Bunkum and Ballyhoo
A podcast about bullsh*t - join your host, author and professional wrestling historian Patrick W. Reed, as he takes a look back at the lives and lies of some of history's greatest showmen, con artists, grifters, hustlers and bullsh*tters of all kinds, from pro-wrestling to politics, and from sideshows to pseudoscience.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 19 minutes
- Episodes
- 15
- Years Active
- 2024 - 2025
The Cottingley Fairies
A return to the Fortean and the supernatural, and to the eminently gullible world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as Bunkum & Ballyhoo explores the story of fairies photographed in a Yorkshire garden, and…
The Psychic Mafia
Bunkum and Ballyhoo returns for its third series, as author and historian Patrick W. Reed looks at the phenomenon of True Believer Syndrome, through the story of the spiritualist medium M. Lamar Keen…
The Afterlife Of The Highgate Vampire - The Secret Ingredient Is Nazis! (The Highgate Vampire, Part 2)
Part two of a double-header on the story of The Highgate Vampire takes a closer look at the principle players - David Farrant, and Reverend Sean Manchester - to explore the background of two extraord…
Does A Vampyre Walk In Highgate? (The Highgate Vampire, Part 1)
Series two of Bunkum & Ballyhoo closes out with the extraordinary story of the Highgate Vampire - a supposed supernatural phenomenon that haunted one of London's great cemeteries in the 1970s, and th…
Grey Owl Is Not What He Seems
Bunkum & Ballyhoo explores the life and complicated legacy of the voice of the Canadian wilderness, an early vocal spokesman for conservation, environmentalism, and native rights; Grey Owl, and the t…
The Life & Times Of The Great Antonio
Bunkum & Ballyhoo host Patrick W. Reed returns to the familiar territory of professional wrestling history to uncover the true story behind one of wrestling's most infamous matches, and to shed light…
Carlos Kaiser, Brazil's Phantom Footballer
Bunkum & Ballyhoo explores the highs and lows of the footballing career of Brazilian soccer superstar Carlos Kaiser - 13 years, 10 teams, and zero goals. In fact, he never even made it on to the pitc…
Frank Searle, Monster Hunter Extraordinaire
Bunkum & Ballyhoo takes its first cautious steps into the murky waters of Cryptozoology as it visits the shores of Loch Ness, and the caravan of its most notorious monster hunter Frank Searle to lear…
The Deadliest Man Alive & The Secret Of The Dim Mak
Bunkum & Ballyhoo returns for Series 2 and Episode 1 takes a look at a legend of comic book ad pages - this is the story of the wild claims and even wilder life of the self-proclaimed Deadliest Man A…
Episode 6 - Claude Cahun & Marcel Moore, Jersey's Anti-Nazi Queer Icons
Episode 6 of Bunkum & Ballyhoo rounds up a season on World War 2-related bullshit by looking at when lies and propaganda can be used for good, exploring the lives and times of the revolutionary queer…
Episode 5 - Halloween Special: The Martian Invasion of 1938
Episode 5 is a spooktacular Halloween special looking at Orson Welles' infamous Halloween 1938 radio production of War Of The Worlds, and the stories of mass panic and chaos when the American public …
Episode 4 - The Hitler Diaries
Episode 4 of Bunkum & Ballyhoo looks at one of the most notorious hoaxes of the 20th century - the Hitler Diaries; how a clumsy forgery fooled the world's press and one of England's most respected hi…
Episode 3 - The War Magician
Episode 3 of Bunkum & Ballyhoo is a look at the magician Jasper Maskelyne, the claims that his magical prowess was employed in the fields of camouflage and espionage in World War 2, and why looking c…
Episode 2 - Eric "Panther" Pleasants
Episode 2 of Bunkum and Ballyhoo once again looks at an intersection between professional wrestling and dubious politics, with the stranger than fiction story of how Norfolk professional wrestler Eri…
Episode 1 - South Africa's Masked Marvel
In the very first episode of Bunkum & Ballyhoo, professional wrestling historian Patrick W. Reed looks at The Masked Marvel, a South African wrestling superstar whose legacy outside the ring was far …