Podcast
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.
- History chart
- #36
- Episodes
- 273
- Releases
- Every two weeks
- Typical length
- 1 hr 18 min
- On air since
- 2018
- Latest episode
- 1 week ago
Episodes
273 episodes, newest first
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1 hr 1 min
Halloween Listener Special
Show notes
What does Halloween mean to you? For this listener submission episode, we asked you to send in your favorite Halloween memories and you delivered the spooky, the funny, and the heartfelt, showing that this schlocky holiday may in fact be the true holiday of love.
Original music brought to you by Magpie Cinema Club
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
Send your submissions for the Where I Live holiday special to sloppyandalive@gmail.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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56 min
Halloween Pranks with Chelsey Weber-Smith
Show notes
Choose wisely: trick or treat? Starting in the late 1800s, the spooky and goofy version of Halloween we know today became a time of ruckus and sometimes dangerous pranks by kids and teenagers that caused widespread property damage and bodily harm. For this episode, Halloween correspondent Chelsey Weber-Smith joins Sarah to take a look at old newspaper articles detailing these pranks, and the reactions they elicited until the adults of the mid-20th century finally took control back from the youth, trying their best to soften the annual Purge-esque mayhem. Digressions include how to eat a cactus (and why), the killer clown panic, and the horror of midnight margaritas.
More Chelsey Weber-Smith:
Listen to American Hysteria
Follow on Instagram
Original music in this episode brought to you by Magpie Cinema Club
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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2 hr 19 min
The Crocodile Hunter with Brianna Bowman
Show notes
Crikey! How does a man decide to wrangle giant reptiles for a living? For this episode, ocean correspondent Brianna Bowman shares the life story of Australian icon Steve Irwin, the beloved Crocodile Hunter who captured the slithering hearts of kids in the late 90s and 2000s. Starting with his lizard- and snake-laden childhood and his early work with “problem crocodiles,” Brianna takes Sarah through Steve’s romance with Terri, the equally animal-obsessed love of his life; their career together at the Australia Zoo and rise to TV stardom; and the shocking news of his improbable death. Digressions include sea anemones, Jurassic Park, and H2O: Just Add Water.
More Brianna Bowman:
https://www.patreon.com/c/rewildingkeiko
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler:
http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster
Brianna recommends:
Steve's papers that he coauthored: pone.0000949 1..5 and Estuarine crocodiles ride surface currents to facilitate long‐distance travel - Campbell - 2010 - Journal of Animal Ecology - Wiley Online Library
Steve explaining the research to Conan and other things: Crocs...IN SPACE
His allegedly last show at Australia Zoo: Steve Irwin’s very last show at Australia Zoo, before he passed away. : r/interestingasfuck
Some great Crocodile Hunter clips: Steve’s Wildest Croc Encounters | The Crocodile Hunter | Animal Planet His captures for Read's research happen at 10:18
His memorial service: STEVE IRWIN MEMORIAL TRIBUTE
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 14 min
Back to School with Gabe Henry
Show notes
Who will you be this year? No matter your age, it’s likely that your body remembers the school calendar, and with the blooming aisles of binders and pencils and backpacks, it’s easy to feel like a nervous, hopeful kid waiting for that first day back in class. For this episode, Antiquated Education Correspondent Gabe Henry tells Sarah about the history of the shopping season known as Back to School, from the Depression-era department store promotions and the original mascots, to the development of trendy clothes, lunch boxes, and notebooks, and into the memorable commercials and new gadgets of the 1980s and 90s. Together they discuss the commercialization of ritual and what the promises of Back to School shopping taught us about the reinvention of the self. Digressions include the Nickelodeon blimp, Fred Meyer Jewelers, and the Ann Getty baby craze.
More Gabe Henry:
Get Gabe's book "Enough is Enuf: Our Failed attempts to Make English Easier to Spell"
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler:
http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 13 min
Ballet with Megan Burbank
Show notes
Megan Burbank’s gotta dance. The centuries-old dance style known as ballet has been stereotyped in our modern world with images of refined, wispy, frighteningly disciplined young women fighting viciously for roles in ethereal productions. For this episode, Adult Dance Correspondent Megan Burbank shares with Sarah the history and transformation of this misunderstood art from its early days as a fancy French aristocratic performance, to its post-French Revolution embrace by the working class, and finally into 20th century America when the expected body of the ballerina began to take shape. Megan also shares her own experience as a late-onset ballerina, dispelling myths about what ballet is, who can participate, and what we can learn about ourselves through its techniques. Together they discuss the line between art and sport, the aspects of horror found in many ballets, and whether it is too late for all of us to become the prima ballerina of our dreams. Digressions include: Final Destination acupuncture, the smell of the Scholastic book fair, and the questionable advertising employed by Tab soda.
Send your submissions for our Halloween Listener Spectacular (scary stories or Halloween nostalgia) to sloppyandalive@gmail.com before August 31st!
Referenced:
How Political Anxiety Turned Me into a Late-Onset Ballerina
International Adult Ballet Festival
More Megan Burbank:
Burbank Industries on Substack
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 25 min
"Heaven is for Real" with Adrian Daub
Show notes
If your four-year-old told you about a trip to heaven, would you believe them? For a pastor named Todd Burpo, the answer was yes. In 2010, his book Heaven Is For Real—co-authored by Lynn Vincent—became a runaway bestseller. This week, Sarah tells In Bed with the Right co-host Adrian Daub the story of this strange little book, and how it reveals more about us than it does the afterlife. Digressions include Shakerism, The Big Lebowski, and the ongoing debate around pets in heaven.
Send your submissions for our Halloween Listener Spectacular (scary stories or Halloween nostalgia) to sloppyandalive@gmail.com before August 31st!
More Adrian Daub:
Adrian’s new book What Tech Calls Governing comes out August 18th
Listen to In Bed with the Right
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 7 min
Lightning Round! with Chelsey Weber-Smith
Show notes
Send your submissions for our Halloween Listener Spectacular (scary stories or Halloween nostalgia) to sloppyandalive@gmail.com before August 31st!
How many maligned women can you name in 30 seconds? For this episode, Sarah gives Chelsey Weber-Smith of American Hysteria a lightning round pop quiz on You’re Wrong About topics over the years with stakes so high that you’ll have to hear them to believe them. Digressions include an evil preteen softball team, the alternative pronunciation of pasta, horror movie publicity stunts, and at what point an infant becomes a baby.
More Chelsey Weber-Smith:
Listen to American Hysteria
Follow American Hysteria on instagram
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merchLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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58 min
What I Love: A Listener Summer Special
Show notes
How do I love thee? For this special episode, we asked you to send us a voice message about something you love. From gas station coffee to tap dancing to rocks to the inner lives of rats, you answered—and showed us that when we experience the things that other people love, that love starts to feel like our own.
Edited + produced by Miranda Zickler
Original music in this episode is brought to you by Miranda Zickler and AJ McKinley, otherwise known as Magpie Cinema Club
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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2 hr 31 min
The JFK Assassination Part 2 with Mackenzie Joy Brennan
Show notes
But seriously, who really killed JFK? For part two of the JFK Assassination series, law correspondent Mackenzie Joy Brennan takes Sarah through the conspiracy theories that have surrounded the tragedy to see how the combination of too much information and too little information helped solidify a general feeling that things were not as they seemed. Together, they go over the Warren Commission report, the Zapruder Film, and the story of the “magic bullet,” and look at how Oliver Stone’s movie JFK changed our collective memory of what happened that day and who was really to blame. Digressions include the Sharpie art on burned CDs, the series premiere of Monk, and the unfortunate nostalgia for George W. Bush.
More Mackenzie Joy Brennan:
http://www.mkzjoybrennan.com/
Edited + produced by Miranda Zickler:
http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonsterFact checking by Julie Kliegman
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 44 min
The JFK Assassination Part 1 with Mackenzie Joy Brennan
Show notes
Where is Dana Scully when you need her? For the first installment of this two-part episode, legal correspondent Mackenzie Joy Brennan tells Sarah about what happened before, during, and after the moment that John F. Kennedy was shot in that Dallas motorcade, the lasting cultural images that have been burned into the public consciousness, and the story of the man who shot the man and the man who shot the man who shot the man. Plus, the conspiracy theory that walked so that the paranoias of today could run — and how we can orient ourselves in reality despite our strongly held beliefs. Digressions include Oregon Trail bison, jaundiced tans, and the triumph of 90s legal thrillers.
More Mackenzie Joy Brennan:
http://www.mkzjoybrennan.com
Edited + produced by Miranda Zickler:
http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonsterFact checking by Julie Kliegman
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 26 min
Crying in Baseball with Julie Kliegman
Show notes
Could there be a little crying in baseball as a treat? Sports correspondent Julie Kliegman is here to tell Sarah about the history of women’s baseball and softball and to finally teach her the rules of the game. From the days when women played alongside men, to the first women’s team in the 1940s, to the sexist rules placed on their teams, and the impressive modern players that are changing the game, they discuss the past and present through the lens of the 1992 film A League of Their Own. Together they try to follow the sport around what Sarah calls the Crazy Straw of Progress and around a loving baseball diamond that has long led the players home. Digressions include the imaginary Supreme Court case Woman v. Horse, Fried Green Tomatoes, and gym parachute week.
More Julie Kliegman:
https://www.juliekliegman.com/Pre-order a signed copy of Julie's new book Finding Renée Richards from Astoria Bookshop.org and get 15% off with code YWAPOD15
Edited + Produced by Miranda Zickler:
http://linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonsterMore You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merchLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 13 min
Rainbows with Lulu Miller
Show notes
Why are there so many songs about rainbows (and what’s on the other side)? A bridge between worlds, a map to a pot of gold, the centerpiece of a Lisa Frank trapper-keeper, and of course, an ever-changing symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, the rainbow has been a profound part of the human experience for thousands of years. For this early Pride Month episode, science correspondent and bisexual seagull Lulu Miller explains to Sarah the history of our understanding of rainbows: why they exist, what they are made out of, and what they have represented. Together they discuss the figures that have tried to pin down this natural wonder, the power of its spectrum of meaning, and the comfort and terror of the infinity it once represented. Digressions include the boring transcendence of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the secret joys of trigonometry, and the best gay Hannibal Lecter.
More Lulu Miller:
https://radiolab.org/team/lulu-millerLulu's book Why Fish Don't Exist
Original music in this episode brought to you by Magpie Cinema Club featuring Brendan Liu
Except for "Roy G Biv" from this episode of Lulu's WNYC show Terrestrials, which is written and performed by Alan Goffinski and included on The Bridge EP
And also Spanish Flea by Herb Alpert
Edited + Produced by Miranda Zickler:
http://linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonsterThe poem Lulu read was Singularity by Marie Howe
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merchLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 5 min
What to Carry, What to Burn with Blair Braverman
Show notes
Ada Blackjack wants one thing: To make enough money to bring her son home from an orphanage. But good work is hard to find in 1920s Nome, Alaska, so when four strangers come to town, looking to hire someone for a secret yearlong expedition, Ada embarks on the trip—not knowing that she’ll be the only one of them to survive.
This is the first episode of YWA correspondent Blair Braverman's new podcast, What to Carry, What to Burn. To hear the second half of Ada's story (also featuring Sarah Marshall!), visit the links below:
RSS feed: https://shows.acast.com/what-to-carry-what-to-burn
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-to-carry-what-to-burn/id1896260781
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhatToCarryPod
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4L7FCFQLcmG2NwPw7ayE1D
More Blair Braverman:
http://www.blairbraverman.comMore You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merchLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 15 min
Desperation Pie with Sarah Archer
Show notes
What would you do for a desperation pie? Kitchen correspondent Sarah Archer is here to talk with Sarah about the American food trends that marked the 20th century and how they related to the political and cultural changes of a nation in need of constant culinary inventiveness. They discuss the specialties of the barren Depression Era, the food-related propaganda and rationing of the wartime years, the meteoric rise of post-war disposability, the premade mixes and “exotic” dishes of midcentury housewives, and the special tastes of Soviet Cold War diplomacy. Throughout the episode, they discuss the messages these eras transmitted to the women in charge of the kitchen and draw parallels to our new era of trad wife cooking and carnivore dieting. Digressions include the unique features of Star Trek aliens, why cottage cheese is the Cher of foods, and how ironing sheets can be a potent tool for procrastination.
More Sarah Archer:
https://www.sarah-archer.com/Design for Dreaming 1956 appliance fantasy film: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/design-for-dreaming-1956/
Midcentury Menu exhibition at the MFAH: https://www.mfah.org/art/exhibitions/midcentury-menu-dining-in-the-atomic-age
Meals with a Foreign Flair: https://archive.org/details/mealswithforeign00desm
Edited + Produced by Miranda Zickler:
http://linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonsterMore You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merchLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 27 min
The Great American Spelling Bee with Gabe Henry
Show notes
Can you use the word in a sentence? For this episode, Spelling Correspondent Gabe Henry takes Sarah through the surprisingly rampageous (r-a-m-p-a-g-e-o-u-s) history of the Spelling Bee, a uniquely American phenomenon. From the earliest examples of late night “spelling matches,” to the rough-and-tumble contests of the early frontier, to the controversy of the first National spelling bee, it turns out that these mild-mannered academic flexes were once both raucous and revolutionary. Gabe also brings his own spelling bee to test the gifted child that still buzzes within Sarah Marshall. Digressions include Ben Franklin’s morning routine, why we need more statues of kids, and the Wolf Blitzer Hologram.
More Gabe Henry:
Gabe's book Enough is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Easier to Spell
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 15 min
Crop Circles with Chelsey Weber-Smith
Show notes
What do men really get up to at the pub? For this April Fools' Day episode, Sarah tells urban legend correspondent Chelsey Weber-Smith of American Hysteria the history and the mystery behind crop circles, those sophisticated patterns left imprinted in corn and wheat fields said to be made by alien beings. For years, no one could find a rational reason for their mysterious existence as they spread across various countries; that is, until a pair of surprising culprits finally came forward to reveal their master prank. Digressions include Ramona Quimby’s dad’s alma mater, sexy adaptations of costume drama novels, and the unrivaled power of shaky cam footage.
More Chelsey Weber-Smith:
Listen to American Hysteria
Follow American Hysteria on instagram
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
"Every Corn is a Glamorous Woman" is a semi-original song by Magpie Cinema Club (it's just "Rockabye")
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 25 min
How to Deprogram a Guy in 10 Days with Endless Thread
Show notes
Free yourself. What does it take to get someone to leave a cult? What happens if the cult is all around us? In this episode, Ben Brock Johnson & Amory Sivertson of NPR’s Endless Thread podcast join Sarah for a discussion about the cultier aspects of our culture, politics, and history, from the surprising origin of the anti-vax movement to the online communities that conspiracy theories can provide to lonely seekers. Together they try to figure out if it is indeed possible to “deprogram” those who wander too far into conspiracies. Digressions include the TikTok Button Girl, chicken pox playtime, and the grave sin of sleep shaming.
More Endless Thread:
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/568542542/endless-thread
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler:
http://linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonsterMore You're Wrong About:
http://linktr.ee/ywapodBonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 34 min
The Worst Movie Ever Made? with Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson
Show notes
From the bonus vault!
What actually makes a movie “bad”? In this bonus episode, Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson of the film podcast Unspooled tell Sarah the story of what many consider to be the worst film of all time: the 1987 adventure comedy Ishtar. From the movie’s chaotic production to its perplexing public ridicule, together they analyze whether Ishtar is as bad as people say or if our culture just loves to jump on a snarky bandwagon. Digressions include James Cameron schadenfreude, $19 AMC pretzels, and The Hangover for the AARP crowd.
More Unspooled:
https://www.unspooledpodcast.com/Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler:
http://linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonsterMore You're Wrong About:
http://linktr.ee/ywapodBonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 17 min
The Bluebelle with Blair Braverman
Show notes
Do we ever finish surviving? Sarah tells Survival Correspondent Blair Braverman the incredible story of 11-year-old Terry Jo Duperrault, who was lost at sea for several days on a flimsy cork dinghy. She also explains the sinister truth behind the “accident” that set her adrift, her harrowing time on the open ocean, and what her life was like after she became a survivor. Along the way, Sarah and Blair discuss the tragedy of having your story silenced, the big things that help us pull through the impossible, and how, in Terry Jo’s case and in our own, survival is never really over. Digressions include: the iconic waterski teams of Green Bay, the usefulness of sled dog armpits, and whether or not we can trust handsome men.
Note: This episode is about surviving not just nature, but violent crime. This episode also involves suicide. Please listen with care.
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More Blair Braverman:
Blair's new picture book, "The Day Leap Soared"
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 18 min
Keiko Part 3 with Brianna Bowman
Show notes
Would you ride on the back of a random orca at the beach? For the final part of this series on Free Willy star Keiko, deep sea correspondent Brianna Bowman tells Sarah about his rewilding and return to the open ocean -- something that up until that point had never been done before. Digressions include introducing adult cats to each other, Fyre Fest, and the 27 club.
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler
More Magpie Cinema Club
More Brianna Bowman:
Support Brianna's new podcast Rewilding Keiko on Patreon
Submit a voicemail with your memories of Keiko at rewildingpodcast@outlook.com (Brianna's Note: yes, Outlook! I’m a weirdo)
Linkedin (Brianna's Note: yes I am a double weirdo)
Watch Kampen Om Keiko
More You're Wrong About:
Bonus Episodes on Patreon
Buy cute merch
YWA on InstagramLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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