One Sunday night in November 1987, something very odd happened in the middle of the WGN nine o’clock news in Chicago. Sportscaster Dan Roan had been talking about the Chicago Bears, when the screen suddenly went black. Then a person appeared, dancing back and forth in front of a moving striped background, and wearing a mask. The mask was the face of a fictio ... Show More
Aug 25
What Happened When 33,000 People’s Therapy Notes Were Released Onto the Internet
Imagine receiving an email from a stranger that said your therapist’s notes about you would be released onto the internet for all to see — unless you paid a ransom. That’s exactly what happened to 33,000 people in Finland in 2020, and it became the biggest criminal case in the co ... Show More
45m 34s
Jun 2022
The Max Headroom Incident. UNSOLVED: The Creepiest TV Hack in History
THE MAX HEADROOM INCIDENT. November 22nd, 1987 was a pretty normal evening for television viewers in Chicago. That night, like every night, Dan Roan was covering sports on WGN-TV, Channel 9. Then suddenly, the signal was disrupted and screens across the city cut to black. Enginee ... Show More
18m 16s
Feb 2023
Selects: The Max Headroom Affair
In 1987, a very strange broadcast intrusion occurred in the city of Chicago. For just a couple of minutes, the odd TV character Max Headroom appeared onscreen in the middle of an episode of Dr. Who. He spoke in garbled tones, brandished a marital aid, and was spanked on the rear ... Show More
47m 52s
May 2022
Catch the Wave, Not the Criminal: The Max Headroom Signal Hijacking
Ah, the 80s. Back when MTV ruled the airwaves, shoulder pads were mandatory, Coca Cola was going through some identity issues, and television signal jacking was still possible. It was a magical time when someone in Chicago could turn on the tv and get an unintended eyeful of weir ... Show More
52m 5s
Aug 2020
Strange News: The Pentagon and Aliens, Psuedocide Foiled by Typo, Man in Prosthetic Mask Robs Casino
<p>Law enforcement finally catches up with a mysterious grifter using CIA-level prosthetic mask technology. A man attempts to fake his death and forgets to run spellcheck. Uncle Sam gets increasingly weird about UFOs, yet again changing the offical story about government-supporte ... Show More
52m 45s