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Sydney Sweeney’s reputation, Timotheé Chalamet and Jennifer Lawrence’s return
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Sydney Sweeney’s new film Christy has bombed at the box office, days after her GQ cover interview went viral for all the wrong reasons. Are her days as Hollywood’s golden girl over? We take a look at evolving public image and explore whether her controversies have actually damaged her career. Also on the show: how Sarah Snook’s new kidnapping thriller has prompted a conversation about the gender gap, the I'm A Celeb lineup, what Timothée Chalamet’s very revealing Vogue interview means for Kylie, and we are so here for JLaw’s comeback! Finally, is it fair to say Kim Kardashian has created the worst TV show of all time with All’s Fair? Plus two fab new book recommendations.
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Recs/reviews
- All Her Fault, Sky/ NowTV
- All her Fault is a misandrist masterpiece, Vulture
- Sarah Snook And Dakota Fanning On How New Show ‘All Her Fault’ Reveals The “Invisible Labor” Women Take On In Relationships, Deadline
- Sarah Snook on Why She Opted for ‘All Her Fault’ After ‘Succession’: “I Can’t Top That, So Finding Something Different Was Really Important”, Hollywood Reporter
- Our October bonus ep: The myth of having it all and how to break free
- Did women ruin the workplace?, New York Times
- Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson Vanity Fair lie detector test, YouTube
- Jennifer Lawrence, The Interview podcast (NYT)
- Sydney Sweeney, GQ
- The Universe According to Timothée, Vogue
- All’s Fair, Disney
- Is All's Fair really the 'worst TV drama ever'? BBC
- The All's Fair cast: ‘It’s good to see women come together and protect one another', Glamour
- With ‘All’s Fair,’ Ryan Murphy gives us the ultimate Trump-era TV show, LA Times
- ‘All’s Fair’ and the New Television of Nothingness, Hollywood Reporter
- Have we passed peak social media? Financial Times
- Shield of Sparrows, Devney Perry
- Under The Blue, Suzannah V Evans
- The Safekeep, Yael van der Wouden
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Ed Sheeran, Lena Dunham and the ethics of surrogacy
57:44|From Lena Dunham announcing the birth of her baby girl via surrogate in a fashion piece for Vogue, to Ed Sheeran’s PR disaster over Palestine and free speech, this week both celebs have found themselves at the centre of debates they’d tried to side-step. Is commercial surrogacy inherently “anti-feminist”? And can stars really be apolitical in this day and age? Also on the show: we review Sharon Horgan’s brilliant new series YOUTH, all about ageing anxiety and dating in your 50s.Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcastTry the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives with 20% off using code straightup at londonnootropics.comFollow us on IG @straightuppod and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at hello@straightuppodcast.co.ukRecs/reviewsYOUTH, HBO MaxSharon Horgan: My sexual shelf life and dating over 50, The TimesLena Dunham Is a Mother! The Sweet, Singular Story of How She Prepared, VogueWhose Babies Are These? A Chinese man hired a Florida surrogate, then didn’t pick up his kids, sparking a custody battle that could upend the industry, The CutWhen Political Reality Collides With Ed Sheeran, New York TimesEd Sheeran wants to stay out of politics. By quitting his tour, his support acts have exposed the hollowness of neutrality, Guardian ‘With Gaza, I Couldn’t Not Speak Out’: Ms. Rachel on Controversy, Fame, and the Future, Rolling Stone .THERAPY: ChatGPT, false memories and weaponised ‘therapy speak’
56:33|This week we’re revisiting our ep on the dark side of the therapy boom, from unqualified therapists planting false memories in vulnerable people and an obsession with labels to ‘therapy boasting’ on Hinge and the weaponisation of ‘therapy speak’. Plus, what makes a good therapist, and can AI offer an accessible alternative to what has become a luxury? We’ll be back with our usual pop culture debrief next Thursday!Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcastFollow us on IG @straightuppod and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at hello@straightuppodcast.co.ukRecs:Dangerous Memories podcast My therapist told me Mum had abused me. She hadn’t, TimesThe therapist who planted false memories, Pandora Sykes, SubstackHow the language of therapy took over dating, NYTNobody has a personality anymore, SubstackOpenAI CEO Sam Altman warns users not to trust ChatGPT agent with sensitive or personal data, Decoder Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens, NYTHe Had a Mental Breakdown Talking to ChatGPT. Then Police Killed Him, Rolling StoneWhat does bad therapy actually look like? StylistCan AI therapists really be an alternative to human help? BBC.Alix Earle, her Alex Cooper feud and the business of influence
52:42|Mega-influencer Alix Earle’s new reality show has dropped on Netflix and so we’re unpacking it all, from all the details of her feud with Alex Cooper to the family’s bizarre dynamics. Could Earle Meets World be Gen Z’s answer to The Kardashians? Also this week: series two of The Gentlemen starring Maya Jama, as well as the brilliant film spin-off of French comedy Call My Agent! featuring an excellent cameo from George Clooney. Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcastTry the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives with 20% off using code straightup at londonnootropics.comFollow us on IG @straightuppod and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at hello@straightuppodcast.co.ukRecs/ reviews: Where Are The Kings, Donal Ryan The Gentlemen, NetflixCall My Agent! The Movie, Netflix Earle Meets World, Netflix .Ali G, the Met Gala backlash and cleavage’s big comeback
52:48|Ali G is back after more than 20 years, sparking a backlash over the character’s racist stereotypes with cinemas saying they’ll boycott the new film. And speaking of controversial comebacks, the planned John Galliano exhibition at the Met has been pulled, so this week we’re discussing cancel culture, second chances and when some things are better left in the past. Also on the show: the sky-rocketing of push-up bra sales, breastfeeding in public, Bonnie Blue’s baby announcement and Olivia Wilde’s new film, plus the Lindsay Clancy trial.Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcastTry the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives with 20% off using code straightup at londonnootropics.comFollow us on IG @straightuppod and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at hello@straightuppodcast.co.ukRecs/reviewsGet our book club pick Where Are the Kings hereFRIENDSHIP BREAKUPS: ghosting, group dynamics and comparison culture (our ep) Outcome, AppleTVToy Story 5, SkyTVFurious, Disney PlusI Want Your Sex, in cinemasEyes Down Here: Push-up bras are back with a vengeance, The Cut Not My G, More Brit (ish) Than Ever Substack, Afua HirschThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Is Making a Very Bad Mistake, New York TimesLucky Boy, Tortoise Investigates .North West, Meghan Markle’s return and the man-child epidemic
01:02:56|Why do so many adult men seem stuck in arrested development? We review the buzzy new novel from the “male Sally Rooney” Jem Calder, whose rom-com I Just Want You to Be Happy charts a dysfunctional age-gap relationship between a 35-year-old man-child and 23-year-old woman. Also on the show: our thoughts on the backlash to North West’s “age inappropriate” Dazed cover, Meghan Markle’s new career move, Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi’s hard launch and a possible sequel to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.We’ve released a final batch of tickets to our book club on Wed 2 September! Get yours at via Ticket Tailor and order Where Are the Kings here Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcastTry the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives with 20% off using code straightup at londonnootropics.comFollow us on IG @straightuppod and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at hello@straightuppodcast.co.ukRecs/reviewsI Want You to be Happy, Jem CalderI Want You to Be Happy is the excruciating millennial novel everyone will be reading this summer, The IndependentAlice and Steve, Disney PlusPrue Leith – On leaving Bake Off and finding love again at 70, Experience is EverythingKendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi’s Dating World Tour Continues in London, VogueNorth West: ‘Music is what I wanna do with my life’, DazedFresh Hell, Tina Brown’s Substack.The Ariana Grande discourse, ACOTAR and Nicole Kidman’s Vogue backlash
55:23|Ariana Grande’s tour has been getting rave reviews, but the increasingly feverish discussion around her weight has us asking whether it’s more harmful to comment or stay silent, and what this and the tragic case of Jason Arday tell us about how journalists can lose sight of the real people behind headlines. Also this week: romantasy fans rejoice as Sarah J Maas reveals the covers, titles and blurbs for ACOTAR 6 and 7, Nicole Kidman faces backlash for looking “unrecognisable” on the cover of Vogue and the passing of actor Hayden Panettiere.Join the ticket waitlist for our book club on Wed 2 September via Ticket Tailor and order Where Are the Kings here Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcastTry the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives with 20% off using code straightup at londonnootropics.comFollow us on IG @straightuppod and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at hello@straightuppodcast.co.ukRecs/reviewsDTF St Louis, HBO Max The A Court of Thorns and Roses series, Sarah J Maas The Last House, Netflix The InviteCamp MiasmaHow do you assign a star rating to Ariana Grande? Ellie’s SubstackWhen the Snowflakes Pretend They Played No Part in the Avalanche, Conquest of the Useless Substack“Where Am I Going? And What’s Next?”: Nicole Kidman Is Keeping Her Heart Open, VogueWe call her Emma podcastThis Is Me: A Reckoning, Hayden PanettiereNara Smith, the tradwife discourse and this year’s buzziest crime thriller
01:02:38|Nara Smith came on Call Her Daddy to rebuke her status as “poster girl” for the tradwife movement, but do we buy her rebrand? We discuss whether her content glamourising hyper-feminine domesticity causes real-world harm or whether she’s being held to unfair standards. Plus, rave reviews of masterpiece non-fiction thriller London Falling, the epic third season of House of the Dragon, and Epstein-coded serial killer drama Furious.Tickets for our book club on Wed 2 September are on sale now! Get yours at via Ticket Tailor and order Where Are the Kings here Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcastTry the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives with 20% off using code straightup at londonnootropics.comFollow us on IG @straightuppod and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at hello@straightuppodcast.co.ukRecs/reviewsLondon Falling by Patrick Radden-Keefe Patrick Radden-Keefe on How to FailWhere Are The Kings, Donal RyanHouse of the Dragon, NOWTV The House That Dragons Built, HBO Furious, Disney Plus“Furious” Is a Crime Drama for a Post-Epstein World, New YorkerCape Fear, AppleTVNara Smith: Stop Calling Me a Tradwife, Call Her DaddyYesteryear, Caro Claire Burke The Tradwife Illusion Meets the Anti-Trump Reality, New York Times“You Can’t Just Be Showing Matcha-Pilates-Alo”, VultureInfluencers Are Being Paid to Spread the Mormon Church's Gospel, BloombergEmilie Kiser: The Loss That Changed Her Forever, On Purpose with Jay ShettySpider-Man: Brand New Day, in cinemasGary Stevenson: “I was obsessed with making money”, The Louis Theroux PodcastWe Call Her Emma, Tortoise Investigates .FRIENDSHIP BREAKUPS: ghosting, group dynamics and comparison culture
01:05:05|This week we’re revisiting one of our most popular episodes on a topic that still feels like a taboo despite its clear universality, with the help of lots of deeply honest and moving DMs from the huns. A friendship ‘breakup’ is an experience more than 80% of women have been through and it can be even more gut-wrenching than ending a romantic relationship. Yet in our society that prioritises romantic over platonic love, there’s no social script for dealing with it. We cover everything from ghostings and estrangement to boundaries and therapy-speak, as well as how politics, exes and different life stages can lead to rifts and resentment. If you’ve been through something similar, then hopefully this ep will help you feel less alone! Tickets for our book club on Wed 2 September are on sale now! Get yours at via Ticket Tailor and preorder your copy of Where Are the Kings here Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcastFollow us on IG @straightuppod and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at hello@straightuppodcast.co.ukRecsBad Friend, Michelle ElmanBride Wars We Need to Talk about Our Ex Best Friends, ElleBad Friend, Tiffany Watt SmithThe Lingering Wounds of Friendship Breakups, Elle The White Lotus S3 E8, HBO Will Our Friendship Survive Your Baby, New York Magazine .Our plastic surgery nightmare, Love Island and marital misery in The Invite
01:01:50|This week we’re diving into Jia Tolentino’s viral essay on the new age of cosmetic enhancement, from how algorithms are changing our faces to whether Botox really helps women get ahead at work – and why our own feelings on tweakments have recently radically changed. Also on the show: Olivia Wilde’s brilliant new film The Invite, where she and Seth Rogen play a miserable middle-class married couple, Apple’s sci-fi dystopia Silo, dispatches from the newborn trenches, and the latest doc exploring the ethics of reality TV, The Love Island Curse. Enjoy huns!Tickets for our book club on Wed 2 September are on sale now! Get yours at via Ticket Tailor and preorder your copy of Where Are the Kings here Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcastTry the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives with 20% off using code straightup at londonnootropics.comFollow us on IG @straightuppod and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at hello@straightuppodcast.co.ukRecs/ reviews: On whether having a baby ruins your life or not, Sam Parker, SubstackSilo, AppleTVThe Invite, in cinemasThe Drama, available to rentHalf Man, iPlayerThe Curse of Love Island, Prime Video Our incredible September book club pick Where Are the Kings, by Donal Ryan – pre-order your copy here Our Plastic Surgery Nightmare, The New Yorker How 'The Botox Psyop' Broke Our Brains in the Name of Beauty, Diabolical Lies.