About this episode
Evan Chung explores a far-right conspiracy theory about a supposed government concentration camp in Alaska during 1955.
When Alaskans wanted their own mental-health facility, a rumor took hold all over America. This week, Evan Chung traces the origins of that far-right conspiracy theory: that the government was building a concentration camp where Americans would get imprisoned for their political beliefs. Get ready for a strange tale that involves a brainwashing manual, Scientology, and a vast network of Communist-hunting housewives. Josh Levin is One Year’s editorial director. One Year’s senior producer is Evan Chung. This episode was produced by Kelly Jones and Evan Chung, with additional production by Sophie Summergrad. It was edited by Josh Levin, Joel Meyer, and Derek John, Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. Join Slate Plus to get a bonus 1955 story at the end of the season. Slate Plus members also get to listen to all Slate podcasts without any ads. Sign up now to support One Year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Evan Chung
Topics covered
- conspiracy theory
- mental health
- political beliefs
- history
- culture
- documentary
Keywords
- Alaska
- conspiracy theory
- mental health facility
- political imprisonment
- Scientology
- Communist-hunting
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Slate, Scientology
Places: Alaska, Siberia, USA
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