It's the holidays so naturally thoughts turn to microplastics and the Barbie Liberation Organization! We discuss their latest hoax where they spoof Mattel, announce EcoWarrior Barbie, and fool the press. We also, of course, talk about the Barbie movie. Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Ou…

Did the BBC broadcast a real ghost haunting on Halloween 1992? Nope, it was a hoax. Before The Blair Witch Project, there was Ghostwatch. We discuss horror films, mockumentaries, BBC personalities, the found footage genre, and ghosts. Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our Website Thanks t…

Did Roy Johnson, the coach at the center of HBO's documentary BS High, call us after our Bishop Sycamore episode? Yep. That's not a hoax. Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our Website Thanks to poet and songwriter Morri Creech for our theme music! Thanks to Mel Clayton for our art!…

It's a bird...it's a plane...it's a hoax! Did the Heene's think they had accidentally launched their son in a UFO-shaped balloon into the sky, which turned into a more than an hour chase involving the police and National Guard helicopters? Or was this a publicity stunt to launch their upcoming Wife Swap episode and their reality TV ambitions? Sourc…

Craig created new co-hosts using AI, and Sarah is not happy about it. Join us as we discuss stock voices, AI information, James Frey, authenticity, and whether Sarah will take a vow of silence. Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our Website Thanks to poet and songwriter Morri Creech for ou…

Love or hate those biker shorts, Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus got the short end of the lip-syncing scandal. Join us to talk pop star authenticity, grunge, Frank Farian, the MTV reveal, the press conference, and how big a fan girl Sarah is. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our Websi…

We let AI take the wheel. We asked ChatGPT to create an episode on AI generated hoaxes. Instead, it lured us into an audio drama full of twists and turns. We talk about the AI threat, real or imagined. Also discussed: the identity of the Code Master and bunny suits. Tell Me a Hoax, where truth is just a riddle away. Support the show You can now sup…

Did people in 1835 think there were bipedal beavers on the moon? I mean, some of them might have, but that was thanks to the Great Moon Hoax pulled off by Richard Adams Locke. And boy was Edgar Allan Poe mad about it, thinking Locke had copied his earlier moon hoax. We get into it. But it's not all fun and games as we also look at Kevin Young's rea…

What can a fake high school football team tell us about inequity? Sadly a lot. We discuss the Varsity Blues scandal, IMG Academy, and Roy Johnson. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our Website Thanks to poet and songwriter Morri Creech for our theme music! Thanks to Mel Clayton fo…

Want to learn the rules of summer camp pranking? You’ll have to listen to us get in summer mode first as we reflect back on the hoaxes of the year so far and decide what’s the best, the worst, and the weirdest. Special guest Momo. And there will be tarts! Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast!…

What happened on Berners Street? For one day, 54 Berners Street became the most talked about residence in all of London. Join us as we talk about the nature of memory, pranks, Theodore Hook, and the invention of the postcard. Also, there are tarts and horse dung. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help g…

Learn how to become a super successful rock star! Or not so much. Join us for the fake band Threatin who toured Europe, or tried to, with no following, no record deal, and possibly no clue. We discuss a love story, hair, and sibling rivalry. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our W…

Surprise! It's an April Fools' Day holiday special where we talk about the origins of April Fools, Sarah confesses to being an evil person, and Craig confesses to being lukewarm on pranks. Also we discuss love languages for some reason. And, of course, Happy Birthday, Rick Pryll! Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a …

Would Jane Austen be published today? That's the question David Lassman asks in this hoax. Our question is what's up with asking this question. We talk about the publishing industry, including some of the thankless parts. Plus learn about The Circle of Sappho. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow…

Wanna see a body? What if the body is an alien? What if it's being cut up? What if the autopsy is hosted by William Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation and was the center of the 1995 "documentary" Alien Autopsy: (fact or fiction?), which aired on Fox? Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow th…

Did Rosie Ruiz win the Boston Marathon? Sure, only thing is she hardly ran any of it. Join us as we discuss marathon cheating, Kip Litton, bib mules, Katherine Switzer, and of course racism and misogyny. In honor of Rosie Ruiz, just download it and skip to the end. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help…

You've heard about TikTok's many problems, like the spying, the effects on attention, the indoctrination, but have you heard about the hoaxes? We play the game "Is This a TikTok Hoax?" Join us as we also talk about Elon Musk, attenuation, and of course Joe Biden's earlobes. Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and hel…

The clowns came for us in 2016! The only thing is there were no clowns. Join us as we discuss scary clowns, the history of clowns, creepy clown pranks, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Stephen King's It, Gags the Clown, and of course juggalos. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our …

Is Momo coming to get your kids? Nope, it's a hoax. Join us to discuss all the fun stuff like Satanists, moral panics, challenge culture, suicide, techno anxiety, and of course, body positivity for monsters. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, 988 provides connection to f…

Will we teach you the most amazing holiday prank? Of course, you can trust us. Along the way, we will take this time of year to reflect back on the hoaxes we've already covered, like the Cardiff Giant, Birds Aren't Real, and Naked Came the Stranger. We make hoax-related New Year's resolutions. One of us brought gifts! There will be incrimination, u…

Can you use fake reviews to game the system and get a #1 restaurant on Tripadvisor even if the restaurant doesn't exist and then spin that into a career in TV? Well, if you're Oobah Butler, you can. Join us as we discuss The Shed at Dulwich and Butler's other pranks like Georgio Peviani at Paris Fashion Week, his lookalike app, catfishing, and his …

Did a human woman give birth to a whole bunch of bunnies? Nope, it was a disturbing hoax. Join us for a discussion of man-midwives, Barbara Creed's monstrous-feminine, Dexter Palmer's novel “Mary Toft; Or, The Rabbit Queen," and, of course, Aerosmith. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podc…

Did we really read the literary hoax novel Naked Came the Stranger? Yep. All the trigger warnings! We discuss fruit jars, ice cubes, and knee fetishes. And some stuff that isn't sexy. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our Website Thanks to poet and songwriter Morri Creech for our …

Did Mike McGrady pull off the perfect literary hoax with Naked Came the Stranger? We'll find out as we discuss how the hoax was discovered, the aftermath, and the porno adaptation. Plus a detour through Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our…

Did the suburban housewife Penelope Ashe write the bestselling erotic novel Naked Came the Stranger? Nope, it was a hoax. We talk about the origin of the literary hoax and the Newsday journalists behind it. Also we describe Harold Robbins book covers. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podc…

Does Gen Z believe all the birds in the United States were killed and replaced with surveillance drones? Nope, it’s a hoax. We discuss Peter McIndoe's movement and Nikola Tesla's pigeon wife. Join us as we decide if you can fight disinformation with disinformation. Sources Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help…

Was Ern Malley the greatest modernist poet ever produced in Australia? Nope, he never existed, but that didn't stop his poetry from gathering outrage and fame, plus influencing well known poets like John Ashbery. Join us for a discussion of intention in the creation of art, decency laws, modernism, and, of course, AI. Sources Support the show You c…

Did Sasquatch almost eat the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus to extinction? Of course not, it was a hoax. Join us as we get heated over early internet web design and then cry over the state of information literacy. Also help us get Lyle Zapato on the show. Sources Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus Website The Octopus That Lives in the Trees Support the…

Did the discovery of the petrified remains of a buried giant in upstate New York in the 1860s prove the existence of actual giants? Nope, it was a hoax. Find out how George Hull pulled off one of the best hoaxes of all time with the Cardiff Giant, a hoax that gets even better when the king of hucksters P.T. Barnum gets involved. Pictures and Source…

Sarah Creech and Craig Renfroe tell you about the hoaxes, humbugs, and pranks that capture our imagination. Subscribe! Support the show You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our Website Thanks to poet and songwriter Morri Creech for our theme music! Thanks to Mel Clayton for our art!…