Comedian Hasan Minhaj admitted to making up biographical stories involving racism and Islamophobia in his standup specials. Sam asks our BFF, comedian Jay Jurden, what the line is between comedic embellishment and lying, and how the revelations will affect other marginalized performers. Also this week, will one more teacup ride stem Disney’s streaming losses? Sam and Jay discuss Disney’s $60 billion bet on its theme parks, whether Taylor Swift’s latest puzzle stunt shows us that Swifties are getting a little old, and what American Horror Story could look like with an all-Black cast. Sign up for Vulture’s Movies Fantasy League: https://www.vulture.com/movies-league/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is it just us or has the Billboard Hot 100 felt... weird this year? It's the same chart that's seen Doja Cat's "Paint the Town Red" hit No. 1 — the first rap song to rise to the top spot in more than a year — as well as Oliver Anthony Music's controversial "Rich Men North of Richmond" and a remix of an old song by The Weeknd. Is the Billboard Hot 100 actually measuring what people are listening to these days? Can we trust it to tell us about the most popular music? Sam talks with Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding and Reanna Cruz about how Billboard ranks the Hot 100 and the ways that artists, fandoms, and political actors have changed the game... and learned how to game the charts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Drew Barrymore announced her daytime TV talk show would return despite the ongoing Hollywood strikes. That prompted a public outcry and a rescinded invitation to host the National Book Awards. Drew seems to be getting the most flack, but she isn't the only TV host coming back this fall. Sam checks in with Vox's Alex Abad-Santos and Rebecca Jennings about the latest on the writers' and actors' strikes and where the celebrities are turning now that the red carpets are off-limits. We also discuss the highs and lows of the VMAs, how to spot a drunk white woman dancing, and if we really need Beyoncé and Taylor Swift beat reporters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rotten Tomatoes is the place you go when you want to figure out whether or not to see a movie. It aggregates reviews on its “Tomatometer” and tells you whether a film is “fresh” or “rotten.” But its math formula sucks, and it’s easily manipulated. New York Magazine’s Lane Brown did a deep investigation into how Rotten Tomatoes works and tells Sam all the ways studios game the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, how Hollywood publicity now revolves around the site, and highlights how the whole system has incentivized one company to pay critics and apparently withhold their negative reviews from Rotten Tomato counts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Olivia Rodrigo releases Guts, we take stock of the singer-songwriter who seemed to come out of nowhere, fully realized as an artist, back in 2021. How did Olivia surprise us so much before, and can she repeat her success a second time? Sam chats with Lindsay Zoladz, pop music critic at The New York Times, about the dualities of Olivia Rodrigo: She's an artist who is both quiet and loud, young and old at heart, and a former Disney child star whose lyrics are a gut punch. We also trace her inspirations from Alanis Morisette to Taylor Swift and explore why we can't get enough of Olivia's music in a year that's seen the pop culture power of women and girls. ICYMI, Sam is guest hosting on Vox’s daily news show Today, Explained this week. Listen at https://bit.ly/texwsam. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices