Culture Club

The Grammys' new controversial category, Girl Math hits the retail sector, and the problem with aestheticised loneliness influencers.Reminder, we're on YouTube and SUBSTACK.Hi friends! In this episode, we kick off with some celebrity pop culture bits, including a revelation from TikTok user Jessmess69 regarding Sarah Pidgeon and one former Culture Club Chats guest!The Grammy Awards is adding five new categories: R&B collaboration or duo/group performance, best traditional pop vocal performance and best traditional folk album. But, the categories causing concern include best Asian pop music performance and best Latin song. Is this progress or a form of musical segregation?Australian fashion brand, Lioness, has come under fire this week after its graphic tees were accused of sexist language. A t-shirt, which is being sold in Myer as well as in their online store for $29 features a slogan on the front that reads: “I’m too pretty to do math”. We break down our thoughts, including the new wave of bimbo-fication that's now being sold to women. We reference this opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald titled What a Degrading T-shirt: Girls Told They’re ‘Too Pretty To Do Math’ by educator Allan Dougan.Next, have you noticed a certain type of social media content that’s focused on loneliness? Writer Rachel Pick wrote a piece for The Cut titled, “The Loneliness Influencers Inside The Luxurious Tedium Of “I Have No Friends” TikTok”. We discuss the influence of this type of content and if it's perpetuating or helping the loneliness crisis. We also read from Milk Fed by Caitlyn Richardson and her piece called Heidegger And The Illusion Of Aestheticized Loneliness.In recommendations, Maggie watched the Australian horror movie, Leviticus, while Jas read and loved Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden.Thank you for being here! Jas & Mags xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi friends, This week is a shorter episode as we have a bonus ep coming later this week! Keep your eyes peeled for our seasonal winter recommendations. You can watch this episode on YouTube. Olivia Rodrigo is coming for the Queen of Pop title with her new album 'You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love'. We debrief and share our top picks (upon first listen). One of the most famous celebrity weddings of the year took place in both London and Palermo after Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner tied the knot. Maggie has a take on the first pictures and we share why locals aren't happy. The first trailer for The Social Network’s sequel, The Social Reckoning, has dropped. We debrief the plot of the Aaron Sorkin film and debate if it's the story they should be focusing on. Finally, Gwenyth Paltrow has come under fire after starring in ads for luxury apartments in Israel. Will this make even the tiniest dent in her career?There are no Bookmarked recs this week, as we have a whole episode's worth coming soon. Thank you for listening and if you enjoyed this episode (or any others), please share with a friend or give it a rate and review! Jas & Mags xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Billie Eilish’s acting debut, Louis Theroux infiltrates the manosphere, and how linked are class and taste? In this week’s episode, we start with Cody Simpson’s recent podcast episode and discuss why all of the It Girls are using acting as a career shift. From Billie Eilish up for a role in The Bell Jar to Emma Chamberlain and Kylie Jenner in The Moment, a whole host of young It Girls are heading to the film medium. We reference Kylie Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover article. Next, Timothee Chalamet has the internet heated after his ballet and opera comments. We touch on the backlash and discuss art and class in the current moment. We reference another Vanity Fair article by Chris Murphy. Louis Theroux has brought the Manosphere to Netflix in his new documentary, Louis Theroux: Inside The Manosphere. We reference Jess Bacon for Stylist UK and her article, Instead of spotlighting the manosphere, should we not be interrogating how this misogyny translates into the real world?” as well as a review for The Guardian, by journalist Lucy Mangan. We also read from Esquire Magazine’s article, Louis Theroux Wields The Ultimate Weapon: Pity by Miranda Collinge and an interview with Louis Theroux by David Gilbert for WIRED.A joint Bookmarked this week – we both recommend watching Louis Theroux: Inside The Manosphere. Thanks for listening! We appreciate you <3 Jas & Mags Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Harry Styles drops his new album, Justin Timberlake experiences the Streisand effect, and should you tell your partner your friends’ secrets? Reminder: You can now watch our podcast on YouTube. In this episode, we have a smattering of pop culture news stories from the week. To begin, Jas recommends Harry Styles' interviews with Zane Lowe and Brittany Broski's Royal Court. Next, we love when corporate CEOs accidentally go viral for being so cringingly awkward... we chat about the McDonald's burger gate and read a think piece on it from The Atlantic by Ellen Cushing. Justin Timberlake is trying to stop body camera footage from his 2024 drunk driving arrest from being released. We discuss the Streisand effect and also reference a recent one that's close to home.In Culture Shock, a number of local businesses in Melbourne had Ed Sheeran visit them while on his tour. Only, a number of them were fake. We discuss the ethics surrounding this and why a "harmless" piece of content may be a slippery slope in our precarious AI world. Here's the local organisation Ed actually visited.Next, should we be regulating blind boxes like gambling? In Singapore, lawmakers and consumer advocates are pushing to regulate blind boxes due to the gambling risks they carry. Is this warranted or a chance to make tax on a female-dominated market? Is it ever okay to tell your friends' secrets to your partner? This is something Hannah Ewen asked in British Vogue recently in her article, Please, Stop Telling Your Partner My Secrets. In Bookmarked, Maggie recommends, It's Not You, It's Minimalism a podcast episode and video essay by From The Diving Board. Jas recommends (and reviews) The Moment, Charli XCX's new mockumentary film. Thank you for listening! Jas & Mags xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our spiritual Lorde experience, Manon splits from Katseye, and how figure skater Alysa Liu’s Gold Medal win is shifting culture. PSA: There may be some tinny audio in today's episode. We're working on a solution asap for you!We recount Lorde's Melbourne tour and, in pop culture news, Manon Bannerman is taking a “hiatus” from global girl group, Katseye, for “health and wellbeing” reasons.US figure skater Alysa Liu has taken over our feeds (and our hearts) after winning gold in figure skating at the Winter Olympics. But it's not just her medal that's making headlines. We discuss the rise of Gen Z play and nihilism that Alysa is inadvertently championing. Jas references a Substack by Gael Aitor titled 'The Rise of Play Among Youth Culture' and an Instagram account titled The Career Archetypes.In Bookmarked, Maggie recommends the movie Pillion while Jas recommends the new Paul McCartney documentary, Man on the Run. Thank you for listening! <3 Jas & Mags Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi friends!To kick this episode off, we chit-chat about some celebrity headlines, including Olivia Dean being criticised for being... too nice, and Jason Bateman’s awkward Charli XCX kids moment. Was this an embarrassing Dad moment or a representation of where the culture is when it comes to reproduction? Locally, Mecca has come under fire for using AI in a social media post promoting its Australian Open pop-up. We review their statement and the feedback they received, and ask what it means for brands in general that are incorporating AI into their creative work. Maggie references this article by Cory Doctorow in The Guardian.Harry Styles has released worldwide concert dates “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally” and he’s touring Australia later this year. But, despite the excitement for a new Harry era, many fans have taken issue with the price of the tickets. We explore this sentiment and ask how we got here. Why is there a flood of people “becoming Chinese” online? Is this latest internet fad light-hearted cultural appreciation or something we should be challenging? Maggie references videos by creators Caroline Ying Ouellette and Kathy Kalina Pham. Jas references a piece for Coveteur titled Who Gets to Be Chinese Now? by Faith Xue.In Bookmarked, Jas recommends the blockbuster, One Battle After Another, while Maggie recommends the Everything Is Alive podcast. Chat to you next time! Jas & Mags Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.