The Alarmist

Who’s to blame for the War of the Bucket? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with good friend James Bladon about who’s to blame for the War of the Bucket. Not only is James well versed on this medieval nightmare, he’s actually been to Modena and seen The Bucket! They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Could poor neighborly etiquette be at fault fo...

On May 4, 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley was found fatally shot in a car on a dark North Hollywood street. The prime suspect was her husband, famed actor Robert Blake. But Bonny, a longtime con artist, had plenty of enemies. She left behind a trail of men she’d scammed, and she had a volatile relationship with Christian Brando, the troubled son of movie star Marlon Brando. Not since the O.J. Simpson case...

New Mailbag! On this episode, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) catches up on some Alarmy mail with Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Hear about a guitarist on a sinking cruise liner who was forced to take responsibility for hundreds of passengers onboard. Click here to see what happened. And if you’ve ever wanted to see Rebecca in action on the silver screen, check out the p...

Written and narrated by award-winning author and Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, “History is US” is a 6-part audio documentary produced and developed by C13Originals that asks questions about who we are as a nation, and what race might reveal about our current crisis. Through the voices of distinguished historians and scholars, this limited serie...

Who’s to blame for the Sinking of General Slocum? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with old friend Ptolemy Slocum about who’s to blame for the tragic sinking of General Slocum. Ptolemy may know plenty about this event given his namesake. But the question remains: given the magnitude of this horrible accident, why don’t more people know about it? Especially New Yorkers! Could...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. J Stephan Edwards about the death (and life!) of Lady Jane Grey. Dr. Edwards Ph. D. in early modern European history, with an emphasis on Tudor-Stuart England, has led to a great fascination with the infamous Nine Day Queen. And his extensive research highlights some of the ways in which the history books might not be telling the...

Introducing the true crime podcast Persona: The French Deception— the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time. What does it feel like to pick up the phone and scam someone out of $50 million? Host and award-winning journalist, Evan Ratliff, investigates how Chikli successfully duped some of the world’s most powerful people into handing over their fortunes. He explores...

Who’s to blame for the death of Lady Jane Grey? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with Tod Perry and Alison Rosen, co-hosts of the podcast Upworthy Weekly, about who's to blame for the untimely death of Lady Jane Grey. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Did Lady Jane Grey’s intellect make her a target? Could a religious power struggle be to...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dave Casker about the Johnstown, PA Flood of 1889. Not only is Dave a current resident of Johnstown, but he’s also a member and longtime tour guide at the Johnstown Flood Museum. With new details about the construction of the dam and the days and months that followed the actual flooding, there’s more to consider about the verdict. Aft...

Who’s to blame for the Johnstown, PA Flood? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with Producer Clayton Early and Fact Checker Chris Smith about the tragic Johnstown, PA Flood of 1889. With residents  aware of the poor state of the dam and often wondering, “when their worst fears would be transcended by the horror of the actual occurrence,” it begs the question: why was nothi...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Rick Pulos about the Philippines Pepsi Number Fever fiasco. Rick is an artist, an educator, and current doctoral student at Texas A&M. He shares some new information about Pepsi’s poor handling of this disaster and reiterates the personal effects this had on the lives of so many Filipino families. After, Producer Clayton Early and...

Who’s to blame for The Philippines Pepsi Number Fever? This week, it’s an all in-house affair! The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with Producer Clayton Early, Fact Checker Chris Smith and Associate Producer Alex Paul about who’s to blame for The Philippines Pepsi Number Fever. With all its oversight, how could a major corporation like Pepsi mistakenly manufacture over 800,000 of the same...

On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with media and legal expert Lonnie Soury about who’s to blame for the exonerated Central Park Five. Lonnie has testified before the New York State Assembly Codes Committee and is a co-founder of Families and Friends of the Wrongfully Convicted. He reminds us of the importance of knowing our rights and the immense persistence it takes overturning these diffi...

Who’s to blame for the Central Park Five? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back old friend Maggie Marion to discuss the Central Park Five and who is ultimately to blame for this horrific injustice. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. After considering all the egregious aspects of this tragic moment in history, it’s hard to decide what NOT...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. Sarah Arnold about the cultural significance of the Norman Bates character in the horror classic Psycho. A Lecturer in Media at Maynooth University and author of the book Maternal Horror Film , Sarah delves into Psychoanalytic Theory and highlights some of the gender norms that are often reinforced and either punished or validated...

Who’s to blame for the Norman Bates murders?  This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with good friend Jack Dolgen about who’s to blame for the Norman Bates murders in the horror classic Pyscho. Could abusive parenting have something to do with it? Or perhaps isolation is to blame. And if it wasn’t for the limited and archaic psychological resources of oppressive 1950’s America...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Gustavo Vázquez-Lozano about the history of Cinco de Mayo. An expert on the Second Mexican Empire, Gustavo walks us through the importance of this historic battle and shares fascinating new details about the clever ways this small band of Mexican soldiers defeated the larger, more sophisticated French army. Afterward, Producer Clayton...

Who’s to blame for Cinco de Mayo? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with writer, producer and fellow podcaster Jorge Molina about who’s to blame for the confluence of events which resulted in The Battle of Puebla. Or as it’s more popularly known, Cinco de Mayo. Not to be confused with Mexican Independence as Jorge, a Mexico native himself, reminds us. Who’s Maximilian? What ar...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. Gregory Smits about The Great Kantō Earthquake. A Professor of History and Asian Studies at Pennsylvania State University and the author of two studies on Japanese earthquakes, Dr. Smits walks us through the historical and social dynamics playing out at the time of this tragic event. After a thorough recap of the earthquake and th...

Who’s to blame for The Great Kantō Earthquake? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back old friend and fellow podcaster Jacquelyn Landgraf to discuss The Great Kantō Earthquake in 1923. Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early join the conversation about this catastrophic event. Was this an act of God, an act of Mother Nature or were people in the wrong place at the...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. Rumela Sen about the Nepali Royal Massacre. Dr. Sen lectures at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is author of the book Farewell to Arms: How Rebels Retire Without Getting Killed . After sharing fascinating new insights into the history of the Royal Family and the power dynamics at play, Fact Che...

Who’s to blame for the Nepalese Royal Massacre?  This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back award-winning podcaster and culture critic Kristen Meinzer to discuss who’s to blame for the 2001 murder of the Nepali Royal Family. Host of the podcast The Royal Report from Newsweek, Kristen shares a compelling take on this royal nightmare. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smit...

New Guest Expert! For this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca gets a firsthand account of Balloonfest ‘86 from the manager of the event itself, Tom Holowach. Having worked in event logistics since 1978, Tom shares the intricate planning and care that went into this surprisingly complex spectacle. Afterward, Producer Clayton Early and Fact Checker Chris Smith stop by to see if the verdict still holds up. Tu...

Who’s to blame for Balloonfest ‘86? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with fellow podcasters Arielle Nissenblatt and Lauren Passell about the 1986 Balloonfest fail in Cleveland. Hosts of Podcast Therapy and self-avowed members of The Alarmy, Arielle and Lauren are the perfect duo to get to the bottom of this spectacular fiasco. They’re joined by Fact Checker Alex Paul and Prod...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca Speaks with Emmy Award winning writer and director Nicole Rittenmeyer. Director of the documentary Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre, Nicole shares fascinating new insights about the Inner Circle of Jonestown and its day to day operations up to the very end. After, Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early stop by to revisit the...