At the end of the ‘90s, after blowing up in Japan, Pokémon came to America. And it became so ubiquitous so fast that critics saw it as a plot to turn U.S. children into hypnotized consumers— or even devil-worshippers. But the version of Pokemon that conquered America was very much an American creation; in this episode we’ll look at how Pokemon became an international brand, and how its success brought out the worst in more than a few American parents.

TRANSCRIPT: HERE

CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Alex Pappademas

Showrunner: Colin McNulty

Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang, with help from Tyler Hill.

Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann

Fact Checker: Savannah Wright

Composer/Sound Designer/Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis

Theme Music by: Dan Leone 

Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair

Editor: Jamie York

Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, and Janae Marable. 

Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin

Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard.

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