In December 2001, Winona Ryder was arrested for shoplifting nearly $6,000 worth of designer clothes from Saks Fifth Avenue, sparking one of the most bizarre celebrity trials of the 2000s. The '90s indie queen claimed her director told her to shoplift for a role, but the jury convicted her of felony grand theft anyway. From the iconic "Free Winona" t-shirt movement to Marc Jacobs making her their campaign face after she stole their designs, this is the scandal that made Winona disappear from Hollywood for a decade—until her Stranger Things comeback proved we should've freed her all along.

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:

Vogue UK - "A grass roots campaign to 'free' Winona Ryder" (2002)

Recordnet - "Ryder's try at humor not defusing scandal" (2002)

W Magazine - "Winona Ryder: Ryder on the Storm" (2002)

Interview Magazine - "Winona Ryder" (2013)

YouTube - "free winona: the winona ryder shoplifting scandal" (2024)

Disgraceland Podcast - "Winona Ryder: Drowning, Designer Theft, and a Deadly Kidnapping" (2025)

…

Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Producer and Host: Rosie Waterland | Producer and editor: James Joseph | Producers: Kate Leaver and Hayley Staveley | Additional production support: Guy Scott Wilson and Simon McDermott | Production Assistant: Pocket

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Thank you, as always, for Gistening. Now go say something impressive at a dinner party.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Produced and hosted by Rosie Waterland. Produced and edited by James Joseph. Additional production support by Kate Leaver and Hayley Staveley, along with Acast legends Guy Scott Wilson and Simon McDermott. Production Assistant: Pocket

Looking for Breakin’ Nooz? It drops on every Tuesday, along with a whole lot of other bonus audio, which you can access for just a couple of bucks via the Just The Gist Patreon or Apple Subscriptions. 

Follow Just The Gist on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @JustTheGistPodcast  

Follow Rosie in all the places at @RosieWaterland

Want to give us a SuGISTion? Tell Rosie to stop singing so much? Email us at [email protected]

Don’t forget to follow and give us 5 stars, which means something apparently! 

Thank you, as always, for Gistening. Now go say something impressive at a dinner party.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1999, The Blair Witch Project became a cultural phenomenon when audiences believed they were watching real found footage of three film students who disappeared in the Maryland woods. But film directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez had actually just created one of the most successful marketing hoaxes in movie history, using fake missing person posters, a fake Sci-Fi Channel documentary, and the early internet to convince the world the Blair Witch was real. Made for just $60,000 with handheld cameras and improvising actors, it terrified audiences worldwide and earned nearly $250 million. But those actors - Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams - were barely paid, and as of 2025, are still trying to be fairly credited for their work.

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:

The Blair Witch Project Wikipedia page - Complete film history and box office success

The New York Times retrospective - "How 'The Blair Witch Project' Changed Movies Forever" (2019)

The original Blair Witch website - The groundbreaking 1999 viral marketing site

Variety investigation - "'Blair Witch Project' Cast Says They Were 'Robbed' of Financial Success" (2024)

The Guardian coverage - Cast's fight for fair payment and residuals (2024)

The Hollywood Reporter - Cast demands retroactive residuals and consultation on future projects (2024)

Blair Witch official websites archive - Collection of original marketing websites

Ben Rock's articles - Behind-the-scenes insights from the film's production designer

Rewind podcast episode - "Believing in the Blair Witch" deep dive

Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Produced and hosted by Rosie Waterland. Produced and edited by James Joseph. Additional production support by Kate Leaver and Hayley Staveley, along with Acast legends Guy Scott Wilson and Simon McDermott. Production Assistant: Pocket

Follow us on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @JustTheGistPodcast  and Rosie @RosieWaterland

Want to give us a SuGISTion? Email us at [email protected]

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In what eventually became known as ‘THE CRAPPENING’, a Dave Matthews Band tour bus dumped 800 pounds of toilet waste while driving across the Kinzie Street Bridge in Chicago in 2004. And in an example of what might be the most perfect - yet unfortunate - timing ever, there just happened to be an open-air sightseeing tour boat passing directly under the bridge at the exact same time… 

Dave Matthews Band tried to deny being involved, but after being soaked in what was described as a "rust-coloured waterfall” the 120 passengers who were aboard ‘Chicago’s Little Lady’, and soon the entire city of Chicago, were demanding answers. 

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:

Dave Matthews Band bus incident Wikipedia page - Complete incident details and aftermath

WBEZ 20-year anniversary coverage - "20 years after that disgusting Dave Matthews Band incident, victims now can laugh about it" (2024)

CBS Chicago retrospective - "Remembering the disgusting Dave Matthews Band bus incident 20 years later" (2024)

Chicago Tribune vintage coverage - "Vintage Chicago Tribune: Remembering the Dave Matthews Band bus incident, 20 years later" (2024)

The Crappening documentary - Filmmaker seeking witnesses for documentary about the incident (2024)

CBS Chicago vault footage - Original 2004 news coverage

Chicago mascots tribute video - Benny the Bull, Staley Da Bear, and Tommy Hawk pay respects on anniversary (2024)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2014, Elizabeth Holmes was hailed as the youngest female billionaire in America, promising to revolutionize healthcare with her blood-testing company Theranos. With just a drop of blood from a fingerprick, she claimed her Edison machines could run hundreds of tests faster and cheaper than traditional labs. But behind the black turtlenecks, deep voice, and Steve Jobs comparisons was one of the biggest frauds in Silicon Valley history. The technology never worked, patients received dangerous false results, and investors lost over $900 million. Holmes and her business partner Sunny Balwani were both convicted of fraud, with Holmes sentenced to over 11 years in prison, where she remains today still claiming her innocence.

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou - The definitive book on the Theranos scandal (2018)

Elizabeth Holmes Wikipedia page - Complete biography and timeline

United States v. Elizabeth A. Holmes Wikipedia page - Full trial details and verdict

Sunny Balwani Wikipedia page - Holmes' co-defendant and former partner

BBC News coverage - "Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes loses fraud appeal" (2025)

People Magazine prison interview - Elizabeth Holmes breaks her silence from prison (2025)

People Magazine current status - "Where Is Elizabeth Holmes Now?" (2024)

The Dropout Hulu series - Amanda Seyfried's Emmy-winning portrayal (2022)

The Inventor HBO documentary - "Out for Blood in Silicon Valley" trailer (2019)

ABC News documentary series - "The Story of Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos" complete coverage

Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Produced and hosted by Rosie Waterland. Produced and edited by James Joseph. Additional production support by Kate Leaver and Hayley Staveley, along with Acast legends Guy Scott Wilson and Simon McDermott. Production Assistant: Pocket

Looking for Breakin’ Nooz? It drops on every Tuesday, along with a whole lot of other bonus audio, video and behind the scenes content, which you can access for just a couple of bucks via the Just The Gist Patreon or Apple Subscriptions. 

Follow Just The Gist on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @JustTheGistPodcast  and Rosie at @RosieWaterland

Email us at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1912, four-year-old Bobby Dunbar vanished during a family fishing trip to Swayze Lake in Louisiana, sparking a massive eight-month search. When authorities found a boy matching Bobby's description in Mississippi with traveling handyman William Walters, the Dunbar family claimed him as their son. But another woman, Julia Anderson, recognised the boy's picture in the paper and insisted he was actually her son Bruce. After a sensational trial, the court awarded the child to the Dunbars, and he lived his entire life as Bobby Dunbar. But nearly a century later, DNA testing revealed the shocking truth.

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:

Disappearance of Bobby Dunbar Wikipedia page - Complete case details and DNA revelation

This American Life episode - "The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar" comprehensive investigation (2008)

This American Life transcript - Full episode transcript with all details

Medium retrospective - "The Disappearance of Bobby Dunbar: The story of the missing boy who was replaced with another" (2020)

Newspapers.com clipping - "But where is Bobby?" vintage newspaper coverage (2019)

A Case for Solomon book - Tal McThenia and Margaret Dunbar Cutright's definitive account (2012)

BuzzFeed Unsolved episode - "The Bizarre Disappearance of Bobby Dunbar" (2018)

History by Day analysis - "Who Was Bobby Dunbar? A Century-Old Case Finally Solved"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Remembered for being one of the most famous murderers of the 20th century, there's not many people who don't know about Charles Manson and the Sharon Tate/LaBianca murders. But it tends to be one of those topics everybody assumes they know everything about, until they hear the bizarre details. Did you know that Manson didn't actually kill movie star Sharon Tate himself, or any of the victims that 'The Manson Family' are most known for slaughtering? Or that Charles Manson was good friends with The Beach Boys, to the point where one of his songs even ended up on one of their albums? Or that the public were so fascinated with him that he was put on the cover of Rolling Stone?

It's a famous story that's been told a gazillion times, but there's way more crazy 'impress your friends at a dinner party' details in this one than you think.

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:

The AMAZING 'Charles Manson's Hollywood' series of the 'You Must Remember This' podcast by Karina Longworth: http://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/episodes…

This bestselling book considered one of the definitive texts about it all:

'Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson' by Jeff Guinn: https://www.amazon.com.au/Manson-Life-Times-Charle…

'Helter Skelter' by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry - probably the most famous book about Manson, written by the lawyer who prosecuted him:

https://www.amazon.com/Helter-Skelter-Story-Manson…

The Rolling Stone cover story from 1970 'Charles Manson: The Incredible Story of the Most Dangerous Man Alive': https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/…

Charles Manson's first televised prison interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbW0agGFv88

Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Produced and hosted by Rosie Waterland. Produced and edited by James Joseph. Additional production support by Kate Leaver and Hayley Staveley, along with Acast legends Guy Scott Wilson and Simon McDermott. Production Assistant: Pocket

Looking for Breakin’ Nooz? It drops on every Tuesday, along with a whole lot of other bonus audio, video and behind the scenes content, which you can access for just a couple of bucks via the Just The Gist Patreon or Apple Subscriptions. 

Follow Just The Gist on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @JustTheGistPodcast. Follow Rosie in all the places at @RosieWaterland

Want to give us a SuGISTion? Email us at [email protected]

Don’t forget to follow and give us 5 stars, which means something apparently! 

Thank you, as always, for Gistening. Now go say something impressive at a dinner party.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was supposed to be the biggest streaming service the world had ever seen. Launched in 2020 by industry heavyweights Jeffrey Katzenberg (the former head of Dreamworks) and Meg Whitman (former CEO of Ebay), Quibi was expected to end up bigger than Netflix and Youtube combined. It had two billion dollars invested in it and the biggest talent in the world - everyone from Reese Witherspoon to Steven Spielberg - was making shows for it. Yet just six months after launching, the streamer shut down, becoming the second biggest start-up failure in history - behind only Theranos. So what the hell happened to Quibi - the biggest streaming service you’ve never heard of?

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:

Quibi Wikipedia page - Complete company history and timeline

The Wall Street Journal investigation - "Quibi Was Supposed to Revolutionize Hollywood. Here's Why It Failed" (2020)

The Verge's comprehensive breakdown - "11 reasons why Quibi crashed and burned in less than a year" (2020)

Deadline's exclusive shutdown interview - Jeffrey Katzenberg & Meg Whitman detail decision to shut down (2020)

Forbes analysis - "The Fatal Miscalculation That Doomed Katzenberg And Whitman's Streamer" (2020)

NBC News post-mortem - "A look at why Quibi failed so soon after launching" (2020)

BBC behind-the-scenes report - "Quibi: Why did the video app go so wrong?" (2020)

The Guardian's cautionary tale - "They built it, but people did not come: the cautionary tale of Quibi" (2020)

Entrepreneur's marketing analysis - "What Can Marketers Learn From Quibi's Failure?" (2020)

The Media Moment's post-mortems - "What Went Wrong For Quibi: The Post-Mortems" (2020)

Quibi Super Bowl commercial - The expensive ad that confused everyone (2020)

Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Produced and hosted by Rosie Waterland. Produced and edited by James Joseph. Additional production support by Kate Leaver and Hayley Staveley, along with Acast legends Guy Scott Wilson and Simon McDermott. Production Assistant: Pocket

Subscribe to The Gistener Club on Just The Gist Patreon or Apple Subscriptions. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2012, a six-year-old beauty pageant contestant named Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson became America's most controversial reality TV star, thanks to her 'Go-Go Juice' and brilliant catchphrases like "A dollar makes me HOLLAR (Honey Boo Boo Child)!" What started as an appearance on TLC's Toddlers & Tiaras turned into the phenomenon reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, following Alana's entire family in rural Georgia - including Mama June Shannon, Sugar Bear, Chickadee, Chubbs and Pumpkin. But behind the viral memes and record-breaking ratings was a dark story of family dysfunction, drug addiction, and financial abuse. The show was abruptly canceled in 2014 amid major family scandals that shocked America. Now in her twenties, Alana Thompson has narrated a revealing 2025 Lifetime movie called 'I Was Honey Boo Boo', exposing the disturbing truth about what really happened behind the cameras - and where everyone in the infamous Honey Boo Boo family has ended up today.

CW: This episode includes some brief discussion (without any detail) of sexual abuse. 

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:

This article from The Hollywood Reporter

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo review from The A.V. Club

This article from Los Angeles Times

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo Wikipedia page

Shannon family Wikipedia page

Ask Dr. Drew podcast

Alana's recent interview on Barely Famous Podcast

Alana's TikTok

Lifetime's 2025 biopic

Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Produced and hosted by Rosie Waterland. Produced and edited by James Joseph. Additional production support by Kate Leaver and Hayley Staveley, along with Acast legends Guy Scott Wilson and Simon McDermott. Production Assistant: Pocket

Looking for Breakin’ Nooz? It drops on every Tuesday, along with a whole lot of other bonus audio, video and behind the scenes content, which you can access for just a couple of bucks via the Just The Gist Patreon or Apple Subscriptions. 

Follow Just The Gist on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @JustTheGistPodcast. Follow Rosie in all the places at @RosieWaterland

Want to give us a SuGISTion? Email us at [email protected]

Don’t forget to follow and give us 5 stars, which means something apparently! 

Thank you, as always, for Gistening. Now go say something impressive at a dinner party.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On October 15, 2009, the world watched in horror as a homemade helium balloon shaped like a flying saucer drifted across Colorado skies with six-year-old Falcon Heene allegedly trapped inside. The "Balloon Boy" saga captivated millions for hours until the balloon landed empty and Falcon was found hiding in his family's attic. But when little Falcon told CNN "we did this for the show," the story took a dramatic turn. What followed was a media frenzy, criminal charges, and years of debate about whether the Heenes staged the whole thing as a publicity stunt or if it was a genuine accident that spiraled out of control.

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:

Balloon boy hoax Wikipedia page - Complete timeline and investigation details

Netflix's Trainwreck: Balloon Boy documentary - The family tells their side of the story (2025)

The Hollywood Reporter interview - "But What if 'Balloon Boy' Wasn't a Hoax?" (2025)

People Magazine update - "Where Is the Balloon Boy Now? All About His Life After the 2009 Hoax" (2025)

TIME Magazine analysis - "The True Story Behind 'Trainwreck: Balloon Boy'" (2025)

ABC News 10-year retrospective - "'Balloon Boy's' family discusses life 10 years after incident" (2019)

Medium retrospective - "Let's Revisit Balloon Boy. A hoax we'd no longer believe" (2021)

Netflix trailer - Official Trainwreck: Balloon Boy trailer (2025)

Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Produced and hosted by Rosie Waterland. Produced and edited by James Joseph. Additional production support by Kate Leaver and Hayley Staveley, along with Acast legends Guy Scott Wilson and Simon McDermott.

Looking for Breakin’ Nooz? It drops on every Tuesday, along with a whole lot of other bonus audio, video and behind the scenes content, which you can access for just a couple of bucks via the Just The Gist Patreon or Apple Subscriptions. 

Follow Just The Gist on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @JustTheGistPodcast  

Follow Rosie in all the places at @RosieWaterland

Want to give us a SuGISTion? Tell Rosie to stop singing so much? Email us at [email protected]

Don’t forget to follow and give us 5 stars, which means something apparently! 

Thank you, as always, for Gistening. Now go say something impressive at a dinner party.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.