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American Hysteria

Listen Now: American Scandal

American Hysteria

W!ZARD Studios

Society & Culture

4.43.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Every scandal begins with a lie. But the truth will come out. And then comes the fallout and the outrage. Scandals have shaped America since its founding. From business and politics to sports and society, we look on aghast as corruption, deceit and ambition bring down heroes and celebrities, politicians and moguls. And when the dust finally settles, we’re left to wonder: how did this happen? Where did they trip up, and who is to blame? From the creators of American History Tellers, Business Wars and Tides of History comes American Scandal, where we take you deep into the heart of America’s dark side to look at what drives someone to break the rules and what happens when they’re caught. Hosted by Lindsay Graham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

In 1992, federal agents surrounded a remote cabin in the mountains of Idaho. It belonged to Randy Weaver, a Christian survivalist with links to the far right. Weaver was wanted on a minor weapons charge, but a series of blunders and misunderstandings turned the situation into an armed and deadly standoff.

0:23.4

American scandal brings to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history.

0:29.1

Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud, and in the latest series,

0:35.5

a family of religious fanatics moves to Ruby Ridge in northern Idaho

0:39.9

to wait out the apocalypse. But their paranoia and suspicion of authority lead to a confrontation

0:46.1

with federal law enforcement and their own personal Armageddon. I'm about to play a clip from

0:52.3

American Scandals Ruby Ridge Standoff. Follow American

0:56.6

Scandal on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:05.1

In 1992, a deadly standoff at Ruby Ridge in Idaho shocked the nation and forever altered the way many Americans view law enforcement.

1:16.7

This 11-day confrontation in the mountains left a legacy of animosity and distrust between the federal government and the most radical elements of the American right wing.

1:26.1

It led directly to a surge in militia membership

1:28.6

across the United States. And when Timothy McVeigh was apprehended for the Oklahoma City bombing,

1:34.2

three years later, he cited revenge for Ruby Ridge as a primary motive behind his atrocities.

1:40.4

But the man at the center of it all, Randy Weaver, never intended to inspire such violence.

1:45.9

He really just wanted to be left alone.

1:48.7

In the mid-1980s, Randy and his wife Vicky Weaver had been driven by their obsessive religious faith

1:54.3

to move their young family to northern Idaho.

1:57.2

There, the Weavers fortified a ramshackle compound to prepare for the apocalypse

2:01.5

in what they believed would be a final battle against their enemies.

2:05.4

But in the end, their preparations for the end times became a tragic, self-fulfilling prophecy.

2:11.5

In 1991, Weaver failed to show up for trial on gun-related charges, and the U.S.

2:16.8

Marshals were dispatched to bring him in.

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