Tell Me a Hoax

Send a text 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 Website Thanks to poet and...

Send a text 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 podcast! Our Website Thanks to poet and s...

Send a text 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 grow the podcast! Our Websi...

Send a text 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 can now support us by joining Tell...

Send a text 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 show You can now support us by joi...

Send a text 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 Sources Support the show You can now suppor...

Send a text 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!