DINOSAURS pt. 1

DINOSAURS pt. 1

From American Hysteria by chelsey weber-smith

March 23, 2026 · 1h 5m

About this episode

This episode explores the dinosaur craze of the 1990s and its cultural impact in America.

The dinosaur craze of the 1990s, inspired largely by the Jurassic Park movies, led to a legion of children dreaming of becoming paleontologists. In the century before, these beloved prehistoric beasts blossomed into pop culture stars through early Hollywood films, wild World's Fairs exhibits, department store parades, cheery fossil fuel campaigns, and Christian fundamentalist propaganda. For part one of this two part series, we will not only explore the way dinosaurs captured America's heart, but also how the idea of deep time—the knowledge that the earth was far older than a biblical 6,000 years—affected the nation, leading to a desire to bring these long dead, mythic creatures back to full-blooded life. Follow us on instagram @americanhysteriapodcast to see the videos that go along with this episode Become a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get some of our new merch at ⁠⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠⁠, all profits this month go to The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led mutual aid group. Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠americanhysteria.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠…

People in this episode

Host: Chelsey Weber-Smith

Topics covered

  • dinosaurs
  • pop culture
  • paleontology
  • history
  • deep time
  • 1990s

Keywords

  • dinosaurs
  • Jurassic Park
  • paleontologists
  • pop culture
  • deep time
  • history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Sameer Project

Books & works: Jurassic Park

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