Tell Me a Hoax

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax +...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. You can now support us by joining Tell Me a...

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. Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. You can now support us by joining Tell Me a...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the...

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 free, confidential support. There is HOPE. The Lifeline WORKS. For 24/7 confidential support, just call, text, or chat 988. Sources Craig...

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, unwrapping ASMR, and gaslighting, you know, a holiday! Most Amazing Holiday Prank Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection...

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 book How To Bullsh*t Your Way To Number #1. Sources Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the podcast! Our Website Thanks to poet and songwriter...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help grow the...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. You can now support us by joining Tell Me a Hoax + and help...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. You can now support us by joining Tell Me a...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25,...

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 Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on...

Sarah Creech and Craig Renfroe tell you about the hoaxes, humbugs, and pranks that capture our imagination. Subscribe! Craig Renfroe's short film "Catalog" is an official selection at the Unnamed Footage Festival and will be screened at the film festival on March 25, 2023, in San Francisco. 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!