This week on The Deep Dive: Katy Perry’s steep decline between Teenage Dream and Witness, how Jersey Shore saved MTV from The Hills burnout, James Charles’s bizarre personal brand deals after his cancelation, effective altruism didn’t save Sam Bankman-Fried from a predictable demise, and Google has never made money off of its acquisition of YouTube (and why that doesn’t matter).

Don't forget to check out all the newsletter-recommended video essays to date in The Deep Dive’s YouTube playlist!

MUSIC

TRAINWRECKORDS: Katy Perry's "Witness" by Todd in the Shadows (37:07)

Katy Perry’s Witness wasn’t just a flop, it was about as painful of a flop as can be. Following the stratospheric career high that was Teenage Dream, the Witness era showed just how far Katy Perry could fall. And the worst part about this? Witness was supposed to be a purposeful album, inspired by the political unrest and division in the wake of the 2016 election. In other words, this was her effort to send a message. In this video, Todd in the Shadows tells the story of Witness’s downward spiral that took place right before our very eyes, a flop so hard it catapulted the word straight into our pop culture vernacular. Witness may have fallen flat on its face, but could it save Katy Perry from becoming the next Pitbull?

TV

A Complete Retelling of MTV’s Jersey Shore - PART 1 by mila tequila (2:24:37)

Should this be a “turn your brain off” recommendation since it's technically a chronological retelling? Maybe. Do I take Jersey Shore so seriously that I’m choosing to include it in this main section? Absolutely. In this video, mila tequila gives a feature film-length in-depth recap of one of the most iconic, problematic, hilarious, cringe-worthy, and one-of-a-kind reality TV shows of all time, explaining the cultural context that made it the behemoth it was along the way. Remember when Angelina showed up to the shore house with her things packed in trash bags? When Snooki couldn’t find the beach? When Vinny transformed from a guido-resenting audience surrogate to a full-blown GTL-er himself? When every season ended with a Mike-hating story arc? And this is only part one.