Cleveland's 1986 Balloonfest (Bettman / Getty)

Karen:

Cleveland’s 1986 Balloonfest

Episode sources:

1. “Balloonfest ’86: 35 years since downtown Cleveland event turned disastrous” by Suzanne Stratford (Fox 8) 2021

2. “The Aftermath: Balloonfest ‘86” (The Alarmist podcast) April 2022

3. “The Balloonfest That Went Horribly Wrong” by Nathan Truesdell (The Atlantic) 2018

4. “Cleveland Summertime Memories: A Warm Look Back” (Gail Ghetia Bellamy)

5. “25 years ago, thousands watched a balloon launch on Public Square” by Michael O’Malley (The Plain Dealer) 2011

6. “Claim to world record for 'Balloonfest '86' is not all hot air: Michael K. McIntyre's Tipoff” by Michael McIntyre (The Plain Dealer) 2011

7. “Balloonfest gets carried away” by Associated Press (Wilmington News-Journal) 1986

8. “Cleveland in the 1970s: A gritty city survives turbulent times (photos)” by John Petkovic (The Plain Dealer) 2015

9. “Cleveland in the 1980s – Mike Roberts” (Teaching Cleveland Digital)

10. “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” (Wikipedia)

11. “Balloonfest ‘86” (Wikipedia)

12. “Balloonfest 1986, the spectacle that became a debacle: Cleveland Remembers (video)” by John Kroll (Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer) 2011

13. “The Balloon Fest’86: When Cleveland’s Spectacle Became a Tragedy” by The Mystery Writer (Medium) 2022

14. “Balloon promotion closes airport” (Associated Press) September 29, 1986

15. “Search for fishermen called off” (Associated Press) September 29, 1986

16. “How Releasing 1,500,000 Balloons Went Horribly Wrong – Balloonfest” (Be Amazed) 2021

17. “A Decade of Excess And Escape” by Dennis Lythgoe (Deseret News) 1989

18. “Grand Opening: Hollywood, Fine” by Tony Kornheiser (Washington Post) 1984

19. “A Disneyland Balloon Boy, the Treb Heining Story” (Magic Made by Disney) 2020

20. “Inside Cleveland's plan to become an 18-hour city” by Troy Smith (Axios Cleveland) 2023

21. “Mission Possible: The future of Downtown Cleveland is strong due to demand of living” by Jeff Reidel (WKYC3)

22. “Hands Across America” (Wikipedia)

23. “Live Aid concert raises $127 million for famine relief in Africa” (History)

Georgia:

The secret life of William Leslie Arnold

Episode sources:

1. “Leslie Arnold mystery solved: Man who died in Australia was enigmatic Nebraska fugitive” by Henry J. Cordes (Omaha World-Herald)

2. “Same DNA technique that reeled in Golden State Killer solved Leslie Arnold mystery” by Henry J. Cordes (Omaha World-Herald)

3. “Timeline: Leslie Arnold’s Life” by Henry J. Cordes (Omaha World-Herald)

4. “In Australia, He Was a ‘Great Father.’ Secretly, He Was an Escaped Convict” by Jesus Jiménez (NYT)

5. “DNA evidence reveals family man in Australia was teenage killer who escaped Nebraska jail” by Edward Helmore (The Guardian)

6. “Loving father exposed as a convicted killer who lived life on the run” by Hilary Whiteman (CNN)

7. “DNA Evidence Reveals That ‘Great Father’ From Australia Was Actually An Escaped Killer From The U.S.” by Kaleena Fraga (All That’s Interesting)

Mugshot of William Leslie Arnold