23: The Great Moon Hoax with Matthew Goodman

Scamapalooza with Nicholas J. Johnson

On 25 August 1835, The Sun newspaper in New York reported that a telescope had been invented so powerful that it could see the surface of the moon. There, alien life had been discovered. Man bats, bipedal beavers and abandoned temples to forgotten gods were all described in great detail. On this week’s episode Matthew Goodman, author of The Sun and The Moon, explains how the hoax came about and how it changed journalism and astronomy forever.

http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/