The Alarmist

Who’s to blame for the demise of the Radium Girls? On this week's REWIND, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with author and journalist Jane Borden about the Radium Girls and the untimely death of numerous dial painters of the 1920’s. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Is this another classic case of greed, sexism, or good old fashioned Capitalism? Tune...

Who’s to blame for Balloonfest ‘86? On this week's REWIND, 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 P...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Professor Moyara Ruehsen about the nature of the crimes committed in the 1988 film Die Hard. Beyond that, she discusses the plausibility of the attempted heist and what modern day equivalents are taking place in the world of financial crime. Professor Ruehsen is a Certified Specialist in Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime. Afte...

Who’s to blame for the criminal mayhem in the 1988 film Die Hard? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) is coming to you LIVE from the Elysian Theater in Los Angeles with special guests Mary Grill, Dan Klein and Cass Buggé to discuss the 1988 Christmas classic Die Hard. She’s joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Don’t miss this extra special LIVE episode with au...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Professor of Sociology at Yale University, Emily Erikson, about The Black Hole of Calcutta and the legacy that emerged in its wake. Emily's work has focused on the emergence of early multi-national firms and the structure of early modern global trade and reflects on the events that led to what we now know as British Imperial Rule. Aft...

Who’s to blame for The Black Hole of Calcutta? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) discusses the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta and the controversy that followed. Set in Fort William owned by the British East India Company circa 1756, an atrocity occurred that would go on to shape history as we know it. Speculations about the event live on, but the fallout is undeniable. Was a lack of...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. Lindsay Stallones Marshall about the Nez Percé Nation and the epic War of 1877 they found themselves wrapped up in. Dr. Marshall is an author and Assistant Professor of History at Illinois State University and details much of the gross negligence by the US Government and local settlers that led to this horrific war. Afterward, Pat...

Who’s to blame for the Nez Percé War of 1877? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) takes on the Nez Percé War of 1877 and decides once and for all who is to blame. She’s joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. With a combination of broken treaties, settler hostility and general disregard for native inhabitants one thing was clear; the US Government would stop at n...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. Jody Lyneé Madeira about the shocking case against fertility doctor Donald Cline. Her research has been profiled internationally, including the Netflix documentary “Our Father,” and she shares some fascinating (if not infuriating) details about the lack of regulation for reproductive medicine. Afterward, Patreon subscribers can he...

Who’s to blame for Donald Cline’s Secret Children? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) tackles the shocking case of fertility doctor Donald Cline and his decades long practice of deception and fraud with vulnerable and hopeful young parents who came to him for help with artificial insemination. Is this what happens when the emotional toll of infertility combines with the stigma and sha...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. James Francis Jr. about the 1990s miniseries IT and the cultural and psychological impact it had on a generation of viewers. Talk about generational trauma! Dr. Francis is a Professor of English at Texas A&M and helps us dig deeper into the loss of childhood playfulness, collective irrational fears and the terror of the uncann...

Who’s to blame for IT (1990 miniseries)? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) revisits the 1990 miniseries classic IT to decide once and for all who’s to blame for the murderous killing spree of young children in Derry, Maine. Is it supernatural? Is it mythological? Is it pathological? Perhaps a combination of all three! Is this what happens when we forget our history? Join Fact Checker...

On this week’s Aftermath REWIND, Rebecca speaks with Cara Robertson about the Lizzie Borden murders. Author of The Trial of Lizzie Borden , Cara shares plenty of new insights about this infamous moment in Fall River, MA. Producer Clayton Early and Fact Checker Chris Smith stop by to discuss. One thing remains clear, family and roommate tensions are no laughing matter! Join our Patreon! Tell us who...

Who’s to blame for the Lizzie Borden Murders? On this week's REWIND, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) keeps it all in the family with Producer Clayton Early and Fact Checker Chris Smith to discuss the grizzly Lizzie Borden Murders. Could the Fashion Industry possibly take the fall for this one? Up on the board: Female Oppression, Family Inheritance and Roommate Tension! Join our Patreon! Tell...

New Mailbag! You read that right. It’s October and we’re way behind on the mail. So, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith), Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early are taking a little Fall break to catch up with the Alarmy and share some recent reviews. We’ve got letters from multiple Emily’s, multiple countries and multiple new listeners! Tune in and hear what’s been on listeners' mind...

Who’s to blame for the delayed burial of Eva Peron?  This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) discusses the legacy of Eva Peron, aka Evita, and the controversial circumstances surrounding her burial which wouldn’t take place until well over 20 years after her untimely death. How could the First Lady of Argentina’s remains be unaccounted for for such a long period of time? Was this the...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with author and internationally exhibited fine artist Chris Semtner about the mysterious life and death of legendary poet Edgar Allen Poe. Curator of the Edgar Allen Poe Museum in Richmond, VA, Chris is full of thoughtful anecdotes about Poe’s life and shares some fascinating new details about Cooping and how Poe might have been mixed up i...

Who’s to blame for the death of Edgar Allen Poe? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) tackles the mysterious death of famed author and poet Edgar Allen Poe. Known for his fascination with the macabre and for telling tales of mystery and psychological terror, did Poe manifest a similar mysterious fate for himself? Perhaps he was jumped by a group of ruffians put off by his alcoholic tend...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Professor Amani Roberts about the 30 year long (and going!) feud sparked by the 1998 Billboard Top 100 hit The Boy Is Mine by Brandy & Monica. Amani is a renowned DJ, international keynote speaker and author who shares some poignant details about the genre breaking legacy of the song, the feud and these two incredibly talented fem...

Who’s to blame for Brandy & Monica’s "The Boy Is Mine" Feud?  This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) revisits the epic feud between 90’s female pop icons Brandy and Monica. The Boy Is Mine. Was it real? Was it a publicity stunt? We may never know the entire story. But, we do know the fans loved it. And they still do…to this very day. Hence Brandy & Monica’s 2025 reunion title...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca revisits the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunami with Dr. Elizabeth Vanacore. Liz is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Geology, Puerto Rico Seismic Network at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez and is widely considered an expert on tsunami and earthquake research. She shares a healthy dose of data and sound tsunami a...

Who’s to blame for the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunami? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) discusses the massive earthquake that rocked the floor of the Indian Ocean in 2004 and triggered deadly tsunamis which raced across the ocean and wiped out entire villages and took the lives of people living and vacationing hundreds of miles away. Could an official warning system have...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks to medical historian John Waller about the Dancing Plague of 1518. Author of A Time to Dance, a Time to Die: The Extraordinary Story of the Dancing Plague of 1518 , John shares fascinating new details about the culture, economics and spirituality of the time which really illuminate how truly different the past was from our present day live...

Who’s to blame for the Dancing Plague of 1518? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) is searching for the cause of the Dancing Plague of 1518 in the city of Strasbourg. What possessed a woman named Frau Troffea to start dancing unstopped for 6 six days straight? And why did hundreds of others join in, some dancing themselves to literal death? Did “laughing veins” have something to do wit...

New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with literary scholar Milan Terlunen about the 1985 camp classic CLUE. Milan gets into the history of the plot twist and how difficult they can be to execute in modern day films. He also reflects on the question that in a film like this, born out of the woes of capitalism, do we really need to care whodunit? Afterward, Patreon subscribers...