Podcast Summary: The Devil You Know with Sarah Marshall
Episode: A second helping from Satan: SATANISM 101
Date: November 27, 2025

Overview

This bonus episode of The Devil You Know dives into the historical, cultural, and psychological origins of Satan, Satanism, and the moral panics that have shaped modern perceptions. Host Sarah Marshall introduces guest producer Carolyn Kendrick in conversation with Dr. Justin Sledge, an academic expert on Western esotericism and the host of the "Esoterica" YouTube channel. Together, they trace the development of Satan as a figure from the Hebrew Bible through Christian tradition and analyze how these themes resurface in moral panics like the Satanic Panic and contemporary conspiracy narratives.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Who Is Dr. Justin Sledge? (01:32–02:00)

• Sledge specializes in Western esotericism, encompassing magic, alchemy, witchcraft, and the occult.
• He studies these subjects academically, distinguishing his approach from practitioners:

  “I try to use evidence and reasoning and, and logic and history to try to figure out what's going on in these cases of magic or witchcraft or alchemy or Kabbalah or what have you.” (02:14, Dr. Justin Sledge)

2. Defining the Terms: Occult, Paganism, Witchcraft, Wicca, and Satanism (03:43–06:33)

• Occult: Refers to hidden (esoteric) aspects of spirituality, knowledge not publicly disclosed.
• Wicca: Modern (~100 years old), nature-based pagan religion, believing in many gods, with room for psychological interpretation.
• Satanism: As popularized by Anton LaVey (1960s), largely atheistic, focusing on rebellion, human freedom, and individualism (not literal devil worship).
• Practitioners within and across these groups often disagree and the community is "enormously small" but "heavily complicated by streams of thought and practice."

3. The Origins of Satan (06:33–10:50)

• In the Hebrew Bible, "the Satan" (typically with a definite article) is a heavenly prosecutor, not an antagonist to God.
• The transformation into a fallen angel/devil is traced through apocalyptic Jewish literature and later Christian texts, linking to Zoroastrian dualistic influences.
• Memorable explanation:

  "In the Hebrew Bible...Satan is a kind of tattletale who sees you doing something and goes off to God and complains about it in the heavenly court." (06:49, Dr. Justin Sledge)

4. Apocalypticism and Evil (08:02–10:50)

• Apocalypticism: Not primarily about predicting the future but revealing the hidden structures and origins of evil, often through coded, ex-eventu (“after the event”) prophecy.
• Evil explained by fallen angels, demonic beings; Christianity adopted and expanded these dualisms.

5. Political Context and Satan’s Evolution (11:02–13:17)

• Post-exile Judaism and occupied territories created intense "us vs. them" frameworks, both politically and spiritually.
• Example from the Dead Sea Scrolls:

  "The Sons of Light vs. the Sons of Darkness, led by a demon named Belial. The Romans...are just the implement of demonic forces." (11:02, Dr. Justin Sledge)

• The spiritualization of political enemies laid groundwork for vilifying opponents as satanic.

6. Satan as a Tool for Demonization (13:17–16:08)

• Early Christianity quickly developed binary "God’s team vs. the other team" logic, branding Jews, pagans, and heretics as allied with Satan.
• Historical ironies: Early Christians were accused of the same crimes they would later project onto other “outgroups.”

  "Hurt people, hurt people...a traumatized people, early Christians...basically accused anyone who wasn't them of the exact same kinds of things they had been accused of." (15:02, Dr. Justin Sledge)

• These narratives persisted, evolving into anti-Jewish, anti-sectarian, and witchcraft accusations across centuries.

7. Projection, Blood Libel, and the Recycled Myths (16:38–22:48)

• Societal projection: Societies conjure horrors by imagining others capable of what they themselves fear.
• The blood libel: Medieval myths accused Jews of ritual murder and cannibalism; these motifs recycle in accusations against witches, and resurface in Satanic Panic (1980s–90s).
• Key quote:

  “We have a 2000 year old cycle of myths about underground people doing dreadful things to children...recycled over and over and over again.” (20:48, Dr. Justin Sledge)

• Scathing commentary on the use of ancient witch-hunting manuals (Malleus Maleficarum) in 1980s police consulting:

  “A textbook for how not to do law enforcement...the idea this could be recycled as evidence in 1986, that’s a unique horror all its own.” (21:54, Dr. Justin Sledge)

8. Satan, Identity, and Early Christianity (22:48–26:44)

• Dr. Sledge explains, via Elaine Pagels' scholarship, that early Christians developed their identity by “negation”—demonizing and distinguishing themselves from the Jewish mainstream.
• Foundational Gospel stories (e.g., the crowd calling for Jesus’ crucifixion) help entrench the idea of Jewish culpability and justify later antisemitism and projection.

9. Antisemitism, QAnon, and Perpetual Moral Panic (26:44–28:49)

• Modern conspiracy myths (e.g., QAnon's adrenochrome narrative) align closely with the blood libel structure:

  “A lot of the Myth cycles that QAnon maintains...is just an extension and development of the blood libel. It’s the same myth ultimately, but with a new spin.” (26:50, Dr. Justin Sledge)

• “The moral panic is like mycelium,” Carolyn remarks, ever-present and ever-primed to resurface.

10. How to Resist Moral Panic (28:49–32:15)

• Advice from Sledge (drawing from Jeffrey Victor’s work): The most effective tool is asking for evidence, sources, and citations—critical thinking may be “boring” but is powerful.

  "Be the unpopular person who demands evidence..." (29:39, Dr. Justin Sledge)

• He further stresses the importance of considering what contrary evidence exists and the practical unlikelihood of grand conspiracies:

  “The more extravagant the conspiracy, the more people requires to it for it to work. And...we’re not great at organizing. And we're also not good at keeping secrets.” (32:15, Dr. Justin Sledge)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being accused of secret magic:

  “If I were up to something, I would not be a YouTuber. I would be living in a castle in Romania..." (03:14, Dr. Justin Sledge)

• On the meaning of ‘Satan’:

  “Their job basically is to accuse. That's what the word Satan means. It means the accuser.” (06:49, Dr. Justin Sledge)

• On the cyclical nature of accusation:

  "What we have is a 2000 year old cycle of myths about underground people doing dreadful things to children..." (20:48, Dr. Justin Sledge)

• On confronting moral panic:

  “Be the unpopular person who demands evidence. The boring reality is critical thinking is a great and maybe the only antidote to these kinds of panics.” (29:39, Dr. Justin Sledge)

Key Timestamps for Major Topics

• 01:32 — Dr. Justin Sledge introduction and academic approach to esotericism
• 03:43 — Definitions of "occult," "paganism," "witchcraft," "Wicca," "Satanism"
• 06:33 — Satan’s origins in Jewish and Christian scripture
• 08:02 — Apocalypticism: unveiling evil and origin stories
• 11:02 — Political/in-group & out-group contexts as Satan morphs
• 13:17 — Christianity's historical use of Satan to demonize “the Other”
• 17:12 — Blood libel myths and their evolution into witch and Satanic accusations
• 22:48 — Satan in early Christianity as a literary and identity tool
• 26:44 — Parallels between historical antisemitic myths and QAnon
• 28:49 — Strategies for resisting moral panic

Conclusion

This episode offers a rich, historical survey explaining how the figure of Satan serves as a cultural canvas for societal fears, projections, and political anxieties. Through a lens equal parts scholarly and accessible, Dr. Sledge exposes the deep roots of Satanic imagery and moral panic, offering listeners both context and practical wisdom for resisting the cycles of hysteria that continue to resurface in society.