The Alarmist

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Professor Lynn Wood Mollenauer about all things La Voisin and the Affair of the Poisons. Specializing in the history of France between the Renaissance and the Revolution, and having coined the phrase “Criminal Magical Underworld” herself, Professor Mollenauer lends fascinating new insight to this dark underworld in 17th century Paris....

Who’s to blame for the demise of La Voisin?    This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes a dear friend (and potential real life witch!) Jen Curran to discuss the Affair of the Poisons which ultimately led to the execution of the French “wise woman” La Voisin. Are witches real or were they the product of the religious mystique at the time? Could the Criminal Magical Un...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with New York Times staff writer Jonathan Abrams about who’s to blame for the Malice at the Palace. Jonathan’s Oral History of the event was featured in ESPN’s Grantland and he helps remind us of the big emotions, both personal and professional, that were all coalescing during this historic moment in the NBA. Afterward, Producer Clayton Ea...

Who’s to blame for Malice at the Palace?  This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes old friend and legendary sports personality Kenny Mayne to discuss the infamous sporting debacle known as Malice at the Palace. And with Kenny’s long tenure on ESPN, who better to help break it down for The Alarmy?! Will Mob Mentality take the fall for this one? Could Ben Wallace’s armband be to...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. Tim Lehman about The Battle of Little Bighorn and the complicated series of events leading up to this unusual battle. Dr. Lehman is a Professor of History and Political Science at Rocky Mountain College in Montana and author of the book Bloodshed at Little Bighorn: Sitting Bull, Custer, and the Destinies of Nations . Afterward, Pr...

Who’s to blame for the Battle of Little Bighorn? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with comedian and television host Adam Conover about the Battle of Little Bighorn and why this battle was even necessary in the first place. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Was this the result of Manifest Destiny? Was the term even used at the time? Or was...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Marc Bekoff about the killing of Harambe, The Cincinnati Zoo Toddler Incident and zoo culture in general. Marc is a professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, a Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society, and a past Guggenheim Fellow. With Jane Goodall, Marc co-founded the organization Ethologists...

Who’s to blame for the death of Harambe and The Cincinnati Zoo Toddler Incident? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) talks with actor and comedian Andreé Vermeulen about the toddler who fell into an exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo resulting in the death of the Gorilla Harambe. Should we really be keeping animals in captivity? And why was it so easy for a 3 year old to crawl into a wild G...

New NEW Mailbag! First of its kind on The Alarmist. This week, Rebecca sits down with Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early for an all new Alarmy Mini-Alarms episode. That’s right, this one’s dedicated to you Alarmy. Tune in and find out what’s been Alarming the Alarmy these days. Listener MaryBeth from Portland, OR is stressing about puppets. Maybe you can relate?! If not, write in...

Who’s to blame for Penn State’s Jerry Sandusky Scandal? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with actor and friend Charlie Hewson about the systemic failures in place that allowed for the decades of abuse by Jerry Sandusky at Penn State. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Could Penn State’s legendary football culture explain the university's po...

New Guest Expert! For this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Ariel Ramchandani about her extensive knowledge of the Ruby Red Slippers lore and their eventual theft from the Judy Garland Museum in August of 2005. Ariel is a freelance writer and host of the podcast No Place Like Home . Her work has appeared in Mother Jones, The Atlantic and The Guardian among other publications. Afterward, Produ...

Who’s to blame for The Stolen Ruby Red Slippers? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes Comedian DarylJim to discuss the fascinating case of the Stolen Ruby Red Slippers famously worn by the legendary Judy Garland in the MGM juggernaut The Wizard of Oz . Will the Fashion Industry finally take the fall for this one? Or did some “Local Dirtbags” have something to do with it? Fact C...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. Robert Fatton Jr. about the many complexities of the Haitian Revolution and the difficulties the nation faced with their newly won independence. Professor Fatton works in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. He’s published numerous books and articles on the subject and is the recipient of the 2011 Award for Ex...

Who’s to blame for The Haitian Revolution? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes writer Alicia Carroll to discuss the circumstances and injustices that led to The Haitian Revolution. This historic revolution allowed Haiti to emerge as the first black republic in the world and the first country to abolish slavery in the Western hemisphere. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smi...

New Mailbag! This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) is kickin’ it Mailbag style and sharing some of your recent ponderings and suggestions with Producer Clayton Early and Fact Checker Chris Smith. Want to know what’s been alarming The Alarmist crew lately? Better yet, why don’t you write in and tell us what’s been alarming you! Write in, rate, review and you could be included in our futur...

Who’s to blame for the Sewol Ferry Disaster? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes podcaster and writer Ben Acker to discuss the tragic sinking of the Sewol Ferry in South Korea. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Is this horror the result of capitalism, corruption, or negligence? Or perhaps it’s a combination of all 3. Up on the board: Ilegal...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Professor Philip Dray about the The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the unique circumstances in American history which made it possible, at the time. Author of There is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America , Professor Dray reminds us of the dreary state of American life leading up to the strikes and the complete lack...

Who’s to blame for The Great Railroad Strike of 1877? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with actor and writer Ali Vingiano about the events leading up to The Great Railroad Strike of 1877. A Union rep for the WGA herself, Ali knows all about the importance of organizing. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Was this another byproduct of The Gi...

New Mailbag Episode! Hey Alarmy! You’ve sent us some mail and boy do we love hearing from you. Our mailbag runneth over! Tune in and listen as The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith), Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early sort through your insightful comments, suggestions and thoughts on our most recent episodes. Plus, you’ll get to hear what has The Alarmist crew alarmed these days. Ha...

Who’s to blame for Grey Gardens? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back Kristen Meinzer and her podcasting partner Jolenta Greenberg to discuss the tragic tale of the infamous Grey Gardens Estate and the colorful characters who once owned it. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Were Big Edie and Little Edie trapped in a codependent relation...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Sarah Barringer Gordon about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Sally, as she’s more commonly known, is a Professor of Constitutional Law and History at the University of Pennsylvania. Having recently published an award winning article about the Mountain Meadows Massacre in the Journal of the Early Republic with co-author Jan Shipps, Sall...

Who’s to blame for the Mountain Meadows Massacre? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) keeps it all in the family to discuss the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Could this tragedy be the result of religious persecution or religious radicalism? Or perhaps both? Associate Producer & Researcher Alex Paul stops by to lend her expertise on the subject as someone who was raised in the Mormon C...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. Phyllis Chesler about the women's movement of the 60’s & 70’s and how the writings of Valerie Solanas and her attempted assassination of Andy Warhol fit into the legacy of the American feminist movement. Dr. Phyllis is a pioneer of Second Wave Feminism and a best-selling author of over 20 books, including the landmark feminist...

Who’s to blame for the attempted assassination of Andy Warhol? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with fellow podcaster Anna Stoecklein Lau about Valerie Solanas and her attempted assassination of Andy Warhol. Host of the podcast The Story of Woman , Anna is the perfect guest to help explore the broader context of this incident. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Pr...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Granby, CO resident Patrick Bower about the destructive bulldozer rampage by Marvin Heemeyer on June 4, 2004. Former editor and publisher of The Sky-Hi News and author of Killdozer: The True Story of the Colorado Bulldozer Rampage , Patrick knew Marvin from his early days in Granby and shares first hand information about the reality o...