Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Podcast Description
They say the Devil’s in the details, but when conspiracies captivate our imaginations, we often overlook the real devils walking among us.
From the creators of the hit podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill comes a new show, Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, which takes you back to the Satanic Panic that gripped America in the 1980s and 90s.
This limited series explores how hysteria gripped parents and teens through cautionary tales like Go Ask Alice, influenced notorious criminal cases like the West Memphis Three, and catapulted the political agenda of the Moral Majority.
Join as we seek to understand how this wave of panic devastated innocent lives and diverted the church’s attention from the evil lurking in its own pews.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes such as societal hysteria, cultural influences, and the intersection of politics and religion, with episodes that dive into issues like the anti-drug movement spurred by Art Linkletter's grief in Runaway Girls, Runaway Fears, and the examination of the West Memphis Three case in The Devil Went Down To Arkansas. Each episode provides context around pivotal moments, discussing how misinformation and paranoia reshaped community narratives.
They say the Devil’s in the details, but when conspiracies captivate our imaginations, we often overlook the real devils walking among us.
From the creators of the hit podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill comes a new show, Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, which takes you back to the Satanic Panic that gripped America in the 1980s and 90s.
This limited series explores how hysteria gripped parents and teens through cautionary tales like Go Ask Alice, influenced notorious criminal cases like the West Memphis Three, and catapulted the political agenda of the Moral Majority.
Join as we seek to understand how this wave of panic devastated innocent lives and diverted the church’s attention from the evil lurking in its own pews.
Stay tuned to the end for news from Mike Cosper and Rebekah Sebastian on upcoming Bonus episodes!
In the finale of Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, we try to do the impossible: tie the threads together. From criminal cases to political crusades, we retrace the lines between fear, faith, and power that shaped the Satanic Panic—and continue influencing our world today.
Mike Cosper and Rebekah Sebastian open with a game that highlights just how absurd things got, then dive into the deeper questions: Why did the Satanic Panic take hold? And how does it compare to modern conspiracies like Pizzagate, QAnon, and the January 6 insurrection?
Spoiler: The panic didn’t entirely vanish—it morphed into a tool for grievance, repurposed by conspiracy theorists to target their perceived enemies.
Bonus episodes are still to come, so stay subscribed. And if this series made you think, feel, or question, share it with a friend.
Resources:
The Roys Report: “James Robison Under Fire for Discrepancies Regarding Involvement with Robert Morris in 1980s” by Julie Roys
Mike Rothschild, author, Jewish Space Lasers
Matthew D. Taylor, senior Christian scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies
Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a production of Christianity Today
Hosted and written by Mike Cosper
Produced by Rebekah Sebastian, with production assistance by Dawn Adams
Sound Design and Mix Engineer: TJ Hester
Sound Design, Animation, and Video: Steve Scheidler
Graphic Design: Nim Ben Reuven
Music by Dirt Poor Robins
Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper are the executive producers of CT Media Podcasts, and Matt Stevens is our senior producer.
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Can’t wait for the next episode? Join host Mike Cosper for a livestream every other Monday on the CT YouTube channel or the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Facebook page.
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