Why were daycare centers the prime targets of the 1980s Satanic Panic, and how did it blow up into America's longest and most expensive criminal trial? Cristen unravels the anti-cult anxieties, paranoid cowboys and "communist" childcare seeded wild conspiracy theories about devil-worshipping predators invading the suburbs. But when law enforcement (aka "police Satan hunters"), social workers, and an opportunistic district attorney got involved, the hysteria intensified, landed innocent people in prison and punished a rising generation of working mothers in the process.

This is part 4 of 5 in the LADIES, STAY SAFE! miniseries.

00:00 Are YOUR children hanging out with devil worshippers??

00:15 Historical Context: 1970s Concerns

01:26 Rise of Satanic Panic in the 1980s

02:22 Early Signs and Media Influence

03:30 Cattle Mutilations and Satanic Rumors

05:49 Michelle Remembers...or does she?

07:12 Daycare Centers Under Siege

09:05 The McMartin Preschool Case Begins

11:50 Escalation and Public Hysteria

20:27 Trials, Mistrial and Tribulations

38:30 Ripple Effects

40:17 Coming Up Next

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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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