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Podcast: Satan is my Superhero
Episode: DOOM, Demons & Moral Panic: The Game They Tried to Ban
Description: Why was DOOM so controversial — and why did politicians, pastors, and parent groups try to ban it?In 1993, DOOM didn’t just invent the modern first-person shooter — it also sparked a full-blown satanic moral panic. Banned in Germany, blamed for youth violence, linked to Columbine, and accused of promoting demonic symbols and devil worship, this gore-soaked trip through Hell turned Doomguy into a 90s counterculture icon.Created by id Software — including John Romero and John Carmack — DOOM spread across university networks via dial-up, crashed office servers, and became the poster child for debates over violent video games. Fro...