Hoax

Unresolved Productions

About

Hoax is a podcast that takes a look at some of history's most famous (and infamous) hoaxes, exploring the people involved and any subsequent consequences.

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14 episodes

"Joseph Benson"

proofoflife.mp3

30m
Apr 01
The Con Queen of Hollywood

This is an episode of my other podcast, Unresolved, which is dealing with Hoax-like material this week. While I'm not quite ready to start the new season of Hoax, I can confirm that it is coming soon, and hopefully this will help tide you over until then. Learn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.me

30m
Apr 19, 2020
Threatin

In the summer of 2018, three musicians - guitarist Joe Prunera, bassist Gavin Carney, and drummer Dane Davis - responded to audition requests from a Los Angeles talent agency.   All three ended up joining an up-and-coming band named Threatin, fronted by a mysterious young man calling himself "Jered Threatin." They were hired on to provide Jered a backing band on an upcoming tour, which would take them into Europe during November of 2018.   However, as the tour began, these three young men realized that they had signed onto something that was not as it seemed. As the tour progressed, and they realized nobody was coming to see them play, they began to understand that they were witnessing one of the most bizarre stories of the year unfold in real time...     Written, hosted, and produced by Micheal Whelan       Podcast logo image courtesy of Jaak Horn   Learn more about the podcast at unresolved.me   If you would like to consider supporting this podcast and others, consider heading to patreon.com/unresolvedpod     Music Credits   PCIII - "Write Hear Right Now"   Threatin - "Living Is Dying"   How the Night Came - "IV - C6H807"   Chris Zabriskie - "Divider"   Mystery Mammal - "All Your Organs Get A Laugh"   ROZKOL - "Stay Quiet"   DR "Afanassij Iwanowitsch Towstogub and His Wife Pulcherija Iwanowna Towstagubicha - Part 2"   The Gateless Gate - "The Idea of North"   Krackatoa - "Long White Cloud"

1h 11m
Nov 18, 2018
The Wolfs

In the mid-2000's, a mysterious Russian couple forged the perfect crime... and ended up on the FBI's Most Wanted List... where they remain to this day.

50m
Nov 04, 2018
Operation Mincemeat

In the midst of World War Two, an operation was planned: to take a dead body, give it a new identity, and use it to deceive the Germans. However, finding a suitable corpse would prove tricky... and fooling the Germans, even more so.

49m
Oct 21, 2018
Steev Mike

Throughout a long and tumultuous career, Andrew W.K. has been plagued by rumors that he is a fraud or a phony... primarily because of a mysterious entity named "Steev Mike."

1h 2m
Oct 07, 2018
New Berlin

In the final months of 2008, one of the largest scandals in Wisconsin state history unfolded in the small town of New Berlin...

39m
Sep 23, 2018
Kevin Hart

On February 1st, 2008, Fernley High School student Kevin Hart held an assembly in his school's gymnasium. Kevin, the school's star football player, seemed to be the area's first major collegiate recruit. In this assembly, Kevin made the public decision to attend the University of California-Berkeley. Unfortunately for everyone involved, there was no scholarship offer from Cal... or any other school. And Kevin was well-aware of that.

45m
May 06, 2018
Church Of Bleach

In 2010, the Genesis II Church Of Health And Healing originated from southern California. Since then, the Church has grown to include thousands of members, all of whom tout their "sacrament" - a chemical named MMS - as the cure to all of humanity's ails. They say that it will cure cancer, AIDS, malaria, Alzhimer's, and even Autism. However, others have a name for this chemical solution: bleach.

1h 2m
Apr 22, 2018
The Hack Crash

On April 23rd, 2013, the Associated Press tweeted out the following: "Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured." The tweet - which was a lie, perpetrated by a hacker - was 100% false. However, that did not stop the stock market from plunging, showing that a single tweet could be worth upwards of $136 billion...

33m
Apr 08, 2018
Jimmy's World

In the September 28th, 1980 issue of the Washington Post, readers were greeted by the horrifying artwork of a story titled "Jimmy's World." The story had the subtitle "8-Year-Old Heroin Addict Lives for a Fix." Needless to say, this story made same waves throughout the nation. Over the next six months, the author of the piece - a 26-year-old reporter named Janet Cooke - found herself at the center of one of the largest journalism scandals of all-time...

1h 5m
Apr 01, 2018
Sidd Finch

In the final week of March 1985, an article from "Sports Illustrated" began to circulate through the media. Written by noted journalist George Plimpton, the article detailed a 28-year old New York Mets pitching prospect, who could allegedly throw the baseball more than 168 miles-per-hour. When the truth was finally discovered, April Fool's Day had come and gone...

34m
Apr 01, 2018
The Persian Princess

At the turn of the millennium, a mummy was found in Karachi, Pakistan. It was being sold on the black market, and appeared to be the daughter of Xerxes - the Persian King of Kings. However, when scientists began to conduct tests to determine the validity of the mummy, they discovered a wide-ranging mystery that endures to this day...

31m
Apr 01, 2018
Introduction

What is a hoax? It is often used alongside phrases such as "conspiracy theory" or "urban legend," but a hoax is a purposeful deception meant to fool several people.  This podcast will dive into a select number of infamous hoaxes, exploring not only the people involved, but the consequences that followed. To learn more, you can follow the podcast on the following social media links:  https://www.facebook.com/hoaxpod https://www.twitter.com/hoaxpod Podcast logo/image courtesy of Jaak Horn

5m
Mar 01, 2018