our Dearest Fears with Chelsey Weber-Smith
This week, American Hysteria’s Chelsey Weber-Smith gives Sarah some exposure therapy. You can find Chelsey / American Hysteria here. Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute...
Lizzie Borden with Princess Weekes
Forty whacks with a wet noodle, Bart! This week, Princess Weekes tells Sarah the true story of the crime of the century… the nineteenth century, that is. You can find Princess on YouTube here. ...
Mindhunting with Sarah Weinman
"What is it about the culture that has conditioned us to favor the wants and needs and desires, however horrible, of a serial murderer, as opposed to--most often--the women and girls that they harmed...
Changing Your Mind
Here's one from our bonus vault: you sent in your stories about moments when you found yourselves changing your minds, and we listened. When do we do it? Why do we do it? What does it take? Here are...
About this Podcast
Copyright
© 2025 You're Wrong About
Language
en
Categories
history, true crime, politics, news, culture, History, True Crime, Society & Culture