Welcome to this installment of Context Clues, where we share previous episodes in a new light to give

you some important background information for our upcoming topic.

I'm your host, Chossi Weber Smith,

and this is American Hysteria.

The idea that Elvis Presley did not die on August 16th, 1977 at the young age of 42, that he instead faked his death to either escape the perils of

fame or to flee into witness protection, has become one of the most popular and enduring conspiracy theories of all time.

Becoming a profitable and entertaining ongoing story for tabloids and talk shows. This Elvis, the allegedly

alive Elvis, has reached the status of a cryptid, with apparent sightings of the former king of rock and roll,

still popping up to this day, the way we might hear of a Bigfoot or a UFO caught on grainy tape.

Believers, or alivers, as they're referred to,

pour over the public documents surrounding Elvis's somewhat suspicious autopsy reports and

testimonials around the heart attack that they do not believe killed their beloved post-war pop star.

The story of how this conspiracy theory gained traction is a truly weird one.

replete with characters you'll have to hear about to believe.

Some of the evidence manufactured by those

with a vested interest in bringing the impossibly lucrative star back to life, as well as those

who seem earnest in their seeking, dedicating their lives to exposing the truth, some of them to this very day.

For this installment of context clues, I thought it was best for us to listen to a previous episode in full, to get ourselves

in the mindset of those who dreamed of a different outcome for this beloved musician.

Because, despite the distressing things we now understand about his past, both personally and politically, the fact remains that his music and persona

changed the lives of millions of people, especially girls and women who found a new kind of freedom in the rock and roll fandom.

Like Frank Sinatra before him, like the Beatles after him,

...