New series will bring stories of pranks and grifts throughout history so big and bold they make you question why and what you believe in the first place

Listen to the first episode now here

WHAT: iHeartPodcasts, the No.1 podcast publisher globally today announced a new iHeart original podcast “Hoax!,” a half-comedy, half-history deep dive into the wildest pranks, cons and scams in history.                

Hosted by bestselling author and “Noble Blood” creator Dana Schwartz and journalist Lizzie Logan, “Hoax!” will explore the most bizarre and unbelievable pranks and hoaxes throughout history – from the Victorian age to modern day stunts. In the premiere episode “Cottingley Fairies,” Schwartz and Logan dig into the 1920 story behind two young girls who believed they photographed fairies at a creek behind their England home. Many were skeptical, but when the photos were circulated, they found an unlikely champion in renowned author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who believed the photo was proof of supernatural phenomena. The hosts investigate the story and how the man who invented literature’s most prolific detective “Sherlock Holmes,” fell for what was later discovered to be nothing more than a photographic fairy tale made up by two young girls.

Future episodes will cover famous pranks including the fake Shakespeare, Balloon Boy hoax, major cons, grifts and the cultural chaos they caused.

“Hoax!” is distributed by iHeartPodcasts.               

WHO: Dana Schwartz hosts the chart-topping podcast Noble Blood. She’s the author of several books, including the New York Times best-seller Anatomy: A Love Story. Her writing appears in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, GQ, Bustle, and more. Lizzie Logan graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Dramatic Writing. Her work has appeared in Vulture, Flood, McSweeney's and The New Yorker. Logan lives in Los Angeles with her cat.

WHEN: Listen to the first episode here. New episodes will be released every other week on Mondays.

WHERE: “Hoax!” is available for listeners on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard.

COVER ART: Artwork for “Hoax!” is available here.

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