INFLUENCERS

INFLUENCERS

The new American archetype known as the “Influencer” has existed in various forms long before the advent of social media, and long before Kendall Jenner and the offensive brand activism of a now infamous Pepsi commercial. For this episode, we will trace the history of how corporate brands have used the idea of personal “authenticity” to sell us shit we don’t need since the mid 1800s: we’ll hear about the early form of visual social media that swept America in the 1860s, the story of the first living brand, Aunt Jemima, the handcrafted PR industry created by Sigmund Freud’s propagandist nephew, the skateboard sponsorships of the late 1990s. We’ll look too at the psychological and biological imperatives behind the “brand”, both those of companies and those of our own, and whether this thing we call authenticity even exists at all. Subscribe to Lolita Podcast now! Become a Patron to get access to our brand new podcast Walk with Me American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research and co-writing by Riley Smith Co-produced and edited by Miranda Zickler Voice acting by Will Rogers Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch at americanhysteria.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episoder(287)

JINGLES pt. 1 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

JINGLES pt. 1 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

We all contain within us the many cheesy tunes of catchy capitalism that marked our childhoods, those hyper-memorable earworms that, depending on your age, feel like an invention of the 90s, of the 80...

9 Feb 1h 24min

A Cult by Any Other Name with Joseph Laycock

A Cult by Any Other Name with Joseph Laycock

Joseph Laycock is the author ofThe Penguin Book of Cults, and for this episode we discuss how our culture thinks of and reacts to what we oftentimes incorrectly identify as cults. His book delves into...

2 Feb 1h 8min

The Art of (Psychological) War with Annalee Newitz

The Art of (Psychological) War with Annalee Newitz

Annalee Newitz is the author of Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind, which traces the way disinformation, propaganda, and violent threats have evolved from military weapon...

26 Jan 1h 19min

Celebrity Clone Conspiracies  with 'No Such Thing' Podcast

Celebrity Clone Conspiracies with 'No Such Thing' Podcast

For this collaboration with the podcast No Such Thing, we covered the tales of nefarious forces secretly replacing famous people with clones. We’ll learn about different clone conspiracies and their o...

19 Jan 58min

JESUS TOAST

JESUS TOAST

A grilled cheese sandwich, a tortilla, an auto loan company building, a cinnamon roll, and a forkful of spaghetti are just a handful of the places that images of religious figures have miraculously ap...

12 Jan 1h 7min

Party (and Panic) Like It's 1999 with Ross Benes

Party (and Panic) Like It's 1999 with Ross Benes

Ross Benes is the author of the book 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times. Together we revisit what popular culture was like at the turn of the millennium and...

29 Des 20251h 8min

Mall Santas pt. 2 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

Mall Santas pt. 2 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

In part two of our two-part series, I show Sarah a more radical side of the American Mall Santa. I tell her stories of how, in some cases, the character transformed into a symbol of societal change an...

22 Des 20251h 38min

Mall Santas pt. 1 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

Mall Santas pt. 1 with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

For this two-part holiday special, I tell Sarah Marshall all about the history of the American mall Santa Claus from the 1800s into the present day. For part one, we will learn about the eccentric men...

15 Des 20251h 25min

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