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The Paranoid Strain
The podcast that explains why so many people believe ridiculous conspiracy theories.
Recent Episodes
New! Qanon: How we got here - How conspiracy-driven panics ruin lives
Jan. 31, 2023
We said last episode was our final Satanic Panic episode, and we meant it! At least, mostly--we still have to wrap up the surprising and awful story of how our interviewee, Justin Sledge, found himself caught up in a late-br…
New! Qanon: How we got here - Confessing to imaginary crimes
Jan. 17, 2023
The Paranoid Strain? They still do episodes of that show? Will wonders never cease. Sorry we're late. I promise, we weren't being neglectful. We just got caught up in a combination of holiday obligations, ongoing research, a…
New! Qanon: How we got here - The media does PR for the Satanic Panic
Dec. 13, 2022
Our de facto holiday episode is here, not that there's anything notably Christmassy about it. Or even Hannukah-y. We continue to lift up the rocks of the Satanic Panic and watch the horrible worms and bugs squirm in the disi…
New! Qanon: How we got here - Phallic puppets against satanic pederasty
Nov. 29, 2022
We're waist-deep in Satanic Panic, with no end in sight. Our story continues with details of the McMartin preschool trial, the highest-profile, most emblematic event of the whole sad, deluded era. Our expert interviewees wal…
New! Qanon: How we got here - Welcome to Satan's daycare
Nov. 15, 2022
You asked for it, you got it. The 80s Satanic Panic--especially related to supposedly abusive daycares, was a direct antecedent to the Qanon child abuse/sacrifice mania. So we dive into the whole icky story. Joining us is in…
New! Qanon: How we got here - How the blood libel mutated into the Satanic Panic
Nov. 1, 2022
Last stop before our full, multi-part discussion of the Satanic Panic of the 80s and early 90s. This stop is back in the depths of antisemitism, the miasma from which so many conspiracies arise. Learn how the unsolved murder…
