Listen Live
Donate
 on air
    Schedule

    KCRW

    Read & Explore

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Culture
    • Events

    Listen

    • Live Radio
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Full Schedule

    Information

    • About
    • Careers
    • Help / FAQ
    • Newsletters
    • Contact

    Support

    • Become a Member
    • Become a VIP
    • Ways to Give
    • Shop
    • Member Perks

    Become a Member

    Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

    DonateGive Monthly

    Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

    Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
    Cookie Policy    |FCC Public Files|

    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    The Boy Who Was Not in the Balloon

    Cable news viewers got an hour and a half of commercial-free programming yesterday while a large, UFO-shaped helium balloon floated 7000 feet above Colorado. The awful possibility was that six-year-old Falcon Heene was aboard. Mercifully, the truth turned out to be very different, but the full story has yet to be unraveled.

    • rss
    • Share
    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    Cable news viewers got an hour and a half of commercial-free programming yesterday while a large, UFO-shaped helium balloon floated 7000 feet above Colorado. The awful possibility was that six-year-old Falcon Heene was aboard. Mercifully, the truth turned out to be very different, but the full story has yet to be unraveled. James Poniewzik is TV critic for Time magazine.

    The full episode

    3 of 3
    Barack Obama and the Military-Industrial Complex
    1. 0:00Afghan Recount and Washington War Strategy
    2. 7:47Barack Obama and the Military-Industrial Complex
    3. 44:20The Boy Who Was Not in the BalloonYou’re reading this
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      James Poniewozik

      chief television critic for the New York Times

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    3 of 3
    Barack Obama and the Military-Industrial Complex
    1. 0:00Afghan Recount and Washington War Strategy
    2. 7:47Barack Obama and the Military-Industrial Complex
    3. 44:20The Boy Who Was Not in the BalloonYou’re reading this
    Back to To the Point