The Alarmist

Who’s to blame for the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre? On this week’s Alarmist, Rebecca decides who is to blame for the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. She is joined by Sarah Lane, co-host of the Daily Tech News Show podcast. Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Amanda Lund return for moral support. On the board this week: The British Raj, Imperialism and Spice.  We have merch! Join our Discord! Tell...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Wright State University Professor and author Dr. Tracy Snipe. Dr. Snipe worked with one of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing survivors Sarah Collins Rudolph on the book The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing and shares personal accounts from the day of the tragedy. Afterward, Fact Checker Chr...

Who’s to blame for the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes Tom Merritt, co-host of the Daily Tech News Show podcast, to discuss the historical context and horrific circumstances around the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. J. Edgar Hoover, the Cahaba Boys and the normalization of white supremacy are all part o...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with licensed marriage and family therapist Christina Kousakis about the relationship dynamics and breakup of one of America’s favorite TV couples Ross & Rachel. With years of experience in couples counseling, and years of experience being a fan of Friends , Christina spells out some of the dueling trauma playing out in this popular re...

Who’s to blame for Ross and Rachel’s Breakup? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back guests Anastasia Kousakis and Shawn Parikh to discuss the highly controversial breakup of Ross & Rachel from the popular 90’s sitcom Friends . Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early join in the passionate and lively debate. Joey and Chandler, Toxic Monogamy and Ross’ Insecur...

Professor Carp returns! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca welcomes back Guest Expert Benjamin L. Carp to celebrate the release of his new book The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution. After surprising us with a new culprit we missed in our initial research, Professor Carp reiterates how atrocious the American Revolution was and how these grim details tend to get lo...

Who’s to blame for The 1776 Great Fire of New York? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with friend and Disaster Researcher Jay Balagna about the 1776 Great Fire of New York. A legit professional Alarmist himself, Jay helps break this one down with mathematical precision. Literally. Hazard x Vulnerability = Risk. Add that to your Alarmist toolbox and meet the newest member of Th...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with critic and film historian Ed Rampell about the history and legacy of The Hollywood Ten. A co-organizer of the 70th Anniversary Commemoration of the Hollywood Blacklist back in 2017, Ed reminds us of the significant impact this blacklist had on its unfortunate members as well as the industry at large. Afterward, Producer Clayton Early...

Who’s to blame for The Hollywood Ten? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with Olga Lexell about The McCarthy Hearings and what became known as The Hollywood Ten. As a Union Officer for IATSE Local 871, Olga has some fascinating things to share about this harrowing time in Hollywood and American History. Like a good Hollywood thriller, was Communism the true culprit here or simp...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Associate Professor Natalia Pardo Villaveces about the details surrounding the Nevado del Ruiz eruption in Colombia. Head of the Geo-Science department at the University of Los Andes, Natalia works developing workshops to help mitigate future volcanic risk and sheds some light on the things the scientific community has learned since t...

Who’s to blame for the catastrophic death toll from the Nevado del Ruiz Eruption? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back good friend Chloe Wepper to discuss complicated circumstances around the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption in Colombia and the tragic loss of life that followed. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Was this a fluke of nature,...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with journalist and author Sarah Gristwood about Queen Mary I and her trailblazing legacy as England’s first Queen. While Mary’s legacy remains complicated, Sarah reminds us that the history books are often written by those who prevail which can shape the way we view the past. Afterward, Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early...

Who’s to blame for the Myth of Bloody Mary? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with podcaster Cristen Conger about England’s first Queen, Queen Mary, and who or what’s to blame for her infamous reputation as Bloody Mary, the spooky legend haunting your mirror. Is this simply a case of bad PR? Was Henry VIII up to no good, once again? Or were there some double standards at play?...

New Mailbag! This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) sits down with Producer Clayton Early and Fact Checker Chris Smith to catch up on some mail from The Alarmy. Listen to a voicemail from a brand new Alarmy member. Hear from an OG Alarmist who has some beef with a recent verdict. And get some insight on future episode suggestions which might be coming your way. Have a thought to share abo...

Who’s to blame for the tragic Dyatlov Pass Incident? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with friend, podcaster and experienced hiker Chris Wendelken about the tragic and mysterious Dyatlov Pass hiking incident in 1959. Yeti’s! Extraterrestrials! American Spies! With all the theories and conspiracies that have surfaced over the years, will it even be possible to send something t...

Sheree Warren left her job in Salt Lake City on a mild October evening in 1985. She told a coworker she was headed to meet her estranged husband, Charles Warren, at a car dealership. But she never made it, Sheree vanished. When her car mysteriously surfaced weeks later, hundreds of miles away in Las Vegas, no one could say how it got there.   When a young mother disappears under unexplained c...

New Year, New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with journalist Laura Fraser about the ever-growing power and tremendous influence of the diet industry. Author of the book Losing It: False Hopes and Fat Profits in the Diet Industry , Laura shares some of her own personal struggles related to the industry's troubling history and alarming medical practices born of the unrealisti...

Who’s to blame for the French Pharma “Weight-Loss” Drug Scandal? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back Associate Producer Alex Paul to discuss the Servier drug company and their problematic prescription diet pills that claimed hundreds, potentially thousands, of innocent lives. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Combine corrupt health off...

Last Mailbag of 2022! Hey Alarmy! On this final episode of the year, The Alarmist family is taking some time to reflect, renew and check in with you. We discuss a holiday disaster update, the continuing saga of the anatomy of an apple, some great listener episode suggestions and more. Join us one last time as we wrap up 2022 and stay happy, healthy and alarmed as you ring in 2023. Happy New Year A...

Who’s to blame for The Nightmare Before Christmas? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with Earios co-founder Maria Blasucci about who’s really to blame for the nightmare in The Nightmare Before Christmas. You read that right, this nightmare was so complex we needed The Boss to crack the case. Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early join the cause. Is this a classic...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with author Alex Palmer about the years-long Santa Claus Association con. An actual relative of John Gluck(!), Alex offers fascinating insight into the man himself and the national mood at the time around charitable donations and the holiday spirit. Afterward, Producer Clayton Early and Fact Checker Chris Smith stop by to revisit the verdi...

Who’s to blame for the Santa Claus Association Scandal? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with fellow podcaster and Christmas expert Brian Earl about the Santa Claus Association scheme which defrauded thousands of New York City charitable donors and hopeful children in need. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Could America’s obsession with t...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Professor Benjamin L. Carp about The Boston Tea Party. Author of Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America , Professor Carp reminds us what a unique and transitional period this was in Colonial America and the great deal of discipline and coordination that went into this symbolic act. Afterward, Producer...

Who’s to blame for the Boston Tea Party? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) spills the tea with Shawn Parikh about perhaps the biggest tea “party” of all time, the Boston Tea Party. They’re joined by Associate Producer Alex Paul and Producer Clayton Early. Did the British Parliament overstep its boundaries? Was a corrupt Massachusetts Governor to blame? Or did a monopoly on tea by The...

New Aftermath! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with journalist Charmaine Chan about the 1995 Metro Sarin Gas attack in Tokyo. A resident of Tokyo at the time of this tragic event, Charmaine offers a firsthand account of the terror that immediately followed and offers unique insight into the culture of Aum Shinrikyo and its origins. Afterward, Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton...