Culture Club

Tween media is back, the battle of the Alexs/Alixs, and how looksmaxxing has hit the mainstream media. You can watch our episode on YouTube!Cosy season is here! After a catch-up, we discuss new media news. Glamour is launching in Australia, and W Magazine is launching WYouth, its teenage sister publication. We discuss a recent study that finds that Gen Z is the most active cinemagoing demographic.What’s going on with the two Alexs/Alixs of the internet? We break down the big internet drama of the week between Alex Cooper and Alix Earle. We fill you in on all the details and read from this NYT article. Australian news has made global headlines when Clavicular, a looksmaxxing leader, walked out of a 60 Minutes interview. We reference BBC’s article ‘Inside looksmaxxing, the extreme cosmetic social media trend’ and podcast In Red With The Right’s episode on looksmaxxing. We highly recommend reading Crystal Andrews’ piece for Zee Feed, ‘Clavicular is a media lolcow’.In Bookmarked, Jas recommends the TV series Celebrity Traitors UK and Maggie kinda recommends The Drama, but uses this segment as an excuse to chat about the film more deeply (spoilers ahead!).Thank you for listening! Jas & Mags xoxo

Today’s Culture Club Chats guest is Louis Hanson. Louis is a Melbourne presenter, writer, podcaster, columnist, and comedic content creator. He’s known for his internet comedy sketches, podcast co-hosting duties on Everybody Has A Secret, and writing in publications like The Guardian, GQ, SBS and The Sydney Morning Herald. Now, he’s taking his charismatic self on the road with his first-ever international solo show, Good Boy. In this chat we discuss the inspiration behind his comedy show, the struggle of leaving something you love for your dream, and what it's like being a private public figure. You can also watch this episode on YouTube. Thanks for listening! Jas & Mags xo

Anna Wintour’s in her personal brand era, leave Aubrey Plaza alone, and the irony of the tradwife movement. You can watch our episode on YouTube!We start off the ep with a chat about the Melbourne Comedy Festival and Repeller's tragic Instagram AI slop buyout. Anna Wintour has fronted the cover of Vogue, alongside Meryl Streep, for the first time ever. Is this a new moment for the famous editor as she departs the ship? Or simply clever marketing for The Devil Wears Prada 2? The Hannah Montana of the publishing industry has been unwigged. Freida McFadden, author of The Housemaid, has publicly come out with her true identity. Actress Aubrey Plaza is pregnant and expecting her first child with actor Christopher Abbott, and the internet has thoughts.In Culture Shock, we go to the international influencer community as legacy YouTuber and content creator, Elena Taber has been caught out posting about herself in the infamous r/NYCinfluencersnark Reddit thread. Is this proof that even the most "successful" online creators are affected by being perceived?Next, is the online trad wife trend dying down, or has it reached a new level of normalcy? Nara Smith's 2025 interview with Jay Shetty has resurfaced on X as she rejects the trad wife label, despite profiting from it. The trad wife is also being analysed in the hotly anticipated novel, Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke. We read from the ELLE US interview with her.In Bookmarked, Maggie recommends the movie I Swear and Jasmine recommends Lost Lambs by Madeleine Cash.Thank you for listening! Jas & Mags xoxo

Mahjong’s getting appropriated… again, a TikTok posits a new beauty standards theory, and is this male actor getting woman’d?You can watch this episode on YouTube!We're back with some chit chat about life and Emma Chamberlain's new furniture collab with West Elm.The New York Times published a story in March called Playing Games With The Decor. In the article, they profile the women behind Oh My Mahjong, an "elevated" Mahjong set made by... white women. We dissect the internet's reaction.TikTok user and host of Schauer Thoughts, Sarah Schauer, has posited a beauty standards theory about colour and texture that has us rethinking everything.Next, is Timothee Chalamet the first male celeb to be truly woman'd? The specific type of phenomenon (where the public, usually on social media, suddenly and collectively stops liking a female celebrity or influencer) often only happens to women. But is Timothee Chalamet the first man to experience this specific type of cancellation? We reference writer Otegha Uwagba's article for Grazia UK.In Bookmarked, Jas recommends The Drama in a round-about spoiler-free way while Maggie recommends The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley.Thank you for listening! Jas & Mags xo

In this special solo episode of Culture Club Chats, Jas sits down with the Australian musician Courtney Barnett, who has just released her fourth album, Creature of Habit. The album is all about embracing change and journeying through self doubt in your thirties via Courtney’s signature poetic lyricism and instantly recognisable indie-rock melodies. In this chat, Courtney and Jas spoke about her process of writing the album in Joshua Tree, how her debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit feels after ten years, harnessing her creativity, and getting “rigorously curious” about indecision and anxiety.Listen to Creature of Habit here. You can follow Courtney on Instagram here. Follow Culture Club on Instagram here.

The reboots we didn’t ask for, Hannah Montana’s nostalgic trip, and the world’s first major AI book scandal.Reminder, you can watch this episode on YouTube.In chit chat, Jas opens up about her week, including the media preview of KICStudio in Melbourne. In some popcorn culture news, we discuss the 13 Going On 30 reboot announcement, Strangers by Belle Burden is getting a film adaptation, You, Me & Tuscany is finally giving us an original rom-com, as well as our thoughts on the HBO Harry Potter trailer. Meanwhile, the 20th anniversary of Hannah Montana aired on Disney+ this week and is breaking records. Nostalgia is still thriving.The largest AI book scandal has rocked the publishing world recently. After allegations of heavy AI use, Hachette has withdrawn Shy Girl by Mia Ballad from shelves in the UK and has not been released in the US. We reference the YouTuber who helped uncover this scandal, Frankie's Shelf, and read from Facing Facts by Zowie Douglas-Kinghorn for Kill Your Darlings.In Bookmarked, Jas recommends video essays by Girl On Film, Rachel Barker, particularly Why Women Love Labyrinth Movies. Maggie is still on her horror reading grind and recommends Root Rot by Saskia Nislow.Thank you for listening! Jas and Mags xoPMDD Information.

Bonus ep time! Given it's a brand new season, we thought we'd sit down for a cosy chat to discuss what we're looking forward to diving into this autumn. Reminder, you can watch this episode on YouTube. Here are the links for our picks! Creativity: Milanote & 642 Things To Write AboutWhat we're reading: Femme Feral by Sam Beckbessinger Sisters In Yellow by Mieko Kawakami What we're watching: In The Mood For LoveMetropolis SBS MoviesWhat we’re listening to:Oracle Sisters Divinations albumClub Carter RadioMinari SoundtrackWhat recipe we're cooking: Molly Baz’ Mac n GreensZigs Mom bean saladWhat we're wearing:Radical Yes Thelma Shoes

Lorde goes independent, in defence of influencer red carpet hosts, and when does reality TV become too toxic? You can watch this episode on YouTube!Olivia Rodrigo is back with a new era, while Lorde has started her own by breaking away from her record label after over 15 years. Club Chalamet is also breaking away from Timothee Chalamet after that Oscars ceremony. Jas tells Maggie about #MomTok and the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives scandal that has created a new low for reality TV. Influencer and Therapuss podcast host Jake Shane is currently copping scathing criticisms over his red carpet shenanigans at the Vanity Fair Oscars party. We reference this scathing article from Variety, as well as a TikTok of Jake Shane being interviewed by Rolling Stone pre-Oscars. In recommendations, we have two Amazon Prime television picks: Overcompensating and Deadloch Season 2. This episode was sponsored by FEELD. Try the Reflections self-discovery tool here to help you think about your desires, boundaries, and relationship style.