A return to pragmatism

About this episode

The episode discusses the backlash faced by Reese Witherspoon and Emma Grede regarding their comments on AI and work-from-home culture, prompting a conversation about the need for pragmatism in society.

MONDAY ANALYSIS: Reese Witherspoon has copped it this week for her comments about learning how to use AI tools. Emma Grede has continued to cop it for her comments about work-from-home culture. All of this backlash got us wondering: do we need a societal return to…pragmatism? Huge thanks to Merit for making this episode of Shameless possible! Sam Altman’s Trust Issues at OpenAI | The New Yorker Radio Hour Your hosts are Zara McDonald (@zamcdonald) and Michelle Andrews (@michelleandrews1). Shameless Podcast is produced by Annabelle Lee and Eilish Gilligan, executive-produced by Lucy Hunt and audio-edited by Eilish Gilligan. Our social media team consists of Naima Fatema, Divya Simmie and Eilish Gilligan, and our partnerships manager is Cindy Luu. Want to support our show? Clicking ‘follow’ on Apple and Spotify is the best way to do that, and we're super grateful to anyone who leaves a five-star review while they're at it. Also! An old-fashioned 'Tell a Friend In Real Life' is equally appreciated. Want more? We've got more… Subscribe to our newsletter Smart, Dumb Stuff: https://tinyurl.com/4yasjphn Follow us on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/2mf557ux Aaaand we’re on TikTok…

People in this episode

Hosts: Zara McDonald, Michelle Andrews

Topics covered

• pragmatism
• AI tools
• work-from-home culture
• societal backlash
• media analysis

Keywords

• Reese Witherspoon
• Emma Grede
• AI tools
• work-from-home
• pragmatism
• societal backlash
• Shameless Podcast

Sponsors

Merit

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Shameless Media, OpenAI, The New Yorker Radio Hour

Books & works: Sam Altman’s Trust Issues at OpenAI

More episodes of Shameless

• These celebrity quotes are scawy... · June 12, 2026 · 43 min
• One viral dance and two minds about it · June 10, 2026 · 40 min
• The unravelling of the D’Amelio family · June 7, 2026 · 43 min
• Boaty McPrincess of Belgravia · June 5, 2026 · 39 min
• The most famous faceless celebrity · June 3, 2026 · 53 min
• The best sex scene we've ever seen · May 31, 2026 · 42 min