In the late summer of 1834, a torch-wielding mob burned down a Boston convent for reasons that sound a lot like . . . Pizzagate. Fueled by rumors of kidnappings, papal paranoia and phony exposés, conspiracy theories about nuns in their convents spiraled out of control in 19th-century America. Cristen unravels why that happened and how it set the stage for contemporary culture wars over saving the children.

Chapters:

(00:00 ) The Mount Benedict Girls Boarding School

(00:40 ) Rumors and Mob Mentality

(01:30 ) Pizzagate of 1834

(03:43 ) America's Manifest Destiny Era

(04:49 ) The Rise of Anti-Catholic Propaganda

(05:18 ) "Suspicious" Nuns in Their Convents

(10:30 ) The Escaped Nun Genre

(11:37 ) Maria Monk and The Awful Disclosures

(15:09 ) Impact on Education and Public Schools

(16:41 ) Abolition and Anti-Catholicism

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Conspiracy, She Wrote is an Unladylike Media production created, hosted and written by Cristen Conger. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

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