In the years after World War II, Americans moved to the suburbs in search of the peace and safety that many came to equate with the “American Dream.” By the end of the 1970s, however, suburbanites had come sense that their privileged was under siege from satanic cults, drug dealers and kidnappers. In this episode, Bob and Ben talk w/ Kyle Riismandel whose new book Neighborhood of Fear examines how Americans responded to the real and perceived threats of suburban life and in doing so, shaped American society and politics in the late-20^th Century and beyond.

Dr. Kyle Riismandel is Senior University Lecturer and Interim Director of the Law, Technology, and Culture Program in the Federated Department of History at the New Jersey Institute of Technology/Rutgers-Newark. His new book Neighborhood of Fear: The Suburban Crisis in American Culture, 1975-2001 was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2020.

Check out Kyle’s playlists for the book:

YouTube playlist featuring clips, newscasts, documentaries, movie trailers, and other videos cited or inspired by Neighborhood of Fear.

Spotify playlist featuring songs inspired by or cited in Neighborhood of Fear.

(featuring news clips on topics from the book) and Spotify (featuring music of the era).

This episode was originally edited by Gary Fletcher. This revised episode (July 2023) was edited by Ben Sawyer.