Caty Szeto is a woman with a dream: to become a K-Pop superstar. The 23-year-old Asian American is traveling from her home in LA to South Korea’s capital Seoul to attend a K-Pop academy. There she’ll do hardcore training in singing, dancing and styling. All this is to prepare for make-or-break auditions for K-Pop entertainment agencies. If she makes it, Caty could be like all those chart-topping idols who travel the world, perform to legions of fans and make millions. But this quest has its challenges. Caty finds out about ageism in the industry, where many new idols are in their teens. Then she comes face-to-face with incredibly specific K-beauty standards while navigating being a foreigner in K-Pop. Over just three months, our host journalist Haeryun Kang follows Caty to see if she can overcome these obstacles and reach K-Pop stardom.   Listen to Mission K-Pop on all platforms or wherever you get your podcasts.   Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As another kingpin falls, what’s next for crypto?   At the start of November, Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted. After weeks of complex testimony, the jury took just four hours to find him guilty of defrauding customers and investors out of billions of dollars. Things looked like they couldn’t get anymore dramatic–- until they did. Just a few weeks later, with Sam awaiting sentencing, a second kingpin was also toppled. In a sweeping settlement with the Department of Justice, Changpeng Zhao, or CZ, pled guilty to failing to prevent money laundering and stepped down as CEO of Binance. In this episode, host Tom Wright delves into the downfall of two of the biggest names in crypto. With help from crypto investigator James Block, entrepreneur Margaux Avedisian, and Wall Street Journal reporter Angus Berwick, Tom unravels the details of CZ’s plea deal with regulators and the fate of Binance, and asks: what’s next for crypto? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“He is somebody who likes double or nothing coin flips – and this is basically his last coin flip.” Since kicking off on October 3, the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried has generated headlines around the world. It’s produced hours of witness testimony and endless reams of evidence – but what do you really need to know? In this bonus episode, managing producer Megan Dean talks to reporter Tracy Wang about the biggest bombshells to hit the courtroom during the prosecution, including the “jaw-dropping” testimony of former Alameda Research CEO, Caroline Ellison. Plus, with Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers likely to launch his defense in the coming days, we hear from federal criminal defense attorney Ken White on their potential strategy – and what could happen if Sam takes the witness stand. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“You're just a dumb lawyer. If you were smart, you'd be a Bitcoin billionaire.”

In the Bahamas, the life of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried is about to take a surreal turn.

Big influence comes with a cost. So where exactly is Sam getting all this cash?

Hong Kong, the perfect launch pad to make it big in crypto.

Welcome to crypto: like Wall Street on steroids.

A story about what happens — and who gets hurt — when you see everything as a game.

Premieres September 19.