{"podcast":{"title":"American Hysteria","slug":"american-hysteria-830600","podcast_index_feed_id":830600,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/WIZD3928139307","website_url":"http://www.americanhysteria.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/dd283f36-bc4d-11ec-ba9c-4b3957402114/image/54d8b146fe8a810cecc27923d5b482ab.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"W!ZARD Studios","episode_count":305,"summary":"American Hysteria explores how fantastical thinking has shaped our culture – moral panics, urban legends, hoaxes, crazes, fringe beliefs, and national misunderstandings. Poet-turned-podcaster Chelsey Weber-Smith tells the strangest stories from American history and examines the forces that create the reality we share, and sometimes, the reality we don't.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-08T16:18:02.851094+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-hysteria-830600"},"episode":{"title":"DATING APPS","slug":"dating-apps","published_at":"2026-06-08T07:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-hysteria-830600/dating-apps","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-hysteria-830600","url":"https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/AIL9772964116.mp3","audio_url":"https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/AIL9772964116.mp3","summary":"In the early 1990s, match.com debuted as the first major dating app on the world wide web, but it was far from the earliest way that people used technology to meet other hopeful singles. For this episode, we’ll look at what came before the apps we know today, the video dating of the 1980s as well as the original computer dating of the 1960s, and we’ll learn about the way that “dating” itself came to exist in the Victorian era when swiping left or right was done with proto-speed dating and analog opening lines. Then we’ll look at the ways that the dating apps we know today have come under control of major corporations that seek to siphon our money away by manipulating our emotions, and potentially, to use our data for far more nefarious means. ⁠⁠⁠Become a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠@americanhysteriapodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see the videos that go along with this episode Get some of our new merch at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, all profits this month go to The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led mutual aid group. Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Producer and Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Miranda Zickler⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sound Designer and Associate Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Voice Actor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Will Rogers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"In the early 1990s, match.com debuted as the first major dating app on the world wide web, but it was far from the earliest way that people used technolog…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4006,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/american-hysteria-830600/episodes/dating-apps/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-hysteria-830600/dating-apps.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}