Gladiators, real housewives and the pull of reality TV

About this episode

This episode explores the blurred lines between reality and entertainment in reality television.

People used to say "believe your eyes." But these days that's not so easy to do. What we scroll through every day blurs the line between entertainment and fact. And nowhere is that phenomenon more evident than in reality television. Today on the show, we tackle the genre that takes our most potent feelings – love, hope, anxiety, loneliness – and turns them into profit. This episode originally ran in 2022. Guests: Goloka Bolte , reality TV casting director Dr. Jana Scrivani , licensed clinical psychologist Racquel Gates , associate professor of film and media studies at Columbia University Dr. J'tia Hart , nuclear engineer on Survivor (Season 28) Jeff Jenkins , founder of Jeff Jenkins Productions (JJP) To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

People in this episode

Guests: Goloka Bolte, Dr. Jana Scrivani, Racquel Gates, Dr. J'tia Hart, Jeff Jenkins

Topics covered

• reality television
• entertainment
• media
• psychology
• profit
• society

Keywords

• reality TV
• entertainment
• psychology
• media studies
• profit
• casting director
• nuclear engineer
• Columbia University

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Throughline, NPR

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