Podcast Episodes

Therapy Speak or Conspiracy Theory? with Amanda Montell

What do vision boards and Princess Diana conspiracy theories have in common? They both rely on a kind of magical thinking called proportionality bias. It's one of many cognitive biases that Sounds Li…

Published on 8 hours ago

Paranormal Women, pt 3: From Blue Beam to Blood Libel

Episode 21

What did last year's drone mystery have to do with an antisemitic myth that won't die? Medievalist and conspiracy scholar Elise Wang connects the dots between the West’s 900-year-old conspiracy theor…

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago

Paranormal Women, pt 2: The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill

Episode 20

Before alien abduction became pop culture cliché, there was Betty and Barney Hill. Why did this couple's 1961 roadtrip define the abduction narrative for generations, and what did their biracial marr…

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

Paranormal Women, pt 1: From Saucers to Starseeds

Episode 19

UFOs aren't a basement boys' club anymore. From Pentagon disclosures to TikTok starseeds and alien romance novels, belief in extraterrestrials is getting spiritual, feminine-coded, and algorithmicall…

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago

The Super Bowl Trafficking Myth I Helped Spread: LADIES, STAY SAFE pt. 5

Season 2 Episode 7

Why does the Super Bowl sex trafficking myth persist, despite repeated debunking? In the miniseries finale, Cristen unravels this sex trafficking myth she helped spread. So, why did major sporting ev…

Published on 9 months, 4 weeks ago

Satanic Daycare Panic: LADIES, STAY SAFE pt. 4

Season 2 Episode 6

Why were daycare centers the prime targets of the 1980s Satanic Panic, and how did it blow up into America's longest and most expensive criminal trial? Cristen unravels the anti-cult anxieties, paran…

Published on 10 months, 1 week ago

Anita Bryant, Bathrooms and Backlash: LADIES, STAY SAFE pt. 3

Season 2 Episode 5

In the 1970s, America’s moral panic machine found its perfect scapegoat: gay and lesbian teachers. Also bathrooms. Historian Gillian Frank unravels the roots of child trafficking and "groomer" conspi…

Published on 10 months, 3 weeks ago

The Groomer Rumor Mill: LADIES, STAY SAFE pt. 2

Season 2 Episode 4

How did human trafficking conspiracy theories give rise to a politicized pedo panic targeting teachers, trans kids and drag queens? Researchers Daniela Peterka-Benton and Bond Benton connect the dots…

Published on 11 months ago

Sex Traffickers in Parking Lots: LADIES, STAY SAFE pt. 1

Season 2 Episode 3

Why are suburban white women so afraid of getting snatched out of parking lots and sex trafficked? Journalist Caitlin Dewey unravels the tangled threads of modern sex trafficking panic, the impact of…

Published on 11 months, 1 week ago

Emotional literacy for misinformation?

Season 2 Episode 2

Ever heard of emotional literacy? In this mini episode (a breadcrumb? red thread?), climate misinformation expert and content creator Abbie Richards explains what it is, why it pairs so well with con…

Published on 11 months, 3 weeks ago