Authentic: The Story Of Tablo

Tablo was a Korean hip hop superstar in 2010. Then it all came screeching to a halt, when a rumor on the internet ballooned out of control. From VICE and iHeart Podcast Network, a series that explores why a bizarre conspiracy divided a country and turned into an international obsession. Hosted by Dexter Thomas Jr. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Korean superstar. A genius rapper. A liar and a cheat. Labels like these have followed Tablo for more than a decade. And now, he’s ready to tell the whole truth, once and for all. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parents loved Tablo for his Stanford pedigree and teens for his rebellious attitude. But this dichotomy that made for great TV, would also draw in a new set of haters. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Underground Korean hip-hop heads accused Tablo of appealing to the K-pop mainstream. Tablo’s success was a double edged sword that Tajinyo would use against him. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why would hundreds of thousands of people join a forum dedicated to finding out if someone lied about their Stanford diploma? There’s history here. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An international hunt leads to a national police investigation. As the truth is finally revealed, the investigation takes an unexpected turn. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To get closer to why this all happened, we go on a journey to find a Tajinyo leader. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the scandal, everyone thought Tablo had won. But by then it was too late. The conspiracy would change his family forever. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Still, today, more than a decade later the effects on the online campaign have real world consequences. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s even more! We go deeper on K- pop, fandom and conspiracy. You heard a lot from Professor Hye Jin Lee of USC in the series but she has a lot more to say. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many Latinx kids in the ‘00s, the party crew scene was a safe space to express themselves as they came of age in the grit and glitter of Los Angeles. A space to make friends, forget about your problems and dance the night away. But the scene wasn’t always physically safe. There were shootings and police raids. Many adults saw the scene as gang-adjacent and the media fueled negative stereotypes of kids who were out of control. One of the teens who got caught in that easy narrative was Emmery Muñoz, after she was murdered in 2006. Host Janice Llamoca goes on a Y2K-filled journey back in time to her own party crew days to find out what this scene meant for teens like her and Emmery, and why – to this day – Emmery’s case remains unsolved. From IHeart, VICE and LAist Studios as part of the My Cultura Podcast Network. Here is episode 1: Emmery.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.