When eccentric toy maker Ty Warner created a new line of floppy stuffed animals with cute names and charming poems, he unleashed pure havoc and chaos into the world. At the height of Beanie Mania, people spent their life savings and even assaulted others to collect the rare creatures like Patti the Platypus and Ziggy the Zebra before they “retired”. When the dust settled, fortunes were lost, limbs were broken and Ty (as in, TY INC.), was left holding the big, floppy bag.

Ian Karmel (All Fantasy Everything) and Brian Moller (B Mo the Prince) join Misha to relive the Beanie Baby bubble,

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Every summer for the past seven decades, 50 high school seniors—one from every state—descend on Mobile, Alabama to take part in one of the country’s most lucrative scholarship competitions for teen girls. 

The Competition takes you behind the scenes of the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) program, and follows seven girls as they experience the highs and lows of competing for two weeks, away from home and under the most high-stress circumstances. Some girls enter for the money, some for prestige. All of them are used to being the best and the brightest. But only one will walk away with the top prize.

Host Shima Oliaee (Dolly Parton’s America, Pink Card) was Nevada’s contestant in 2001. More than 20 years later, she returns to Alabama as a judge. What can two weeks with 50 of the country’s most ambitious teens tell us about girlhood in America?

Listen to The Competition on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial by visiting Wondery.fm/The_Competition now.

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Abby Lee Miller was the force behind the hit reality show "Dance Moms" where she hurled insults - and occasionally chairs - to motivate future stars like JoJo Siwa and Maddie Ziegler. But while Abby was rising to the top of her own pyramid, she was also choreographing a little thing called financial fraud. Find out what happens when you text your accountant that you "need a little money laundering."

Ronnie Karam and Ben Mandelker (Watch What Crappens) join Misha to revel in the dizzying details of the Abby Lee Miller story.

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When ex-Bunny girl Jayne Gaskin spots the desert island of her dreams for sale online, she decides to risk it all. Trading in their English village home, Jayne and her family relocate to their own private paradise, just off the coast of Nicaragua. And a reality TV crew follows them to film a new show, No Going Back. But soon they all discover that paradise has its secrets. The locals claim the island belongs to them, and it’s been sold illegally. Jayne’s not leaving without a fight. A fight that will soon turn deadly.

Hosted by Alice Levine.

Listen to The Price of Paradise on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial by visiting https://wondery.com/links/the-price-of-paradise/

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Stacy Spikes came to Hollywood with dreams of revolutionizing the industry. His creation, MoviePass, promised to offer low-fee, all-you-can-watch theater subscriptions for movie fans. The only problem? It couldn't make any money. Find out what happens when Stacy sells out to an eccentric investor, why a dog had to issue an apology to customers, and how John Travolta is somehow at the center of it all.

Misha Brown and special guests Jamie Loftus (The Bechdel Cast, Lolita Podcast) and Austin Nasso (Socially Inept: A Tech Roast) sit back, grab some popcorn, and give a scathing review of MoviePass.

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Feel brighter every day with The Best One Yet, a 20-minute pop-biz podcast that serves up the top 3 stories spanning pop culture & business news, every morning, with fresh takes you can pretend you came up with — Pairs perfectly with your morning ritual.

Follow The Best One Yet on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best One Yet ad-free right now on Wondery plus. Wondery.fm/IP_TBOY

For more deep dive and daily business content listen to Wondery– the destination for business podcasts. With shows like How I Built This, Business Wars, The Best One Yet, Business Movers and many more, Wondery Means Business.

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Imagine sealing yourself in giant, glass, self-contained ecosystem with your boyfriend and a lady who's learning to play saxophone... for TWO YEARS. In 1991, eight semi-qualified volunteers entered Biosphere 2, and promised that they would live inside the giant science experiment without any help from the outside. However, thanks to chopped off fingers, oxygen-gulping bacteria, rampant cockroaches and Steve Bannon, Biosphere 2 would become one of the biggest scientific flops in history.

Alie Ward (In the Wild, Oologies) and Josh Gondelman (Last Week Tonight, Modern Seinfeld) join Misha for this failed science experiment gone too far.

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In the sugar-fueled '90s, Pepsi had one goal: win the Cola Wars. But when it launched “Pepsi Stuff", an ambitious promotion that encouraged people to buy Pepsi and redeem points for prizes, they overlooked their own fine print. When they promised a military-grade plane for less than it was worth "as a joke," Pepsi never imagined somebody might try to actually snag it. After an enterprising dude from Seattle gamed the points system, Pepsi was on the hook for…a jet.

Kel Mitchell (Kenan & Kel, Good Burger 2) and Tehran Von Ghasri (The Persian Bachelorette) join Misha to pop the lid on Pepsi Stuff.

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One night in 2022, Billionaire Elon Musk decided to impulse-buy Twitter and reduce it to ashes in just two weeks. After losing billions and destroying a public forum, Musk's attempt to 'own the libs' backfired spectacularly. Or did it? Mass layoffs, walking around with a kitchen sink, and verification nightmares teach us to never underestimate the power of one rich a**hole.

Comedians Ross Pomerantz (Corporate Bro) & Hari Kondabolu join Misha to figure out why Twitter HQ smells like burnt hair now.

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In the run-up to the 2016 US Presidential election, a new, glossy coworking enclave for women emerged to meet the moment. The Wing was supposed to be a model for feminist social clubs, built on activism, inclusion, and self-care. Instead, it became a glaring example of toxic girlboss culture and workplace discrimination, with employees mainly using the nursing rooms to cry.

Sarah Marshall (You're Wrong About) & Franchesca Ramsey (Black History For Real) join Misha to smash the glass ceiling (and dusty pink walls) of The Wing, and take a daring look inside its downfall.

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After a Hall of Fame career, basketball legend Magic Johnson was given his very own late night talk show on Fox, The Magic Hour. It seemed like a slam dunk! Johnson had the fame, charisma, and charm to top the ratings, but things went quickly sideways. When radio shock jock Howard Stern took aim at Johnson, relentlessly making fun of his lackluster hosting abilities on air, Fox did the unthinkable and invited Stern onto the show for a confrontation that is almost too uncomfortable to revisit….almost.

Comedian W. Kamau Bell (United Shades of America) and performer Reggie Watts (The Late Show With James Corden) join Misha to give a play-by-play of the doomed Magic Hour.

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