At the height of the Cold War, a "leaked Top Secret Memo" from inside the government proposed a controversial and radical idea: the worst thing that could happen to humanity was worldwide ... peace.

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/30/us/l-c-lewin-writer-of-satire-of-government-plot-dies-at-82.html
Ghost of Iron Mountain by Phil Tinline
JFK (1991, O. Stone)
https://hvmag.com/life-style/a-history-of-iron-mountain-an-information-storage-facility-in-germantown-ny/
https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-many-lives-of-iron-mountain
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/16/iron-mountain-hoax-anti-vietnam-war-satire-conspiracy-theories

At the height of the Cold War, a "leaked Top Secret Memo" from inside the government proposed a controversial and radical idea: the worst thing that could happen to humanity was worldwide ... peace.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/30/us/l-c-lewin-writer-of-satire-of-government-plot-dies-at-82.html Ghost of Iron Mountain by Phil Tinline JFK (1991, O. Stone) https://hvmag.com/life-style/a-history-of-iron-mountain-an-information-storage-facility-in-germantown-ny/ https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-many-lives-of-iron-mountain https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/16/iron-mountain-hoax-anti-vietnam-war-satire-conspiracy-theories

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!

Report from Iron Mountain

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/39b4f03d-da4d-4f33-bb23-b3800152d6d2/transcript

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