American Hysteria

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 [https://www.patreon.com/americanhysteria] to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ [https://apple.co/3R9xBJe] Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline at ⁠americanhysteria.com⁠ [https://www.chelseywebersmith.com/americanhysteria] Sound Designer and Associate Producer: ⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/rileymsmith96] Producer and Editor: ⁠Miranda Zickler⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/mirandatheswampmonster] Voice Actor: ⁠Will Rogers⁠ [http://www.talkbomb.com/] Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Right now we are seeing accusations of gang associations used to to justify abducting immigrants off the street and sending them to either US detention centers or the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador with no due process. We have included a new introduction for this rerelease of our two part Gang Initiation series from 2024 in hopes that we can illuminate how these types of accusations and their consequences are straight out of the American playbook. Head to immigrantjustice.org/know-your-rights [https://immigrantjustice.org/know-your-rights] Sound Designer and Associate Producer: ⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/rileymsmith96] Producer and Editor: ⁠Miranda Zickler⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/mirandatheswampmonster] Voice Actor: ⁠Will Rogers⁠ [http://www.talkbomb.com/] Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Sarah Marshall takes me on a journey through two possible historical literary deceptions and asks me to try to figure out what is real, what is fake, and what it all means. This is a sibling to our recent episode on You’re Wrong About called Hoax Memoir Spectacular, so make sure you check that out as well. Listen to 'You're Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' wherever you get your podcasts ⁠Become a Patron⁠ [https://www.patreon.com/americanhysteria] to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ [https://apple.co/3R9xBJe] Producer and Editor: ⁠Miranda Zickler⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/mirandatheswampmonster] Associate Producer: ⁠Riley Swedelius-Smith⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/rileymsmith96] Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

*Please listen to part one of our series first.* 'The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk' was an 1800s true crime memoir about the horrors a runaway nun claimed to have suffered while living among debaucherous and murderous Catholic clergy in a convent-turned-torture chamber, and at the time, it was the second bestselling book in America. But was it really a truthful account of Maria Monk’s life? Or was it all a hoax, a piece of propaganda meant to incite hatred of the early immigrant folk devils of American culture? In this two part series, Sarah Marshall of 'You’re Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' joins me to try to separate fact from fiction, talk about the similarities between this this book and other hoax memoirs, and discuss the particular ways that anti-immigrant rhetoric has remained the same for two centuries. Listen to 'You're Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' wherever you get your podcasts Become a Patron [https://www.patreon.com/americanhysteria] to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts [https://apple.co/3R9xBJe] Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler [https://www.instagram.com/mirandatheswampmonster] Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith [https://www.instagram.com/rileymsmith96] Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

'The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk' was an 1800s true crime memoir about the horrors a runaway nun claimed to have suffered while living among debaucherous and murderous Catholic clergy in a convent-turned-torture chamber, and at the time, it was the second bestselling book in America. But was it really a truthful account of Maria Monk’s life? Or was it all a hoax, a piece of propaganda meant to incite hatred of the early immigrant folk devils of American culture? In this two part series, Sarah Marshall of 'You’re Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' joins me to try to separate fact from fiction, talk about the similarities between this this book and other hoax memoirs, and discuss the particular ways that anti-immigrant rhetoric has remained the same for two centuries. Listen to 'You're Wrong About' and 'You Are Good' wherever you get your podcasts Become a Patron [https://www.patreon.com/americanhysteria] to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts [https://apple.co/3R9xBJe] Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler [https://www.instagram.com/mirandatheswampmonster] Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith [https://www.instagram.com/rileymsmith96] Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]