New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca revisits the 1980 New Mexico Prison Uprising with Dr. Robert Chase of Stony Brook University. Robert is a Professor of History and the author of We Are Not Slaves: State Violence, Coerced Labor, and Prisoners Rights in Postwar America and Caging Borders and Carceral States: Incarcerations, Migration Detention, and Resistance . His insight on the context and culture in which this uprising unfolds is invaluable and haunting. Afterward, Patreon su...
Jun 26, 2025•40 min
Who’s to blame for the 1980 New Mexico Prison Riot? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes Kate Downey, host of the CRAMPED podcast, to discuss the 1980 Prison Riot in New Mexico. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Did a Snitching System, designed for inmates to rat out fellow inmates for contraband, and abused by the guards lead to an even more hostile environment? Pair that with deplorable living conditions and ongoing cruel and unusual pun...
Jun 24, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 309
New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with author and documentarian Idanna Pucci about the case against Maria Barbella and the efforts to overturn her death sentence by Electric Chair. Not only has Idanna written extensively about the case, her great-grandmother Cora Slocomb was the woman who led the campaign to overturn Maria’s death sentence! Afterward, Patreon subscribers can revisit the board with Rebecca and Producer Clayton Early to see how the initial verdict held up....
Jun 19, 2025•37 min
Who’s to blame for the Case of Maria Barbella? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes comedian Mo Fry Pasic, host of the podcast Worse Than You , to discuss the troubling case of Maria Barbella. She may have escaped the electric chair, but her story electrified the world. Did Maria’s status as a non-english speaking Italian immigrant and her unbiased, all male jury of “peers” create any difficulties for the initial verdict? Did Lazy Translating during the trail have something t...
Jun 17, 2025•55 min•Season 1Ep. 308
New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Dr. William Hal Gorby about the 1907 Monongah Mining Disaster in West Virginia. Dr. Goby is a Professor of History at West Virginia University and received an Emmy nomination for his work on the PBS documentary The Mine Wars . His interview gives critical insight into the culture of mining at large and the predatory practices of the Fairmont Mining Company. Afterward, Patreon subscribers and hear the post interview breakdown with Fa...
Jun 12, 2025•34 min
Who’s to blame for the Monongah Mining Disaster? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with comedian Connor Ratliff about the 1907 Monongah Mining Disaster in West Virginia which claimed the lives of over 360 men and left over 1000 children without fathers. A very tragic origin story for what we know now as Father’s Day. Is this yet another story of Profit Over People? Did a pattern of exploitative hiring practices lead to dangerous working conditions? And who is Grace Golden Cl...
Jun 10, 2025•56 min•Season 1Ep. 307
New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca revisits the 1955 Le Mans Motor Race Disaster with journalist and non-fiction author Michael Cannell. Michael shares some incredible stories from his conversations with drivers involved in the race and helps us understand the problematic racing culture that dominated the sport during this time period. Afterwards, Patreon subscribers can revisit the board with Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early to see if the verdict holds up. No...
Jun 05, 2025•21 min
Who’s to blame for the 1955 Le Mans Motor Race Disaster? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes actor and comedian Curt Neill to discuss the fatal car crash at the Le Mans Motor Race which took the lives of 82 innocent bystanders and injured over 100 more. With WWII fresh on everyone’s mind, did Performative Patriotism lead to this tragic disaster? Could A Need for Speed be to blame? And why were they testing new experimental brakes during the actual race?! Fact Checker Chris S...
Jun 03, 2025•54 min•Season 1Ep. 306
On this week's Aftermath REWIND, Rebecca speaks with Dr. J Stephan Edwards about the death (and life!) of Lady Jane Grey. Dr. Edwards Ph.D. in early modern European history, with an emphasis on Tudor-Stuart England, has led to a great fascination with the infamous Nine Day Queen. And his extensive research highlights some of the ways in which the history books might not be telling the full story. With new information to consider, Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early stop by to rea...
May 29, 2025•40 min
Who’s to blame for the death of Lady Jane Grey? On this week's REWIND, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with Tod Perry and Alison Rosen, co-hosts of the podcast Upworthy Weekly, about who's to blame for the untimely death of Lady Jane Grey. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Did Lady Jane Grey’s intellect make her a target? Could a religious power struggle be to blame? Or was this the result of power hunger men pulling the strings behind the scenes?...
May 27, 2025•58 min
New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca revisits the Italian Hall Disaster with architectural historian Alison K Hoagland. Professor Hoagland has written extensively about this tragic disaster and shares some fascinating new insights about what was known as Copper Country and the ethnic and economic landscape of Calumet. Afterwards, Patreon subscribers can revisit the board with Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early to see if the verdict holds up. Not part of the Patreo...
May 22, 2025•27 min
Who’s to blame for the Italian Hall Disaster? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) speaks with comedian, gamer and late-night writer Mike Drucker about the Italian Hall Disaster in Calumet, MI on Christmas Eve 1913. Was this horrible accident, which took the lives of 73 people (mostly children), merely an accident or was there something more sinister at play? Did a mining company's monopoly over the town lead to dangerously high tensions? And when and why did it become a crime to yell...
May 20, 2025•54 min•Season 1Ep. 304
New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca is back in the recording studio with national bestselling author William Hazelgrove discussing Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast. Williams 2024 book Dead Air: The Night that Orson Welles Terrified America illustrates the level of pandemonium that ensued and he shares a few more interesting tidbits that really alter our understanding of this moment in American history. Afterwards, Patreon subscribers can revisit the board with Fact Check...
May 15, 2025•41 min
Who’s to blame for the Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds Broadcast Panic? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) is celebrating 300 EPISODES with a LIVE taping at The Elysian Theater in Los Angeles! Together with special guests Amanda Lund, Jamila Webb and Dusty Warren they find out who’s to blame for the Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast of the War of the Worlds and the pandemonium which ensued. Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early join in on the fun and the audience has ...
May 13, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 303
A new favorite Guest Expert Returns! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with returning expert Dr. Michelle Martinez (Gremlins!) about the 90’s classic I Know What You Did Last Summer and the various tropes and devices used throughout the film. We knew about Urban Legends, but do you know what a “Yuppie Horror” or a “Final Girl” is? You will after this one. Afterward, Patreon Subscribers can hear the post-interview breakdown with Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early and see w...
May 08, 2025•44 min
I Know What You Did Last Summer : Who’s to blame? On this week’s episode, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes tv writer Jackie Penn to review the 1997 horror classic I Know What You Did Last Summer and determine who or what is the newest member of the Alarmist Jail. They’re joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Was this unfortunate foursome of toxic friends simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? Did a combination of underage drinking and peer pressure lea...
May 06, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 302
On this week’s Aftermath REWIND, Rebecca speaks with 2 experts! First, Rebecca Rieder, organic farmer and author of Dreaming the Biosphere: The Theater of All Possibilities. And John Adams, the Deputy Director of the current Biosphere 2. Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early stop by to help absorb it all. Will there be a Biosphere 2 field trip in our future?! LIVE SHOW on May 2nd at The Elysian Theater in Los Angeles. Don’t miss the fun. Grab your tix HERE! Tell us who you think is...
May 01, 2025•54 min
Who’s to blame for Biosphere 2? On this week's REWIND, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) decides who’s to blame for the epic experiment and epic fail, Biosphere 2. She’s joined by comedian/musician/podcaster Ethan Edenberg, Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early. Could Experimental Theater take the fall for this one?! LIVE SHOW on May 2nd at The Elysian Theater in Los Angeles. Don’t miss the fun. Grab your tix HERE! Tell us who you think is to blame at http://thealarmistpodcast.c...
Apr 29, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 301
New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca revisits the Jeremy Thorpe and Norman Scott affair/very British scandal with Professor Lucy Robinson. Lucy is a Professor in Collaborative History at the University of Sussex and very eloquently details the troubling and very relevant dynamics playing out between the establishment, politics and working class British citizens at the time. Afterward, Patreon subscribers can join Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early to revisit the v...
Apr 24, 2025•40 min
Who’s to blame for the Thorpe Affair Scandal? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes comedian Kiki Andersen to discuss British political icon Jeremy Thorpe, his taboo love affair (at the time) and the very salacious political scandal that ensued. Was the idea of political “perfection” the problem here? Did a societal fixation on the traditional family structure have something to do with it? Or maybe good old fashioned homophobia is to blame for this one. Fact Checker Chris Smit...
Apr 22, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 300
New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with author, civil engineer and science educator Grady Hillhouse about the 1981 Hyatt Regency Walkway collapse. Host of the popular YouTube series Practical Engineering , Grady shares some simple yet infuriatingly shocking details about the failures that led to collapse of the walkways. Thankfully, he shares some good that has come out of the tragedy too. Afterward, Patreon subscribers can revisit the board with Fact Checker Chris Smith ...
Apr 17, 2025•25 min
Who’s to blame for the 1981 Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes fellow podcaster Mangesh Hattikudur, host of Part-Time Genius , to discuss the haunting collapse of multiple walkways inside a Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri circa 1981. Were 3 indoor walkways an architectural triumph or just architectural hubris? Could a mid-construction engineer change of the guard be to blame? Or maybe a good old fashion communication failure was to bla...
Apr 15, 2025•57 min•Season 1Ep. 299
New Mailbag Episode! Hey Alarmy. You have thoughts and we have your mail to prove it. This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) sits down with Producer Clayton Early and Fact Checker Chris Smith to catch up on some good old fashioned snail mail. And surprise surprise! We’ve found a few old pieces that somehow got lost in the pile. We’re reconsidering covering the Holocaust, we’re talking about who really writes history and we’re even trying to contemplate the actual size of the asteroid th...
Apr 10, 2025•35 min
Who’s to blame for the “Going Postal” Workplace Murders in 80’s & 90’s America? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes Becca Platsky, co-host of the Corporate Gossip podcast, to discuss the string of postal shootings that haunted America in the 1980’s and 90’s. Who or what was responsible for the toxic work environment that prevailed at the USPS? Did a fetishization with productivity have something to do with it? Could a top down abusive management approach be to blame? And...
Apr 08, 2025•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 298
New Guest Expert! On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with author and attorney Kenneth Ackerman about the life and death of President James A. Garfield. Ken walks us through the world of American politics at the time and shares some fascinating details about the “Spoil System” which calls into question the ultimate cause of President Garfield’s undoing. Afterwards, Patreon subscribers can hear the post-interview breakdown with Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early and see if t...
Apr 03, 2025•41 min
Who’s to blame for the death of President James A. Garfield? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes writer and friend CeCe Pleasants Adams to discuss the bizarre and ultimately tragic circumstances around the assassination attempt, and eventual death shortly thereafter, of The United States 20th President, James Garfield. Did the recently established Secret Service have a cavalier attitude towards security practices? Would politics even exist without radicalization? And we abso...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 297
Mail Call! Hey Alarmy. It’s been awhile since we checked in with you. So, we’re headed on over to the mailbag to see what’s been on your mind. Our international listeners are really showing up for this one. We have updates and episode suggestions from Australia, some fascinating responses and insight from our German listeners about the Love Parade Disaster and a long overdue update from the Alarmist Jail. Plus! Perhaps you’ve heard??! We’re celebrating 300 episodes with a LIVE SHOW on May 2nd at...
Mar 27, 2025•37 min
Who’s to blame for the making of The Room? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back Adam Lustick to discuss 2003 box office flop The Room. Written, produced, starring and directed by the one and only Tommy Wiseau, it’s a masterclass in that ever so relatable phrase, “you’re doing it wrong.” Did a lack of pushback lead to this epic cinematic failure? Could divine inspiration by Tennesse Williams and The Talented Mr. Ripley be to blame? Or perhaps this was due to a complete la...
Mar 25, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 296
Hey Alarmy! We have some big news! The Alarmist will be doing a live taping of their show in Los Angeles at The Elysian Theater on Friday, May 2nd, 2025 (7:30pm)! Join The Alarmist herself (Rebecca Delgado Smith), Producer Clayton Early, Fact Checker Chris Smith for a night of blaming! With special guests: OG Producer Amanda Lund, Jamila Webb and Dusty Warren. Tickets are on sale now. Click here to snag a seat and help put stuff up on the board! Join our Patreon! Email us at thealarmistpodcast@g...
Mar 21, 2025•2 min
On this week’s Aftermath, Rebecca speaks with Harriet Strahl about the White Ship Disaster. A PHD student at Durham University, Harriet has done extensive research on the various accounts of the tragic event from different scholars at the time and lends an equally balanced 12th century and 21st century take on the problematic circumstances of this doomed voyage across the English Channel. Afterwards, Patreon subscribers can revisit the board with Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Ear...
Mar 20, 2025•26 min
