“That does it. He’s a frickin’ nerd! I think I’m better than Chuck Swirsky…Frickin’ liberal… Oh, Jesus…”

— Unknown prankster wearing a "Max Headroom" mask who hijacked WTTW Chicago's TV signal on the evening of November 22, 1987

Description:

Before streaming and scrolling there was broadcast television—shared signals sent through the air for anyone with an antenna to catch. But when something’s that open, it’s also open to hijacking. In part one of our two-part series, we dig into one of the most bizarre and legendary cases of broadcast piracy: the Max Headroom Incident. On November 22, 1987, two Chicago TV stations were interrupted by a strange figure in a Max Headroom mask, delivering surreal, unsettling messages in an approximately 90-second broadcast that has baffled and fascinated for nearly four decades. Who did it, why, and how did they pull it off? We explore the theories, the tech, and the legend that refuses to fade.

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CREDITS:

Episode 308: The Max Headroom Pirate TV Incident Part 1. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound. Music and Sound Design by Allen Carrescia. Tess Pfeifle, Producer and Lead Researcher. Ed Voccola, Technical Producer. Research Support from The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2025 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Ep 308: The Max Headroom Pirate TV Incident Part 1