The Spiritualism Movement Was Utterly Ridiculous, Part One: A Prank Goes Viral

Ridiculous History

iHeartPodcasts

History, Society & Culture

4.2 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's a pickle for the ages: What happens when you die? The Spiritualism movement may seem obscure today -- but back in the mid-19th century, this religious and social phenomenon absolutely rocked the modern world. In the first part of this special two-part episode, Ben, Noel and Max welcome back Jonathan Strickland (aka the Quizster) to explore the rise of this movement... and Jonathan promises to behave.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Ridiculous History is a production of IHeart Radio. Welcome back to the show.
0:28.0	Fellow ridiculous historians.
0:29.5	Thank you, as always so much for tuning in.
0:33.0	Wait, I hear an otherworldly...
0:37.0	Knock on the door. Who is that? It's our guest super producerly knock on the door.
0:38.3	Who is that?
0:39.1	It's our guest super producer, Dylan,
0:41.4	the Tennessee pal Fagan.
0:45.3	The ghostly apparition of Dylan?
0:47.9	Rapid tap tap in.
0:49.7	The very same.
0:51.4	Very same.
0:52.4	That is a quote.
0:53.8	You are Noel Brown.
0:55.0	I am Ben Bowling.
0:56.6	We have been fascinated for a long time about the idea of, you know, Ouija boards and mediums and psychics.
1:06.3	And the fact that pretty much from the moment humans started humaning, everybody has been
1:13.0	understandably concerned about what happens after they die.
1:17.0	Oh, a million percent.
1:18.0	I mean, it's the foundation of so many belief systems and debates as to where you go and how you get there and who's right and who's wrong.
1:30.8	I mean, Ben, it's, it often, it gets people pretty heated.
1:35.3	It does.
	...

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