{"podcast":{"title":"History Impossible","slug":"history-impossible-947020","podcast_index_feed_id":947020,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/5634566/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/history-impossible","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/a8c668a60b07d3cb3e35a8813764ce86.jpg","author":"Alexander von Sternberg","episode_count":102,"summary":"History Impossible covers some of the less-known, strange, and supposedly impossible events, people, and ideologies throughout history that are all nonetheless true. The settings and time periods range from the Second World War to ancient Japan to medieval Europe, and many more. The show engages with difficult ideas and impossible decisions that were made by human beings like you or me, always to significant effect. It goes out of its way to grant agency to all of its subjects and does its best to present the most nuanced approach one can, all while acknowledging any personal biases that may exist. You will not find a more honest attempt at presenting difficult and controversial historical topics. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support .","last_synced_at":"2026-07-20T18:18:35.593766+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-impossible-947020"},"episode":{"title":"Salem Possessed (w/ Sebastian Major of Our Fake History)","slug":"salem-possessed-w-sebastian-major-of-our-fake-history","published_at":"2025-11-24T10:00:19+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-impossible-947020/salem-possessed-w-sebastian-major-of-our-fake-history","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-impossible-947020","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/salem-possessed-w-sebastian-major-of-our-fake-history--68689032","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/https://pdcn.co/e/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/68689032/salem_possessed_with_sebastian_major.mp3","summary":"It’s unlikely that I’ve undersold the significance of the Salem witchcraft crisis to the development of American history, particularly in the religious and institutional context. But what I always felt somewhat sad about leaving out was the true horror of the event itself, and really the confusing knot that it has created throughout the nearly 340 years that have passed since its conclusion. Why did such a thing happen? What bewitched the people of Salem? Was it mass hysteria? Was it social contagion? Was it ergot poisoning? Was it real witchcraft? These questions, remarkably, are still asked to this very day. That is why I enlisted the help of my friend and now second-time guest on History Impossible, Sebastian Major of Our Fake History to help me unravel this mystery for all of you fine people. Sebastian did a fantastic three-part series covering the witchcraft crisis—my favorite podcast to do so, in fact—a couple of years ago, so I figured there was no one better to get into the broad overview of this twisted and persistent legend of American history. We also looked at the psychological element of the Salem witchcraft crisis and how it carries a universal quality to this very day, with everything from the Satanic panic of the 1980s to the rapid devolution of metoo, to even the Epstein conspiracy theory industry, serving as interesting road markers to understanding the underlying mechanisms. And thanks to Sebastian’s Canadian status—don’t worry, I don’t hold it against him—we also had a little fun discussing bits of Canadian history and politics (something I am woefully uneducated in). So please enjoy this conversation looking at what possessed Salem in 1692-1693, and perhaps what created the blueprint for strained social relations in American history forever. ... Hi…","meta_description":"It’s unlikely that I’ve undersold the significance of the Salem witchcraft crisis to the development of American history, particularly in the religious an…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":7380,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/history-impossible-947020/episodes/salem-possessed-w-sebastian-major-of-our-fake-history/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-impossible-947020/salem-possessed-w-sebastian-major-of-our-fake-history.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}