Hysterical - Podcast Rankings and reviews

Intriguing subject, great storytelling and sound design, and I appreciated Tavares' writing and his use of metaphor. In general, Tavares shoed empathy to his interviewees and seemed to take them seriously.

I'm leaving off one star because I think the podcast missed an important opportunity. The local neurologist who diagnosed conversion disorder had patients who followed her treatment and got better. But what was the treatment? There's a brief mention of some of the girls having experienced trauma, and the instruction to "look at self." And the adult woman who had symptoms mention doing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. But it all seemed cursory, almost a footnote. Here, it seems that Hysterical passed up the opportunity to offer some insight to people who may have similar symptoms., in favor of focusing on the entrancing medical mystery of it all. I understand that conversaion disorder wasn't a definitive diagnosis, but if there's a treatment for it, that's an important part of the story in my opinion and, I would argue, a journalistic imperative.

I like this host/narrator. He has a great voice and I like the way he unfolds the story. The stories themselves are fascinating and the tangent stories tie into and add depth and clarity to the main story. He stays out of the way during his interviews and just allows the other person to tell their story.

The only thing I was really wishing he would do, which is perhaps a little unfair of me, was I wished that he had made it more clear to the people who were afflicted that conversion disorder doesn’t mean you were making it up. It’s not an accusation, it doesn’t mean the experience was all in their head. It’s a weird but totally normal thing our brain just *does* for some reason, and you can even see evidence of it in mundane situations all the time. Overall I enjoyed this show and will definitely recommend it.

I am really fascinated by this subject and knew a little about it going in, and so far I think this podcast is doing a great job at respectfully and thoughtfully dissecting this phenomenon. I am fascinated by hysteria because it’s both 100% ‘real’ and 100% in someone’s head, which is so hard, if not impossible, to reconcile (keep in mind that anorexia, another deadly psychiatric illness, is also somewhat contagious). This podcast is as close as it gets to squaring the circle and I’m enjoying it so far.

I was enthralled. The host is witty yet kind/respectful, his subject was fresh, and the facts informative. Start to finish, the interviews were captivating, and I agree with other reviewers—shows like this are the reason I invest in the Wondery subscription.

There is an extensively researched and documented 60 minutes episode on Havana Syndrome with evidence that Russia is behind these attacks. Interviews with victims of these attacks show they have permanent debilitating damage. Havana syndrome is NOT psychological. Incorrect info.

This was entertaining at first but ended up really frustrating, tangential, and the reporter clearly wanted to find a specific answer, rather than relying on the evidence. He never connected topics he spent entire episodes on (toxic chemicals near the school), disregarded the fact that he interviewed people whose symptoms started before they even knew this was happening in their town, he dismissed the dangers of fentanyl, and disregarded what blood tests showed…all so he could end with a conclusion that all of this was more likely a case of mass hysteria. Don’t waste your time (and ours) spreading misinformation and exploring topics you’re not going to tie together if you’re ultimately going to be just another male dismissing women’s health concerns.