The Big Flop

Wondery

<p>Fyre Fest goes up in flames, Ashlee Simpson bombs on SNL, and somehow even Taylor Swift couldn’t fix the ill-fated Cats movie. Who doesn’t love a good fiasco?! Join us each week as we dissect the most deliciously disastrous flops in recent history. On Wondery’s comedy &amp; pop culture series <em>The Big Flop</em>, host and TikTok superstar Misha Brown unpacks all-time epic fails from Crystal Pepsi to Google Glass with the help of hilarious, highly-opinionated guests in every episode.</p><p>Find out what happens when massive hype turns into a major fiasco, and join us as we try to answer the age-old question...Who thought THIS was a good idea?!New episodes come out every week.</p><p>Listen to The Big Flop on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting <a href="http://wondery.com/links/the-big-flop/">wondery.com/links/the-big-flop/</a> now.</p>

  • 50 minutes 15 seconds
    Scooter Braun vs. Taylor Swift: Inside the $300M Music Feud with Corey O'Brien and Alex Falcone | 104

    From club promoter to music mogul, Scooter Braun's Midas touch turned Justin Bieber into pop royalty and made him millions. But when he bought Taylor Swift's masters, he learned the hard way that hell hath no fury like a pop princess scorned. In our final episode, we're going out with a bang – this is the story of how one savvy dealmaker became public enemy #1 to Swifties everywhere, and how the music industry's golden boy found himself in the biggest flop of his career.

    Corey O'Brien and Alex Falcone join Misha to understand the bad blood between Scooter Braun and Taylor Swift.

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    8 September 2025, 7:01 am
  • 44 minutes 24 seconds
    Hooters Goes Bust with Jimmy Pardo and Courtney Revolution | 103

    What happens when six guys with zero restaurant experience open a bar just so they'll always have somewhere to drink? You get Hooters – a wing joint that grew from Florida novelty to international phenomenon. But between failed airline ventures, bikini contests, and changing social attitudes, America's original ""breastaurant"" learned that some business models belong in the past – right next to those infamous orange shorts.

    Jimmy Pardo and Courtney Revolution join Misha to learn how Hooters went from “Delightfully Tacky” to totally bankrupt.

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    1 September 2025, 7:01 am
  • 52 minutes 9 seconds
    The Bling Ring: Hollywood’s Wildest Teen Crime Spree with Sydney Battle and Matt Bellassai | 102

    They say dress for the job you want, not the job you have. For the Bling Ring, that meant stealing $3 million worth of designer goods from Hollywood's elite. From Paris Hilton's forgotten fortune to Orlando Bloom's watch collection, these teen burglars lived out their TMZ fantasies in real time. But when their own reality show became a crime scene, they discovered that fame is fleeting – and felonies are forever.

    Sydney Battle and Matt Bellassai join Misha to backpack their way through the high school drama of the Bling Ring.

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    25 August 2025, 7:01 am
  • 45 minutes 45 seconds
    Weinergate: The Rise And Fall Of Anthony's Weiner with Alana Levinson and Dan O'Sullivan | 101

    Anthony Weiner went from passionate congressional crusader to America's most infamous sexter faster than you can say ""Carlos Danger."" With a powerful wife, promising career, and path to the mayor's office, he had it all – until his compulsive need to share underwear pics cost him his marriage, freedom, and possibly the 2016 election.

     Alana Levinson and Dan O'Sullivan join Misha to scrutinize one of our bigger flops (pun intended.)

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    Listen to The Big Flop on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-big-flop/ now.

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    18 August 2025, 7:01 am
  • 49 minutes 3 seconds
    The Wild, Broken Ride of Bird and Its Scooter Empire with Joe Fenti and Maddy Smith | 100

    In 2017, Santa Monica residents woke up to find their streets invaded by mysterious electric scooters. The culprit? Travis VanderZanden, a former Uber exec with a plan to revolutionize urban transit. But between drunk-tweeting executives, phantom revenue reports, and scooters being hurled into oceans, Bird's flight path was destined for turbulence.

    Joe Fenti and Maddy Smith join Misha to watch Bird's $2 billion flight plan nosedive

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    11 August 2025, 7:01 am
  • 52 minutes 13 seconds
    From Antivirus King to Fugitive: The John McAfee Story with Jeff Hiller and Leslie Liao | 99

    John McAfee turned computer security into a fortune, then spent the rest of his life making increasingly questionable life choices. Whether he was running from murder charges, pumping crypto schemes, or tattooing ""WHACKD"" on his arm before his suspicious prison death, McAfee proved that sometimes the most dangerous virus is success itself.

    Jeff Hiller and Leslie Liao join Misha to get the download on John McAfee.

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    4 August 2025, 7:01 am
  • 48 minutes 48 seconds
    Katy Perry’s Flop Era: Bad Music, Bad Press, and Space with Jordan Myrick and Kendahl Landreth | 98

    She kissed a girl, she liked it, and for a decade, Katy Perry could do no wrong. But when cultural appropriation scandals and lukewarm albums replaced her candy-coated hits, not even Jeff Bezos's rocket ship could launch her back to stardom. From pixie cut crisis to space tourism cringe, this is how pop's reigning queen became TikTok's favorite punchline.


    Happy Wife, Happy Life co-hosts Jordan Myrick and Kendahl Landreth join Misha to figure out how this "Dark Horse" found herself "Waking Up In Vegas."


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    28 July 2025, 7:01 am
  • 48 minutes 16 seconds
    Burning Down The Hype House with Chaz May and Brendan Sagalow | 97

    In 2019, a group of TikTok stars thought they'd cracked the code to social media stardom: live together, dance together, get rich together. But when the Hype House turned into a pressure cooker of teenage drama, shady business deals, and pandemic parties, these content creators learned that going viral doesn't always pay the rent – or the lawyers.

    Chaz May and Brendan Sagalow (Thin Lips) join Misha to discuss what all the hype was about.

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    Listen to The Big Flop on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-big-flop/ now.


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    21 July 2025, 7:01 am
  • 45 minutes 35 seconds
    Battlefield Earth: John Travolta’s $75 Million Sci-Fi Disaster with Cassie Willson and Katie Marovitch | 96

    John Travolta spent 18 years trying to turn L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth into the next Star Wars. Instead, he delivered a cinematic disaster that made Waterworld look like Citizen Kane. With alien dreadlocks, nonsensical plot twists, and more Dutch angles than Amsterdam, Travolta's passion project became Hollywood's punchline of the decade. 

    Bitcherton co-stars Cassie Willson and Katie Marovitch join Misha to revolt against Battlefield Earth. 

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    Listen to The Big Flop on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-big-flop/ now.

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    14 July 2025, 7:01 am
  • 36 minutes 13 seconds
    American Airlines' Ultimate Travel Scam with Katie Boyle and Erin Jackson | 95

    What happens when you give two men unlimited first-class flights for life? American Airlines found out the hard way when their "brilliant" cash-grab turned into a multi-million dollar nightmare, complete with impromptu Paris lunch dates, suspicious companion passes, and an airline determined to ground frequent flyers forever.

    Katie Boyle (The Shift, I'll Do It Myself) and Erin Jackson (Grudgery, The Upshaws)join Misha for a first class conversation about American Airlines Airpass

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    7 July 2025, 7:01 am
  • 53 minutes 52 seconds
    Fitness Product Fails with Angela Giarratana, Jeremy Culhane and Kylie Brakeman | 94

    What do you get when you combine Yale graduates, Orange County bros, and Skechers' sketchy ""research""? Three of the most memorable fitness product fails of all time. From David Beckham's magic balance bracelet to Kim Kardashian's Super Bowl shoe commercial, these celebrity-endorsed flops showed that even star power can't overcome basic physics.

    Artists on Artists on Artisits on Artists co-hosts Angela Giarratana, Jeremy Culhane and Kylie Brakeman join Misha to get to the core of three 2000 fitness fads: The Shake Weight; Skechers Shape Ups; and Power Balance Wristbands

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    30 June 2025, 7:01 am
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