BALLOON BOY
American Hysteria12 Touko 2025

BALLOON BOY

In 2009, the news reported live as a six-year-old boy careened through the air at 7,000 feet trapped inside a homemade balloon craft. Millions tuned into the harrowing saga, but once the balloon finally hit the ground, no little boy was found inside. Details then emerged that seemed to indicate it was all a hoax created by a family as part of a PR stunt for a reality TV show. On this episode, we explore the story of Balloon Boy, ask whether the event was indeed a hoax, and look at the early history of the hot air ballooning craze in the 18th and 19th centuries where hoaxes and wild spectacles were a foundational part of the emerging scientific field. Become a Patron⁠ to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline at ⁠americanhysteria.com⁠ Sound Designer and Associate Producer: ⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠ Producer and Editor: ⁠Miranda Zickler⁠ Voice Actor: ⁠Will Rogers⁠ Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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THE MOMO SUICIDE CHALLENGE (mini episode)

THE MOMO SUICIDE CHALLENGE (mini episode)

The newest viral internet urban legend focuses on an entity named Momo, a creepy humanoid figure with giant eyes, a strange too-wide smile, and grotesque chicken legs, said to message teens and kids o...

8 Huhti 201913min

THE END OF THE WORLD

THE END OF THE WORLD

It has been said that the apocalypse is as American as apple pie, and for our season finale we are exploring different versions of the end of the world, the hyper-religious, the new age, and the scien...

25 Maalis 201942min

The Morality of Drugs and the Opioid Crisis with Sarah Deutsch

The Morality of Drugs and the Opioid Crisis with Sarah Deutsch

This week we will be discussing the history of drug panic in the United States and its effects in the present day. My guest is Sarah Deutsch, a friend of mine from high school who received her masters...

18 Maalis 201925min

DRUGS

DRUGS

When a security camera caught footage of a 31-year-old Florida resident eating the face of a homeless man, the news and social media dubbed him the Miami Zombie, and it was widely speculated that he w...

11 Maalis 201932min

Murdered on Lovers' Lane with Feminist Folklore podcast

Murdered on Lovers' Lane with Feminist Folklore podcast

For this week's episode of the Calm Down, my guests are the women of Feminist Folklore. Each week Carela Holl-Jensen and Rachael Marr consider what fairytales, folk stories, and urban legends can tell...

25 Helmi 201923min

TEENAGE SEX

TEENAGE SEX

In 1996, Scream taught American teenagers the first rule to surviving a horror movie. Never, ever have sex. Classic slasher movies have their roots in an urban legend we all heard growing up: a guy an...

18 Helmi 201934min

Talking to My Christian Friends About Gay Stuff

Talking to My Christian Friends About Gay Stuff

For the Calm Down this week my guests are my two Christian friends who wish to remain anonymous, as they are sharing some anti-establishment opinions. Brianna is a poet who got her masters with me at ...

11 Helmi 201926min

THE GAY AGENDA

THE GAY AGENDA

The purse-carrying, tutu-wearing purple Teletubby Tinky Winky was outed as a homosexual in 1999, capping off a decade of conspiratorial anti-gay writings and videos that influenced politics straight u...

4 Helmi 201934min

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