The Big Topic Show

PART 2 OF 2: While there have been many iterations of the boy band phenomenon over the years, perhaps the most notable and successful is the crop of boy bands of the late nineties, led by Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, who dominated the Billboard charts and MTV Total Request Live countdown.

Both of these boy bands got their initial start and were set up for stardom from an unlikely source, a big fat airline industry mogul named Lou Pearlman.

Today the boys discuss some background of Pearlman’s life, his brush with success as a kingmaker of pop royalty, the varied careers of his boyband clients, and his shady business dealings and ultimate downfall.

Available in video form on YouTube!

PART 1 OF 2: While there have been many iterations of the boy band phenomenon over the years, perhaps the most notable and successful is the crop of boy bands of the late nineties, led by Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, who dominated the Billboard charts and MTV Total Request Live countdown.

Both of these boy bands got their initial start and were set up for stardom from an unlikely source, a big fat airline industry mogul named Lou Pearlman.

Today the boys discuss some background of Pearlman’s life, his brush with success as a kingmaker of pop royalty, the varied careers of his boyband clients, and his shady business dealings and ultimate downfall.

*PART 2 COMES OUT THURSDAY, 3/9 @ 10 P.M. EST*

Available in video form on YouTube!

PART 2 OF 2: You may know Armie Hammer from his on-screen roles portraying the Lone Ranger, the Winkelvoss twins from The Social Network, or Oliver from Call Me By Your Name, but  in January 2021, an anonymous Instagram account leaked screenshots of alleged text messages Hammer had sent to various women with references to his twisted sexual fantasies of violence, rape, and cannibalism. He denied the text messages, and called himself the victim of an online attack. 

However, several women began coming forward to share their experiences with Hammer. The allegations ranged from emotional and sexual abuse to sucking their blood whenever they got a cut, to carving his initial into their pelvis, and describing in graphic detail his desire to "barbeque and eat their ribs”.

An attorney for Hammer stated: "These assertions about Mr. Hammer are patently untrue. Any interactions with this person, or any partner of his, were completely consensual in that they were fully discussed, agreed upon, and mutually participatory.”

Still, he was dropped from his talent agency WME as more accusations and secrets from his recent past and present surfaced. He was removed from all of his upcoming projects, and then just kinda…disappeared from public view for a bit.

Today the boys dive into some background on Hammer’s blue blood roots as a member of a tremendously wealthy and influential American family, outline some of the alleged leaks and accusations against him, and speculate on what he’s been up to in the many months since the controversy began.

Available in video form on YouTube!

PART 1 OF 2: You may know Armie Hammer from his on-screen roles portraying the Lone Ranger, the Winkelvoss twins from The Social Network, or Oliver from Call Me By Your Name, but  in January 2021, an anonymous Instagram account leaked screenshots of alleged text messages Hammer had sent to various women with references to his twisted sexual fantasies of violence, rape, and cannibalism. He denied the text messages, and called himself the victim of an online attack. 

However, several women began coming forward to share their experiences with Hammer. The allegations ranged from emotional and sexual abuse to sucking their blood whenever they got a cut, to carving his initial into their pelvis, and describing in graphic detail his desire to "barbeque and eat their ribs”.

An attorney for Hammer stated: "These assertions about Mr. Hammer are patently untrue. Any interactions with this person, or any partner of his, were completely consensual in that they were fully discussed, agreed upon, and mutually participatory.”

Still, he was dropped from his talent agency WME as more accusations and secrets from his recent past and present surfaced. He was removed from all of his upcoming projects, and then just kinda…disappeared from public view for a bit.

Today the boys dive into some background on Hammer’s blue blood roots as a member of a tremendously wealthy and influential American family, outline some of the alleged leaks and accusations against him, and speculate on what he’s been up to in the many months since the controversy began.

*PART 2 COMES OUT THURSDAY, 3/2 @ 10 P.M. EST*

Available in video form on YouTube!

PART 2 OF 2: Stevie Wonder is an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of modern music who was born in 1950 with complications that caused him to be blind. He was signed to Motown at age 11 and became a child prodigy, making history as the youngest artist to have a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 at age 13. He has won 25 Grammy Awards, sold over 100 million records worldwide, and is an inductee of various music halls of fame. He is also a political activist and a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Despite his numerous accomplishments, today Wonder will receive perhaps his biggest honor yet — as the focus of a discussion on the breakaway hit podcast Big Topic. 

Over the past several decades, many conspiracy theorists and celebrity peers have publicly speculated that Stevie Wonder has been pretending to be blind all of these years. Today we’ll cover some of the compelling evidence to discuss what the Internet has to say on this, and break it down for the people at home.

Available in video form on YouTube!

PART 1 OF 2: Stevie Wonder is an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of modern music who was born in 1950 with complications that caused him to be blind. He was signed to Motown at age 11 and became a child prodigy, making history as the youngest artist to have a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 at age 13. He has won 25 Grammy Awards, sold over 100 million records worldwide, and is an inductee of various music halls of fame. He is also a political activist and a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Despite his numerous accomplishments, today Wonder will receive perhaps his biggest honor yet — as the focus of a discussion on the breakaway hit podcast Big Topic. 

Over the past several decades, many conspiracy theorists and celebrity peers have publicly speculated that Stevie Wonder has been pretending to be blind all of these years. Today we’ll cover some of the compelling evidence to discuss what the Internet has to say on this, and break it down for the people at home.

*PART 2 COMES OUT THURSDAY, 2/23 @ 10 P.M. EST*

Available in video form on YouTube!

PART 2 OF 2: 
The Montreal Screwjob was an unscripted professional wrestling incident at the WWF Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 9, 1997, at the Molson Centre in Montreal. World Wrestling Federation owner Vince McMahon manipulated the outcome of the main event title bout between Bret "The Hitman" Hart, the reigning WWF Champion, and The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels. 

Hart — a five-time champion, had been with the WWF since 1984, and was a consistent fan favorite. But shortly before Survivor Series, he signed a contract with rival company WCW following many months of back and forth between Hart and the two companies. Now we’ll get into the specifics of that deal and how it came about, but long story short The Hitman wasn’t willing to drop the title to Shawn Michaels, who he did not get along with on or off-screen, in his home country of Canada.

As a part of his final negotiated contract with WWF, Hart was to have a high degree of creative control of his final days with the company. Before the Survivor series match, Hart and McMahon came to an agreement that it would end with a DQ, and Hart would then forfeit the title shortly after to another opponent such as Stone Cold Steve Austin. In what is generally believed to be a personal, off-screen betrayal of Hart, McMahon colluded with Shawn Michaels and others to ensure the championship belt would change hands that night.

Twenty minutes into the match, Michaels put Hart in his own signature submission hold, The Sharpshooter. At McMahon’s request, the referee quickly called the match even though Hart had not submitted and he had thought that there were several more minutes choreographed in the match. Michaels became Champion and walked off with the belt right then and there. Many see this as the pivotal moment that birthed Vince McMahon’s pivot into a corporate villain that America loved to hate, and catapulted the WWF into massive success in the late 90s and beyond.

Listen in as the boys discuss one of wildest events in sports history, along with a healthy dose of 90's wrestling nostalgia.

Available in video form on YouTube!

PART 1 OF 2: 
The Montreal Screwjob was an unscripted professional wrestling incident at the WWF Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 9, 1997, at the Molson Centre in Montreal. World Wrestling Federation owner Vince McMahon manipulated the outcome of the main event title bout between Bret "The Hitman" Hart, the reigning WWF Champion, and The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels. 

Hart — a five-time champion, had been with the WWF since 1984, and was a consistent fan favorite. But shortly before Survivor Series, he signed a contract with rival company WCW following many months of back and forth between Hart and the two companies. Now we’ll get into the specifics of that deal and how it came about, but long story short The Hitman wasn’t willing to drop the title to Shawn Michaels, who he did not get along with on or off-screen, in his home country of Canada.

As a part of his final negotiated contract with WWF, Hart was to have a high degree of creative control of his final days with the company. Before the Survivor series match, Hart and McMahon came to an agreement that it would end with a DQ, and Hart would then forfeit the title shortly after to another opponent such as Stone Cold Steve Austin. In what is generally believed to be a personal, off-screen betrayal of Hart, McMahon colluded with Shawn Michaels and others to ensure the championship belt would change hands that night.

Twenty minutes into the match, Michaels put Hart in his own signature submission hold, The Sharpshooter. At McMahon’s request, the referee quickly called the match even though Hart had not submitted and he had thought that there were several more minutes choreographed in the match. Michaels became Champion and walked off with the belt right then and there. Many see this as the pivotal moment that birthed Vince McMahon’s pivot into a corporate villain that America loved to hate, and catapulted the WWF into massive success in the late 90s and beyond.

Listen in as the boys discuss one of wildest events in sports history, along with a healthy dose of 90's wrestling nostalgia.

*PART 2 COMES OUT THURSDAY, 2/16 @ 10 P.M. EST*

Available in video form on YouTube!

PART 2 OF 2: Over last three centuries, the people of South Jersey and Philly have been haunted by one of the spookiest, scariest creatures in American history. 

Also known as the Leeds Devil, the Jersey Devil is a legendary monster said to inhabit the Pine Barrens, a massive forest stretching across more than seven counties of New Jersey. There are many reported descriptions of the beast over the years, but generally speaking the cryptid, chimera-like creature is thought to have a body similar to a kangaroo, but with hooved feet, tiny arms with clawed hands, leathery wings, a forked tail, and a horned goat-like head.

It has been reported to move quickly — whether running upright on it’s hind legs or soaring through the treetops using it’s large, bat-like wings. The Jersey Devil is also known for terrorizing the community, posing for blurry photographs, and emitting it’s signature high-pitched "blood-curdling scream”.

Legend has it that the creature was born in 1735 as the 13th child of a woman known as “Mother Leeds,” a resident of the Pine Barrens. Upon discovering she was yet again pregnant in 1735 after already birthing a dozen children using 18th century technology, she cursed the child in frustration, speculating out loud that the child must be the work of the devil if not the devil himself. 

She went into labor on a dark and stormy night with friends and family gathered around her. The child was initially born as human baby, but quickly grew and shapeshifted into the Jersey Devil form that we know and love — complete with horns and hooves. It beat and/or killed everyone in the room and flew up the chimney to head into the pines.

Listen in as the boys discuss their Jersey D theories, the alleged capture of the Jersey Devil, Ben Franklin's secret serial killer past, and more!

Available in video form on YouTube!

PART 1 OF 2: Over last three centuries, the people of South Jersey and Philly have been haunted by one of the spookiest, scariest creatures in American history. 

Also known as the Leeds Devil, the Jersey Devil is a legendary monster said to inhabit the Pine Barrens, a massive forest stretching across more than seven counties of New Jersey. There are many reported descriptions of the beast over the years, but generally speaking the cryptid, chimera-like creature is thought to have a body similar to a kangaroo, but with hooved feet, tiny arms with clawed hands, leathery wings, a forked tail, and a horned goat-like head.

It has been reported to move quickly — whether running upright on it’s hind legs or soaring through the treetops using it’s large, bat-like wings. The Jersey Devil is also known for terrorizing the community, posing for blurry photographs, and emitting it’s signature high-pitched "blood-curdling scream”.

Legend has it that the creature was born in 1735 as the 13th child of a woman known as “Mother Leeds,” a resident of the Pine Barrens. Upon discovering she was yet again pregnant in 1735 after already birthing a dozen children using 18th century technology, she cursed the child in frustration, speculating out loud that the child must be the work of the devil if not the devil himself. 

She went into labor on a dark and stormy night with friends and family gathered around her. The child was initially born as human baby, but quickly grew and shapeshifted into the Jersey Devil form that we know and love — complete with horns and hooves. It beat and/or killed everyone in the room and flew up the chimney to head into the pines.

Listen in as the boys discuss the background of the Jersey Devil, sightings over the years, a few scholars who are currently on the hunt for the Jersey D, and some possible explanations for what is REALLY going on here.

Part 2 will be available on Thursday, 2/9 at 10 p.m. EST

Available in video form on YouTube!