Pop Mystery Pod
Investigative journalist and pop culture junkie Tess Barker, dives into the pop culture moments that have puzzled her for years. This addictive, informative and revelatory show dives features the deep research and first person reporting that helped her launch the #FreeBritney movement while co-hosting Britney's Gram. Each episode unpacks a moment in celebrity news that was misunderstood or intentionally covered up at the time. Part true crime, part comedy, part deconstructing pop culture trivia, the show shines light on the dark corners in the entertainment capital of the world.
Episodes
The footage was silent, but it still felt like a shot heard round the world. The infamous leaked elevator security camera footage of Beyonce and Solange Knowles seemingly giving Jay Z his due is one of the most compelling moments in history. (According to this historian at least.) Joining Tess to unpack what actually went down that famous night after the Met Gala are Lauren Smith (@mslas) and Rachel Smith (@privateci...
Harrison Ford is a long-time pilot. That doesn’t mean he’s a great one. The only thing perhaps more impressive than Harrison’s long acting resume is the number of times he’s managed to find himself involved in aviation incidents. How many times has this star come pummeling frim the heavens? And why does he keep going back?
Joining Tess to talk through Harrison’s spotty flight log, is Jon Gabrus @gabrus, host of “S...
TLC was the definitive girl group of the ‘90s. They dominated both the hip hop and pop music scenes. They were pioneers of feminist music and culture. Perhaps no member of TLC embodied the group’s independent ways more than Lisa Left Eye Lopes. After Lopes was charged with arson for setting the home she shared with her football player boyfriend on fire, Lopes was seen as a truly chaotic figure. What really ignited that fir...
A competitive plastic surgery reality show. Perhaps premise kind of sells itself. It certainly did in 2004, when 15 million people tuned in to watch this darkly comic trainwreck. How did “The Swan,” even happen? And, perhaps less puzzling, why? Joining Tess to navigate the wild west of 2004 reality TV is comic, actor, and writer Jackie Johnson (Natch Beaut @jackiemichellejohnson). Grab tickets to Jackie’s show “How to Get ...
This timeline sucks, yes? This week, we’re doing something a little different, a quick time travel back to the world of September 15, 2003. Tess flips through an US Weekly from this glorious time, when Madonna and Britney had just kissed at the VMAs, Beyonce was just starting to go solo, and life was pretty good.
Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod
In part two of this Mariah tale, we get into the nitty gritty of what actually went down between Mariah Carey and Eminem. Did Mariah and Marshall Mathers actually date? Why is Eminem so obsessed with her? Was it all worth it, for us to get a music video of Mariah in drag as Eminem? We’ll say this - beware of all Detroit “touchdowns.” Joining Tess to chat through this long, bizarre and often one-sided feud is the actor Kara...
Mariah Carey is, in many ways, a definitive diva. She’s got the pipes, she’s got the style, and the attitude. Behind Mariah’s coy smile and wind blown curls, though, there is a person who has survived extraordinary circumstances. As Mariah Carey was blowing up as one of the most famous and successful recording artists in the world, she was living a double life - one that belies an all-too-familiar power imbalance. Joining ...
“Rumors,” is an apropos name for the dream of an album that was born of two and a half couples all sharing a tiny recording studio while actively doing all of the cocaine. Rumors, indeed, have long circulated that while Fleetwood Mac was creating its opus, each member was also actively destroying their lives. What really happened in those powder filled studio walls? Joining Tess to talk through this tale of creativity, sou...
In the past few years, two big entertainment stories stand out as exceptionally shocking and horrifying: the wrongful conservatorship of Britney Spears, and the alleged large-scale sex trafficking syndicate of Sean Diddy Combs. It’s chilling then, to consider that both the business affairs of Sean Combs and Britney Spears were handled by the same business management company: TriStar Sports and Entertainment. Who is at the ...
“Sex and the City,” did more than usher in the ‘golden’ era of HBO. It created characters that endeared themselves to countless viewers with their depth, relatability, and deeply enviable wardrobes. Despite the fact that this is a show about friends and friendship, however, rumors have persisted for years that a long-standing feud exists between two of its stars: Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall. So what’s actually be...
“La Veneno,” aka Cristina Ortiz Rodriguez, was a tour de force and a revolutionary. She delivered jokes flawlessly, covered her nipples barely, and changed the way Spain viewed trans people. Joining Tess to talk through the legendary life and mysterious death of Cristina Ortiz Rodriguez is writer and performer Tamara Yajia @tamarayajia (“Acapulco”; “This Fool”) and author of the new memoir “Cry for Me, Argentin...
After weeks of disturbing witness testimony, the jury in the Sean Diddy Combs case has delivered a confounding, and frankly insulting verdict. How did we get here? And why?
Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod
Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Tyler Hill.
Theme song by Rick Wood @Rickw00d.
It was a place where everyone was welcome: “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.” This magical fever dream of a show impacted an entire generation of people. It also made such a big star of its creator, Paul Reubens, that when Reubens was arrested after being targeted by Florida police, his reputation had a far way to fall. Joining Tess to talk though the genius of Paul Reubens and the tragedy of his media bludgeoning, is comic and perfor...
Was it white and gold or blue and black? The important thing is, when “The Dress” took over the internet for a glorious week in 2015, the internet was still fun. Joining Tess to talk through the historic and fascinating phenomenon of The Dress, and what it says about today’s internet is Jamie Loftus @jamiechristsuperstar (The Bechdel Cast, My Year in Mensa, 16th Minute, Lolita Podcast. Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About ...
Sean Diddy Combs’ long-time partner and co-parent died at the young age of 47. At the time, her death was ruled the result of pneumonia, but insiders have expressed suspicions around why Porter really died. Given what’s been alleged about Combs in recent years, Tess unpacks the facts and rumors around Porter’s life and death.
Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod
Pop Myst...
It’s been half a year since anything meaningful happened in the Baldoni/Lively case. So why do we keep seeing headlines about it? Tess has some ideas.
Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod
Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Tyler Hill.
Theme song by Rick Wood @Rickw00d.
As we cross what appears to be the midpoint of Sean Diddy Combs’ federal trial, Tess rounds up highlights from witnesses like Cassie Ventura and Kid Cudi, and assesses the prosecution and defense’s strategies thus far.
Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod
Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Tyler Hill.
Making a dinosaur buddy cop movie is all fun and games, until you’re Whoopi Goldberg and you actually have to shoot this thing with sworn enemies. Joining Tess on this bonkers journey that sent Tess into the courthouse archives is the hilarious Tom Lenk @tommylenk (“Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Tilda Swinton Answers a Craigslist Ad.”
If you must, watch “Theodore Rex” here.
There’s only one Patti LuPone. Which is why the s**t hit the gold plated fan when Andrew Llyod Webber tried to have two Norma Desmonds. Tess is joined by Paul Caiola, one of the hosts of “That Aged Well,” (@thatagedwell) as the two of them dissect the fascinating and high drama turns of Patti Lupone’s “Sunset Blvd,” firing, and the antics that followed.
Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @pop...
To be, or not to be? Aye, there’s the central question at the heart of the classic work “Tommy Boy” the 1995 broad comedy starring the late Chris Farley. This movie is more than a work of staggering childish genius. It is also a sophisticated adaptation of “Hamlet,” as in, the Shakespeare one. Joining Tess for a close reading of “Tommy Boy” through a Shakespearean lens is the comedian and podcaster Lisa Chanoux @LisaChanou...
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