Hey Big Hit Show fans. We’re sharing a preview of a new podcast from Higher Ground called The Wonder of Stevie. It's hosted by Wesley Morris and this episode features Alex Pappademas. Host Wesley Morris is taking you on a deep-dive through Stevie's Classic Period. In this episode, Wesley talks with Alex about the fourth album in Stevie’s streak: Fulfillingness’ First Finale. It was made following an unexpected and life-changing event, and shows Stevie’s different, moodier, more reflective side. Hear why the album is Wesley and Alex’s favorite (and why not everyone agrees). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The battle is over, and Pokémon has won. Almost twenty-five years after it arrived on these shores, Pokémon hasn’t just survived— it’s become the kind of pop-cultural phenomenon that parents share with their kids. But what does that say about Pokémon, and what does our yearning for an ever-more-immersive pocket-monster-catching experience say about us? TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Writer and Host: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang, with help from Tyler Hill. Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Composer/Sound Designer/Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Music by: Dan Leone  Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, and Janae Marable.  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thanks to nostalgic fans and influential new collectors, the value of vintage Pokémon trading cards is through the roof. But you don’t have to find and flip a million-dollar Charizard to have your life changed by Pokémon. An episode about collecting, connecting, and a podcast producer who lands in Las Vegas with a binder full of holos and a dream. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Writer and Host: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang, with help from Tyler Hill. Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Composer/Sound Designer/Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Music by: Dan Leone  Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, and Janae Marable.  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At the end of the ‘90s, after blowing up in Japan, Pokémon came to America. And it became so ubiquitous so fast that critics saw it as a plot to turn U.S. children into hypnotized consumers— or even devil-worshippers. But the version of Pokemon that conquered America was very much an American creation; in this episode we’ll look at how Pokemon became an international brand, and how its success brought out the worst in more than a few American parents. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Writer and Host: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang, with help from Tyler Hill. Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Composer/Sound Designer/Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Music by: Dan Leone  Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, and Janae Marable.  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In which a red-hot video game company crashes and burns, with a little help from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The decline of Atari paved the way for a gaming renaissance— think Donkey Kong, Mario and eventually Pikachu. But as Japan took the upper-hand in the console business and taught a generation of American kids how to play, some Americans grew paranoid about a resurgent foreign power beating us at our own game. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Writer and Host: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang, with help from Tyler Hill. Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Composer/Sound Designer/Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Music by: Dan Leone  Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, and Janae Marable.  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are big hits, and there are really big hits— and then there’s Pokémon, a kids’ game from Japan that evolved into the biggest multimedia entertainment franchise of all time. In this episode we’re time-traveling from ‘90s Tokyo— where a bug collector turned game designer first dreamed of catching pocket-sized monsters— to 2016, when an addictive mobile game helped Pokemon re-conquer the world. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Writer and Host: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang, with help from Tyler Hill. Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Composer/Sound Designer/Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Music by: Dan Leone  Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, and Janae Marable.  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Big Hit Show Season 4 debuts on August 17th. How did a Japanese video game from the 1990’s become the single highest grossing franchise in history - bigger than Star Wars and Harry Potter combined? This season on The Big Hit Show, we’re exploring the biggest hit of all time, Pokémon, and how these adorable pocket monsters evolved into a media supernova unlike any the world has ever seen. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Writer and Host: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang, with help from Tyler Hill. Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Composer/Sound Designer/Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Music by: Dan Leone  Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, and Janae Marable.  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Masculinity is a lot like Fight Club. The first rule is that you don't talk about it.” In this episode, we’re breaking that rule, examining what Fight Club has to say about the emotional lives of men, the links between masculinity and extremist violence, and the path out of the darkness. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Sabrina Fang and Taylor Jones Production Assistant and Fact Checker: Stella Hartman Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Studio Direction and Theme Music: Dan Leone Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara, Corinne Gilliard Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen and Eric Spiegelman  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There were two verdicts on Fight Club: the opening-weekend box office numbers (spoiler alert: yikes) and the judgment of history. We’ll look at how Fight Club channeled the anti-consumerist politics of its moment, and explore some of the more provocative arguments made in the ensuing years about this still-contentious cult classic and its take on modern men. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Sabrina Fang and Taylor Jones Production Assistant and Fact Checker: Stella Hartman Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Studio Direction and Theme Music: Dan Leone Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara, Corinne Gilliard Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen and Eric Spiegelman  Archival tape provided by: WTF with Marc Maron Pawn Stars footage courtesy of A+E Networks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Seriously, though— how did a movie as unashamedly anti-capitalist and absurdly homoerotic as Fight Club get made by a major studio, let alone a studio owned by Rupert Murdoch? In this episode, an unlikely piece of material— and an uncompromising director’s vision for that material— somehow survives the Hollywood machine, some potentially disastrous PR, and the disdain of a billionaire who doesn’t care for movies. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Sabrina Fang and Taylor Jones Production Assistant and Fact Checker: Stella Hartman Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Studio Direction and Theme Music: Dan Leone Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara, Corinne Gilliard Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen and Eric Spiegelman  Archival tape provided by: BAFTA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There would be no Fight Club without Chuck Pahlaniuk, the diesel mechanic turned novelist who dreamed up the concept during a shift on the assembly line. In this episode we’re diving into the wild life of Fight Club’s author and the people, places and experiences that shaped his most famous creation, from his traumatic childhood to culture-jamming shenanigans in ‘90s Portland. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Sabrina Fang and Taylor Jones Production Assistant and Fact Checker: Stella Hartman Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Studio Direction and Theme Music: Dan Leone Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara, Corinne Gilliard Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen and Eric Spiegelman  Archival tape provided by: The Tim Ferriss Show and Armchair Expert This episode includes discussion of suicide. Please keep this in mind when deciding if, how and when you’ll listen. For resources on these topics, visit resources.byspotify.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s easy to reduce Fight Club’s legacy to a few pop-cultural bullet points: The First Rule, the Second Rule, Brad Pitt’s abs. But in 2022 hindsight, this radical 1999 sleeper hit feels more relevant than ever. We’re looking at the messed up crystal ball that is Fight Club and what it still has to tell us about capitalism, masculinity, and the human yearning to fuck shit up. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Sabrina Fang and Taylor Jones Production Assistant and Fact Checker: Stella Hartman Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Studio Direction and Theme Music: Dan Leone Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Editor: Jamie York Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara, Corinne Gilliard Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen and Eric Spiegelman  Archival tape provided by: SBIFF (Santa Barbara International Film Festival) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Big Hit Show Season 3 debuts on July 13th. Making satire is hard. And what if the satire you make is so cool, so star-studded, so subversive that the audience takes the wrong message from it? In Season 3 of The Big Hit Show, we’re breaking the first rule of Fight Club to dive deep into David Fincher’s 1999 film, tracing its journey from box office flop to cult classic. In the 90s, the story it told seemed far-fetched to a lot of folks, but these days Fight Club can be seen as an eerily prescient warning about the disaffection of young American men and a crystal ball for where we are today.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kendrick communes with ghosts—specifically the ghost of Tupac Shakur—as he faces the central questions about leadership and responsibility that drive To Pimp a Butterfly. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Song: Dan Leone Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Archival Audio Provider - Joshua Mellin Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard  Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen and Eric Spiegelman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The real story behind the defining protest song of our age, and how Kendrick grappled with the post-Ferguson moment. TRANSCRIPT: HERE CREDITS: Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Song: Dan Leone Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Archival Audio Provider - Joshua Mellin Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard  Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen and Eric Spiegelman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kendrick erases the line between hip-hop and jazz with help from an all-star band of L.A. musicians who’ve been playing together since high school. Transcript: HERE CREDITS Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Song: Dan Leone Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard  Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen and Eric Spiegelman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After leaving Compton for South Africa, Kendrick comes back a changed man—and reimagines the sound and message of his next album. Transcript: HERE CREDITS Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Song: Dan Leone Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Archival Audio Provider - Jürgen and Claudia Schadeberg Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard  Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen and Eric Spiegelman This episode includes discussion of suicide. Please keep this in mind when deciding if, how and when you’ll listen. For resources on these topics, visit spotify.com/resources. “On Your Own” by Lalah Hathaway  Written by Lalah Hathaway; Rex Rideout, Rahsaan N Patterson Published by Cisum Naashar Uncle Buddie’s Music, Inc, Hath A Way Courtesy of Craft Recordings, a Division of Concord  “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem” by DMX Written by Earl Simmons and Kasseem Dean Published by Dead Game Publishing. All rights on behalf of Dead Game Publishing administered by WC Music Corp.; Universal Music Corp. on behalf of itself, Boomer X Publishing, Inc. and Swizz Beatz Courtesy of Dem Jam Recordings under license from Universal Music Enterprises Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hot off the critical and commercial supernova that was good kid, m.A.A.d. city, Kendrick Lamar faces loss and confusion, and prepares to make an unexpected, groundbreaking next move.  Transcript: HERE Credits: Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Taylor Jones and Sabrina Fang Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Song: Dan Leone Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable  Editorial Assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen and Eric Spiegelman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Big Hit Show Season 2 debuts on February 16th. In hip-hop, one hit can make you a star, and one perfect album can make you an icon. But what do you do for an encore? In Season 2 of The Big Hit Show, the best rapper alive tries to figure out what to do next, channeling the pressures of fame and the pain of a generation into a career-defining masterwork, To Pimp a Butterfly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In our epic finale, we travel from Forks, Washington to Hollywood, California on a journey to understand the unexpected (and unintended) ripple effect of Stephenie Meyer’s creation. Transcript: HERE Credits: Host, Writer: Alex Pappademas Showrunner: Colin McNulty Producers: Sabrina Fang, Lori Galarreta, Taylor Jones Production Assistant: Stella Hartmann Composer, Sound Designer, Mix Engineer: Alex MacInnis Theme Song: Dan Leone Fact Checker: Savannah Wright Executive Producer for Western Sound: Ben Adair Executive Producers for Higher Ground: Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, Mukta Mohan, Janae Marable Executive Producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Courtney Holt, Julie McNamara Special Thanks: Joe Paulsen, Eric Spiegelman and Jenna Levin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.