July 4, 2010. Nathan’s Famous is holding its annual hot dog eating competition on Coney Island. But this year, one perennial champion is not taking the stage: Takeru Kobayashi. The legendary eater destroyed competition for six years in a row, launching him into international stardom. But then, things start to go wrong.

Today, Takeru Kobayashi looks to make a statement. In front of thousands of spectators, Kobayashi gets arrested at the very competition he used to dominate. Why is there so much drama at a hot dog eating contest? And how does the original competitive eating superstar get to this point?

Special thanks to our guests: Yukako Maggie James, Kobayashi’s former manager and wife; Takeru Kobayashi, competitive eater; Gersh Kuntzman, longtime New York journalist; Joey Chestnut, competitive eater; Ryan Nerz, author of “Eat This Book, A Year of Gorging and Glory On the Competitive Eating Circuit”; Noriko Okubo, Kobayashi’s interpreter and agent; George Shea, chair of Major League Eating.

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