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.

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.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Biosphere 2: Out of Oxygen with Alie Ward and Josh Gondelman | 32

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&nbsp;The Big Flop, 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. 
 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. 
  Listen to&nbsp;The Big Flop&nbsp;early and ad-free on Wondery+.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Comedy

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,

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.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Beanie Babies Go Bust with Ian Karmel and Brian Moller | 35

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.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listen Now: The Competition

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.




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.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dance Moms: Abby Lee Miller Behind Barres with Ronnie Karam and Ben Mandelker  | 34

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/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listen Now: The Price of Paradise

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. 




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.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Biosphere 2: Out of Oxygen with Alie Ward and Josh Gondelman | 32

Download our free app to listen on your phone