You're Wrong About

By Sarah Marshall

Society & Culture History

What's You're Wrong About 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.

4.6

10,383 ratings

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LAST EPISODE

The Hot Mess Express Specta...

05.29.2023

“I felt that empathy like it was directed towards me, and it helped me feel like my unhappiness was enough.” On our fifth anniversary, we asked for your stories about what You’re Wrong About has meant to you. Here they ...

You're Wrong About episodes:

05.29.2023 The Hot Mess Express Spectacular! “I felt that empathy like it was directed towards me, and it helped me feel like my unhappiness was enough.” On our fifth anniversary, we asked for your stories about what You’re Wrong About has meant to you. Here they ...
05.15.2023 We Need to Talk About the New York Times with Tuck Woodstock “What if you were writing a profile on someone named Janet and I was your editor, and I was like, ‘I’m sorry, for balance, find someone who wants to kill Janet’?” This week, Tuck Woodstock, host of Gender Reveal, takes ...
05.08.2023 Call for Anniversary Stories You’re Wrong About is five years old, and we want to hear your stories about the show! Listen here for details, and submit your file to [email protected] the show
04.25.2023 Debi Thomas with Leslie Gray Streeter In 1988, twenty-year-old American figure skater Debi Thomas headed to the Calgary Olympics to face off against East German juggernaut Katarina Witt. In the process, she became the first Black American in history to medal at a Winter Olympics. Then ...
04.10.2023 Sinéad O'Connor with Allyson McCabe This week, we fight the real enemy with Allyson McCabe. Here's where to find Allyson online here. You can find Allyson's book Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters here. Support us: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Donate on Paypal You're Wrong About Spring ...
03.28.2023 What Even Is Justice? with Amanda Knox This week, national treasure Amanda Knox talks with Sarah about what the American legal system claims to be for, what it’s actually doing, and what might be possible in the future. They entertain the most heretical ideas they can think ...
03.13.2023 Juvenile "Justice" with Josie Duffy Rice This week, criminal justice correspondent Josie Duffy Rice dives into America’s obsession with prosecuting children. From 19th century houses of refuge to modern day detention centers, we comb through the tangled braids of juvenile incarceration, tough on crime fallacies, as ...
02.27.2023 Chris McCandless with Blair Braverman This week, survival correspondent Blair Braverman tells Sarah the story of a Supertramp. In 1996, Jon Krakauer's book Into the Wild described a young man, Chris McCandless, who changed his name, walked into the Alaskan bush, and died after mistakenly ...
02.22.2023 Spring Tour Announcement! You're Wrong About is going back on tour! We're doing a bunch of live shows in North America—me, producer and musician Carolyn Kendrick, and some fabulous guests—and we hope you come think about some stuff, and also that you laugh. ...
02.14.2023 Napster with Niko Stratis This week, a tale of two Shawns/Seans, their impossible dream, and the file sharing service that lived fast, died young, and helped create the internet as we know it. Plus, Metallica. Here's where to find Niko: Website Newsletter Twitter Resources ...
01.31.2023 Karen Carpenter Part 2 with Carolyn Kendrick In this episode, Carolyn and Sarah follow Karen from the height of her fame through her struggle to find independence, her attempts at eating disorder recovery, and finally to her death on February 4, 1983, when she was just 32 ...
01.24.2023 Valentine's Show A Go-Go Livestream announcement! Join us for a Valentine's Day live stream, presented by Moment. We'll be joined by Jamie Loftus and we'll be serenaded by Carolyn Kendrick. It's a You're Wrong About Valentine's Day Variety Show. February 14th 5 PM Pacific, 8 PM ...
01.17.2023 Trailer: Unreformed Extry! Extry! New podcast by Josie Duffy Rice! — In 1968, five Black girls escaped from the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, a so-called “reform school” outside of Montgomery, Alabama. These girls were not the first children to run ...
01.16.2023 Karen Carpenter Part 1 with Carolyn Kendrick Long ago and oh so far away, Carolyn and Sarah fell in love with Karen Carpenter when they saw her drum. We examine her meteoric rise. CONTENT WARNING: Karen Carpenter died in 1983 of complications from an eating disorder. Most ...
12.26.2022 Baby Jessica with Blair Braverman On October 14, 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell down a well in Midland, Texas. This week, Sarah tells our survival correspondent, Blair Braverman, about the community that worked to rescue her, and the nation that watched. Here's where to find ...
12.12.2022 Beanie Babies with Jamie Loftus They’re winsome and soft and so fun to cuddle/ With one of Ty’s Beanie Babies, you could never go wrong/ But they were all born from a toxic puddle/ It really was capitalism all along. This week, Jamie Loftus tells ...
11.28.2022 Where Have All the Preppies Gone? with Avery Trufelman Put on your Docksiders for a stroll through history with Avery Trufelman, who shows us how Ivy style became “preppy,” and how preppy fashion escaped the campus and took over the world. We’re talking about clothing, class, race, and the ...
11.15.2022 The Movie Rating System with Karina Longworth How did Poltergeist get that PG rating? Podcast legend Karina Longworth, host of You Must Remember This, takes us on a wild ride through a century or so of Hollywood history, and shows us what’s been left on the cutting ...
10.31.2022 Flight 571: Survival in the Andes with Blair Braverman Our survival correspondent Blair Braverman is here to tell us the story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes on October 13, 1972. Of the 45 people on board, 16 ultimately lived. Their survival made them ...
10.17.2022 Your Abortion Stories “Abortion is healthcare and abortion is a human right. Abortion is racial justice. It’s economic justice. It’s at the intersection of every movement towards liberation. My abortion was a gift.” We asked you to share your abortion stories with us. ...
10.03.2022 Online Shopping with Amanda Mull Why is it so hard to find the one thing you need? The Atlantic’s Amanda Mull is here to tell us the story of shopping, from the Silk Road to SHEIN hauls, and the story that emerges is one of ...
09.26.2022 We’ll be back next week! (And a tour update!) Support us:Bonus Episodes on PatreonBonus Episodes on Apple PodcastsDonate on PaypalBuy cute merchWhere else to find us:Sarah's other show, You Are Good [YWA co-founder] Mike's other show, Maintenance PhaseLinks: http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout http://apple.co/ywa https://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/yourewrongaboutpod https://www.podpage.com/you-are-good http://maintenancephase.comSupport the show
09.12.2022 Hunting Serial Killers with Michael Hobbes This week, Mike and Sarah reunite to hunt for serial killers, and try to figure out whether they’re really endangered. Digressions include crow funerals, Carrie Bradshaw, and how we feel about being called mom and dad. An extended cut of ...
08.29.2022 The Donner Party with Chelsey Weber-Smith You may: 1. Travel on the established trail 2. Take the Hastings Cutoff What is your choice? Chelsey Weber-Smith (American Hysteria) tells Sarah about the Donner Party. Here's where to find Chelsey: Website Twitter Support us: Bonus Episodes on Patreon ...
08.15.2022 Henry Lee Lucas with Rachel Monroe This week we’re taking the back roads with Rachel Monroe, who tells us how the most prolific serial killer in American history may have been something much more ordinary—and why we keep trying to make violent men seem much more ...
08.02.2022 Porn Wars with Nona Willis Aronowitz Here’s some money, go see a Porn War. This week we’re going on a field trip to Times Square with Nona Willis Aronowitz, author of Bad Sex, to learn about Deep Throat, “porno chic,” and the unresolved feminist battle over ...
07.18.2022 Eugenics with Eric Michael Garcia This week, Eric Michael Garcia tells Sarah about America’s barely forgotten pastime, plus the Supreme Court’s long history of horrifying decisions. Digressions include due process, The Evil Dead, and what Hitler admired about the United States. Here's where Eric: Website ...
07.13.2022 West Coast Tour Announcement This is a super quick message to let you know we'll be having a You're Wrong About West Coast mini tour in September. We'll be going to Portland on 9/16, Seattle (9/18), Los Angeles (9/20) and San Francisco (9/22). There ...
07.04.2022 Go Ask Alice Part 2 with Carmen Maria Machado This week Carmen and Sarah read the rest of Alice’s bitchin' diary, and ponder the truths that only lies can tell. Digressions include Pamela and Clarissa, sadistic switch hitters, and orange yeast rolls. You can hear Part 1 here and ...
07.04.2022 Go Ask Alice Part 3 with Rick Emerson and Carmen Maria Machado Sarah and Carmen complete their epic trilogy by meeting Rick Emerson on the edge of Mount Doom to discuss his book, Unmask Alice, and some of the story behind the diary that has captivated America—and informed its drug policy—for half ...
06.20.2022 Martha Stewart with Sarah Archer This week we’re dishing up a mouthwatering feast of history, gossip, and white collar crime. Guest Sarah Archer tells the tale of Martha Stewart, a girl from New Jersey who achieved world domination by letting us look at her basket ...
06.06.2022 The Dyatlov Pass Incident with Blair Braverman This week, Sarah tries to solve the mystery of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, in which nine experienced ski hikers fled their shelter and ran into the frigid night for reasons unknown. Digressions include yetis, snowmobiles, and Rachel Monroe. Sarah miraculous ...
05.23.2022 The Prison Boom with Shannon Heffernan Where did all these prisons come from? WBEZ’s Shannon Heffernan is here to give us part of the answer, which involves “small government” (of course), Lennie Briscoe (as always), the pink flowers of Alcatraz, and a prison sweepstakes that produced ...
05.09.2022 Go Ask Alice Part 1 with Carmen Maria Machado This week we begin our journey into the totally true not at all made up diary that has been scaring America’s teens for fifty years. Digressions include Jell-O, magic mushrooms, and ironing your hair, and Sarah promises to trip with ...
04.25.2022 Medieval Torture with Dana Schwartz We want to play a game. This week, Dana Schwartz stuffs us in an iron maiden and explains why the most famous Medieval torture devices are none of the above. Digressions include the Kings Cross Wax Museum, getting stabbed in ...
04.11.2022 How Email Took Over the World with Anne Helen Petersen How did the information superhighway get so gridlocked? Guest Anne Helen Petersen tells Sarah the story of how email took over the world and our working lives, and what it would mean for us to get a little of our ...
03.28.2022 Juliet's Balcony with Chelsey Weber-Smith What do Chopin, Kylie Jenner, baby carrots, and the War of the Worlds all have in common? They’re all part of Sarah and Chelsey Weber-Smith’s speedrun through common misconceptions—plus a little Satanic Panic, as a treat. Here’s where to find ...
03.14.2022 Ronald Reagan and "The Welfare Queen" with Laci Mosley Laci Mosley (Scam Goddess) tells Sarah about Linda Taylor and the origins of the Welfare Queen myth ("the build the wall" of the 70s). They also discuss the origins of the Ronald Reagan myth, and how the latter used the ...
03.07.2022 Bonus: Groundhog Day with Josh Gondelman What if there is no tomorrow? There wasn’t one today. Josh Gondelman is here to laugh and cry with us, and to unpack the heaps of big feelings in Groundhog Day. Subscribe to You Are Good here. Josh Gondelman can ...
02.21.2022 CSI: Junk Science with Josie Duffy Rice Josie Duffy Rice and Sarah discuss the role of junk science in the criminal justice system. It is a big turkey to carve up and Josie serves Sarah a bleakly empowering feast. Here’s where to find Josie Josie on Twitter ...
02.07.2022 Winter Book Club: The Amityville Horror Part 3 with Jamie Loftus In this final installment of the Amityville Horror Winter Book Club, Sarah tells guest host Jamie Loftus about Jodie the Demon Pig's scary hooves, the catharsis of exorcism, and how the book kinda debunks itself. Here's where to find Jamie: ...
01.24.2022 Tom Cruise on Oprah’s couch with Willa Paskin Willa Paskin (of Slate's Decoder Ring) brings Sarah back to 2005, when Tom Cruise jumping on a couch became the talk of the town. We will return to Amityville (part 3 of 3) next time! Here's where to find Willa: ...
01.10.2022 Talking Tammy Faye Bakker with Jessica Chastain Jessica Chastain and Sarah discuss Tammy Faye Bakker. Chastain is the star and a producer of the new film The Eyes of Tammy Faye. After Jessica and Sarah’s chat, they introduce this episode about Tammy Faye Bakker and Jessica Hahn ...
01.03.2022 Winter Book Club: The Amityville Horror Part 2 with Jamie Loftus Sarah continues telling guest host Jamie Loftus about the Amityville Horror, and the two touch on ghosts, fallen angels, poltergeists, the space race and intimidating pictures of Mandy Moore. Here's where to find Jamie: The Bechdel Cast [podcast] My Year ...
12.20.2021 Winter Book Club: The Amityville Horror Part 1 with Jamie Loftus Sarah tells guest host Jamie Loftus about the Amityville Horror, how it’s a Christmas story, and why buying murder furniture might not be such a great idea. Here's where to find Jamie: The Bechdel Cast [podcast] My Year in Mensa ...
12.06.2021 Reconstruction with Jamelle Bouie Jamelle Bouie explains to Sarah what the Reconstruction era was, why it remains relevant today, and how this history lesson is one that could get some high school teachers into legal trouble due to passage of anti-CRT laws. Jamelle at ...
11.22.2021 True Crime with Emma Berquist Emma Berquist stops by to tell us about how true crime doesn't have to make us better people, and in fact may be more harmful to us than we realize—but we don't let her in, because we don't want to ...
11.08.2021 Ed and Lorraine Warren with Jamie Loftus Special Guest Jamie Loftus tells Sarah about Ed and Lorraine Warren (of The Conjuring and Annabelle fame). Topics of interest include Connecticut as a locus of scary happenings, New England uncles, and psychic communication with a tearstained Bigfoot. Here's where ...
10.25.2021 Catherine the Great with Dana Schwartz Special guest Dana Schwartz tells Sarah about Catherine the Great. Topics of interest include the very not great life of serfs, the accidental flattening of women via the girl-bossification of history, and a very solid Bertie Wooster reference. Here's where ...
10.11.2021 Mike Lives in a Downtown Hotel An announcement! Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on Paypal Buy stickers, magnets, T-shirts and more Where else to find us: Sarah's other show, You Are Good Mike's other show, Maintenance PhaseSupport the show

Older episodes

You're Wrong About

What's You're Wrong About about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

You're Wrong About episodes:

The Hot Mess Express Spectacular!

We Need to Talk About the New York Times with Tuck Woodstock

Call for Anniversary Stories

Debi Thomas with Leslie Gray Streeter

Sinéad O'Connor with Allyson McCabe

What Even Is Justice? with Amanda Knox

Juvenile "Justice" with Josie Duffy Rice

Chris McCandless with Blair Braverman

Spring Tour Announcement!

Napster with Niko Stratis

Karen Carpenter Part 2 with Carolyn Kendrick

Valentine's Show A Go-Go Livestream announcement!

Trailer: Unreformed

Karen Carpenter Part 1 with Carolyn Kendrick

Baby Jessica with Blair Braverman

Beanie Babies with Jamie Loftus

Where Have All the Preppies Gone? with Avery Trufelman

The Movie Rating System with Karina Longworth

Flight 571: Survival in the Andes with Blair Braverman

Your Abortion Stories

Online Shopping with Amanda Mull

We’ll be back next week! (And a tour update!)

Hunting Serial Killers with Michael Hobbes

The Donner Party with Chelsey Weber-Smith

Henry Lee Lucas with Rachel Monroe

Porn Wars with Nona Willis Aronowitz

Eugenics with Eric Michael Garcia

West Coast Tour Announcement

Go Ask Alice Part 2 with Carmen Maria Machado

Go Ask Alice Part 3 with Rick Emerson and Carmen Maria Machado

Martha Stewart with Sarah Archer

The Dyatlov Pass Incident with Blair Braverman

The Prison Boom with Shannon Heffernan

Go Ask Alice Part 1 with Carmen Maria Machado

Medieval Torture with Dana Schwartz

How Email Took Over the World with Anne Helen Petersen

Juliet's Balcony with Chelsey Weber-Smith

Ronald Reagan and "The Welfare Queen" with Laci Mosley

Bonus: Groundhog Day with Josh Gondelman

CSI: Junk Science with Josie Duffy Rice

Winter Book Club: The Amityville Horror Part 3 with Jamie Loftus

Tom Cruise on Oprah’s couch with Willa Paskin

Talking Tammy Faye Bakker with Jessica Chastain

Winter Book Club: The Amityville Horror Part 2 with Jamie Loftus

Winter Book Club: The Amityville Horror Part 1 with Jamie Loftus

Reconstruction with Jamelle Bouie

True Crime with Emma Berquist

Ed and Lorraine Warren with Jamie Loftus

Catherine the Great with Dana Schwartz

Mike Lives in a Downtown Hotel

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