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societyMay 21, 202643:36pending

The Terrifying Face Behind Those Pass It On Billboards (from the vault)

Pop Mystery Pod

About this episode

This is dark money hiding in plain sight. Tess revisits the twisted reality of those strange ads  the in one of her favorite vault episodes. 

There’s something unsettling about those “Pass It On” billboards that feature celebrities like Dolly Parton, Whoopi Goldberg, and William Shatner. These ads don’t seem to be selling anything except abstractly positive concepts like perseverance and resilience. But what’s really going on here? Investigative journalist and pop culture junkie uncovers the dark truth behind these seemingly banal signs. 

Featuring Judd Legum of the Popular Information newsletter. 

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 wherever you get your pods. 

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The Terrifying Face Behind Those Pass It On Billboards (from the vault)

Pop Mystery Pod

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