Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
In this limited series from the creators of The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, Christianity Today revisits the Satanic Panic that seized America in the 1980s and 1990s. The show explores how cautionary tales like Go Ask Alice fueled hysteria among parents and teens, how the panic shaped notorious criminal cases such as the West Memphis Three, and how it bolstered the political agenda of the Moral Majority. Through these stories, the series examines how this wave of fear destroyed innocent lives and distracted the church from recognizing real evil closer to home.
Episodes
BONUS: Amanda Knox on the Satanic Panic and Wrongful Convictions
In our final bonus episode, Mike Cosper and Rebekah Sebastian talk with exoneree, producer, author, podcaster, and advocate Amanda Knox.
Amanda was a 20-year-old American student in Perugia in 2007 when her roommate, Meredith Kercher, was murdered in the apartment they shared. Italian prosecutors quickly zeroed in on Amanda, casting her as the instigator of a lurid, senseless crime and claiming s
BONUS: Survivors & Abuse Continued - Rachel Denhollander on Faith and Accountability
In this bonus episode, Mike Cosper sits down with attorney and advocate Rachel Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. Together, they discuss what it really costs to tell the truth, the devastating realities survivors face, and how the church can either protect the vulnerable, or fail them completely.
Denhollander offers a powerful perspective on justice, ac
BONUS: Chris Lane and Matt Martens on the WM3 & Criminal Justice System
Mike Cosper and Rebekah Sebastian sit down with Chris Lane, District Attorney of Floyd County, Indiana, and Matt Martens, a Washington, D.C. defense attorney and author of Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal.
Together, they unpack the tensions between prosecution and defense, the challenges created by systemic limitations, and the unique factors in the West Memphis 3 case that frust
BONUS: Adam Kinzinger on January 6 & Conspiracy Thinking
In this bonus episode of The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Mike Cosper sits down with former Congressman Adam Kinzinger for an intimate and wide-ranging conversation about January 6th, conspiracy thinking in the church and in congress, and the price he paid for speaking truth to power.
Kinzinger shares what it was like to be inside the Capitol as the insurrection unfolded, and the spiritual decons
BONUS: What Does It Mean to Believe Survivors? In Conversation with Mary DeMuth and Colleen Ramser
In this bonus episode of Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, we explore one of the most difficult and essential topics raised in season 1: abuse.
Joined by guests Colleen Ramser and Mary DeMuth, we discuss the complexities of trauma, memory, and belief, especially when it comes to hearing and honoring the stories of survivors. From systemic failures in churches to the personal weight of silence and sham
BONUS: Livestream Q&A with Mike Cosper, Matthew D. Taylor, and Robert Downen
Season One may be wrapped—but the story isn’t over.
In this bonus episode of The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, we bring you a dynamic conversation between two returning guests—Matthew D. Taylor
and Robert Downen—who unpack the lingering impact of the Satanic Panic and the modern evangelical movement, including the events of January 6, 2021.
You’ll also hear from a DDBS from a listener in Australi
Forgetting What Happened
Stay tuned to the end for news from Mike Cosper and Rebekah Sebastian on upcoming Bonus episodes!
In the finale of Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, we try to do the impossible: tie the threads together. From criminal cases to political crusades, we retrace the lines between fear, faith, and power that shaped the Satanic Panic—and continue influencing our world today.
Mike Cosper and Rebekah Sebastia
The Spell Breaks
As we approach the end of the series, we learn that the Satanic Panic didn’t end with a bang. It was more of a slow fade-out. The Religious Right had secured major political and cultural victories. Evangelicals no longer needed Satan to galvanize their movement—their influence was cemented. Fear of the Devil simply became less useful.
Today’s episode marks a turning point in the series. Join us
Joke's On Us
Remember Mike Warnke, the world’s #1 Christian comedian from Episode 3? We’ll revisit his story with a little fact-checking, but first, we introduce you to another infamous figure of the Satanic Panic: Lauren Stratford. Her memoir, Satan’s Underground, recounted her harrowing experience with satanic ritual abuse in vivid, gruesome detail—capturing the imagination of millions. However, years after
BONUS: Deep Dive with Mike Cosper: Q&A + Best of DDBS Live Streams
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea team is on spring break, so we’re taking this opportunity to bring you something a little different. In this interview with show creator and host Mike Cosper, we explore how the ripple effects of the Satanic Panic still echo today. You’ll also learn the story behind the series title—and Mike answers a burning question: Has the church ever truly reckoned with its rol
Hell's Bells
Do you hear what I hear? Backmasking.
From the Beatles to Led Zeppelin, rumors of hidden, subversive messages in popular music sent Christians into a frenzy. Backmasking wasn’t just a recording trick—it was seen as proof that rock musicians weren’t just after album sales but after the very souls of our children. Today, we’re unpacking the hysteria around backmasking, but first let’s explore the
Remembering What Never Happened
In today’s episode, we’re exploring how fear and false memories motivated us to believe stories that were horrific yet too compelling to check. It started with Jay’s Journal, where Beatrice Sparks transformed teenage angst into a cautionary tale of demonic possession. Then, Michelle Remembers, the book that introduced the idea that buried trauma could be unlocked through recovered memory therapy—i
The Witchmobile
August 8, 1974—Richard Nixon resigns. The country watches as the law-and-order president falls under the weight of his own corruption, leaving behind a legacy of paranoia, scandal, and a crisis of trust in American institutions. But as one political era collapsed, another movement began to take shape.
In this episode, we track the shifting tides of the 1970s—from Watergate’s unraveling to the unli
Runaway Girls, Runaway Fears
The 1960s promised a revolution—civil rights, moon landings, peace, love, and rock and roll. But it also brought riots, rising drug use, and missing kids. By decade’s end, American parents weren’t just worried—they were terrified.
This episode follows Art Linkletter, America’s beloved TV host, whose daughter Diane fell to her death in 1969. The official ruling? Suicide. But Linkletter blamed LSD a
The Devil Went Down To Arkansas
On the face of it, TLC’s show about the Duggar family and Damien Echols, one of the infamous West Memphis Three, seem to have little in common. But what if we told you that both stories, which begin and end in Arkansas, are the perfect launching points for our new limited series on the Satanic Panic?
Welcome to Season 1 of Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, where we explore the strange and troubling era
Trailer - Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
They say the Devil’s in the details, but when conspiracies captivate our imaginations, we often overlook the real devils walking among us.
From the creators of the hit podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill comes a new show, Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, which takes you back to the Satanic Panic that gripped America in the 1980s and 90s.
This limited series explores how hysteria gripped parents and
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