Historical Hoaxes & Terrible Tricks

From a martian invasion to teenage magicians, hear about some of history’s most well-known hoaxes.

From a martian invasion to teenage magicians, hear about some of history’s most well-kn... more

Hosted byChelsey Weber-Smith

Curated byJorge Patino, Hark Editor

5 CLIPS24 MINS

Clip 1 of 5

When Britain Thought Spaghetti Grew on Trees

In 1957, the BBC reported a story about spaghetti that grew on trees. It was an April Fools’ Day gag, but since spaghetti wasn't popular in Britain, people fell for it.

When Britain Thought Spaghetti Grew on Trees

Baby Geniuses

4 MINS

Clip 2 of 5

The Time When Earthlings Thought Martians Had Invaded

Revisit Orson Welles’ infamous radio drama War of the Worlds and find out why it caused mass hysteria when broadcast.

The Time When Earthlings Thought Martians Had Invaded

Radiolab Podcasts (Radiolab)

4 MINS

Clip 3 of 5

The Time When Earthlings Really Thought Martians Had Invaded

When Welles' War of the World was broadcast in Quito, Ecuador, people didn't know it was a work of fiction. Listened to what happened when they found out.

The Time When Earthlings Really Thought Martians Had Invaded

Criminal

5 MINS

Clip 4 of 5

Teenage Magicians Trick Parapsychology Research Scientists

What and who was behind the Alpha Project hoax?

Teenage Magicians Trick Parapsychology Research Scientists

Pretend - a true crime podcast about con artists

5 MINS

Clip 5 of 5

The Chess-Playing Robot that Fooled the World

Before IBM’s chess program Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov, an 18th century machine called Turk puzzled the world for its chess-playing abilities.

The Chess-Playing Robot that Fooled the World

Slate Technology

4 MINS

Hosted by

Chelsey Weber-Smith

Curated byJorge Patino

5 CLIPS24 MINS

The best podcast moments curated by Hark Editors

We listen to 100s of podcasts and clip the most interesting moments
These clips are turned into themed Harklists
You’ll find harklists curated just for you in your feed, based on your interests

Historical Hoaxes & Terrible Tricks

When Britain Thought Spaghetti Grew on Trees

Baby Geniuses

The Time When Earthlings Thought Martians Had Invaded

Radiolab Podcasts (Radiolab)

The Time When Earthlings Really Thought Martians Had Invaded

Criminal

Teenage Magicians Trick Parapsychology Research Scientists

Pretend - a true crime podcast about con artists

The Chess-Playing Robot that Fooled the World

Slate Technology

For the best of Hark in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.