logo
episode-header-image
May 2019
34m 8s

The Attack of the Japanese Balloon Bombs

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

Picture this: It's late 1944, and you, like thousands of other people on the west coast of North America, have noticed bizarre, jellyfish-like objects floating through the sky. You call the local authorities, maybe even the Air Force, only to be ignored. You don't see anything about this in the papers or on the radio. You are in the midst of a real-world conspiracy of silence -- until, that is, the bombs begin to explode. Listen in to learn more about the attack of the Japanese balloon bombs.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Today
A Ridiculous History of 'Soft Serve'
Nowadays, ice cream is a pretty popular treat across the planet. In this episode -- at the height of a blistering Atlanta summer -- Ben, Noel and Max learn more ice cream's kissing cousin: the 'soft serve'. Where did it come from? What makes it such a hit? Also... why doesn't it ... Show More
50m 34s
Aug 1
CLASSIC: The Honorary Citizens of the United States
Did you know you can become an honorary citizen of the United States? It's true -- but it isn't easy. Join the guys as they explore the life and times of the rare few who managed to become honorary citizens in the United States.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
42m 15s
Jul 30
Who was the real John Henry?
For well over a century, schoolchildren across the United States learned the story of John Henry. According to the legend, John was a formerly enslaved man who found work with a railroad after the Civil War. Widely known as the best steel driver in the area, John wins a Phyrric v ... Show More
35m 13s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2019
Fu-Go
<p>This week we’re going back to a favorite episode from 2015.</p> <p>During World War II, something happened that nobody ever talks about. This is a tale of mysterious balloons, cowboy sheriffs, and young children caught up in the winds of war. And silence, the terror of silence ... Show More
35m 35s
Feb 2023
Spies in the Sky
<p>Spy balloons are really blowing up right now. The US has shot down one confirmed Chinese balloon and has engaged several other unidentified flying objects. But like so many things we cover on this podcast, it's an old method in a new outfit. Spy balloons for reconnaissance go ... Show More
29m 8s
Mar 2023
Balloons of World War II
<p>We’ve gotten requests to talk about the balloon bombs that Japan used to target North America during World War II. But these were not the only balloons in use during the war, or the first balloons used for military purposes.</p> <p><strong>Research:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Barne ... Show More
39m 36s
May 2023
Listener Mail: Spy Balloons Have a "Season," A Temporal Tizzy, and What Happens When Banks Fail
Flummoxed calls in to report a baffling temporal tizzy. A fellow Conspiracy Realist asks what happens when banks fail. Balloon Boy writes in with an astonishing revelation about high-altitude science and spy balloons: it turns out they have a season, and that season is coming thi ... Show More
48m 7s
Nov 2020
Ep. 110 - The missing crew of Ghost Blimp
In the 1942, in an Akron-built Goodyear blimp delivered to the Navy after the start of WWII, a two-man crew set out over the Pacific from San Francisco for a short four-hour patrol in search of Japanese subs. The blimp returned. The crew did not. www.ohiomysteries.comfeedback@ohi ... Show More
28m 34s
Jun 2022
Nuremberg UFO Battle
In 1561, hundreds of individuals witnessed UFOs battling in the sky above their city and multiple strange crafts were seen flying out of the Sun. All of this was documented by the locals. 
1h 7m
Oct 2023
THE BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES
<p>Today, &quot;The Todd&quot; explains all the dirty details behind the supposed UFO sightings over L.A. shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1946. Did the US military fire on aliens? </p> <p><br></p> <p>email us at hmfppod@gmail.com or leave us a voice message at the li ... Show More
41m 6s
Jul 2021
Balloon Train
The Roswell crash is perhaps the most famous UFO incident in history. But for more than 30 years after the debris was found in 1947, the case was relatively unknown. It resurfaced in 1980, amid an era of civilian UFO investigation and government disinformation, two efforts that w ... Show More
32m 15s
Apr 2021
Discovering the Jet Stream
The Jet Stream is formed by powerful high-altitude rivers of air which circle the globe and help determine our climate. The existence of these winds was first documented in Japan in the 1920s, but only became more widely known during World War Two, when American airmen encounter ... Show More
11m 57s