# The Great Comic Book Scare

An episode of [HISTORY This Week](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1493453604), 2 Feb 2026, 28 min.

Audio: https://pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/v9Uiw3bGr54f6BVZKSyc/pscrb.fm/rss/p/serve.castfire.com/audio/8247186/8247186_2026-04-14-053926.192.mp3?rssID=6398

February 4, 1955. In a New York courtroom, the Comics Czar takes the stand. He’s in charge of enforcing a new code, meant to keep comic books from corrupting America’s youth, and he’s here to prove that his work has cleaned up the industry. But that afternoon, a noted psychologist named Fredric Wertham argues that his work has not nearly gone far enough. When the hearing comes to a close, the committee is left to decide: what is the future of the comic book? Why did one of the country’s leading psychologists see them as a major threat to American children? And what can the Great Comic Book Scare teach us about moral panics? Special thanks to our guests, David Hajdu, author of The Ten-Cent Plague; and Jeremy Dauber, author of American Comics: A History. ** This episode originally aired Jan 31, 2022. Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com Follow on Instagram: @historythisweekpodcast Follow on Facebook: HISTORY This Week Podcast To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com

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