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    History

    Hoax!

    Why do so many people believe things that aren’t true? In an era when claims of “fake news” come as natural as breathing, and social media allows lies to spread and multiply like viruses, the question feels more relevant than ever. From the teenage girls who convinced Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that fairies were real in the 19th century to “Balloon boy” in 2009, Hoax! will explore the most audacious and ambitious tricks in history. And along the way, we’ll uncover the reasons people let themselves be fooled, and how we can live our lives and engage with the media with a more critical eye. Co-hosted by Noble Blood’s Dana Schwartz and pop culture writer Lizzie Logan, we’ll bring you stories of pranks and grifts throughout history so big and bold they make us question why we believe what we believe in the first place.

     

    **New episodes every other week**

    Advertise

    Copyright: 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia

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    Latest Episodes:
    Ern Malley Poetry Sep 15, 2025
    Show notes

    Two bored poets decide to prank their least favorite snobby magazine editor by submitting intentionally bad poetry to his literary journal and watching with mirth as he and his fellows delight in publishing it.

    Sources:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m3bytB5ULw
    https://theconversation.com/the-greatest-poet-who-never-lived-ern-malley-at-80-234905
    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4533011085
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-29/ern-malley-literary-hoax-angry-penguins-1944/100412208
    https://www.ernmalley.net/
    https://www.literaturelust.com/post/the-great-poet-ern-malley-who-never-existed
    https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/harris-maxwell-henley-max-29615
    https://quirosonline.com/jindyworobaks-part-one/
    https://time.com/archive/6821805/books-angry-penguins/
    https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/33/wertheim.php
    https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mcauley-james-phillip-10896
    https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/stewart-harold-frederick-29423
    http://jacketmagazine.com/17/fact2.html

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    The Ireland Shakespeare Relics Sep 01, 2025
    Show notes

    Samuel Ireland was an avid collector, the type of man who boasted and tried to make himself look important. His son, William Henry, just wanted to make his dad proud of him.

    Sources:
    The Boy Who Would Be Shakespeare, by Doug Stewart
    Shakespeare and Others by S. Schoenbaum
    'The Poet's Hand,' Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker
    https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Henry-Ireland
    https://www.npr.org/2010/06/19/127931669/william-henry-irelands-great-shakespearean-hoax

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Balloon Boy Aug 18, 2025
    Show notes

    For a few tense hours in October 2009, the entire world watched as a homemade aircraft purportedly carrying a 6-year-old boy drifted in mid-air on live television. When the balloon landed, there was no boy inside.

    Sources: Wife Swap Season 5, Episode 1: “Heene/Martell”
    Wife Swap Season 5, Episode 18: “Heene/Silver”

    The video that I showed Dana of the YourShakeDown invention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xAX2Y8-g4g

    Compilation of news coverage from the time of the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAlwBcvb9RA

    Internet Historian video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWhUvm8SunY&t=1s

    Richard Heene’s response: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axgyj7g5XZY

    The gawker essay: https://www.gawkerarchives.com/5383858/exclusive-i-helped-richard-heene-plan-a-balloon-hoax

    Transcripts from 911 and CNN: https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/ng/date/2009-10-21/segment/01

    The Denver magazine that cracked the case: https://www.5280.com/the-balloon-boy-hoax-solved/

    More reporting:

    https://people.com/human-interest/10-years-later-balloon-boy-dad-insists-saga-no-hoax/

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2345497/Four-years-Balloon-Boy-aged-10-finally-set-worlds-youngest-heavy-metal-band-brothers.html

    https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/us/19balloon.html

    https://nypost.com/2025/02/22/us-news/infamous-balloon-boy-starts-tiny-home-building-business-in-florida/

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Cottingley Fairies Aug 04, 2025
    Show notes

    In 1917, two young cousins returned from the creek behind their house with thrilling news: they had photographed fairies! Their parents were skeptical, but soon the photos of the "Cottingley Fairies" were circulated, eventually finding a champion in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

    Sources:
    ‘Fairies Photographed: An Epoch-Making Event.’ Strand Magazine, 1920
    'The Coming of the Fairies' by Arthur Conan Doyle (London: Hodder & Stoughton)
    ‘That Astonishing Affair of the Cottingley Fairies,' by G. Crawley. British Journal of Photography
    https://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/article/power-at-play-in-paranormal-history/
    https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/father-and-son-who-believed-faeries

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Introducing: Hoax! Jul 28, 2025
    Show notes

    Hoax! is a new show from Dana Schwartz (Noble Blood) and Lizzie Logan (Vulture, Reductress). Listen to the first episode on August 4th.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


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