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This, Again

This, Again

Written by: Mallory Faust
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You may think you know these stories, but not like this. This, Again is where historical disasters, delusions, downfalls, and déjà vu collide with human psychology. From palace scandals, space shuttle explosions, nightclub fires to witch trials, host Mallory Faust takes the moments in history you thought you understood and reveals the blind spots, egos, and eerie echoes you missed. It’s darkly funny, sharp, and empathetic - and it just might change how you see the past repeating in real time.

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Episodes
  • The Anatomy of a Coup: Chile 1973 and Modern Echoes
    Jan 1 2026
    Coups are often remembered as sudden explosions of force. Tanks in the streets. Jets overhead. Governments collapsing overnight. But history tells a quieter, more unsettling story. In this episode of This, Again, we trace the hidden psychological pattern that links coups across centuries and continents, from Napoleon’s rise in revolutionary France to Cold War interventions in Latin America and beyond. Using the 1973 Chilean coup as our central case study, we examine how democratic systems unravel long before soldiers ever move, through exhaustion, institutional paralysis, rumor, and the slow withdrawal of public belief. Chile did not collapse because the military was powerful. It collapsed because trust eroded. Because Congress froze. Because courts lost credibility. Because everyday life became unpredictable. And because enough people, across enough institutions, quietly stopped believing the system could recover. Along the way, we connect Chile’s experience to earlier and later coups in France, Poland, Spain, Greece, Guatemala, and Argentina, revealing a shared emotional architecture that repeats even when politics, ideologies, and eras change. This is not a story about left versus right. It is a story about legitimacy, exhaustion, and the dangerous silence that settles in just before power changes hands. History does not repeat in identical events. It repeats in human behavior. Attribution Notes: Every effort was made to cross-check primary sources and modern research. Where paraphrasing is used, it’s drawn from the texts below with narrative license for clarity and flow.If you spot an error or have a source to suggest, DM @thisagainshow Follow This, Again on Instagram: @thisagainshow This, Again is written, produced, and hosted by Mallory Faust. Allende's Final Address: https://youtu.be/IZVWOWA2Hpk?si=xNHlO33Ve9rc0jzU PRIMARY SOURCES Chile 1973 — Direct Primary Sources 1. Salvador Allende: Speeches & Broadcasts Allende’s Last Speech (Radio Magallanes, Sept. 11, 1973) Transcript + audio: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB470/ 2. Declassified U.S. Government Documents (All hosted by the National Security Archive at George Washington University) CIA: “Covert Action in Chile, 1963–1973” https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/chile-coup-nixon-kissinger“Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS), 1969–1976, Vol. XXI: Chile” https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v21Nixon/Kissinger Telephone Transcripts on Chile https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB437/ 3. Chilean Newspapers (Digitized) El Mercurio (Digital Archive) https://www.elmercurio.com/ (Full 1970–73 archives require subscription, but summary archives & headlines are viewable.)La Nación (Chile) - Historical Archive https://www.lanacion.cl/archivo/Clarín (Archive + PDFs) https://www.clarin.cl/historia/ 4. Eyewitness/Oral History Archives Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos (Chile) - Oral Histories https://www.museodelamemoria.cl/archivos/ 5. Allende Family & Personal Reflections Isabel Allende - “Mi País Inventado” excerpts https://www.isabelallende.com/en/book/my-invented-country (snippets available via publishers; full text is a book) B. Global Coup Parallels - Primary Sources with Links 1. Iran 1953 CIA: “The Battle for Iran” (Declassified) https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB435/The Shah’s Memoir (“Mission for My Country”) - Digital Archive https://archive.org/details/missionformycoun00moharich 2. Myanmar 2021 NetBlocks Internet Outage Timeline (Jan-Feb 2021) https://netblocks.org/reports/myanmar-internet-shutdown-tracker-2021/Reuters Raw Footage of Coup Morning https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-military-seizes-power-detains-aung-san-suu-kyi-president-tv-2021-02-01/ 3. Turkey 2016 Erdogan’s FaceTime Address (archived by BBC) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36809083TRT Military Statement Clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65FcJXUqBq0 4. Thailand (2006, 2014 coups) 2014 Military Announcement - BBC Coverage https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27517477 5. Spain 1936 Historical Radio Broadcast Archives (RTVE) https://www.rtve.es/archivo/ Greece Clogg, Richard. A Concise History of Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. U.S. Department of State. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XVI: Cyprus; Greece; Turkey. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v16 ADDITIONAL SOURCES: Foundational Works on Chile 1973 1. Peter Kornbluh - “The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability” https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB110/ 2. Patricia Politzer - “Fear in Chile: Lives Under Pinochet” https://www.usip.org/publications/1990/06/fear-chile-lives-under-pinochet 3. Brian Loveman - “Chile: The Legacy of Hispanic Capitalism” https://global.oup.com/academic/product/chile-9780195112799 4. Jonathan Haslam - “The Nixon Administration and the Death of ...
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    31 mins
  • The Child Star Problem, Pt. 2: From Pop Stardom to Vlogging and the Collapse of Privacy
    Dec 18 2025
    The lights got brighter. The cameras got closer. But the system never changed. In Part 2, we pick up where we left off and trace the next wave of child stardom, from the 1980s to today. We revisit the sitcom era that gave us tragic headlines, the pop machine that chewed up teen girls for profit, and the digital boom that turned toddlers into monetized brands. Behind the fame was something more dangerous: a psychological cost that built quietly over time. We look at how parasocial fame warps identity, how trauma bonding creates loyalty to abusers, and how growing up in public reshapes the brain in ways science is just beginning to understand. From Britney Spears to Ruby Franke, from reality shows to family vlogs, this episode investigates how childhood continues to be scripted, sold, and sacrificed for entertainment. This is not the end of the story. It’s the part where the machine learns to disguise itself. Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of child abuse, sexual harassment, addiction, and suicide. Attribution Notes: Every effort was made to cross-check primary sources and modern research. Where paraphrasing is used, it’s drawn from the texts below with narrative license for clarity and flow.If you spot an error or have a source to suggest, DM @thisagainshow Follow This, Again on Instagram: @thisagainshow This, Again is written, produced, and hosted by Mallory Faust. Sources and further reading: Drew Barrymore’s Early Addiction and Emancipation Lynsey Eidell, “All About Drew Barrymore’s Relationship with Her Mom Jaid Barrymore,” People, March 25, 2024. https://people.com/all-about-drew-barrymore-jaid-barrymore-mother-daughter-relationship-8406047 Britney Spears and the Conservatorship Sam Levin, “Britney Spears’s conservatorship terminated after nearly 14 years,” The Guardian, November 12, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/nov/12/britney-spears-conservatorship-terminated Ruby Franke / Shari Franke and Family Vlogging Controversies Katie Kindelan, “Ruby Franke’s daughter speaks out to lawmakers on family vlogging dangers,” ABC News (Good Morning America), October 17, 2024. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/ruby-frankes-daughter-speaks-lawmakers-family-vlogging-dangers/story?id=114904176 Illinois and California Influencer Labor Laws Illinois (SB 1782): Eric Stock, “Pritzker signs child influencer protections into law,” NPR Illinois, August 14, 2023. https://www.nprillinois.org/illinois/2023-08-14/pritzker-signs-child-influencer-protections-into-law California (AB 1880 & SB 764): Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, “Governor Newsom joins Demi Lovato to sign legislation to protect the financial security of child influencers,” press release, September 26, 2024. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/26/governor-newsom-joins-demi-lovato-to-sign-legislation-to-protect-the-financial-security-of-child-influencers/ Advocacy by A Minor Consideration and SAG-AFTRA Roger Armbrust, “Jackie’s Legacy: Proponents of Coogan Law revisions aim at extending protection of child performers to all cases and all states,” Backstage, November 4, 2019. https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/jackies-legacy-proponents-coogan-law-revisions-aim-extending-20198/ Margaritoff, Marco. “9 Shocking Stories of Hollywood Stage Parents Who Exploited Their Own Kids.” All That’s Interesting, September 8, 2021. https://allthatsinteresting.com/celebrity-parents-stage-mothers Chung, Gabrielle, and Tomás Mier. “Britney Spears Says She Wants to Charge Dad Jamie with ‘Conservatorship Abuse’ in New Testimony.” People, July 14, 2021. https://people.com/music/britney-spears-says-she-wants-to-charge-dad-jamie-with-conservatorship-abuse/ “In Wake of Ruby Franke Abuse Case, Utah Adds Protections for Children of Social Media Influencers.” CBS News, March 26, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/utah-children-influencer-protections-ruby-franke-child-abuse/ Brodsky, Rachel. “The True Story Behind An Update on Our Family and the YouTubers Who Gave Up an Adopted Child.” Time, January 15, 2025. https://time.com/7206477/an-update-on-our-family-true-story-stauffer-family/ Krobot, Anezka. “When Play Becomes Work: How Child Influencers on TikTok Are Being Exploited and How We Can Protect Them.” American Bar Association – Journal of Labor & Employment Law, September 2, 2025. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/labor_law/resources/journal/38-3/how-child-influencers-tiktok-being-exploited-how-we-can-protect-them/ “France Passes New Law to Protect Child Influencers.” BBC News, October 7, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54447491 Kindelan, Katie. “Illinois Becomes 1st State to Regulate Kid Influencers: What to Know About the Law.” ABC News, August 14, 2023. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/illinois-1st-state-regulate-kid-influencers-law/story?id=102259218 Duygu Balan. “Smile for the Camera: The Psychological Toll of Child Fame.” Psychology Today, June 2,...
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    31 mins
  • The Child Star Problem, Pt. 1: A Hidden History of Control, Contracts, and Exploitation
    Dec 4 2025
    Hollywood has been cashing in on cute kids for over a century, and the kids usually pay the price. In Part 1 of The Child Star Problem, we trace the origins of child exploitation in the entertainment industry, starting even before Hollywood with vaudeville stages, traveling acts, and silent films. This episode unpacks the system that raised children for applause and profit, from Jackie Coogan, whose stolen fortune led to the first child labor law in entertainment, to Judy Garland, whose teen years were fueled by pills, starvation, and studio control. We explore how the industry industrialized innocence, how parents and executives profited from it, and why this early playbook shaped every cautionary tale that followed. Before #FreeBritney and TikTok families, there were contract girls, fixers, and children sold as miracles during the Great Depression. And the cycle? It was built in from the start. Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of child abuse, sexual harassment, addiction, and suicide. Attribution Notes: Every effort was made to cross-check primary sources and modern research. Where paraphrasing is used, it’s drawn from the texts below with narrative license for clarity and flow.If you spot an error or have a source to suggest, DM @thisagainshow Follow This, Again on Instagram: @thisagainshow This, Again is written, produced, and hosted by Mallory Faust. Sources & Further Reading University of Oxford. "Exploitation of Elizabethan Child Actors Revealed."University of Oxford News, June 19, 2013. https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2013-06-19-exploitation-elizabethan-child-actors-revealed. Soth, Amelia. "Her Majesty’s Kidnappers."JSTOR Daily, December 17, 2020. https://daily.jstor.org/kidnapping-for-the-queens-choir/. Hatzinger, Martin, et al. "Castrati - everything to achieve fame." Urologe A 48, no. 6 (June 2009): 649–652. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19333571/. Pound, Jeremy. "Secrets of the castrati: the eye-watering surgery that created opera’s greatest stars." Classical Music, July 18, 2025. https://www.classical-music.com/articles/secrets-of-castrati Blakemore, Erin. "The Last Silent Film Star." JSTOR Daily, June 1, 2018. https://daily.jstor.org/the-last-silent-film-star/ Sid Luft, Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland https://www.amazon.com/Judy-I-My-Life-Garland/dp/1613735835 Suyin Haynes, “The True Story Behind the Movie Judy,” TIME https://time.com/5688136/judy-garland-true-story/ Erin Blakemore, “Golden Age Hollywood Had a Dirty Little Secret: Drugs,” History.com https://www.history.com/news/old-hollywood-drugs-judy-garland Shirley Temple Black, Child Star: An Autobiography https://www.amazon.com/Child-Star-Autobiography-Shirley-Temple/dp/0070040085 John F. Kasson, The Little Girl Who Fought the Great Depression https://www.amazon.com/Little-Girl-Who-Fought-Depression/dp/0393240790 Hillel Italie, “Shirley Temple, Child Star of the Depression, Dies at 85,” Associated Press / Salt Lake Tribune https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=57525214&itype=cmsid Judith Levine, “Baby, Take a Bow,” Boston Review https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/judith-levine-baby-take-bow-child-star-shirley-temple/ Duygu Balan, “Smile for the Camera: The Psychological Toll of Child Fame,” Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-the-light-and-in-the-dark/202306/smile-for-the-camera-the-psychological-toll-of-child-fame Edward Helmore, “Trauma memoir puts spotlight on mums turning daughters into child stars,” The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/aug/21/trauma-memoir-spotlight-stage-parents-child-stars Ariane Resnick, “Understanding Trauma Bonding,” Verywell Mind https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-trauma-bonding-5185114 Jackie Coogan and the Coogan Law. Ailbhe Rogers, “More Than Pocket Money: A History of Child Actor Laws,” In Custodia Legis (Law Library of Congress blog), June 2022. https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2022/06/more-than-pocket-money-a-history-of-child-actor-laws/ Baby Peggy / Diana Serra Cary. Pamela Hutchinson, “Diana Serra Cary – aka ‘Baby Peggy’ Montgomery – obituary: the early child star who became an activist for Hollywood’s children,” Sight & Sound (BFI), February 25, 2020. https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/diana-serra-cary-aka-baby-peggy-montgomery-obituary-early-child-star-who-became-activist-hollywoods-children Dana Plato, Gary Coleman, and Diff’rent Strokes Actors. Kellie Gormly, “The Tragic ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ Curse: Remembering Dana Plato & Gary Coleman,” Remind Magazine, May 8, 2024. https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/14088/the-tragic-diffrent-strokes-curse-remembering-dana-plato-gary-coleman-todd-bridges/
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    35 mins
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