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Spectacle: True Crime — Documentary
Spectacle: True Crime

Spectacle is a series that analyzes the cultural and societal implications of your guilty pleasures. From reality TV to true crime, Spectacle simultaneously celebrates and critiques the media, people and places that define us. For advertising opportunities, contact podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.

SEASON 3: This season of Spectacle delves into the history of true crime — from the cases that shook us to our core, to its passionate audience, and what narratives and stereotypes it reinforces in our culture. From Sony Music Entertainment. Spectacle: True Crime is available June 23rd.

SEASON 2: Las Vegas
It’s a city that has defined popular culture. An oasis in the desert, a mirage — a playground for adults replete with casinos, showgirls, and all-you-can-eat buffets. But how did Vegas become “Sin City”? From the genesis of shotgun weddings, to film portrayals of the mob-era, to the social engineering behind mega-casinos…season 2 of Spectacle explores the fabulous, the incorrigible, Las Vegas.

SEASON 1: Reality TV
Reality TV is dismissed as guilty pleasure, low brow… even trash. But whether you want to admit it or not, you probably have heard of Snooki, Lisa Vanderpump or Kim Kardashian. Over the past 30 years, reality TV has become a place to see the social and political moment play out in real time — from racial tensions on The Real World New York to gender dynamics on The Bachelor. On this season, join host Mariah Smith as she dissects the history of the genre one show at a time, revealing how it’s shaped our culture and how our culture shaped it.

Copyright: © Neon Hum Media 2021

Latest Episodes:

Las Vegas | 11. From Celine to Britney, The Revival of the Las Vegas Residency Apr 21, 2022

Show notes

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: the revival of the Las Vegas residency.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Las Vegas | 10. Caesar's Palace & Holyfield's Ear in Boxing’s World Capital Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

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.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

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Las Vegas | 9. Ocean's 11 and Beating The House Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

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 your money without really even thinking about it. Nobody really beats the house. Host Brent Holmes is joined by film critic Christopher Lawrence, and anthropologist and media professor Natasha Dow Schull.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

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Las Vegas | 8. The Hangover & Vegas For The Male Gaze Mar 31, 2022

Show notes

“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 to the male gaze. And what happens there, does stay there for the people who live and work there.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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Las Vegas | 7. Heidi Fleiss, sex work, Vegas Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

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 Lambert, sex workers Quinn Rain and Alice Little and sex educator Amanda Morgan on Nevada's nuanced relationship with sex.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

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Las Vegas | 6. Verhoeven's Showgirls and what it got right about Vegas Mar 17, 2022

Show notes

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 Christ, who helped solidify the film as a cult classic.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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Las Vegas | 5. Is Hunter S. Thompson "The Bad Art Friend"? Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

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 journalist Oscar Acosta – to promote the enduring representation of Las Vegas as “Sin City.” So what did he leave out? And what do people continue to leave out to espouse this fever dream fantasy of Vegas as a vice vacation? Host Brent Holmes digs into it with filmmaker Phillip Rodriguez and writers Zach Baron, Abby Aguirre and Scott Dickensheets.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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Las Vegas | 4. The Bold Legacy of Moulin Rouge, the First Integrated Casino in Vegas Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

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. And now, how the residents of the Historic Westside have recently taken its future into their own hands, breeding hope for a second renaissance, maybe one even better than the last.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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Las Vegas | 3. Scorsese's Casino and the Mob in Vegas Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

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 through stealing tax dollars and, you know, murder. Host Brent Holmes will explore what our romance with mobsters says about us.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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Las Vegas | 2. The Capital of Fast Love Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

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 that divorce ranches were even a thing? That's what this episode is all about: How Vegas revolutionized marriage and – in the process – launched a two billion dollar industry.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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