Beyond Belief with Chelsey Weber-Smith

I’ve only listened to ~3 min of this, but holy fuck it makes so much sense that Sarah and CWS are hs French kids.

Barbie very intentionally doesn't have kids and isn't married/engaged :) The concept of the doll was to give girls an image of themselves as adults independent of the caretaker role, especially since it was the late 50s so there wasn't much to look up to outside of wife, mother, and/or caretaking jobs So when they decided to have a mother doll, they made a new doll family w/ parents Midge and Andy

I see you, Katherine Patterson reference.

“More of a relay race, honestly.”

Beyond Belief ripped the Walter doll story straight from the Twilight Zone

Sarah, you and Chelsey are so good together, I think you should combine your podcasts into You're Wrong About American Hysteria.

So I feel like the aesthetics of the house set in Beyond Belief are directly taken from Leonard Nimoy in In Search Of (the OG of paranormal reality television) who was himself channeling Rod Serling who narrated the original ISO specials and was intended to be the series host, but died before filming started. So really it all goes back to Twilight Zone and the conceit of an opening and closing monologue bookending a story, usually beginning with a question or observation, given as the presenter interacts with a prop from the episode.

This episode inspired me to buy a copy of Pleasure Was My Business off ebay and it was a very revealing peek into life in America during the early 1930s!

This is awesome! I just came on patreon to tell you I had a fan girl light-headed moment when Chelsea Weber Smith replied to my comment on her Ann Landers Dear Abby episode. 💕 🤩

Brokenwood is one of my favorite shows!

Screaming at my actual high school French teacher named Madame B

This episode was like a grilled cheese and tomato soup on a sick day for me (warm, comforting, delicious)

Haha l I def laid in the middle of the road unprompted as a teen but I did have guy friends around 😂. Who probably were like “gtfo of the road”

I had a pregnant barbie when I was little. I used her removable stomach as the dinner ham. It was often stored in the fridge on a silver platter. Then I think my cat it? He had a propensity for eating my barbie's hands and feet. Ok unrelated - did anyone ever watch Sightings? This was a HUGE part of my childhood. Anytime paranormal tv shows are mentioned that is where my mind goes to.

OMG y'all I owned a copy of WEIRD PEOPLE OF THE UNKNOWN when I was a kid; it was the book in the downstairs bathroom, later to be joined by YOU--FOREVER by Lobsang Rampa. I absolutely believed that the contents of these books were truths! And it should not surprise you that I checked out every book in the 'Cult' section (as well as the 'Occult' section) from my local library branch in the late 70s/early 80s. WPotU was the first place I encountered a Phantom Hitchhiker story; the first time I read a story about someone being warned/protected by a loved one they didn't yet know had died...so many urban legends found me first through this book, and I never realized it!

Oh my god! The little dad doll in his little vest. He has been with me for the last 20+ years, never quite forgotten, ever since I watched a dubbed version of this as a child, they would just play these back to back to back on German cable tv in the early 00s

omg I haven’t listened yet but my husband and I watch Beyond Belief before bed almost every night, and make a game of guessing which ones Robert Tralins claimed were fact (not what actually would be, but what Robert claimed would be). I’m so excited.

“…and her daughter got caught smoking weed. Maybe with me. *nervous laughter*” Fucking iconic

Maybe you tried already but, interlibrary loan to get one of his books. You can search Worldcat.org and sort by most copies held and those titles would be the most likely to have circulating copies. Your public library can help request it. Or maybe I can help.

All I ever want to do is putter about listening to Chelsea and Sarah nerd out and crack each other up.

I initially thought this episode was going to be about Beyond Belief, the book by Jenna Miscavige Hill - daughter of scientology leader, David Miscavige. I was so pleased to hear the episode and enjoy something a little more light-hearted, though the original suspected premise would be fascinating!

Please do more newspapers.com episodes I loved it

OMG THE BIORE FACIAL WIPES!

CAPTAIN RIKER!!!!

They were called Bitty Babies!

by b. pp

I stayed at a boutique inn in Sackville NB, and it probably did have 30 porcelain dolls in the house. It was a little creepy, but at least we had a clawfoot tub

The way I stopped in the middle of the podcast I was listening to so I could immediately start this one. I could listen to you two talk about literally anything! 💚

Waiting for you guys to write and perform a rap about newspapers.com

Who else was sitting there saying "L. Ron Hubbard, Sarah, it's L. Ron Hubbard! Tralis was a boat guy! It's L RON!!" Thanks Behind the Bastards...I guess haha 😅

"Jazz Man in Nude Town" is the best thing I've heard in a long time.

Yesssss