What drives a regular person to risk it all in the criminal underworld? On Wondery's Criminal Lives, host Danny Gold takes you inside the minds of some of America’s most successful black market entrepreneurs. From a larger-than-life steroids kingpin to the self described "Original Gay Gangster" who had a gift for numbers and an addiction to luxury, each reveals the rules of the game, the adrenaline-fueled highs, and the missteps that brought it all crashing down. Forget what you've seen in the movies. Criminal Lives brings you the unvarnished truth of what it really means to choose a life of crime.

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Rachel Dolezal built a life for herself as a teacher, a civil rights advocate, and a leader in her local NAACP chapter. There was just one problem: She built it all on a foundation of lies—and the biggest lie of all was about her race. When a local news crew discovered her secret and called her out in front of cameras, it all came crashing down on a national scale.

Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman (Couples Therapy) join Misha to break down the many lies of Rachel Dolezal—and there are a lot!

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When Elon Musk boasted to Shervin Pishevar about inventing a revolutionary form of transportation, Pishevar took him at his word — turns out with Elon, that's a huge mistake. Musk promised travel at the speed of sound, unprecedented city connections, and a complete societal transformation, but conveniently left out the potential for catastrophic failure. After wasting millions of dollars and buckets of clout on the promise of Hyperloop, MULTIPLE billionaires are still reeling from the experience. At least they're not being sucked into a deadly vacuum! Or would that be a good thing?

Aparna Nancherla (BoJack Horseman, The Introvert's Survival Guide) and Greta Titelman (Problemista, Senior Superlatives) join Misha for the ride of their lifetimes with Hyperloop.

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The untold stories behind the products you’re obsessed with and the bold risk-takers who made them go viral. How did Birkenstocks go from a German cobbler’s passion project 250 years ago to a starring role in the Barbie movie? Who created that bottle of Sriracha permanently living in your fridge? Did you know the Air Jordans were initially banned by the NBA, or that Super Mario became the best-selling video game character ever thanks to a strategy called “The Infinite Game?” On Wondery’s new weekly podcast The Best Idea Yet, Nick Martell and Jack Crivici-Kramer (hosts of the award-winning daily pop-business podcast, The Best One Yet aka TBOY) have identified the most viral products of all time and reveal their untold origin stories — plus the bold risk-takers who brought them to life. From the Happy Meal to Levi’s 501 jeans, come for the products you’re obsessed with, stay for the business insights that’ll make you the most interesting person at your next brunch.

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In the 80s and 90s, the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program sent police officers into schools to teach kids to stay off drugs. D.A.R.E.'s cringey curriculum was taught in schools all over the U.S., spawning lame PSAs, a whole bunch of weird merchandise, and maybe some light childhood trauma. There was just one problem… D.A.R.E. didn’t actually work. It did, however, cost taxpayers millions of dollars and miseducated a whole generation of kids.

Jon Gabrus (High and Mighty, The Action Boyz) and Fumi Abe (The Tonight Show) join Misha to just say no… to D.A.R.E.

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For years, “lean finely textured beef” was added to meat products that could be found in supermarkets, fast food restaurants, and school cafeterias across America. Most consumers had no idea that this gooey, salmon-colored substance was in their food. Finely textured beef was a million dollar business, but it wound up setting off an all out PR-war between a meat magnate and some food bloggers that brought one of the biggest beef companies in the U.S. to the brink of collapse. It all started when people started calling the product by a new name that really matched its looks: Pink Slime.

Brad Leone (It's Alive with Brad, Makin' It, Local Legends) and Van Lathan (TMZ Live, Higher Learning) join Misha to beef up their knowledge of Pink Slime.

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In 2013, a British TV producer named Danny Fenton brought 12 American women to England to take part in a new reality dating show. The yanks were led to believe that they had a chance to marry one of the most eligible bachelors in the world: Prince Harry of the British royal family. There was just one problem: the guy they were competing for was actually a Harry look-alike. Even though Fenton spent a princely sum trying to gaslight his way to ratings gold, the show wound up being one of reality tv's most embarrassingly king-sized busts.

The Bachelor franchise's own Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt (Bachelor Happy Hour) join Misha to dethrone one of the most manipulative reality shows of all time.

Follow The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

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At the turn of the millenium, Blockbuster Video, with its ubiquitous blue-and-yellow stores, was the reigning champion of movie rentals. But early on, when presented with the chance to buy a little company called Netflix... Blockbuster made the wrong choice. Despite attempts to launch online rental services, the quaint allure of browsing store aisles couldn't compete with the instant gratification of streaming. In the end, boardroom squabbling and Blockbuster's stubborn adherence to nostalgia led to its own unraveling.

Lauren Lapkus (Newcomers, The Last Blockbuster) and Laura Ramoso (Sit Up Straight) join Misha to be kind and rewind all the way back to the heyday of Blockbuster.

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