High Value Women

In today's episode, Ellie and Adam explore the complex topics of aging, societal perceptions of older women, and the influence of media and culture on beauty standards. They discuss Madonna's recent album, the portrayal of aging in entertainment, and the societal biases that shape our views on age and attractiveness.

It's Ellie's birthday and for this B-Day special we are talking about teen shows - specifically how crazy they were about portraying sex to a young audience. That's right, from Gossip Girl to Pretty Little Liars, these shows were wildin' out.

In this episode of High Value Women, Ellie talks to Adam about their coming out stories, discuss gender identity, and explore the importance of community and self-expression within the LGBTQ+ spectrum. 

Summer (or Shakira Summer as Adam has declared it) is upon us, and with it comes a new season of Love Island. After some very concerning allegations from women who participated in Married At First Sight UK and a growing online discourse about the ethics of shows like Virgin Island this episode discusses dating shows. Can they be ethical? Why do we keep watching them? And, have they fallen off?

In this episode of High Value Women, hosts Ellie and Adam unpack how a fringe incel trend became a full-blown cultural crisis. From the genuinely unhinged origins of mewing, to the rise of 20-year-old Kick streamer Clavicular, to why teenage boys are now hitting themselves in the face with hammers, they get into what looksmaxxing reveals about young men, masculinity, and the dangerous false equivalence creeping into mainstream feminist discourse.

It's been a long time coming... that's right, we're finally having the inevitable AI disucssion. Do not fear though, much like all of you we are extremely exhausted with how inescapable AI is and just how terrible it is for the planet, for our culture, and our brains. Clankers will never be able to replace the complexity of the human spirit, and we disucss all that and more this episode.

This week, Ellie and Adam are getting into the Chappell Roan discourse, the predatory culture of paparazzi photography, and why famous women's right to privacy is still somehow up for debate. From the Rio hotel incident the internet completely botched, to Diana, Britney, Paris and Lindsay, they're asking: why do we only feel bad for famous women after the damage is done? Plus: the male gaze with a zoom lens, and Svati's completely reasonable parasocial relationship with Shakira.

This week we're talking about Louis Theroux's new documentary, Inside the Manosphere. In the doc he speaks to some of the most infamous voices in the toxic masculinity pipeline that is dominating online discourse. We drag the losers on there and reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the doc.

In this episode of High Value Women, hosts Ellie and Adam are joined by classicist and author Emily Hauser to discuss the women of Greek mythology and the stories behind Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Drawing on her book Mythica, they explore how these famous myths portray women, what they reveal about life in ancient Greece, and why these stories still resonate today.