Grab your can of nos, cause we’re revving things up! Journalist, comic, and pop culture junkie Tess Barker welcomes Brandie Posey @brandazzle (Lady to Lady, Burn This Records, Picture This!) to talk through the real-life soap opera that is The Rock’s feud with Vin Diesel. Beefs don’t get much beefier than this.

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.

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic: The Britney Spears Story wherever you get your pods.

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“Cats” is a musical so ridiculous that it often drives people to anger. So why has this absurd show made so much money, and how does it keep taunting us all with its reemergence into culture? Jellicle journalist, comic, and pop culture junkie Tess Barker is on the case.

Featuring interviews with actor Sara Jean Ford (On Broadway: “Phantom of the Opera; “Finian’s Rainbow;” “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying;” “Cats:” ) and musicologist and dramaturg Dr. Lynda Paul (professor, Yale University; PhD music history/ethnomusicology/performance studies).

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.

Abigail Keel was a consulting producer on this episode.

Special thanks to voice actors Sean Green and Babs Gray.

Clearance Counsel is Dale Nelson and Jacqueline Swett at Donaldson Callif Perez, LLP

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic wherever you get your pods.

Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!

Journalist, comic, and pop culture junkie Tess Barker welcomes Emma Gray @emmaladyrose (Love to See It podcast, Rich Text newsletter). How much did “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” cast member and Erika Jayne know about her husband, Tom Girardi’s alleged frauds? Tess and Erika sort through the saga of this fallen power couple.

Read the LA Times invetsigative piece on Tom and Erika, written by Matt Hamilton and Harriet Ryan here.

Watch the doc "The Housewife and the Hustler" on Hulu.

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.

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic: The Britney Spears Story wherever you get your pods.

Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!

Journalist, comic, and pop culture junkie Tess Barker unpacks a question that’s been nagging her since the ‘90s: Did someone put dirty jokes into classic Disney movies? How? And why? The search for the truth leads Tess to a place she didn't see coming.

Guests include Liz Climo (“The Simpsons,” children’s book author & illustrator), Mike Hollingsworth (“Bo Jack Horseman,” “Tuca and Bertie”), Tom Sito (“The Little Mermaid,” “Who Framed Rodger Rabbit?”, “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast”), Brenda Chapman (“Brave,” “The Prince of Egypt,” “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast”). Featuring an Animation Guild oral history from Ann Guenther (“Sleeping Beauty,” “Winnie the Pooh,” “Robin Hood,” “The Rescuers.”)

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.

Abigail Keel was a consulting producer on this episode.

Clearance Counsel is Dale Nelson and Jacqueline Swett at Donaldson Callif Perez, LLP

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic wherever you get your pods.

Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!

Journalist, comic, and pop culture junkie Tess Barker invites Danielle Perez @divadelux (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dicks! The Musical, Spiderverse) onto the show for chat through the surprising way Lindsay Lohan’s party girl phase changed the kombucha industry forever.

Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Insstagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod

Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Tyler Hill.

Theme song by Rick Wood @Rickw00d.

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic wherever you get your pods.

Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!

Journalist, comic, and pop culture junkie Tess Barker unpacks the alleged fraudulent actions behind the 2010 hit movie “The Blind Side.”

Guests on this episode are Craig Vail, close friend of Michael Oher and Kellie Carter-Jackson @kcarterjackson, Historian, Award Winning Author, Chair of Africana, Wellesley College.

Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Insstagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod

Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Emma Klein.

Theme song by Rick Wood @Rickw00d.

Abigail Keel was a consulting producer on this episode.

Clearance Counsel is Dale Nelson and Jacqueline Swett at Donaldson Callif Perez, LLP

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic wherever you get your pods.

Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!

Journalist, comic, and pop culture junkie Tess Barker invites Babs Gray @babs_gray, her Britney’s Gram and Lady to Lady cohost onto the show for chat through the confounding case of Brittany Murphy’s untimely death.

Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Insstagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod

Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Emma Klein.

Theme song by Rick Wood @Rickw00d.

Find "What Happened, Brittant Murphy" on Max.

Check out the full convo with Julianne Kaye about Britney Spears selling her house on We Need to Talk About Britney here.

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic wherever you get your pods.

Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!

Journalist, comic, and pop culture junkie Tess Barker delves into the underbelly of “The Bachelor” franchise. She uncovers exclusive information about the show’s inner workings.

Guests include former contestant Sydney Lotuaco @sydneylotuaco and Steve Carbone @realitysteve.

Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod

Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Emma Klein.

Theme song by Rick Wood @Rickw00d.

Abigail Keel was a consulting producer on this episode.

Clearance Counsel is Jacqueline Swett at Donaldson Callif Perez, LLP

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic wherever you get your pods.

Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!