A podcast series that marvels at the sheer magnitude of the human spirit and the lengths we will go to preserve the most sacred of things – life. Join primitive survival expert and United States Marine Corps Veteran, Donny Dust, as he hosts the brand-new series from Sony Music Entertainment, Rescue. This 20-part weekly podcast series explores the stories behind incredible rescue missions from all over the globe. While some of the accounts have previously made headlines, this podcast unearths sev...
Oct 10, 2023•2 min
Betrayal on the Bayou is a podcast about a former DEA agent Chad Scott, who for almost two decades, stopped at nothing to put drug dealers behind bars. He controlled a web of snitches and played people like pawns. His successes earned him awards from his superiors, but his willingness to bend the rules made enemies of his fellow agents and gave him a terrifying reputation on the streets. He was the Golden Boy; Big Dog; The White Devil. But then Chad is betrayed by a presumed ally, and his life i...
Aug 01, 2023•7 min
From Dean of Black Twitter, Michael Harriot, comes a Black history podcast like you've never heard before. Using a recipe that includes detailed research, barbershop humor and a little seasoned salt, a parade of cookout-certified celebrity guests helps Michael Harriot serve up a compelling, hilarious, and more accurate version of Black history that was conveniently whitewashed from your social studies book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 11, 2023•3 min
This season, we’re getting into 1950s Hollywood, ground zero for a cultural transformation that would upend every aspect of Americans’ lives. A movie theater in every city, a TV in every living room, and a Post-war America determined to be happy at any cost. Also, during this period… a slew of untimely Hollywood deaths. The rules of the road for the next seventy years were being written in real-time, and not everyone would make it out alive. This is the story of how Hollywood sold us on a new Am...
Jun 01, 2023•3 min
Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure is a podcast about a family on the fringe who convinced tens of thousands of people across the globe to buy a miracle liquid made of poison, the international conspiracy they ignited, and the people who fought to take them down. Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure is a Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & Sony Music Entertainment production. Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge — All Episodes. All at Once....
Feb 01, 2023•7 min
Sharing a preview of a new Sony Music Entertainment and Pushkin podcast, Death of the Artist. For more than 35 years, accusations of murder shrouded one of the art world’s most storied couples: Was the famous sculptor Carl Andre involved in the death of his up-and-coming artist wife Ana Mendieta? Host Helen Molesworth revisits Mendieta’s death, taking a closer look at how she might have fallen out of the window of Carl’s 34th floor New York apartment, and the following trial which has divided th...
Sep 23, 2022•8 min
True crime podcasts have developed a devoted female following. It’s made fun of in SNL skits and coined cutesy phrases on t-shirts like “true crime, glass of wine, bed by nine.” The thing is, some of the most popular true crime podcasts are largely led by white women and focused on white victims. And that white lens... well it impacts how they view violent crime, policing and what justice looks like. And that’s what this episode is about – what happens when those voices and those stories are the...
Sep 08, 2022•32 min•Season 3Ep. 12
This week on Spectacle, forensic sciences. Shows like CSI or Forensic Files make us believe that fingerprints, bite marks or tool marks can close the case. But in reality, aside from DNA, none of it is legit. In fact, it’s been publicly called out by the National Academy of Sciences for lacking scientific merit but regardless, it’s still used in criminal cases around the country – leading to misleading testimony and worse, wrongful convictions. Featuring interviews with The Intercept’s Jordan Sm...
Sep 01, 2022•32 min•Season 3Ep. 11
If you’re turned on any streaming channel, from Netflix to Hulu to HBO Max, true crime dominates. As of late, what’s especially popular are shows and movies that give true crime the arthouse movie treatment. There's killer cinematography, an A-list cast and a gripping story. The thing is... these stories are often based on tragic events in the recent past. The victims, the families of the victims and the perpetrators are often still alive and aren’t involved. In this episode of Spectacle, we dig...
Aug 25, 2022•42 min•Season 3Ep. 10
It's not often that cases get the justice they deserve, unfortunately. But in the Law & Order: SVU universe, victims always get justice delivered by a certain superwoman detective. In this week’s episode, Host Mariah Smith looks into how this popular crime procedural show serves as a feminist fantasy -- led by its hero Olivia Benson -- and how the show has set up an unrealistic perception of policing in America. Featuring interviews with ICYMI podcast co-host Rachelle Hampton, and Laurie Oue...
Aug 18, 2022•34 min•Season 3Ep. 9
On this week’s episode of Spectacle, our obsession with certain missing women. When Gabby Petito disappeared in September 2021, the world went crazy. It was covered on the news regularly and ordinary folks joined in the investigation as well, scouring her Instagram for digital clues. But why do women like Gabby get so much attention... while others, especially Black women, get little to none? We talk to HBO’s Black & Missing EP Soledad O’Brien and Natalie and Derrica Wilson of the Black &...
Aug 11, 2022•32 min•Season 3Ep. 8
From tech bro scammers to fake heiresses, there’s a scammer story for everyone... nearly everywhere. In this week’s episode, Host Mariah Smith digs into our fascination with conartists with the podcast that kicked off the latest craze... Dirty John. Featuring interviews with Los Angeles Times Reporter Chris Goffard and Huffpost Reporter Caroline Bologna. A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you g...
Aug 04, 2022•40 min•Season 3Ep. 7
In this week’s episode, host Mariah Smith digs into the phenomenon of citizen sleuths. It’s nothing new but with the internet, it’s exploded in the last few years… most notably in 2021 with the disappearance of Gabby Petito. We’ll dig into how citizen sleuths work and the impact this work has on them with Don’t F**k with Cats’ Deanna Thompson. And ICYMI co-host Rachelle Hampton tells us the good and the bad of sleuthing in the internet age. A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment productio...
Jul 28, 2022•39 min•Season 3Ep. 6
When you turn on the nightly news, what usually leads? Often… It’s violence. A shooting. A 5-car pileup. The portrait of a missing girl. Sometimes it’s not even local. It’s 300 miles away. But the salacious details… they hook you. Host Mariah Smith digs into how violent headlines shape our views on culture and crime. And it doesn’t just hurt the people consuming these stories. It hurts the people making them too. Like the late Christine Chubbuck, a news reporter who killed herself on live TV in ...
Jul 21, 2022•41 min•Season 3Ep. 5
In its 30 years and counting, the news magazine show Dateline has created an unbeatable formula for true crime. Its mysteries are stranger than fiction. Keith Morrison gently probes. Questioning if what we know… is really what we know. It’s a template that’s so reliable, it’s comforting. In this episode, host Mariah Smith digs into how the news magazine show set the template for true crime, including interviews with Morrison and LA Times TV critic Lorraine Ali. A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music En...
Jul 14, 2022•39 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In the 1990s, a true crime phenomenon took over our lives – the televised trial. For the first time, we weren’t just getting snippets with takes from journalists and pundits. We were watching gavel-to-gavel coverage. Certain cases stuck with us, such as the 1994 trial of the Menendez Brothers and 1995 trial of OJ Simpson. In this episode, host Mariah Smith will dig into how these cases brought us into the courtroom, turning us into the 13th juror – featuring You’re Wrong About podcast host Sarah...
Jul 07, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In this week’s episode, we’ll dissect our problematic sexualization of serial killers. Yeah, it’s kinda sick that #HotTedBundy is a thing. We’ll talk to criminologist Dawn Cecil and Vox culture reporter Alissa Wilkinson on the fascination around Bundy, the Netflix film that broke Twitter and how we can do better in telling these stories. You won’t want to miss it. A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wher...
Jun 30, 2022•38 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Host Mariah Smith is back for season 3 to dissect a messy obsession. This is Spectacle: True Crime. In our pilot episode, we look at how the 2014 podcast Serial changed the true crime game. And how it’s a callback to an OG in the genre, the 1965 true crime novel In Cold Blood. We’ll dissect how Truman Capote got a wee bit too close with killer Perry Smith and how good Phillip Seymour Hoffman was in the 2005 film Capote. Plus, you’ll hear from true crime experts Jean Murley and Sarah Weinman. You...
Jun 23, 2022•41 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Why is it that after a long, hard day of work we want to unwind with a glass of wine and… murder? From In Cold Blood to Serial, America is obsessed with true crime. The genre has simultaneously stoked our most primal fears, reaffirmed our safety, and transformed us into armchair prosecutors. As a culture we pay close attention, both to piece together the puzzle but also to understand the twisted humanity…What leads someone to commit a crime? And could we be the next victim? In this season of Spe...
Jun 09, 2022•2 min
Host Brent Holmes brings S1 host Mariah Smith on to talk true crime. In this episode, the two dish on three outrageous true crime stories to come out of Las Vegas. They'll dig into Heather Tallchief’s $3.1 million dollar casino heist, the problematic valorizing of LV casino legend and alleged murderer Benny Binion, and the serial killer you probably have never heard of: Samuel Little. Plus, we get a sneak peak of what’s to come in season three. A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment produ...
Apr 28, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 12
The Las Vegas residency hasn’t always had the best reputation. Cher, a resident singer herself, once told a journalist that Las Vegas was an “elephant graveyard, where talent goes to die.” But Cher and others have proven that’s not the case. Celine Dion went to Vegas when her career wasn’t exactly peaking and she broke records as the highest grossing resident artist of all time. And then in 2013, pop star Britney Spears took the residency to a whole new level. That's what this episode is about: ...
Apr 21, 2022•25 min•Season 2Ep. 11
In Vegas, during a fight weekend, everyone in town knows why you’re there. There’s a camaraderie. It's like no other city in the world. But how did Las Vegas become a boxing mecca to rival New York or Chicago? In this episode, host Brent Holmes talks to Fight Town author Tim Dahlberg and GQ contributor Alex Pappademas on the evolution of Vegas as the boxing epicenter of the country, and the larger than life personas that put it on the map. A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production...
Apr 14, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Films like Ocean’s 11 fulfill this fantasy of beating the house. But in reality, it’s a lot more complex. Because casinos are well-oiled machines. They’re watching everything. Not only that, they’re designed to subconsciously guide you where they want you to go – from the carpet design to the shape of a chair to the decibel level of the slot machine. It’s all carefully curated to keep you there and keep you spending money. Before you know it, you’ve been sitting in the casino all day, feeding it...
Apr 08, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 9
“What Happens Here, Stays Here” became the motto of Las Vegas in 2003. But for many, the 2009 movie The Hangover solidified that slogan. The guys in the film have a bachelor party replete with trashed hotel rooms, tigers in bathrooms and blackout nuptials. There’s a lot of toxic bro tropes – homophobic slurs, objectifying women. In this episode, media scholar Patricia Ventura and journalist and ex-cocktail server Brittany Bronson tell us how both the film and the city itself are really catered t...
Mar 31, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Las Vegas, for many, is a place where you can play by your own rules and get away with it too. And for Hollywood Madame, Heidi Fleiss, Nevada was the place where her dreams of creating an all-male brothel could come true, but it wasn’t that easy. Even though brothels are legal in parts of the state, its relationship with sex is still fraught. Las Vegas, "Sin City," thrives on selling a certain type of sex but criminalizes others. In this episode, Host Brent Holmes speaks to podcaster Molly Lambe...
Mar 24, 2022•28 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Director Paul Verhoeven was considered kind of an auteur in the ‘90s. Basic Instinct got critical acclaim. So by 1995, when he announced his new film Showgirls, people were excited. It was intended to be a gritty expose on the legendary Vegas performers. But it wasn’t. At all. In this episode, Host Brent Holmes talks to former showgirls, learning that the life of the showgirl was more nuanced, that they had to fight for equity and respect on the stage. And, he’s joined by drag performer Peaches ...
Mar 17, 2022•37 min•Season 2Ep. 6
By the late 60s, that Vegas “anything goes” philosphy was fully solidified. And look no further than Hunter S. Thompson’s drug-fueled literary romp, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, to see this on full display. In making his surreal, snide and colorful portrait of Las Vegas – Thompson would later be accused of erasing the identity of the man who helped tell the tale. And that’s what this episode is about, how Thompson capitalized on a fantastical version of Vegas, and his friend – Chicano journal...
Mar 10, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Las Vegas has a way of forgetting its history. Like many cities across America, Vegas was segregated. From the ‘40s through integration, The Strip welcomed whites only, forcing Black people to live on the other side of the tracks. On the Westside. But they made it home, with hotels, restaurants and bars of their own. This week, Brent dives into the brief yet brilliant history of the first integrated casino, the Moulin Rouge, exploring what integration actually looked like for Black performers. A...
Mar 03, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Las Vegas, through the eyes of Martin Scorsese, is where you went to be legit. It's where a criminal could operate out in the open. Dark alleys and dimly lit rooms were traded for c-suite offices. In Vegas, you could make real money. Casino was the perfect vehicle to show how the mobster went mainstream – in Vegas – and in our culture. In this episode, we’ll dive into the tropes of the film. And how, to this day, the problematic backstory of Vegas is celebrated – even though, you know, it came t...
Feb 24, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In the final scene of Viva Las Vegas, Elvis and Ann Margaret stand in front of a wood-framed chapel, happily married, running out into the street as the credits roll. Nearly 60 years later, you can get married at that very same church -- by Elvis. Well, a fake Elvis. Numerous spur of the moment nuptials would solidify Las Vegas as the capital of fast love. Known for the quickie wedding and... the quickie divorce. Did you know Ria Gable (Clark Gable's ex) escaped to a Nevada divorce ranch? Or tha...
Feb 17, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 2
