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What does Halloween mean to you? For this listener submission episode, we asked you to send in your favorite Halloween memories and you delivered the spooky, the funny, and the heartfelt, showing that this schlocky holiday may in fact be the true holiday of love. Original music brought to you by Magpie Cinema Club Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler Send your submissions for the Where I Live holiday special to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Choose wisely: trick or treat? Starting in the late 1800s, the spooky and goofy version of Halloween we know today became a time of ruckus and sometimes dangerous pranks by kids and teenagers that caused widespread property damage and bodily harm. For this episode, Halloween correspondent Chelsey Weber-Smith joins Sarah to take a look at old newspaper articles detailing these pranks, and the reactions they elicited until the adults of the mid-20th century finally took control back from the youth, trying their best to soften the annual Purge-esque mayhem. Digressions include how to eat a cactus (and why), the killer clown panic, and the horror of midnight margaritas. More Chelsey Weber-Smith: Listen to American Hysteria Follow on Instagram Original music in this episode brought to you by Magpie Cinema Club Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler More You're Wrong About: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bonus Episodes on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy cute merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YWA on Instagram⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you leave a man after becoming notorious for staying by his side? Lolita correspondent Jamie Loftus is back for the third and final part of this book club series on Mary Jo Buttafuoco’s 2009 memoir Getting It Through My Thick Skull—with guest appearances by the not one, not two, but three TV movies about the story. How do you raise a family in the aftermath of a scandal? How do you find yourself after becoming a tabloid caricature? And why does Joey keep lying about everything? The answers to these questions—and a happy ending—lie ahead. Pre-Order Jamie's new book "The Tower": https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250480422/thetower/ Produced + Edited by Miranda Zickler: http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster

Crikey! How does a man decide to wrangle giant reptiles for a living? For this episode, ocean correspondent Brianna Bowman shares the life story of Australian icon Steve Irwin, the beloved Crocodile Hunter who captured the slithering hearts of kids in the late 90s and 2000s. Starting with his lizard- and snake-laden childhood and his early work with “problem crocodiles,” Brianna takes Sarah through Steve’s romance with Terri, the equally animal-obsessed love of his life; their career together at the Australia Zoo and rise to TV stardom; and the shocking news of his improbable death. Digressions include sea anemones, Jurassic Park, and H2O: Just Add Water. More Brianna Bowman: http://www.briannabowman.com https://www.patreon.com/c/rewildingkeiko Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler: http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster Brianna recommends: Steve's papers that he coauthored: ⁠pone.0000949 1..5⁠  and ⁠Estuarine crocodiles ride surface currents to facilitate long‐distance travel - Campbell - 2010 - Journal of Animal Ecology - Wiley Online Library⁠ Steve explaining the research to Conan and other things: ⁠Crocs...IN SPACE⁠ His allegedly last show at Australia Zoo: ⁠Steve Irwin’s very last show at Australia Zoo, before he passed away. : r/interestingasfuck⁠ Some great Crocodile Hunter clips: ⁠Steve’s Wildest Croc Encounters | The Crocodile Hunter | Animal Planet⁠ His captures for Read's research happen at 10:18 His memorial service: ⁠STEVE IRWIN MEMORIAL TRIBUTE⁠ More You're Wrong About: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bonus Episodes on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Buy cute merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YWA on Instagram⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who will you be this year? No matter your age, it’s likely that your body remembers the school calendar, and with the blooming aisles of binders and pencils and backpacks, it’s easy to feel like a nervous, hopeful kid waiting for that first day back in class. For this episode, Antiquated Education Correspondent Gabe Henry tells Sarah about the history of the shopping season known as Back to School, from the Depression-era department store promotions and the original mascots, to the development of trendy clothes, lunch boxes, and notebooks, and into the memorable commercials and new gadgets of the 1980s and 90s. Together they discuss the commercialization of ritual and what the promises of Back to School shopping taught us about the reinvention of the self. Digressions include the Nickelodeon blimp, Fred Meyer Jewelers, and the Ann Getty baby craze. More Gabe Henry: http://www.gabehenry.com Get Gabe's book "Enough is Enuf: Our Failed attempts to Make English Easier to Spell" @gabe.henryy on Instagram Produced + edited by ⁠⁠Miranda Zickler: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster More You're Wrong About: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bonus Episodes on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Buy cute merch⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠YWA on Instagram⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What was Joey and Mary Jo Buttafuoco’s marriage like, anyway? In this middle section of our book club trilogy, Sarah and Lolita correspondent Jamie Loftus find out, with help from Mary Jo Buttafuoco’s memoir Getting it Through My Thick Skull, written with Julie McCarron. Pre-Order Jamie's new book "The Tower": https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250480422/thetower/ Produced + Edited by Miranda Zickler: http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster

Megan Burbank’s gotta dance. The centuries-old dance style known as ballet has been stereotyped in our modern world with images of refined, wispy, frighteningly disciplined young women fighting viciously for roles in ethereal productions. For this episode, Adult Dance Correspondent Megan Burbank shares with Sarah the history and transformation of this misunderstood art from its early days as a fancy French aristocratic performance, to its post-French Revolution embrace by the working class, and finally into 20th century America when the expected body of the ballerina began to take shape. Megan also shares her own experience as a late-onset ballerina, dispelling myths about what ballet is, who can participate, and what we can learn about ourselves through its techniques. Together they discuss the line between art and sport, the aspects of horror found in many ballets, and whether it is too late for all of us to become the prima ballerina of our dreams. Digressions include: Final Destination acupuncture, the smell of the Scholastic book fair, and the questionable advertising employed by Tab soda. Send your submissions for our Halloween Listener Spectacular (scary stories or Halloween nostalgia) to [email protected] before August 31st! Referenced: Ballet Evolved How Political Anxiety Turned Me into a Late-Onset Ballerina eXit SPACE Dance Studio International Adult Ballet Festival TAB Soda Fever Dream More Megan Burbank: Burbank.industries Burbank Industries on Substack Produced + edited by ⁠⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠⁠ More You're Wrong About: ⁠⁠⁠Bonus Episodes on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Buy cute merch⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠YWA on Instagram⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when you are forced into the public eye because of someone else’s immorality? In 1992, a 37-year-old housewife named Mary Jo Buttafuoco barely survived an attack by a gun-wielding 17-year-old girl named Amy Fisher. Amy accused Mary Jo’s husband, Joey, of statutory rape. Joey denied everything. And Mary Jo stood by her man. Why? In 2009, Mary Jo Buttafuoco released a memoir called Getting It Through My Thick Skull: Why I Stayed, What I Learned, and What Millions of People Involved with Sociopaths Need to Know, and today, we’re talking about it with Jamie Loftus, host of Lolita Podcast and author of the forthcoming The Tower. We'll discuss the irresponsible way the media portrayed the story, the complicated dynamic between Mary Jo and Amy, and the reasons why women sometimes choose to stay in relationships with problematic or abusive men. Digressions include the Simpsons’ impossible rumpus room, the farce of “writing routines,” and whether a particular sticker dog was able to survive. More Jamie Loftus: https://www.jamieloftus.xyz/ https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250480439/thetower/ Send your submissions for our Halloween Listener Spectacular (scary stories or Halloween nostalgia) to [email protected] before August 31st! Produced + edited by ⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠: http://linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster

If your four-year-old told you about a trip to heaven, would you believe them? For a pastor named Todd Burpo, the answer was yes. In 2010, his book Heaven Is For Real—co-authored by Lynn Vincent—became a runaway bestseller. This week, Sarah tells In Bed with the Right co-host Adrian Daub the story of this strange little book, and how it reveals more about us than it does the afterlife. Digressions include Shakerism, The Big Lebowski, and the ongoing debate around pets in heaven. Send your submissions for our Halloween Listener Spectacular (scary stories or Halloween nostalgia) to [email protected] before August 31st! More Adrian Daub: http://www.adriandaub.com Adrian’s new book What Tech Calls Governing comes out August 18th Listen to In Bed with the Right Produced + edited by ⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠ More You're Wrong About: ⁠⁠Bonus Episodes on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy cute merch⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YWA on Instagram⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1976, a transgender tennis player named Renée Richards won a landmark New York Supreme Court case and a victory for trans rights in professional sports. In 2026, YWA sports correspondent Julie Kliegman is publishing a biography of her. In honor of their new book, Finding Renée Richards: The Groundbreaking Story of Tennis’s Trans Pioneer, Julie returns to the Renée Richards beat to tell Sarah about the long process of creating this expansive work. In addition to the sometimes complicated conversations Julie had with Renee, they share with Sarah the process of writing a biography, from the first lunch with a subject, to the pitch, to the long days searching the archives, and finally, to its publication and reception. They discuss how to write “Not A Tennis Book,” how to deal with your subject's feelings about their own biography, and what to do with the pressure of writing about an individual who will inevitably be interpreted as a voice for an entire group of people. Digressions include cave anxiety, Type 2 Fun, and Legally Blonde. More Julie Kliegman: https://juliekliegman.com Use code YWAPOD15 for 15% off Julie's new book Finding Renée Richards on Bookshop.org https://bookshop.org/p/books/finding-renee-richards-the-groundbreaking-story-of-tennis-s-trans-pioneer/0a8690bc4b3ada79 For signed copies: https://www.astoriabookshop.com/item/1sM1NJwkMQf6v7NQU-bIXA Edited + produced by Miranda Zickler: http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster More You're Wrong About: www.linktr.ee/ywapod

Send your submissions for our Halloween Listener Spectacular (scary stories or Halloween nostalgia) to [email protected] before August 31st! How many maligned women can you name in 30 seconds? For this episode, Sarah gives Chelsey Weber-Smith of American Hysteria a lightning round pop quiz on You’re Wrong About topics over the years with stakes so high that you’ll have to hear them to believe them. Digressions include an evil preteen softball team, the alternative pronunciation of pasta, horror movie publicity stunts, and at what point an infant becomes a baby. More Chelsey Weber-Smith: Listen to American Hysteria Follow American Hysteria on instagram Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler More You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on PatreonBuy cute merch YWA on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do I love thee? For this special episode, we asked you to send us a voice message about something you love. From gas station coffee to tap dancing to rocks to the inner lives of rats, you answered—and showed us that when we experience the things that other people love, that love starts to feel like our own. Edited + produced by Miranda Zickler Original music in this episode is brought to you by Miranda Zickler and AJ McKinley, otherwise known as Magpie Cinema Club More You're Wrong About:Bonus Episodes on PatreonBuy cute merchYWA on Instagram Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

But seriously, who really killed JFK? For part two of the JFK Assassination series, law correspondent Mackenzie Joy Brennan takes Sarah through the conspiracy theories that have surrounded the tragedy to see how the combination of too much information and too little information helped solidify a general feeling that things were not as they seemed. Together, they go over the Warren Commission report, the Zapruder Film, and the story of the “magic bullet,” and look at how Oliver Stone’s movie JFK changed our collective memory of what happened that day and who was really to blame. Digressions include the Sharpie art on burned CDs, the series premiere of Monk, and the unfortunate nostalgia for George W. Bush.More Mackenzie Joy Brennan:http://www.mkzjoybrennan.comEdited + produced by Miranda Zickler:http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster Fact checking by Julie KliegmanMore You're Wrong About:Bonus Episodes on PatreonBuy cute merchYWA on Instagram Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would Satan cook? Sarah and kitchen correspondent Sarah Archer read listener mail sent in response to their Food Trends episode and chat about the many joys of celery, the recipes of Rosemary’s Baby, Nora Ephron’s prescient essay, and the unpasteurized past. Digressions include the world’s largest peace candle, the mysterious origin of cake pops, and calories burned while playing chess. Write in to [email protected] and share the meals you make when you simply can't be bothered and/or the quirky recipes that may or may not be exclusive to your family. More Sarah Archer: https://www.sarah-archer.com/ Nora Ephron on the food establishment: https://cookandeatbetter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/ephron-on-food-establishment.pdf A celery vase at The Met Museum: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/1494 A recipe for Tang pie: https://www.allrecipes.com/tang-pie-recipe-11756744 Chocolate Delight Bar recipe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/yourewrongabout/posts/cake-mail-with-162186192 Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler: http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster

Where is Dana Scully when you need her? For the first installment of this two-part episode, legal correspondent Mackenzie Joy Brennan tells Sarah about what happened before, during, and after the moment that John F. Kennedy was shot in that Dallas motorcade, the lasting cultural images that have been burned into the public consciousness, and the story of the man who shot the man and the man who shot the man who shot the man. Plus, the conspiracy theory that walked so that the paranoias of today could run — and how we can orient ourselves in reality despite our strongly held beliefs. Digressions include Oregon Trail bison, jaundiced tans, and the triumph of 90s legal thrillers. More Mackenzie Joy Brennan:http://www.mkzjoybrennan.comEdited + produced by Miranda Zickler:http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster Fact checking by Julie KliegmanMore You're Wrong About:Bonus Episodes on PatreonBuy cute merchYWA on Instagram Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices