The Alarmist

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. Joel Burcham about the Rock n’ Roll scene of the late 1950’s and the tragedy that would eventually be known as The Day The Music Died. An Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Burcham walks through the unique ways artists of this caliber climbed the ladder of success and broke into the music industry, at...

Who’s to blame for The Day the Music Died? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with prolific musical comedian Caitlin Cook about the tragic plane crash which took the lives of music icons Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. An event later coined “The Day the Music Died,” could the music industry have something to do with it? Perhaps tour manager Pat Mason’s poor plan...

New Guest Expert! This week, Rebecca revisits another early episode that never got its day in the Aftermath think tank. This time around, she sits down with Professor Douglas Linder to discuss the devastating 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in NYC. With new details to consider, Rebecca has some new decisions to make about the verdict. If you haven’t already, sign up for our Patreon and liste...

Who’s to blame for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire?  Well, we already know the answer to that question. But did we get it right?! This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) is revisiting Episode 2 while we take a little break to plan ahead for future episodes. But that’s not all. This time around get to follow up with a Guest Expert! That’s right! Tune in, refresh your memory and se...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca sits down with returning Guest Expert Sal Mercogliano to revisit The Alarmist's maiden episode about the maiden voyage of the tragically doomed Titanic. Initially recorded in the early days of The Alarmist pre-Aftermath, this is the Aftermath and closure we’ve all been waiting for. Hear fascinating new insight about the ship's construction and pa...

This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) takes us back to our very first episode to reflect on the tragedy that started it all: The Sinking of the Titanic. Does the verdict still hold up? Then, stay tuned for Thursday's Aftermath episode when Rebecca will finally get to cross-check with an expert and verify if she's been right since day one! Join our Patreon! We have merch! Join our Discord...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Pulitzer Prize winning biographer Stacy Schiff about the life and death of Cleopatra VII. Author of the NYTimes No. 1 Bestseller Cleopatra: A Life , Stacy helps paint a more robust picture of an incredibly intelligent and capable ruler far beyond her exotic reputation and the speculations around her alleged great beauty. Then, Patreon...

Who’s to blame for the death of Cleopatra? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with author and podcast host Allison Raskin about the legendary life and death of Cleopatra. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Was the Queen of Egypt the victim of the Roman Empires heightened insecurities? Perhaps family drama and an insatiable hunger for power ha...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca follows up on the App based quiz show sensation HQ Trivia with journalist Alyssa Bereznak. Host of the popular podcast Boom/Bust: The Rise and Fall of HQ Trivia , Alyssa sheds even more light on some of the chaotic events happening behind the scenes of this seemingly lighthearted online gameshow. Then, stay tuned or join our Patreon to hear the p...

Who’s to blame for the rise and fall of HQ Trivia? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with dear friend and comedian Jen Curran about the seemingly overnight success of the viral internet gameshow sensation HQ Trivia and its equally rapid downfall. Was HQ Trivia simply ahead of its time? Did too many tech issues scare users away? Or perhaps its demise was the result of unrealist...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Professor Eduardo Pagán about the Zoot Suit Riots in the summer of 1943. A professor of history at Arizona State University, Eduardo paints a very detailed picture of the rapidly changing social, economic and racial identity of wartime Los Angeles leading up to the riots. And he reflects on the importance of what Jazz and the Suit Zoo...

Who’s to blame for the Zoot Suit Riots? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with return guest Maggie Marion about the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots and the troubling events which preceded them. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Was wartime stress to blame for this powder keg moment in US history? Could rationed wool take the fall? Maybe it was the mob...

Who’s to blame for Adam's 2003 Telegram Travesty? Welcome to our new series, GUEST ALARMIST! In this fun new show, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) sits back and has a special guest discuss a personal tragedy they need to figure out a culprit for. Along with Producer Clayton Early and Fact Checker Chris Smith, they scrutinize and analyze (and ultimately decide) who's to blame. Here's a teaser...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Professor Karen Shalev-Greene about the tragic case of Blanche Monnier. With an expertise in missing persons studies, Professor Shalev-Greene speaks to the psychology behind crimes of this nature and how the societal restrictions of the time might have contributed to such a rare and extreme case of abuse. Then, if you’re a Patreon sub...

Who’s to blame for the tragic life of Blanche Monnier? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with Zoe Friedman about Blanche Monnier and the unspeakable abuse and imprisonment she was forced to endure for over 26 years in her family home. We know some of the culprits involved, but what drove them to such madness? Was fear of losing their place in high society driving these cruel a...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with historian Dr. Francesca Fiorani about the legacy of the Mona Lisa and its tumultuous time in hiding after its theft in 1911. A professor of Art History at the University of Virginia, Francesca speaks to the lack of security at the time and the audacity it took to steal such a high profile work of art with the intention of reselling it...

Who’s to blame for the Theft of the Mona Lisa? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with fellow podcaster Bridget Todd about the notorious theft of one of the world’s most notorious paintings, The Mona Lisa. We may know the man who did it, but do we really know the man who did it? What inspired him? Did Nationalism have something to do with it? Could The Mona Lisa’s bewitching au...

New Mailbag! It’s been a while since our last mailbag, but that doesn’t mean the mail hasn’t been piling up! We have some catching up to do. This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) sits down with Producer Clayton Early and Fact Checker Chris Smith to check in with The Alarmy, get some great new episode suggestions and hear some reactions to our latest episodes. Tune in to hear more about w...

Who’s to blame for the death of Jayne Mansfield? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes comedian Jenny Yang to discuss the notoriously gruesome and untimely death of actress Jayne Mansfield. In such a high profile accident which captured the nation's attention, and with safety rules in place but little to no regulation, it’s hard to determine who’s not to blame. Was it government...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with writer and anti-apartheid historian Dr. Zeb Larson. With an approachable yet thorough overview of South Africa’s long and complicated geographic and political history, Zeb reminds us of the complex migrations, wars and economic hostility that preceded and informed what would become the modern Apartheid system. With new information to...

Who’s to blame for the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes creator Jamila Webb (First Fifteen LA) to get to the bottom of who’s to blame for the decades long imprisonment of political and human rights activist/icon Nelson Mandela. What took so long to free Nelson Mandela?! Was this the work of The National Party? Did The CIA have something to do...

Staying alive in the most ridiculous situations keeps comedian Anthony Atamanuik up at night. If you’re attacked by a swarm of killer bees, do you lay on the ground and play dead? Climb up a tree? Jump into the nearest body of water with a little straw poking out as a breathing apparatus? We could find ourselves caught in a million wild situations, and if you don’t know what to do, you might not m...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with author and science journalist Sarah Scoles about the movie Independence Day, UFO culture, the roots of our modern day obsession with extraterrestrials and the impact those discoveries might hold for humanity. While there’s still so much unknown, Sarah offers some sound advice for anyone contemplating the possible existence of intellig...

Who’s to blame for the alien invasion in Independence Day: The Movie? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back Alarmist regular Khal Davenport to discuss the epic 1996 summer blockbuster film, Independence Day. In an industry rife with alien invasion doomsday plotlines, why does this one still manage to capture our hearts and our anxieties? Could it be the aliens' uncompromisi...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca revisits the royal affair between Charles & Camilla with Professor Nicoletta Gullace. An Associate Professor of Modern British History at the University of New Hampshire, Nicoletta gives new insight into this longstanding royal relationship and shares some fascinating thoughts about the public's reaction which has The Alarmist crew second gue...