A competitive plastic surgery reality show. Perhaps premise kind of sells itself. It certainly did in 2004, when 15 million people tuned in to watch this darkly comic trainwreck. How did “The Swan,” even happen? And, perhaps less puzzling, why? Joining Tess to navigate the wild west of 2004 reality TV is comic, actor, and writer Jackie Johnson (Natch Beaut @jackiemichellejohnson). Grab tickets to Jackie’s show “How to Get a Second Husband” at the Elysian September 24th!

Watch “The Dark Side of Reality TV: ‘The Swan’” on Vice.

Watch season 1 of “The Swan”

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Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Tyler Hill.

Theme song by Rick Wood @Rickw00d.

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic: The Britney Spears Story wherever you get your pods.

Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!

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

This timeline sucks, yes? This week, we’re doing something a little different, a quick time travel back to the world of September 15, 2003. Tess flips through an US Weekly from this glorious time, when Madonna and Britney had just kissed at the VMAs, Beyonce was just starting to go solo, and life was pretty good.

Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod

Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Tyler Hill.

Theme song by Rick Wood @Rickw00d.

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic: The Britney Spears Story wherever you get your pods.

Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!

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

In part two of this Mariah tale, we get into the nitty gritty of what actually went down between Mariah Carey and Eminem. Did Mariah and Marshall Mathers actually date? Why is Eminem so obsessed with her? Was it all worth it, for us to get a music video of Mariah in drag as Eminem? We’ll say this - beware of all Detroit “touchdowns.” Joining Tess to chat through this long, bizarre and often one-sided feud is the actor Kara Luiz (“The Studio”, “Hacks”) @karaluiz.

Read “The Meaning of Mariah Carey”

Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod

Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Tyler Hill.

Theme song by Rick Wood @Rickw00d.

Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod

Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic: The Britney Spears Story wherever you get your pods.

Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!

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