BALLOON BOY

American Hysteria

W!ZARD Studios

Society & Culture

4.4 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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

Transcript

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0:00.0	On this podcast, we explore fantastical thinking, moral panics, urban legends, conspiracy theories, hoaxes, and crazes, examine the forces that shape our culture and tell the stories that create the realities we share, and sometimes the realities we don't.
0:24.7	I'm your host, Chelsea Weber Smith, and this is American hysteria.
0:32.1	It is like a horrific version of the movie Up.
0:36.0	Yes, is this Richard?
0:37.0	Yes, it is. Okay, how old is a six-year-old is? Now, you may be asking, well,. Yes, is it Richard? Yes, he is.
0:37.6	Okay, how old has a six-year-old
0:39.2	are missing?
0:39.8	Now, you may be asking, well, how do we bring it down?
0:41.8	Right.
0:42.1	Do you shoot it with a BB gun?
0:43.6	Do you bring in a helicopter?
0:45.2	What do you do?
0:46.0	Do we know for sure if the Falcon is inside the bastard right now?
0:49.7	He is. but what really happened in one of the strangest stories of the year remains up in the air.
0:59.4	October 15th, 2009 was a breezy fall day in central Colorado, the sky abruised blue and dotted
1:09.8	with translucent white clouds.
1:12.9	There was nothing remarkable about this Thursday afternoon, and certainly nothing remarkable
1:19.2	about that wide sky above the residents that were settling into their typical midweek routines.
1:27.4	Those tuning in to a televised town hall
1:30.4	hosted by President Obama were the first to find out that this would, in fact, be one of the
1:37.9	most memorable days in Colorado's recent history. Not every child is going to get the support they need at home, let's face it.
1:46.9	But all of us, in one way or another, in our communities, can be supportive of our children,
	...

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