Yeah, people just sort of moved on. I think partly because they didn't feel like they had any choice from moving on. They knew it wasn't going to be taken seriously. What benefit would there have been in getting upset about that they're used to being

ridiculed and mocked and not taken seriously why would this be any different?

Nicky Wolf is a journalist and podcaster who investigates fringe internet culture.

A former writer at the Guardian US and editor of the New Statesman,

Nicky also created and hosted the 2021 podcast,

Finding Kew, My Journey into Kewan,

as well as the 2023 podcast, The Sound, Mystery of the Havana Syndrome.

For his newest podcast, Fur and Loathing, he investigated an unsolved

2014 chlorine gas attack on the world's largest furry convention.

To those unaware, a furry, basically, is a person who creates an animal avatar,

either online or in the outside world,

many of whom construct elaborate costumes of their character.

For this episode, Nicky takes me through the case of this terrorist attack,

shares his experience spending time at a recent furry convention, discusses misconceptions and urban legends about this vibrant community,

and discusses a dark subculture that lurks at the fringes of this otherwise inclusive and colorful world.

I'm your host, Chelsea Weber Smith,

and this is American hysteria.

I'm so excited to welcome Nicky to the show. I think this is going to be truly interesting so welcome Nicky. It's good to be here.

So I want to start by asking you,

before we get into the projects you've been working on,

will you tell us all a little bit about what you do in general

that kind of led you to the work that, you know,

...