Anastasia Romanov inspired a play, an Academy Award-winning movie, and a Dana-and-Lizzie-loving animated feature. But the legend of the missing princess is stranger and more involved than a movie with a talking bat might have led you to believe.

SOURCES:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/february-6/anastasia-arrives-in-the-united-states
https://phys.org/news/2018-07-fresh-dna-authenticate-bones-russia.html
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19600212&id=tuUlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EncDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7046,629353&hl=en
https://www.nytimes.com/1958/08/24/archives/anastasia-grand-duchess-or-grand-hoax-the-last-act-in-the-drama-of.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20250331152750/http://www.readthehook.net/86004/cover-jack-amp-anna-remembering-czar-charlottesville-eccentricshttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68616
https://blog.newspapers.com/anna-anastasia-anderson/
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/grondahl-anastasia-or-imposter-local-author-12950650.php

Anastasia Romanov inspired a play, an Academy Award-winning movie, and a Dana-and-Lizzie-loving animated feature. But the legend of the missing princess is stranger and more involved than a movie with a talking bat might have led you to believe.
SOURCES: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/february-6/anastasia-arrives-in-the-united-states https://phys.org/news/2018-07-fresh-dna-authenticate-bones-russia.html https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&amp;dat=19600212&amp;id=tuUlAAAAIBAJ&amp;sjid=EncDAAAAIBAJ&amp;pg=7046,629353&amp;hl=en https://www.nytimes.com/1958/08/24/archives/anastasia-grand-duchess-or-grand-hoax-the-last-act-in-the-drama-of.html https://web.archive.org/web/20250331152750/http://www.readthehook.net/86004/cover-jack-amp-anna-remembering-czar-charlottesville-eccentricshttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68616 https://blog.newspapers.com/anna-anastasia-anderson/ https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/grondahl-anastasia-or-imposter-local-author-12950650.php

Why do so many people believe things that aren’t true? In an era when claims of “fake news” come as natural as breathing, and social media allows lies to spread and multiply like viruses, the question feels more relevant than ever. From the teenage girls who convinced Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that fairies were real in the 19th century to “Balloon boy” in 2009, Hoax! will explore the most audacious and ambitious tricks in history. And along the way, we’ll uncover the reasons people let themselves be fooled, and how we can live our lives and engage with the media with a more critical eye. Co-hosted by Noble Blood’s Dana Schwartz and pop culture writer Lizzie Logan, we’ll bring you stories of pranks and grifts throughout history so big and bold they make us question why we believe what we believe in the first place.

 

**New episodes every other week**

Why do so many people believe things that aren&rsquo;t true? In an era when claims of &ldquo;fake news&rdquo; come as natural as breathing, and social media allows lies to spread and multiply like viruses, the question feels more relevant than ever. From the teenage girls who convinced Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that fairies were real in the 19th century to&nbsp;&ldquo;Balloon boy&rdquo; in 2009, Hoax! will explore the most audacious and ambitious tricks in history. And along the way, we&rsquo;ll uncover the reasons people let themselves be fooled, and how we can live our lives and engage with the media with a more critical eye. Co-hosted by Noble Blood&rsquo;s Dana Schwartz and pop culture writer Lizzie Logan, we&rsquo;ll bring you stories of pranks and grifts throughout history so big and bold they make us question why we believe what we believe in the first place.
&nbsp;
**New episodes every other week**

Hoax!

Fake Anastasias

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/2bc98721-31f3-44ec-b30c-b444013af1fb/transcript

In January 2019, ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett was the victim of a racial and homophobic hate crime perpetrated in Chicago that shocked the nation and sparked an outcry from seemingly Hollywood’s entire A-list. But it didn’t take long for cracks in his story to emerge. In our season 1 finale, we explore the logic holes, inconsistencies, and downright bizarre twists in this years-long saga involving race, sexuality, police brutality and celebrity. Plus, a lot of tangents.

SOURCES
The Truth About Jussie Smollett? (Netflix)
https://www.biography.com/actor/jussie-smollett
https://www.out.com/entertainment/2016/1/28/exclusive-jussie-smollett-being-black-and-gay-hollywood
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/03/im-the-gay-tupac-jussie-smollett
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/jussie-smollett-video-shows-brothers-red-hat-ski-mask/
https://time.com/5560430/jussie-smollett-donald-trump-fbi/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-police-chief-eddie-johnson-fired-after-series-ethical-lapses-n1094301
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/12/02/jussie-smolletts-legal-team-begins-defense-at-actors-trial-for-allegedly-staging-and-reporting-a-phony-hate-crime/
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/samuel-l-jackson-offered-support-for-smollett-in-letter-read-at-sentencing
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/21/jussie-smollett-conviction-overturned
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/25/jussie-smollett-chicago-charities-settle-lawsuit
https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/prosecutor-kim-foxx-defends-jussie-smollett-decision-in-wbez-interview/ddc80843-d6ee-4c25-a635-02ad49c325e6
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47317701
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/jussie-smollett-2007-dui-arrest/4508/
https://www.businessinsider.com/jussie-smollett-2007-false-information-case-2019-2
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/jussie-smollett-hate-crime-netflix-documentary-comeback-1236487316/
https://www.citybureau.org/black-caucus-timeline
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-police-department-routinely-violated-people-s-rights-feds-say-n706586

In January 2019, &lsquo;Empire&rsquo; actor Jussie Smollett was the victim of a racial and homophobic hate crime perpetrated in Chicago that shocked the nation and sparked an outcry from seemingly Hollywood&rsquo;s entire A-list. But it didn&rsquo;t take long for cracks in his story to emerge. In our season 1 finale, we explore the logic holes, inconsistencies, and downright bizarre twists in this years-long saga involving race, sexuality, police brutality and celebrity. Plus, a lot of tangents.
SOURCES The Truth About Jussie Smollett? (Netflix) https://www.biography.com/actor/jussie-smollett https://www.out.com/entertainment/2016/1/28/exclusive-jussie-smollett-being-black-and-gay-hollywood https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/03/im-the-gay-tupac-jussie-smollett https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/jussie-smollett-video-shows-brothers-red-hat-ski-mask/ https://time.com/5560430/jussie-smollett-donald-trump-fbi/ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-police-chief-eddie-johnson-fired-after-series-ethical-lapses-n1094301 https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/12/02/jussie-smolletts-legal-team-begins-defense-at-actors-trial-for-allegedly-staging-and-reporting-a-phony-hate-crime/ https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/samuel-l-jackson-offered-support-for-smollett-in-letter-read-at-sentencing https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/21/jussie-smollett-conviction-overturned https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/25/jussie-smollett-chicago-charities-settle-lawsuit https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/prosecutor-kim-foxx-defends-jussie-smollett-decision-in-wbez-interview/ddc80843-d6ee-4c25-a635-02ad49c325e6 https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47317701 https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/jussie-smollett-2007-dui-arrest/4508/ https://www.businessinsider.com/jussie-smollett-2007-false-information-case-2019-2 https://variety.com/2025/film/news/jussie-smollett-hate-crime-netflix-documentary-comeback-1236487316/ https://www.citybureau.org/black-caucus-timeline https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-police-department-routinely-violated-people-s-rights-feds-say-n706586

The Jussie Smollett Incident

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ba2fd587-3f5f-4c54-92bd-b46d0141e6b5/transcript

A landlord claimed that his daughter was haunted, by the deceased wife of a former tenant. Most shocking of all, this ghost was accusing her husband of murder. Ghosts aren't real (most of the time, sorry), but murders plots can be very, very real. But who is the real murderer here?

SOURCES:
Gentlemen’s Magazine archives (by Samuel Johnson) 
“Ghostly Hands and Ghostly Agency,” Jennifer Bann
“Missionaries, Methodists, and a Ghost,” Travis Glasson
“We See a Ghost: Hogarth’s Satire on Methodists and Connoisseurs,” Bernd Krysmanski
“Samuel Johnson and Spectral Media,” Rachael Scarborough King 
Elizabeth [called the Cock Lane Ghost], Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

A landlord claimed that his daughter was haunted, by the deceased wife of a former tenant. Most shocking of all, this ghost was accusing her husband of murder. Ghosts aren't real (most of the time, sorry), but murders plots can be very, very real. But who is the real murderer here?
SOURCES: Gentlemen&rsquo;s Magazine archives (by Samuel Johnson)&nbsp; &ldquo;Ghostly Hands and Ghostly Agency,&rdquo; Jennifer Bann &ldquo;Missionaries, Methodists, and a Ghost,&rdquo; Travis Glasson &ldquo;We See a Ghost: Hogarth&rsquo;s Satire on Methodists and Connoisseurs,&rdquo; Bernd Krysmanski &ldquo;Samuel Johnson and Spectral Media,&rdquo; Rachael Scarborough King&nbsp; Elizabeth [called the Cock Lane Ghost], Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Scratching Fanny of Cock Lane

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/97dc8418-81b0-4792-9ec8-b45e016aa0e3/transcript

From 1998 to 2001, a man claiming to be visiting our "world-line" on a mission from the year 2036 enthralled a corner of the nascent internet with his explanations of time travel, the world of the future, and the wars to come. While few of his "predictions" came true, his story remains haunting -- who was this enigmatic early forum poster? Why did he claim time ended in 2564? How did he know so much about early computers? And where, or when, did he go?

SOURCES
https://rileyraccoon.substack.com/p/time-travel-tales
https://vimeo.com/11661023
https://web.archive.org/web/20170622161305/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/11945420/Who-was-John-Titor-the-time-traveller-who-came-from-2036-to-warn-us-of-a-nuclear-war.html
https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/john-titor-the-internets-most-mysterious-time-traveller/
https://web.archive.org/web/20260102173511/https://www.postbulletin.com/rochester-magazine/john-titor-who-was-the-time-traveler-that-visited-rochester
https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/john-titor-time-traveler-predictions-story
https://johntitorresearch.wordpress.com/

From 1998 to 2001, a man claiming to be visiting our "world-line" on a mission from the year 2036 enthralled a corner of the nascent internet with his explanations of time travel, the world of the future, and the wars to come. While few of his "predictions" came true, his story remains haunting -- who was this enigmatic early forum poster? Why did he claim time ended in 2564? How did he know so much about early computers? And where, or when, did he go?
SOURCES https://rileyraccoon.substack.com/p/time-travel-tales https://vimeo.com/11661023 https://web.archive.org/web/20170622161305/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/11945420/Who-was-John-Titor-the-time-traveller-who-came-from-2036-to-warn-us-of-a-nuclear-war.html https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/john-titor-the-internets-most-mysterious-time-traveller/ https://web.archive.org/web/20260102173511/https://www.postbulletin.com/rochester-magazine/john-titor-who-was-the-time-traveler-that-visited-rochester https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/john-titor-time-traveler-predictions-story https://johntitorresearch.wordpress.com/

Time Traveler John Titor

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/16817138-c487-4447-b966-b452012d269c/transcript

Fake Anastasias

Hoax!

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