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You're Wrong About

Mike and Sarah are journalists obsessed with the past. Every week they reconsider a person or event that's been miscast in the public imagination.

Vanessa Williams Part 2: Saving The Best For Last

You're Wrong About

  • 3.6K views
  • about 4 years ago
  • 01:04:37

Special guest Cassie da Costa tells Mike and Sarah how Vanessa fell from grace and picked herself back up. Digressions include Stephen Sondheim, Rush Limbaugh and Whitney Houston. The tyranny of abs is discussed at length.Here's Cassie's episode of You Must Remember This and her website!Support us:Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PaypalBuy cute merchWhere else to find us: Sarah's other show, Why Are Dads Mike's other show, Maintenance PhaseSupport the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Tipper Gore vs. Heavy Metal: The Hearing

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  • 4.2K views
  • about 4 years ago
  • 01:12:25

Mike tells Sarah the real reason Congress called a bunch of rockers to Washington D.C. Digressions include cartoon violence, sleeveless tees and Trixie Mattel. Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" and Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" are dissected at length. Support us:Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PaypalBuy cute merchLinks! The hearing transcript Dee Snider's memoir, " Shut Up and Give Me the Mic"Frank Zappa's memoir, "The Real Frank Zappa Book"Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story of Frank ZappaMusic-Evoked Emotions—Current Studies Don’t Let The Man Get You Down: Rock and Roll and The Development of The Parents’ Music Resource CenterSave the Children: The Parents’ Music Resource Center and Media ActivismHighway to Hell: Laws, Lawsuits, and Moral Panic over Heavy Metal MusicThe Parents’ Music Resource Center: From Information to Censorship“Leer-Ics” or Lyrics: Teenage Impressions of Rock 'n' RollParental Advisory – Explicit Content: The Parents Music Resource Center, Conservative Music Censorship, and the Protection of ChildrenAndrew Hartman’s A War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture WarsThe Effects of Violent Music on Children and AdolescentsA Comparative Historical Analysis of Post-war Moral Panics and the Construction of Youth from 1938 to 2010Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

The Electoral College

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  • 3.5K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 56:38

Topical episode! Special guest Jamelle Bouie tells Sarah and Mike about his problematic Founding Father faves and the bewildering institution they handed down to us. Digressions include '70s lapels, "Reversal of Fortune" and the Eurovision Song Contest. The filibuster rule and the three-fifths compromise receive bonus debunkings. Support us:http://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttp://paypal.me/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about?ref_id=10420Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Princess Diana Part 5: The Crash

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  • 4K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 01:30:08

“You can be a hot mess express and still leave the world better than you found it.” In the final episode of our series, we talk about Diana’s untimely death and the everlasting conspiracy theories surrounding it. Digressions include RPGs, Madonna and Tickle Me Elmo. This episode contains spoilers for the movie “The Queen.” Here's the photos and clips we talked about in this episode: https://rottenindenmark.org/2020/11/09/princess-diana-part-5/Support us: http://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttp://paypal.me/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about?ref_id=10420Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Princess Diana Part 4: The Divorce

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  • 4.4K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 01:27:48

This week, Diana leaves the royal family with her reputation intact and her title slightly edited. Digressions include "Love Actually," "Pride and Prejudice" and Marie Antoinette. Both co-hosts reveal their staunch affirmative stance on wine moms. Here's the photos and clips we talked about in this episode: https://rottenindenmark.org/2020/11/01/princess-diana-part-4-the-divorce/Support us: http://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttp://paypal.me/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about?ref_id=10420  Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Princess Diana Part 3: The Affairs

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  • 5.4K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 01:19:35

This week, Diana swaps out her husband for a Horse Dude and Mike and Sarah act out other people's PG-13 dirty talk. Digressions include shoulder pads, Billy Joel and "Seinfeld" (twice!). There's a moment 55 minutes in that is going to make you feel very weird. As with previous installments, this episode contains detailed descriptions of disordered eating.Here's the photos we talked about in this episode: https://rottenindenmark.org/2020/10/11/princess-diana-part-3-the-affairs/Support us: http://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttp://paypal.me/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about?ref_id=10420 Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Princess Diana Part 1: The Courtship

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  • 5.7K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 01:31:38

We start our new series with the story of a girl, a prince and the society that convinced them they liked each other. Digressions include camels, Beyoncé and the idiosyncrasies of British place names. We're sorry to say that this episode has detailed descriptions of disordered eating. Support us: http://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttp://paypal.me/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about?ref_id=10420Links! Andrew Morton's "Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words"Tina Brown's "The Diana Chronicles"Hillary Mantel's "Royal Bodies"Zoë Heller's "Where Prince Charles Went Wrong" (Mike said it was Adam Gopnik on the show! That sucks and he's sorry!)Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Tuskegee Syphilis Study Part 2: The Truth

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  • 3.1K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 01:10:35

“It’s like these men are being held in a bubble as science marches forward.” Mike tells Sarah how one of history's most unethical experiments came crashing down. Digressions include the history of penicillin, the power of TV movies and the mysterious diagnosis of "Satan's crabs." This episode is happier than the last one, but still contains a lot of racist language and some grisly Nazi examples toward the beginning. Support us: http://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttp://paypal.me/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about?ref_id=10420Links!Under the Shadow of Tuskegee: African Americans and Health CareExamining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and Its LegacyBad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis ExperimentMedical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the PresentThe Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Medical Research versus Human Rights“There Wasn't a Lot of Comforts in Those Days:” African Americans, Public Health, and the 1918 Influenza EpidemicThe Study Of Untreated Syphilis In The Negro MaleRacism and Research: The Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis StudyThe 1972 Ebony articleThe Discovery of Penicillin—New Insights After More Than 75 Years of Clinical UseSyphilis Victims in U.S. Study Went Untreated for 40 YearsThe Rhetoric of Dehumanization: An Analysis of Medical Reports of The Tuskegee Syphilis ProjectSupport the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Tuskegee Syphilis Study Part 1: The Lie

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  • 5.4K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 01:17:37

Mike tells Sarah about the longest "non-therapeutic" experiment in medical history. Digressions include deep fried ice cream, Kato Kaelin and a hot-yoga cabinet. As a warning, this episode contains long quotes from eugenic memos and detailed descriptions of medical racism. We promise to do a happier episode soon. Huge thanks to Susan Reverby, Vanessa Northington Gamble and Lillian Head for helping Mike with the research for this episode! Support us: http://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttp://paypal.me/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about?ref_id=10420Links!Under the Shadow of Tuskegee: African Americans and Health CareExamining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and Its LegacyBad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis ExperimentMedical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the PresentThe Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Medical Research versus Human RightsRethinking the Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Nurse Rivers, Silence and the Meaning of Treatment“There Wasn't a Lot of Comforts in Those Days:” African Americans, Public Health, and the 1918 Influenza EpidemicThe Study Of Untreated Syphilis In The Negro MaleNurse Eunice Rivers: Marching to Doctor's Orders in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in the Jim Crow SouthRacism and Research: The Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis StudyThe Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: Medical Ethics, Constitutionalism, and Property in the BodyThe Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: Biotechnology And The Administrative StateSupport the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

The Stepford Wives

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  • 6.2K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 01:01:19

Sarah tells Mike about the real-life conspiracy written between the lines of a 1970s horror novel. Digressions include "Rosemary's Baby (again), Disney World (of course), a brief history of the American pharmaceutical industry and a long recipe for stew.Support us: http://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttp://paypal.me/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about?ref_id=10420Links!"She Touched Me" from "Drat! The Cat!" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G69_Fx_YVuUThe Carousel of Progress- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmrSiJTMf7sThe Magic Worlds of Walt Disney – National Geographic August 1963 -- https://disneyavenue.wordpress.com/category/national-geographic-aug-63/"More Work for Mother" by Ruth Schwartz Cowan https://www.google.com/books/edition/More_Work_For_Mother/9YM1tAEACAAJ?hl=en"The Age of Anxiety" by Andrea Tone https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Age_of_Anxiety/sgkXBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=age+of+anxiety&printsec=frontcover"The Battered Parent Syndrome" ad for Milton - http://www.bonkersinstitute.org/medshow/fembps1.html"The Magic Bullet" by Heather Radke, on Miltown - https://www.topic.com/the-magic-bullet"The Family That Built an Empire of Pain" by Patrick Radden Keefe, on the Sackler family -- https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/30/the-family-that-built-an-empire-of-pain"Dopesick" by Beth Macy https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dopesick/23BBDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=dopesick+macy&printsec=frontcoverSupport the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Wayfair and Human Trafficking Statistics

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  • 4.5K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 57:22

In another "mini" episode that accidentally turned mega, Mike tells Sarah about the Wayfair conspiracy theory and the sketchy statistical screenshots that have shown up in its wake. Digressions include "Inside Llewyn Davis," Miranda Priestley and (sigh) Jeffrey Epstein. This episode contains, we're sorry to say, detailed descriptions of child abuse. We recommend listening to this episode alongside our "Human Trafficking" episode from last year, which contains much more context for understanding this issue: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/human-trafficking/id1380008439?i=1000465289965Support us: http://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttp://paypal.me/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about?ref_id=10420Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Disco Demolition Night

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  • 7.3K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 01:37:31

Mike tells Sarah how a silly sports promotion galvanized a reactionary movement. Digressions include “Charlotte’s Web,” Jane Fonda and German-language musicals. Songs are dissected; the honor of David Bowie and late-night salad bars are defended.Huge thanks to historians Tavia Nyong'o, Eric Gonzaba, Luis-Manuel Garcia and Gillian Frank for helping Mike with this episode! Support us: http://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttp://paypal.me/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-about?ref_id=10420Links!  Tavia Nyong'o's "I Feel Love: Disco and Its Discontents"Gillian Frank's excellent article on disco and his delightful podcastLuis-Manuel Garcia's alternate history of club culture and dissection of the gay left's opposition to discoAlice Echols' "Hot Stuff"  Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton's "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey"   Tim Lawrence's "Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979" Peter Shapiro's "Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco"Undone did a great episode on Disco Demolition Night“The Flip Sides of 1979”“Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night,” the (fabricated) New York Magazine story that inspired “Saturday Night Fever”Tony Smith interview"Disco and The Queering of the Dance Floor"Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Koko The Gorilla

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  • 3.9K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 01:20:05

“It’s interesting that we became enthusiastic about ASL in the process of teaching it to a population that couldn’t benefit from it.”Mike tells Sarah about a very special ape and the very problematic humans around her. Digressions include video dating, "Biography" and the terrible terrible inventor of the telephone. We start with a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT about the future of the show. Both co-hosts understand the difference between chimps, monkeys and apes but occasionally misspeak.For a transcript of this episode (Thanks Andrea!), click here or copy-paste:https://rottenindenmark.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/YWA-Koko-the-Gorilla-Transcript.pdf Support us: Subscribe on Patreon, donate on Paypal or buy T-shirts, mugs or face masks!Links!Marcus Perlman, the researcher Mike interviewed!"Human and Animal Cognition: Continuity and Discontinuity""In Memorium: Koko, A Remarkable Gorilla""What Do Talking Apes Really Tell Us?" “Monkey Business”“Talk to the Animals,” the 1980 Omni article“Animal Bodies, Human Minds: Ape, Dolphin, and Parrot Language Skills”1979 New York Magazine article on Herb Terrace“The Last Distinction?”“The Sad Twilight of Koko The Gorilla and Her 'Mother'”“Why Koko Can’t Talk”“The Other Side of Silence: Sign Language and the Deaf Community in America”“The Education of Koko”Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Courtney Love

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  • 2.9K views
  • over 4 years ago
  • 01:16:49

Special guest Candace Opper tells Mike and Sarah how a grunge star became the protagonist in one of America's most persistent conspiracy theories. Digressions include Neil Young, protest songs and the coolest baby of the 1990s. Mike continues to mine his public school education for anatomically impossible rumors. This episode contains detailed descriptions of suicide.Pre-order Candace's book, check out her website or follow her Tweets! Support us: Subscribe on Patreon, donate on Paypal or buy T-shirts, mugs or face masks!Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

"The Prom Mom"

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  • 2.6K views
  • almost 5 years ago
  • 54:13

“The criminal justice system should treat everyone like a white teenage girl whose future it’s concerned about disrupting.” Sarah tells Mike about Melissa Drexler, the New Jersey teenager who (according to George F. Will) killed her newborn baby due to the influence of Metallica and the United States Supreme Court. Digressions include Baby Moses laws, “Citizen Ruth” and Ted Bundy’s political leanings. To the surprise of no one, we end up discussing true crime tropes in great detail.This episode contains detailed descriptions of neonaticide. Support us: Subscribe on Patreon, donate on Paypal or buy mugs, T-shirts and face masks!Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Re-Release: The Stonewall Uprising

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  • 4.4K views
  • almost 5 years ago
  • 01:14:46

In honor of Pride Month and revolutions past, present, and future, we're re-releasing our episode on the Stonewall Uprising. Let the sunshine in. Support us: Subscribe on Patreon, donate on Paypal or buy cute stuff!Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

The Y2K Bug

You're Wrong About

  • 3K views
  • almost 5 years ago
  • 58:28

Mike tells Sarah how an obscure technical glitch became a nationwide mobilization. Digressions include Twitter beefs, “The Net” and VHS pricing. We spend much of the episode roasting our own work from the relatively recent past.Correction: It seems the women in Britain didn't terminate their pregnancies due to the false positive test results. We were wrong about this and we're sorry! Support us: Subscribe on Patreon, donate on Paypal or buy cute stuff!Continue reading →Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

The O.J. Simpson Trial: When Kato Met Marcia

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  • 2.2K views
  • almost 5 years ago
  • 57:24

Sarah tells Mike about the clash of the titans, the fury at the grand jury. We follow Kato, the wise fool of the kingdom, for the week between the murders and the Bronco chase. Digressions include John Travolta, French kickboxing movies and "The Mummy." The celebrity cameos are less numerous than usual but no less absurd. Support us: Subscribe on Patreon, donate on Paypal or buy cute stuff! Continue reading →Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)

Shaken Baby Syndrome

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  • 3.9K views
  • over 6 years ago
  • 57:08

Mike tells Sarah how an over-simplified diagnosis, over-confident doctors and over-zealous prosecutors combined to get thousands of innocent parents thrown in prison. Digressions include food poisoning, Sherlock Holmes and 1950s medical ethics. Mike wanted to mention Louise Woodward but he forgot. Support us: Subscribe on Patreon, donate on Paypal or buy cute stuff!Continue reading →Support the show (http://patreon.com/yourewrongabout)