The Generation Why Podcast

Hysterical investigates a mysterious illness that spreads among a group of high school girls in upstate New York. What is causing their sudden, often violent symptoms? Is there something in the water or inside the school? Or is it “all in their head?” The series examines the outbreak in LeRoy, NY, believed by some to be the most severe case of mass hysteria since the Salem Witch Trials. In his search for answers, Dan Taberski (9/12, Missing Richard Simmons, Running from Cops) explores other seemingly inexplicable events of the last few years – CIA officers being crippled with nausea and vertigo; cops OD'ing from exposure to fentanyl – and discovers they’re far more connected than we realize.From Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios, this 7-part series forces us to grapple with the mysteries of our own minds, and reckon with a contagion that we thought was long dead, but may be the defining disorder of our time.Follow Hysterical on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Hysterical early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+ at wondery.fm/Hysterical_FD.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

June 16th, 1991. Denver, Colorado. On Father’s Day 1991 an armed robber gained access to secured areas of Denver’s United Bank Tower and fatally shot four guards before stealing $200,000 in cash. Based on the shooter’s extensive knowledge of the bank’s layout and security system, the police suspected that the shooter was a former employee. We have tons of extra content from only available at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

November 19, 1996. Carthage Texas. There is no debate that Bernie Tiede shot 80-year-old Marjorie Nugent in the back four times and hid her body in a deep freezer for nine months. He admitted so in his confession to police and in his later trial. The question is why did he kill her? Did Bernie snap after years of mental abuse dealt out by a woman very few people seemed to like? Or did he play out a long-con to become the sole inheritor of her multimillion dollar estate?Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On December 11, 2017, a 21-year-old mother, Libby Caswell, was found dead in the bathroom of a motel in Independence, Missouri. Her boyfriend’s belt was fastened around her neck, and he had fled the scene after telling a 911 dispatcher that Libby had committed suicide. The police ruled her death a suicide, however, after obtaining autopsy reports, police reports and the opinion of experts, Libby’s mother believes otherwise. Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A young woman’s body was found on the side of the road in Choctaw, OK in 1990. Four years after her death, her son, Michael Hughes, was abducted from his elementary school by a man who claimed to be his father. Who was the young woman and what happened to her son? Her death and her son’s disappearance would lead to a string of disturbing discoveries over the following two decades.Thank you to newspapers.com Check it out!!! Tons of bonus content from Generation Why available at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

September 11th, 2009. Monrovia, California. Brian Randone called 911 because he found his girlfriend Felicia Tang unresponsive after a night of drug use. Officers responded to the call and found Felicia dead in the bathtub. She suffered over 300 injuries, but Randone maintained that she died from an overdose of GHB. Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

March 18, 1990. Boston, Massachusetts. In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, a security guard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum buzzed in two men dressed as police officers. Those two men revealed themselves to be thieves, who quickly tied up both of the guards. They stole 13 pieces of art including works by Rembrandt, Degas, and Vermeer. Despite a large reward offer from the museum and over 30 years of investigation by the FBI, none of the artwork has been recovered. How were these men able to pull off the largest art heist in the world?Get TONS of bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

February 16, 1974. Fort Worth, Texas. Carla Walker and her boyfriend Rodney McCoy were kissing in a bowling alley parking lot after a school dance when they were attacked by an unknown man. Rodney was beaten into unconsciousness and Carla was abducted. Did you know you can get bonus content from Generation Why? patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the summer of 2000, 31-year-old musician, David Anderson, went missing after a night out in New Hope, PA. He disappeared after crossing the bridge from New Hope to Lambertville. In 2013, 39-year-old bartender, Sarah Majoras, went missing after a night out in New Hope along the same route that Anderson had mysteriously disappeared from almost 13 years earlier. She was on route to the home she shared with her boyfriend, Adam Baker, who just so happened to be David Anderson’s roommate in the summer of 2000.Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

December 6th, 2014. Courtland, Mississippi. Firefighters responded to a report of a burning vehicle on a rural road. They found 19-year-old Jessica Chambers nearby. She was still alive but severely burned. Jessica identified herself and told first responders that someone named “Eric” or “Derek,” set her car on fire. She died from her injuries the next day.Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

March 21st, 2012. El Cajon, California. Shaima Alawadi was attacked inside her home and died from her injuries three days later. Shaima was a Muslim woman and because a threatening note was found next to her body, investigators initially considered the possibility that her death was a hate crime.Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

June 28, 2014. Cottonport, Louisiana. When 29 year old kindergarten teacher and mother of two, Megan Ducote Parra, is found on the floor of her living room in a pool of her own blood with a gunshot wound to the head, detectives quickly rule it a suicide. But after some investigation of their own, Megan’s parents became suspicious that she may have been murdered.Get access to our Discord and get more episodes at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Holden, MO. February 18, 1984. Bill Prewitt was shot and killed while he slept. His wife, Patty Prewitt, gathered the four kids and went to a neighbor’s house for help. Officers suspected Patty of committing the crime almost instantly. Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

January 31st, 2013. Kaufman, Texas. Prosecutor Mark Hasse was shot multiple times as he walked to the Kaufman County courthouse. Two months later, Kaufman County DA Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia were murdered while they slept inside their home. The suspect was a former justice of the peace who was convicted of theft just a year earlier. Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

November 13th, 1971. The Pas, Manitoba. 19-year-old Helen Betty Osborne was a Cree woman who was abducted and murdered by four white men in a small town. It took over a decade for the perpetrators to face charges, despite the fact that many people in the community knew the names of all involved. Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

July 12, 1988. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1988, 4-year-old Barbara Jean Horn went missing from her home in Philadelphia PA. Last seen holding hands with an unknown man, she was later found dead, beaten and bloodied, in a TV box two blocks away from her home. With no leads to go on, other than a composite sketch of the unknown male, the case went cold. But several years later, in 1992, new detectives on the case arrested a man whom they claimed confessed to the crime.Get even more episodes from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

December 11, 1964, Los Angeles, CA. Sam Cooke, legendary singer, songwriter, activist, and businessman was shot to death in a motel wearing only a jacket and wristwatch. Bertha Franklin, the motel’s manager, and Lisa Boyer, the woman he arrived with, claimed Sam attacked them individually and Franklin shot him in self-defense. Conspiracy theories and doubts about the investigation continue to plague the case decades later.Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

January 12th, 2022. Harris County, Texas. After 41 years, two murder victims known as the Harris County Does were finally identified as Dean and Tina Clouse, a young married couple with a child. After speaking to their families, investigators focused on finding their daughter, Holly Marie, who had never been located. https://justicefordeanandtina.com/Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

September 28th, 2014. Skillman (Montgomery Township), New Jersey. The bodies of John and Joyce Sheridan, a prominent couple with political connections, were found inside their burning home. Details about their deaths were suppressed for months until the prosecutor’s office declared the case a murder-suicide. Numerous people, including the Sheridans’ sons, expressed their doubts about this ruling.Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

December 12th, 2022. Wieambilla, Queensland. Four officers arrived at a property owned by Gareth and Stacey Train to follow up on a missing persons report concerning Gareth’s brother Nathaniel. Upon arrival, the officers found themselves involved in a shootout. Join us as we discuss a strange case that ended in violence.Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.