Olestra: The Crappiest Flop of All with Kevin James Thornton | 38

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Grand Junction, Colorado is a quaint mountain city with only a few thousand residents.

An idyllic American locale, any picture taken of the place looks like a postcard.

It also happens to be one of Frito-Lay's outposts, and now it's going to be a test market for Procter ⁇ Gamble's newest product, Olestra, a fake fat that might help snackers lose weight.

It has zero calories.

It's a miracle food.

It could transform the health of people across America.

And at least one person in Grand Junction is happy to be part of the craze.

Barbara loves snacks.

She prepares her favorite comfort dinner, a sandwich and a full plate of crispy, salty potato chips.

She goes to bed satisfied and gleeful, having discovered a possibly healthier way to enjoy her favorite treat.

But the morning isn't fun at all.

Barbara wakes up to searing stomach pain and she spends the next few hours battling violent diarrhea.

Barbara can hardly believe something she can buy at the grocery store could do that to her body.

Almost more remarkable is that there is a warning in plain sight.

Right on the chip bag itself, there's a label that says Olestra can cause cramping and loose stools.

But despite being upfront about their product's unintended side effects, Procter ⁇ Gamble is about to find out that, as far as PR nightmares go,

a food that makes you crap yourself is a biggie.

It's giving health-conscious Americans smart new choices in snacking.

The sales are tremendous.

You just can't keep them in stock.

A lustra may cause abdominal crapping and loose stools.

This pain was so sharp that I would say it was almost like the beginning of a labor.

In 2002, Frito-Lay actually shut down the manufacturing plant.

We are

on a single kingship.

From Wondering and at Will Media, this is The Big Flop, where we chronicle the greatest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time.

I'm your host, Misha Brown, social media superstar and the butt of every joke at Don't Cross a Gay Man.

And today, we're talking about Olestra, one of the crappiest flops of all time.

On our show today, I am so excited.

We have the fabulous comedian, Kevin James Thornton.

Welcome to the show.

Hey, thanks so much for having me.

I can't wait to talk about Alestra.

Same.

So I guess before we get into the story of Alestra, let's chat.

Okay.

Like, have you ever tried like a miracle food, something that changed your life?

If by miracle food, you mean like all of the fat-free options of the 90s, that's all my mom bought.

Really?

Everything in our house was fat-free.

That was the era.

There were these like sugar-free cookies called snack wells that were delicious, honestly.

Yeah.

But somehow they had no sugar in them.

All right.

Now, this is probably the most important question, but I need to ask.

Okay.

Are you okay with poop jokes?

It's really my favorite.

It's

anytime I can take it to like the lowest level possible,

that's where I'll go.

So, yes, I'm all in.

There'll be a lot of them today.

I can't wait.

All right, well, let's begin.

In 1968, scientists are working hard in a lab in Cincinnati, and this lab belongs to Procter Gamble, or PNG, a huge multinational conglomerate known for household goods like crest toothpaste, Thai detergent, loves diapers.

And on this day, PNG's best scientists are cooking up something delicious.

New fats.

Their chief goal is to make a more digestible molecule for premature infants who are extremely sensitive to everything.

But these PNG food scientists end up discovering something even better.

a zero-calorie fat substitute that tastes as good as oil.

Cha-ching.

Wow.

So it started out as a mission of goodness

in the 60s.

So this new molecule they've created is called sucrose polyester, and it's basically sugar wrapped in fatty acids.

As they're developing it, they hit a point where they've attached so many fatty acids that the molecule is no longer digestible by the human body.

It has the word polyester in it.

Yeah.

That's probably a sign right there that it shouldn't be eaten.

Yeah.

Well, for PNG, that turns out to be a great thing.

This new substance offers the same nutritional benefits as hay, that is none, but it acts like fat.

So you can fry things in it, yet your body won't absorb it.

So how awesome would it be to be able to eat all of the greasy fried foods we love and want and never gain any weight?

It's amazing.

I was in college when we all heard of this fat-free chip because that's what everyone was consumed with.

I was there.

I can't wait to tell you about it.

Yeah.

So cutting calories while keeping the flavor is like the Eldorado for companies like PNG.

Cost, no object.

They spend $200 million on research and development.

But the years keep passing by and still no miracle.

Finally.

15 years after the first discovery, the eggheads in the lab think they've got it.

PNG dubs their chemical Olestra.

But there are some hiccups with the new compound, particularly this one annoying flaw, we'll call it.

An internal study showed that when test subjects eat it, 3 to 9% of subjects report an oleaginous exudate appearing on their underwear.

Any idea what that means?

Well, I've already told you I have first-hand knowledge, so yes.

Well, to some of our younger listeners, maybe somebody who's been, you know, full-fat Coke all the way, this is what they call anal leakage.

Let's be honest.

What side effects would you put up with to be able to eat anything you wanted?

Well, apparently I'll put up with anal leakage because

I did.

Couldn't I have named it something slightly different?

There's probably different ways to say anal leakage that are more palatable.

Yeah, I think so.

Well, by the way, in this episode, we'll mostly be calling this substance Olestra, but PNG does have another public-facing name they thought would sound better to the fat-loving public, Olean.

I remember there was a girl in college who loved the Olestra chips, and we called her Olestra Laura.

Olestra Laura, if you're listening,

we love you.

So do you have any better ideas of what it could have been called?

The anal leakage or the Olestra?

The Olestra.

I feel like Olestra could be a replacement for anal leakage.

It could be like, eating these chips will result in Olestra.

It sounds festive.

Olestra.

Yeah, just having a little bit of Olestra today.

Yeah, it does sound a lot more fun.

Well, unfortunately, the leakage isn't the only problem.

Another issue is there's no simple way to test Olestra for safety.

Normally, researchers feed new chemicals to rats to see what happens, but rats can't ingest the amount of Olestra that was needed to effectively test the product.

Oh.

PNG still went through with testing the rats, but half the male rats die before the study ends, so the results aren't very useful.

Wow.

Did they die from the Olestra?

Oh no.

Did they just die of old age?

Yeah.

But if you're in charge of Procter ⁇ Gamble right now, like, do you shut it down at this point?

Yeah, it sounds disastrous.

Well, in addition to killing the rats, it seems that Olestra prevents fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients from being absorbed by the intestine.

Important ones, like the cancer-preventing ones.

But PNG is still licking their chops because analysts estimate Olestra could earn them as much as $3 billion.

That's with a B.

Wow.

It's a lot of money to be made.

That's a lot of coins.

Sure is.

So, as with any new food additive, PNG's last hurdle is to get Olestra cleared with the FDA.

Enter the Food Police, aka the Center for Science in the Public Interest, or CSPI for short.

Any chance you're familiar with this organization?

I've never heard of them.

Well, you've definitely seen their work.

These guys are a consumer advocacy group that fights to spread nutritional knowledge to the public.

So if you've ever wondered who's responsible for the ingredient labels you see on any packaged food, that's the CSPI.

Also, stuff like the menu calorie counters at chain food restaurants and food courts, that's them.

So, they're doing important work.

Yeah.

There are two arguments to it that it goes against like our body positivity movement, or and then there's the other side of it that is just giving people the knowledge of what they're putting into their bodies.

Yeah.

But do you pay attention to labels on anything?

I do.

Body positivity is great.

I think it makes us better people.

But in the 90s, we didn't have that.

We were obsessed with losing weight.

When I was in college, I was like the thinnest I've ever been, and I thought I needed to lose weight.

Yeah.

So this whole like fat-free craze, it consumed us.

Yeah.

So bring on the Olestra.

Well, the guy running this thing is a man named Michael Jacobson.

And Jacobson's been called America's number one food scold, the chief of the food police, and the Ayatollah of the food industry.

Oh my God.

Yeah.

He has spent his career lobbying for things like healthier school lunches.

Love that.

And he's even credited with coining the term junk food.

Wow.

How do you think Jacobson would have stacked up against your own parents at your dinner table growing up?

My parents would have loved it.

I told you they were obsessed with all that stuff.

Yeah.

I think it was just part of our culture.

We were all kind of in on it.

Yeah.

Well, boy, does Jacobson hate Olestra?

Of course.

Yeah, he thinks the fat substitute is not fit for human consumption.

And he puts himself smack dab between PNG and the FDA's approval of Olestra, raising the flag on the whole inconclusive rat thing from PNG's Olestra studies.

The approval process drags on and on and on, and it takes nearly a decade before the agency comes to a compromise.

The FDA approves Olestra, but vitamins must be added to the fat substitute.

And to PNG's horror, a warning label is required to inform consumers of its side effects.

So let's take a look at that warning label.

Could you please read this very famous label to our listeners?

I would love to.

This product contains Olestra.

Olestra may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools.

Olestra inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients.

Vitamins A, D, E, and K have been added.

That's a lot.

That's a lot.

But you know what is past that warning?

Fat-free potato chips.

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How hard is it to kill a planet?

Maybe all it takes is a little drilling, some mining, and a whole lot of carbon pumped into the atmosphere.

When you see see what's left, it starts to look like a crime scene.

Are we really safe?

Is our water safe?

You destroyed our town.

And crimes like that, they don't just happen.

We call things accidents.

There is no accident.

This was 100%

preventable.

They're the result of choices by people.

Ruthless oil tycoons, corrupt politicians, even organized crime.

These are the stories we need to be telling about our changing planet.

Stories of scams, murders, and cover-ups cover-ups that are about us and the things we're doing to either protect the earth or destroy it.

Follow Lawless Planet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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It's 1996 and PNG is not happy, but damn it, they got to the finish line.

So the head of PNG at this time is a new CEO named John Pepper, and he comes into the role right at the finale of this whole long FDA approval process.

So could you please read this quote from PNG CEO, John Pepper?

I think Olestra is going to be viewed in history as one of the real benchmark innovations in this company.

A testimony to persistence and science.

He would say that.

Yeah.

Doing his job.

Yeah.

It's a testimony to science.

It's a testament to having scary amounts of money and coal.

But go off, John Pepper.

And I say that because years later, it turns out the FDA commissioner made the compromise because he was too scared to fight PNG.

He wanted to focus his energy on big tobacco instead.

So why do you think PNG is scarier than big tobacco?

Wow.

I don't know.

Yeah.

Who's in charge?

That's really crazy.

I mean, I gave up alcohol five years ago, and I've done a lot of research in addiction.

And I think things like cigarettes and tobacco and things you can be addicted to, it's very easy to say that's bad for you and you should give that up.

But food is something that we all need.

Like we have to, we need it to survive.

So it's such a bigger part of our lives.

And PNG also, they were all over our house.

Sure.

Diapers and shampoos and toothpaste.

We trusted them we trusted them

how dare you proctor and gimbal

well it's 1997 and olestra is ready for market tests png cooks up some fat-free chips and sends researchers out to a couple of supermarkets initially test markets show promise so the company gets cracking on crackers and they opened a brand new factory to make Pringles and Ritz crackers with Olestra.

At this point, PNG has put about half a billion dollars into Olestra and is eager to make their money back.

That's a lot of money.

Their goal is to make a billion dollars off Olestra the year it finally hits the shelves.

Luckily, for fans of money, PNG inks an eight-figure deal with Frito-Lay to make fat-free Doritos, ruffles, and lays with their own special label.

Oh my God.

Wow.

With With an exclamation.

Oh, that's right.

I forgot about the wow.

Another really important question.

Do you have a favorite chip?

I do love Doritos.

Oh, and you know, actually, Cool Ranch Doritos, I know that's, is that trashy?

It might be, but I think chili cheese Fritos

are kind of disgusting and amazing at the same time.

Yeah.

They're like nasty good.

I actually recently just had a Cool Ranch Dorito for the first time in like a long time.

I think I forgot about them.

And it just, it was really really nostalgic for me.

And I think they're great.

I don't think they're trashy.

And to anybody who doesn't agree with us, they can kick rocks.

Well, one year later, we arrive in 1998.

This is the year of President Bill Clinton's impeachment.

Titanic wins best picture, but most notably, WOW potato chips hit the shelves.

Well, PNG leans in hard.

They want everyone to know about this breakthrough in snack engineering.

Let's watch one of the WOW ads.

SNL's Sherry O'Terry is the spokeswoman.

You know they're fat free, only half the calories.

These are fat free.

Wow.

Wow.

Wow, these are good.

Take the WoW challenge yourself.

Bet you can't taste the difference, or it's free.

Oh, that was the actual commercial.

Yeah.

I thought we were watching an SNL skit.

I was waiting for something to go terribly wrong.

Well, are you sold?

I am now.

Wow.

Yeah.

Well, there are tons of ads for Alestra products.

There are ads featuring parents acting like like they're kids because they can eat junk food again without worrying about weight gain.

And there's one with some folksy farmers telling the viewer that Oleen is natural because it's made from their soybeans.

Wow, that's a stretch.

Well, despite all evidence to the contrary, the execs at PNG are not totally clueless about this association people were bound to have with their chips.

They know that the label and rumors about the side effects will mean poop jokes, and that's a major pain in the butt for sales.

Well, PNG, they decided to tell everyone that, hey, food-related gas pains are normal.

You get them when you're eating beans and cruciferous vegetables, right?

So everyone knows that.

It's the same.

Well, after a chip-eating child in an Olestra test market has diarrhea for three days, They suggested it was a virus.

PNG seeks out scientists who are writing good things about Olestra and funds their continued research.

Damn.

This is wild.

But I was like, so they're saying painful gas is normal.

Should we consider that gaslighting?

It's the origin of gaslighting.

It is the

wow chip.

Don't strike a match.

So it's time for Olestra's first annual earnings report.

Olestra has made $400 million in sales, and PNG projects they'll make $1.5 billion off of Olestra the next year.

Do they?

I don't know.

I'm on the edge of my seat.

They don't.

It was a disaster.

The process to get Olestra developed and FDA approved was so long that by the end of the 90s, fat was no longer the boogeyman of healthy eating.

Now, things like carbs were coming under fire.

The Atkins diet is only a few years away, so chips weren't going to be in vogue no matter the fat content.

More importantly, consumers hate the taste and the texture of the snacks.

Despite what Miss O'Teri says, in a blind taste test where seven people tried Olestro chips alongside regular chips, five of them could immediately tell which ones were which because of an unpleasant chemical aftertaste.

Oh, yeah.

Not cute.

Two others said the roof of their mouths were coated with something weird and unpleasant.

Yep.

Not good descriptors of snacks.

And then one of the tasters joked that you wouldn't really care if you ate them quickly and guzzled some diet soda.

You know what?

I just realized in the Olestra era, can we call it that?

Yeah.

I was in college.

I was a chain smoker and I always had a Mountain Dew in my hands.

So I think that

equalized the chemical aftertaste.

I didn't notice it because I was chain smoking and drinking Mountain Dew.

Olestra pairs perfectly with a camelite and a mountain dew.

Yeah, we did not have any taste buds to speak of.

So

well, another complaint from customers, they aren't losing weight.

So what gives?

A later study with rats will reveal the reason.

Always with the damn rats.

So it turns out when rats were fed Olestra and then switched to a normal diet, they couldn't stop eating.

The fat substitute had effed up their satiety.

It turns out this diet junk food just gets us to eat more junk.

You know what?

They should have given the rats a cigarette and a mountain dew.

That was the big flop where we promote smoking cigarette drinking.

So finally, that little anal leakage problem isn't going away.

More than 16,000 complaints are sent to the FDA about flatulence and underwear stains.

Oh my God.

Although it should be noted, some or even most of these anonymous complaints could just be jokes.

Like, would you be tempted to call up the FDA for a good goof?

Of course.

Yeah, I would.

Yeah.

Speaking of jokes, the media is having a field day with the toilet humor, which is also hurting sales.

So let's listen to a clip.

This is a condensed version of a Mad TV sketch.

Now there's cholesterol, the new fat substitute with 10% less anal leakage.

This is your diaper after eating foods made with regular fat substitutes.

And this is your diaper after eating foods made with new cholesterol with 10% less anal leakage.

Wow.

I'm beginning to understand.

Oh.

How did they think putting the phrase anal leakage on a food product was going to work in any way?

They should have just scrapped it and thrown in the towel at that point.

Seriously.

Yeah.

Well, it wasn't just sketch shows.

The late night hosts, you can bet that they were having a good time with this.

So, could you please read a few of these top 10 list of Olestra slogans from David Letterman?

Okay.

Gird your loins for some growners.

Look like Siskel, eat like Ebert.

Oh.

From the chemical vat to your mouth.

Jesus.

Hey, Lardass, this fat's for you.

These jokes would not work today.

They sure would not.

Jay Leno also had one.

The reports say Olestra is said to cause diarrhea and, in their words now, anal leakage.

So folks, when you're through with the Pringles, you might want to hang on to the can.

No.

Have you ever made any Olestra jokes of your own?

Believe it or not, there's an Olestra section of my current show.

Really?

And you know what's interesting?

I'm in Canada right now.

I had a show in Toronto and I have another one tonight.

And when I got to the section where I start talking about Olestra, the reactions get very mixed because they don't exactly know what I'm talking about.

Because clearly, now that you just told us this story, only in America will they bend the rules that hard to get us the potato chips we want.

This didn't fly anywhere else in the world.

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So, PNG is not winning a lot of friends.

Olestra has become a national joke, but their true nemesis remains the folks at CSPI, specifically the scolder-in-chief, Michael Jacobson.

Jacobson is really concerned about the stomach cramping side effects that have been reported.

He says, quote, if Olestra just caused occasional gas or mild loose stools, I wouldn't be concerned.

But the severity is shocking.

These snack foods are like a fraternity prank.

Wow.

Yeah.

I can't stop saying wow.

Yeah, wow.

Jacobson holds a press conference to discredit PNG's new product.

So let's take a listen to a moment from that conference.

The FDA must protect the public from an additive that has already caused severe symptoms and might even cause deaths if those symptoms occurred when the victim was engaged in a risky activity such as swimming or driving.

It's only a matter of time before products containing Olestra cause deaths.

The only thing that should die is Olestra itself.

Oh, he was proud of that last line.

He was proud.

He looked in the mirror and said that several times that morning.

We should know that there haven't been any deaths attributed directly to Olestra, but how do you feel about this argument?

Wait, what's the thing about it's it was going to inhibit driving?

I don't know if he means because he said swimming and driving.

So I don't know if it was like the cramps were so bad that people were going to drown or like crash their car.

Okay, that makes sense.

I was imagining the anal leakage was so severe.

That's what I first thought.

That you're like, I need to pull this car over.

Or you're swimming in a pool and your diarrhea is so bad, you're like, I'm just going to kill myself

from embarrassment.

So that's how it causes death.

Yeah.

Well, Jacobson sets up a toll-free hotline, 1-888-Olestra, for folks to report symptoms after eating Olestra products.

They get calls from people who say they thought they were going to die or that they were basically experiencing childbirth equivalent pains.

Wow.

Yeah, doesn't sound pleasant.

Well, the walls are closing in.

Olestra is getting hammered from every direction and disappointing sales are making things worse.

So again, you are still the big wig at PNG.

What would you do to prove to the people that Olestra is okay to eat?

More Olestra.

I don't know.

That seems to be their tactic at every point.

More.

Well, PNG CEO John Pepper steps up to the plate to prove Olestra is good to eat.

Oh, he eats it in public.

He publicly lunches at the corporate dining room to make a point.

He bites down on chicken, veggie, stir-fry, carrot cake, and a salad smothered in dressing, all made with Olestra.

He even performatively asks for some extra dressing to take home.

Then he dives into a kiddie pool filled with Olestra

for the whole world to see.

While Pepper risks death by diarrhea in the name of the shareholder's happiness, Jacobson doesn't stand idly by.

There is a constant back and forth between the two camps that continue to snipe at each other.

For example, one article written by Elizabeth M.

Whelan from the American Council on Science and Health said, quote, while there is no evidence that eating foods made with Olestra will help you lose weight, Olestra clearly does offer a benefit.

Choice.

That's an angle.

Well, could you please read an article written by Jacobson in response?

When you see the slick ads portraying Olestra as a godsend to an obese nation, just remind yourself to buy tasty, perfectly safe baked chips instead.

If you do eat Olestra and your gastrointestinal tract throws a tantrum, call 1-88-Olestra.

1-8-8-Olestra to report your symptoms.

Then tell your friends and neighbors just how glorious not eating Olestra is.

Mm-hmm.

I wasn't in any sort of debate club, but who's winning this argument?

Not Olestra.

I don't think so either.

To counter, PNG pulls out the big buns.

I mean, guns.

They hire one of Washington's most feared private investigative firms to undermine CSPI's credibility.

They call in favors from organizations they regularly donate to, like the American Dietetic Association and the American Medical Association.

Money talks.

Yeah.

And yet, none of this generic corporate villainy moves the needle any.

People truly do not want to eat anal leakage-causing chips.

Yeah.

So in 1999, sales are about half a billion, which sounds like a lot, but it is 50% less than PNG wanted.

And John Pepper steps down as CEO.

New CEO, Dirk I.

Yeager, I'll repeat that name, name, Dirk I.

Yeager, announces that PNG's $250 million plant only produced 60 to 70% of what it was supposed to.

The plan to add Olestra to cookies and use it for french fries is canned.

So,

just to be clear, they spent 30 years developing it, 10 years trying to get it FDA approved, make half a billion dollars on Olestra chips and crackers, half of the profit they wanted, and then they just give up.

Do you have any thoughts on why they would have given up so quickly?

Wow, I had no idea.

I just remembered it as Olestra Laura liked the chips.

Sometimes I'd have a bag with my cigarette and Mountain Dew, and it seemed fine.

I had no idea there was so much intrigue.

And what was the Dirk guy's name?

Dirk I.

Yeager.

That sounds like a fake spy.

I know.

I saw that.

I was like, huh, good for you.

PNG responds to all this by pointing out that the FDA did clear Olestra and Oleen for consumption and saying, quote, Olean is a replacement for fat, not for common sense.

Combined with a balanced diet, moderate portion sizes, and proper exercise, it's a step in the right direction to help consumers achieve and maintain good health.

Well, the tide continues to turn against PNG.

While the chip-happy Americans might be free to gorge themselves on Olestra products, Canada and Europe refuse to approve the possibly harmful vitamin leaching fat substitute.

And that's about $3 billion in potential sales down the toilet.

You know, I could have used this information before my show last night in Canada.

I felt the room pull away from me when I started talking about Olestra.

Well, by mid-2000, PNG's stock has lost about half its value from just a few years ago.

After spending three decades and millions on marketing, PNG cans the wow brand.

After complaints taper off, the FDA removes the loose stools warning label in 2003, but it's too late.

PNG has had it.

Goliath is tired.

They more or less shelve their beloved fat substitute, and the dream is over.

So consequence-free junk foods are like that last Pringle in the can that PNG just can't reach.

Oh.

Aww.

So I guess now that you know the story, are there any lessons to be learned from it?

Yeah, you know what?

The breaking point is anal leakage.

Yeah, that's...

Like just in life,

just remember that.

If you've got a big decision to make, if it involves anal leakage, just go the other direction.

well let's do a little where are they now john pepper is firmly in his 80s and long retired besides philanthropy he runs a personal blog called pepperspectives where pepper a former republican trolls donald trump

good for him

Although Olestra is not approved for consumption in many places outside of the U.S., like the EU and Canada, it's still approved for use here in the good old old US of A.

Wow, it is.

Wow.

These days, it's just hard to find.

In 2003, Lays used Olestra in their line of chips called Lays Light, but they stopped producing Lays Light by 2016.

But don't worry, there is a happy ending for our favorite little fat substitute.

In 2009, Olestra was repurposed as an eco-friendly paint and industrial lubricant.

Whoa.

I love a good pivot.

You said industrial lubricant, right?

Not a personal lubricant.

We could sign up to be the test rats.

Honey, grab the Olestra.

I keep a bottle of Olestra bedside.

But how many people does it take before it goes from personal to industrial?

Oh, well, I don't know.

Does it cause anal leakage?

Michael Jacobson has since retired from CSPI, but he was pretty pleased when he learned about the pivot in Olestra.

He said, quote, they built a whole factory to produce this stuff, so I guess it's a good idea.

As long as you're not lubricating your gastrointestinal tract, it's fine.

Yeah, sure.

He's salty.

Grease up your machinery.

Yeah.

Also here on the big flop, we like to try to be positive people and end on a high note.

So are there any silver linings that you can think of that came from the Olestra era?

Well, it gave me some material for my act.

The most important thing.

That's important.

And, you know, it's really fond memories of college of how silly we were,

how weird we were about our bodies and the things we would do to achieve what we thought we were supposed to be.

It's poetic, really.

It is poetic.

Just like how Olestra can leach vitamins from your system, it can also do the same for poisons.

There is some research out there that says it can help people who are exposed to harmful substances.

Really?

Yeah.

So if you swallow something poisonous, Olestra can save your life?

For legal purposes, we're going to say allegedly.

So now that you know about Olestra in its entirety, would you consider this a gassy baby flop, a crampy big flop, or a mega flop?

Oh, it's clearly a mega flop.

It's the floppiest of mega flops.

Yeah, I mean, that's a really long time to invest in a product that, you know, was on the shelves for what, three years?

Yeah, a flash in the pan.

Flash in the pan, as they say.

Well, thank you so much to my incredible guest, Kevin James Thornton, for joining us here on the Big Flop.

And thanks to all of you for listening.

Please remember, if you're enjoying the show to leave us a rating and review.

We'll be back next week with a much more family-friendly flop.

JCPenney's doomed Apple-inspired makeover.

Bye!

Bye!

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The Big Flop is a production of Wondery and At Will Media, hosted by me, Misha Brown, produced by Sequoia Thomas, Harry Huggins, and Tina Turner.

Written by Anna Rubinova.

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We are

on

a sinking ship.

We

are on a sinking ship.

On Boxing Day 2018, 20-year-old Joy Morgan was last seen at her church, Israel United in Christ, or IUIC.

I just went on my Snapchat and I just see her face plastered everywhere.

This is The Missing Sister, the true story of a woman betrayed by those she trusted most.

IUIC is my family and like the best family that I've ever had.

But IUIC isn't like most churches.

This is a devilish cult.

You know when you get that feeling where you just, I don't want to be here.

I want to get out.

It's like that feeling of, like, I want to go home out.

I'm Charlie Brentcoast Cuff, and after years of investigating Joy's case, I need to know what really happened to Joy.

Binge all episodes of The Missing Sister exclusively and ad-free right now on Wondery Plus.

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