In 1980, Michelle Smith published a book that triggered the Satanic Panic, a worldwide fear that Satan worshippers were recruiting millions to embrace satanism. 

Today, I explore the surprising science of false memories with Dr. Charan Ranganath, author of Why We Remember. Dr. Ranganath reveals how memory is more imagination than recollection, why some people vividly remember things that never happened, and why the Satanic Panic was based on fiction not fact. 

You’ll learn:

How Michelle Remembers sparked the Satanic Panic and shaped public fear.

Why memories “recovered” in therapy can feel real but be completely false.

How a memory expert misremembered her own mother’s death.

The shocking study where 40% of participants believed they committed a crime they never did.

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Charan’s book Why We Remember: https://charanranganath.com/

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Sources:

60 Minutes Australia. (1989). Teens cruel ‘sacrificial’ offering to Satan in quiet country town [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/yiN27M0akuY

Bartlett, F. C. (1928b). Types of imagination. Philosophy, 3(9), 78–85.

Bartlett, F. C. (1932). Remembering: A study in experimental and social psychology. Cambridge University Press.

KABC News. (1988). Devil worship: Satanic panic circa 1988 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/RGxf7G3Xpj4

Kassin, S. M. (2008). False confessions: Causes, consequences, and implications for reform. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(4), 249–253.

Loftus, E. F. (2005). Planting misinformation in the human mind: A 30-year investigation of the malleability of memory. Learning & Memory, 12(4), 361–366.

Loftus, E. F., & Pickrell, J. E. (1995). The formation of false memories. Psychiatric Annals, 25(12), 720–725.

Loftus, E. F., Miller, D. G., & Burns, H. J. (1978). Semantic integration of verbal information into a visual memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4(1), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.4.1.19

Magnetic Memory Museum. (1994). Law enforcement guide to Satanic cults [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/VTJ0_BABexo

Ranganath, C. (2024). Why we remember: Unlocking memory’s power to hold on to what matters. Doubleday.

Roever, D. (1989). Exposing the Satanic web [Video]. Rcom Productions. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Hgymy7VlhT8

Shaw, J., & Porter, S. (2015). Constructing rich false memories of committing crime. Psychological Science, 26(3), 291–301.

Unknown Author. (1990). Satanic cults & ritual crime [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/byUvJDXqxa4

Winfrey, O. (1989). Oprah Winfrey Show 1989: Ritual sacrifice of babies [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/BRninYpnlzM