In 1983, a cherubic, homely doll triggered something close to national hysteria. Parents fought in store aisles. Shelves were stripped bare. Even the New York mafia found itself selling children’s toys.

Cabbage Patch Kids went from handmade curiosities to the most coveted object in America — igniting riots, corporate battles, and a moral panic that stretched from suburban malls to federal courtrooms. All in a single Christmas season.

And the frenzy didn’t end when the Kids disappeared from shelves. In an unexpected twist decades later, these dolls would get more care and attention than they ever had before.

Previously on VSE: The Furby Files

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Very special thanks to all our guests! You can hear more of Larry Mazza’s story in his book The Life, available on Amazon.

Today's episode is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans.

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The Congressional investigation is, surprise, a farce. Those in office – heavily influenced by their powerful donors – seem determined to prevent any genuine attempt at investigating Smedley’s evidence. The press, controlled by the same forces, dismisses his claims as the paranoid ramblings of an old, no longer relevant relic of a bygone age.

Yet the nation is listening. The original gonzo journalist John Spivak digs into the story – and he is able to prove Smedley’s claims. What happens next?

LINK: http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/53/spivak-NewMasses.pdf

(Page 8 for conspiracy board)

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As the conspiracy to overthrow the United States government rushes from idea to action, Major General Smedley Butler draws a line in the sand. From what he can tell, the country’s most powerful people have both the money and the political will to betray their own nation. And he knows the plotters' mercenary army could outnumber U.S. forces. Smedley orders a pizza and then blows the whistle, triggering a Congressional investigation.

Yet, it seems, Smedley forgot one important thing: the shadowy forces plotting the coup may have already bought Congress.

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