In 1835, the New York Sun ran a series of articles about amazing discoveries of sentient creatures living happy and productive lives in harmony on…the moon. And people believed it!

Sources:

Goodman, Matthew. The Sun and the Moon : The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York. New York, Basic Books,.

Matthias, Meg. “The Great Moon Hoax of 1835 Was Sci-Fi Passed off as News | Britannica.” Www.britannica.com, 2024, www.britannica.com/story/the-great-moon-hoax-of-1835-was-sci-fi-passed-off-as-news. Accessed 2025.

Richard Adams Locke, and Ormond Seavey. The Moon Hoax. 1836. Boston Gregg Pr, 1975.

W.R. built a castle, called FDR a communist, tried to ignore the “greatest film of all time”, and carried on a lifelong affair with one of the biggest Golden Age of Hollywood stars, Marion Davies - Hollywood’s worst kept secret. Join us for part 3 of William Randolph Hearst!

Sources:

Thomas Lennon and Michael Epstein. “The Battle over Citizen Kane.” PBS, 1996.

Nasaw, David. The Chief. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 12 Aug. 2013.

Randolph, William, and Jack Casserly. The Hearsts : Father and Son. Niwot, Colo., Roberts Rinehart, 1991.

W.R. goes to war! Hearst didn’t cause the Spanish American War, although he’d love you to believe it. He just made people WANT to go to war. Join us for part 2!

Sources:

Thomas Lennon and Michael Epstein. “The Battle over Citizen Kane.” PBS, 1996.

Nasaw, David. The Chief. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 12 Aug. 2013.

Randolph, William, and Jack Casserly. The Hearsts : Father and Son. Niwot, Colo., Roberts Rinehart, 1991.