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bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Bunkum & Ballyhoo
@bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
70 followers 80 following 59 posts
A podcast about liars, grifters, con artists, showmen, hoaxers, hustlers and bullshit through history, hosted by @patrickwreed.bsky.social

https://open.spotify.com/show/3AOHULjSoQWlLRMR3LEeNJ?si=351e68e8bf974528
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bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
On the latest Bunkum & Ballyhoo, we take aim at one of the internet's favourite obsessions - The Mandela Effect, and how it tells us very little about alternate timelines, but a lot about the selfishness of conspiratorial belief.

🟢: bit.ly/4802SFi
🍎: bit.ly/480a83R
📦: bit.ly/4o2jHFw
A black and white picture of the Monopoly Man - he has a simplistic cartoon face, with raised eyebrows and a large white moustache. Je wears top and tails, and is running with a large stride, and a big bag of money marked with a dollar symbol under his arm. He does not wear a monocle, and never has.
November 15, 2025 at 5:35 PM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Bunkum & Ballyhoo returns with a look at the most audacious literary coup of the 20th century - The Autobiography of Howard Hughes, the tell-all memoir of the world's most famous eccentric recluse.

Just one problem - the whole thing was a hoax.

🟢: bit.ly/4oLyBAG
📦: bit.ly/4oLyOUu
October 31, 2025 at 9:10 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
October 13, 2025 at 3:02 PM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Meanwhile, Patreon subscribers get exclusive access to a new episode of Bonus Ballyhoo, redressing the balance when it comes to Arthur Conan Doyle by examining a hoax that, rather than being suckered in by, some have claimed he was responsible for - the Piltdown Man.

bit.ly/4p8lCtJ
September 4, 2025 at 9:43 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
In the latest episode of Bunkum & Ballyhoo, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle goes to bat to support the authenticity of some extraordinary photographs, which appear to show two young girls playing with the fairies at the bottom of their garden. But are they the real deal?

🟢: bit.ly/4g755Cl
September 4, 2025 at 9:43 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
August 15, 2025 at 7:18 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Bunkum & Ballyhoo returns to the world of mid-20th century con artists, exploring the story of spiritualist medium M. Lamar Keene and the Psychic Mafia, and the perils of True Believer Syndrome.

Give it a listen now!

🟢: bit.ly/3IVJZdt
🍎: apple.co/4eZcpzn
📦: amzn.to/3IWrMwk
A black and white photo of a white man in an entirely white suit, sat in a very ornate upholstered wooden chair. He has dark hair with a side-parting, and a thick goatee beard. He is holding his hands clasped together in front of his chest.
July 21, 2025 at 8:23 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
To end series two of Bunkum & Ballyhoo, we return to Highgate, to look at the afterlife of the Highgate Vampire, to more closely explore the lives of the principle players, and to ask why unusual beliefs are worth paying attention to.

🟢: spoti.fi/3DVVS1e
🍎: bit.ly/42ptqgk
📦: bit.ly/4i8zYFQ
April 7, 2025 at 8:17 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Series two comes to an end with a bumper two-parter about an infamous bit of 1970s spooky nonsense; this is the story of the Highgate Vampire, of the afterlife of a moral panic, of the feud between two vampire hunters, and of why it matters.

🟢: spoti.fi/4i05O7H
🍎: apple.co/3RqNmdo
📦: bit.ly/4iJogm8
The newspaper headline reads "MIDNIGHT VIGIL FOR THE HIGHGATE VAMPIRE". The accompanying photo is of David Farrant, a white man with medium length slightly shaggy hair, dressed all in black, with a cross in one hand and a wooden stake in the other, stood outside a stone vault, on which are written the words "THE FAMILY VALUT OF SIR JAMES TYLER".
March 31, 2025 at 10:38 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Mood board for the two part finale of Bunkum & Ballyhoo series 2.
March 22, 2025 at 9:00 PM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Meanwhile, Patreon subscribers get this week's Bonus Ballyhoo exclusive, a look at the life and black magic of Rollo Ahmed - Occultist, Egyptian Mystic, author, lecturer, practicing witch, swindler, and con artist. Also, this series' token Channel Island connection!

www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-...
March 17, 2025 at 9:13 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Grey Owl was a pioneering conservationist, an inspiration to legendary figures in that field, and one of the most famous indigenous North American figures in the world.

But Grey Owl harboured a secret. Find out all about it in the latest Bunkum & Ballyhoo.

🟢: spoti.fi/3FAlgKc
📦: bit.ly/4kPZemN
March 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
The longest episode to date has been 25 minutes.

I just finished recording the latest, and it's currently sitting at over 1 hour 30 minutes, going in some directions you might not expect.

I think we're looking at our first two-parter here, folks.
A scan of the front have of the Hampstead & Highgate Express newspaper from Friday March 6th 1970. The headline is "Why do the foxes die?", accompanied by a black and white photograph of two white men in dark suits, one of whom is pointing to something out of frame, the other is clutching what appears to be a book, possibly a Bible.
March 16, 2025 at 3:55 PM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Patreon subscribers get some more niche wrestling content, with an exclusive Bonus Ballyhoo episode looking at my research into the forgotten story of Mr. Wonder, "The Legless Wrestler".

www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-...
March 3, 2025 at 10:07 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
In the latest Bunkum & Ballyhoo, a look behind an early viral pro-wrestling video, to explore the larger than life story of The Great Antonio - from poverty to international stardom, to the peripatetic life of a beloved eccentric.

🟢: spoti.fi/4h4KbCz
🍎: bit.ly/4i0xEBE
📦: amzn.to/3XqpHNN
March 3, 2025 at 10:05 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Patreon subscribers get additional content in the form of Bonus Ballyhoo, which this week stays in the sporting world for the story of Prince Monolulu, England's most flamboyant horse-racing tipster, and supposed Ethiopian Prince.

www.patreon.com/posts/121726...
February 17, 2025 at 8:47 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Carlos Kaiser had a 13 year career with some of the biggest football teams in Brazil, & an unmatched record - 0 goals scored. In fact, he never even made it on to the pitch. Hear the story of football's greatest faker in the latest episode:

🟢: spoti.fi/3QlxSqF
🍎: apple.co/42YDYoj
📦: amzn.to/4i0X29N
February 17, 2025 at 8:43 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Available one week early exclusively for Patreon supporters, the next episode of Bunkum & Ballyhoo takes a look at the life and lies of Carlos Kaiser, the Brazilian footballing superstar who, in a thirteen year career, never made a single appearance on the pitch.

www.patreon.com/posts/bunkum...
February 10, 2025 at 9:07 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
The camera never lies. Bunkum & Ballyhoo takes its first cautious steps into the murky waters of cryptozoology, as we head to the shores of Loch Ness, and the caravan of Frank Searle, Monster Hunter Extraordinaire.

🟢: spoti.fi/4jFjLKm
📦: amzn.to/4jLABY7
February 3, 2025 at 9:03 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Patreon subscribers get access to every episode one week early, which means today they can listen to a tale from the shores of Loch Ness; the story of Frank Searle, monster hunter extraordinaire.

www.patreon.com/posts/120192...
January 27, 2025 at 8:52 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
We are BACK, kicking off Series 2 with a look at the life and lies of the World's Deadliest Fighter, the Master of the Dim Mak, legend of the comic book ad pages, the mysterious Count Dante!

🟢: spoti.fi/4h2kFPc
🍎: apple.co/4gXE9ET
📦: amzn.to/3E3mTPO
January 20, 2025 at 9:05 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Some clues for Series 2 topics...
January 16, 2025 at 5:13 PM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Bunkum & Ballyhoo is back for Series 2, one week early exclusively for Patreon subscribers, with a look at the life and lies of the World's Deadliest Fighter, the Master Of The Dim-Mak - Count Dante, and the Black Dragon Fighting Society.

www.patreon.com/posts/s2e1-d...
January 13, 2025 at 9:03 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Work is underway on Series 2, with episodes planned about some of the unlikeliest con artists of the 20th century, to be released in January/February 2025.

But before then, I'd love to hear from listeners with any feedback or questions. Get in touch, & if there's enough I'll do a mailbag episode.
December 20, 2024 at 11:51 AM
bunkumballyhoo.bsky.social
Series One finished up with the story of Claude Cahun & Marcel Moore, the revolutionary surrealist gender-subverting queer artists who fought against Nazi oppression in occupied Jersey.

🟢: spoti.fi/3YHBA1I
📦: amzn.to/3YWtwLL
🍎: apple.co/4gMVXBN
December 20, 2024 at 11:45 AM