Peter Hoysted, AKA Jack the Insider is back with a look at the humorous and bizarre stories of the newspaper founded in 1979 by a former CIA officer.

“174 MPH SNEEZE BLOWS OFF WOMAN’S HAIR”, “BABY BORN WITH TATTOO”, “GARDEN OF EDEN FOUND!”

These were some of the fantastical headlines that led the comedic black and white US tabloid, Weekly World News (WWN).

Peter Hoysted, AKA Jack the Insider is a true crime writer and a columnist for The Australian.

He was a fan of the nonsensical reporting during its hard copy days, and even started his own journal along similar lines in Australia.

Peter tells the story of Generoso Pope Jr, the ex-CIA officer who founded WWN in 1979 and entertained readers with fictional news stories, often with a paranormal slant.

Further information

You can read Weekly World News online.

Listen to previous Conversations interviews with Jack the Insider: Chow Hayes, Australia's first gangster (2017), the Fine Cotton affair (2019) and the disgraced former police detective Roger Rogerson (2024).

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.

This episode covers aliens, alien love child, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, satirical news, fake news, comedy, giggle, Elvis, newspapers, newsgathering, bigfoot, mermaids, man-fish, CIA, conspiracy theory, David Icke, lizard people.

To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

"ELVIS IS ALIVE AND RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT" The story behind the nonsensical Weekly World News

Conversations

"ELVIS IS ALIVE AND RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT" The story behind the nonsensical Weekly World News