
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


In a real sense, germs are our only modern predator and they are invisible and impossible to detect; what could be scarier? America has adjusted to the threat of germs by not only working toward cures and vaccinations, but by making uncleanliness in general a cultural symbol meant to separate social others from the affluent. Anxieties about race and immigration, about gender and sexuality and class, played out in the way products were marketed, as well as in how public policy and public opinion were formed, leading to several needless quarantines and travel bans throughout history. American’s obsession with cleanliness has become a kind of religious ritual, and scientists and psychologists now believe that the fear of germs may influence all our political and moral opinions without us evening knowing it.
American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
Produced and edited by Clear Commo Studios
Research assisted by Riley Smith
Show art by Roache
Voice Acting by Will Rogers
Become a Patron for extra episodes, interviews, and videos monthly!
Follow American Hysteria on social media:
Twitter: @AmerHysteria
Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
By chelsey weber-smith4.3
32933,293 ratings
In a real sense, germs are our only modern predator and they are invisible and impossible to detect; what could be scarier? America has adjusted to the threat of germs by not only working toward cures and vaccinations, but by making uncleanliness in general a cultural symbol meant to separate social others from the affluent. Anxieties about race and immigration, about gender and sexuality and class, played out in the way products were marketed, as well as in how public policy and public opinion were formed, leading to several needless quarantines and travel bans throughout history. American’s obsession with cleanliness has become a kind of religious ritual, and scientists and psychologists now believe that the fear of germs may influence all our political and moral opinions without us evening knowing it.
American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith
Produced and edited by Clear Commo Studios
Research assisted by Riley Smith
Show art by Roache
Voice Acting by Will Rogers
Become a Patron for extra episodes, interviews, and videos monthly!
Follow American Hysteria on social media:
Twitter: @AmerHysteria
Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3,174 Listeners

15,684 Listeners

2,122 Listeners

21,991 Listeners

3,541 Listeners

3,570 Listeners

2,738 Listeners

16,970 Listeners

4,163 Listeners

9,438 Listeners

575 Listeners

2,596 Listeners

309 Listeners

1,020 Listeners