Podbit · The Moth
Walking down 125th Street near the Apollo, Audrey Pleasant heard James Brown blast from the Record Shack and couldn't help herself. A crowd gathered. A man stepped forward and handed her a piece of paper with a time and a stage. At 13, she performed with the Coasters — and then James Brown himself walked out and called her 'Lil Mama.'
Where this was said
At 27:50 · chapter starts 25:00
Audrey's return to the dance floor is told with theatrical precision. She explains the culture of the Harlem dance circle: a crowd gathers when something spectacular is happening, and you can't leave until you've earned your exit. Tommy did his splits and slides — 'He even galloped like he was riding a pony' — and Audrey let him. Then she slid up to his face. The crowd watched her move like James Brown: sliding in a full glide, shaking a tail feather, executing a half split with total authority. Tommy, bug-eyed and slack-jawed, tried to leave the circle. The crowd pushed back in. Audrey responded by going harder. When she was done with him, she slid up one more time and threw him a kiss — the ultimate punctuation on a month of secret practice. It's a beautifully structured revenge arc, told with Audrey's own irrepressible joy.
A crowd formed a tight circle, as it does in Harlem when something spectacular is happening. Tommy did his splits and slides. Audrey let him. Then she slid up to his face — and showed the room she could move like James Brown. She threw him a kiss on the way out of the circle.
Robby Hoffman isn't fearless — she's terrified all the time. The difference is she does it anyway, because not doing it feels worse than the fear itself.
John Mulaney texted Robby Hoffman out of nowhere saying he'd been a fan for a while and wanted to make a Netflix special with her. Robby called it 'shocking, horrifying, anxiety-inducing, surreal and thrilling' — and said yes.
Mulaney is buttoned-up, suit-wearing, classy. Robby is gritty, raw, and undefined. Together they made the collab nobody expected. Batman and Robin. Eminem and Dido.
Music had Pope Gregory forcing notation. Comedy has had 'magical thinking' — he's just got funny bones. But jokes work through discoverable, teachable mechanics. Writing down the rules doesn't kill the magic; it gives more people access to it.
Howard Ashman had one insight nobody else had: animated Disney films should be Broadway musicals. The third song of every great musical is the character sitting alone explaining what they want. That's 'Part of Your World.' That structure — combined with Alan Menken's compositions — generated Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, and turned Disney Animation into the most profitable creative engine in entertainment history.
The Lion King musical has been running for 30 years across Broadway, London's West End, and global touring companies. It has grossed over $11 billion in total revenue — more than Avatar, more than Avengers: Endgame, more than any album, more than any video game. It generates an average of $350 million in revenue every single year. Disney owns it outright.
The anonymous French artist Invader has hidden 1,500 pixelated mosaic artworks across Paris alone, with thousands more scattered across 80+ cities — affixed to the Eiffel Tower, the Hollywood sign, and even sent to the International Space Station. He might be even busier than Banksy.
The Flash Invaders app turns city streets into a treasure hunt, letting players scan Invader's hidden mosaics for points. Players have collectively logged over 47 million flashes. Unlike most mobile games that glue you to a screen, this one forces you to look up and engage with your surroundings.
New York draws thousands of young, talented performers every year chasing Broadway stardom — but the hard truth is that most of them never make it. Zelig Williams was one of the rare exceptions.
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