BALLOON BOY

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

Episoder(286)

Dear Chelsey and Ask Sarah Marshall

Dear Chelsey and Ask Sarah Marshall

In the spirit of American advice columnists Dear Abby and Ann Landers, I am joined by Sarah Marshall of the podcast You’re Wrong About to give our own unique advice to some of the funnier questions se...

25 Aug 20251h 13min

DEAR ABBY AND ANN LANDERS

DEAR ABBY AND ANN LANDERS

Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren, also known as Dear Abby, were newspaper advice columnists answering questions and printing statements from their 100 million readers from the 1950s to the early 2000...

18 Aug 20251h 13min

Titanic in Real Time

Titanic in Real Time

This is a bonus episode from our subscribers-only podcast Hysteria Home Companion. Our associate producer (and my brother) Riley Swedelius-Smith is here to tell us the absolutely wild and little-know...

11 Aug 20251h 2min

Polybius: The Arcade Conspiracy

Polybius: The Arcade Conspiracy

This is a bonus episode from our subscribers-only podcast Hysteria Home Companion. I share the history of an 80s urban legend with our producer Miranda Zickler, one about a dangerous video game that a...

4 Aug 202540min

Not Just a Phase: Goths Through History with Christine Laskowski

Not Just a Phase: Goths Through History with Christine Laskowski

Christine Laskowski shares her research into how an ancient barbarian people known as the Goths came to represent everything from edgy Hot Topic fashion and the band Joy Division to the Notre Dame cat...

28 Jul 20251h 15min

The Imaginary Gods of ChatGPT with Journalist Miles Klee

The Imaginary Gods of ChatGPT with Journalist Miles Klee

Miles Klee is the author of a recent Rolling Stone article titled People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies which tells the stories of ChatGPT users who have come to believe that t...

21 Jul 20251h

The FBI's White Christian Nation with Lerone A. Martin

The FBI's White Christian Nation with Lerone A. Martin

Lerone A. Martin is the author of The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism . For this episode, Lerone explains how the FBI, led by J. Edgar ...

14 Jul 20251h 23min

Listen Now: American Scandal

Listen Now: American Scandal

Every scandal begins with a lie. But the truth will come out. And then comes the fallout and the outrage. Scandals have shaped America since its founding. From business and politics to sports and soc...

8 Jul 20256min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
konspirasjonspodden
alt-fortalt
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
popradet
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
wolfgang-wee-uncut
grenselos
synnve-og-vanessa
frokostshowet-pa-p5
fladseth
min-barneoppdragelse
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-frekvens-med-anine-olsen
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
198-land-med-einar-trnquist