About this episode

This episode examines the final decades of the Fernald State School and pivotal moments that changed its course.

Send us Fan Mail This week's episode examines the final decades of the Fernald State School. Find out about the pivotal moment in Ward 22 that forever changed the school. Learn about the fate of the Science Club members. And discover how the "research" of the past was unearthed. Main sources for this episode include the annual reports from the Fernald School, as well as the book The State Boys Rebellion by Michael D'Antonio. All other sources will be listed at the end of the episode transcrip...

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Sarah Gallup

Topics covered

• history
• mental health
• psychiatric hospitals
• Fernald State School
• research ethics
• true crime

Keywords

• Fernald State School
• history
• mental health
• research
• Michael D'Antonio
• The State Boys Rebellion

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fernald State School

Books & works: The State Boys Rebellion

More episodes of Behind the Walls of the World’s Psychiatric Hospitals

• Ep. 100: History of Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, Part 3 (1940-2026) · January 19, 2026 · 35 min
• Ep. 99: History of Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (1893-1940) · December 30, 2025 · 37 min
• Ep. 98: History of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, Part 1 (1858-1893) · December 8, 2025 · 37 min
• Ep. 97: Interview with Jacqui Sanders · October 27, 2025 · 53 min
• Ep. 95: History of the Fernald State School (1912-1949) · September 1, 2025 · 33 min
• Ep. 94: History of the Fernald State School (1889-1912) · August 10, 2025 · 36 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Behind the Walls of the World’s Psychiatric Hospitals podcast page.