Julia is joined by Binchtopia favorite Allegra Chapman to explore the delightful world of DOLLS! From Sonny Angels to Blythe, Madame Alexander to Barbie, Allegra lends her expertise to tell us what dolls reveal about history, their practical and symbolic purposes, and even the “misdollgyny” behind why haunted dolls always seem to be women.

Plus, Allegra’s thoughts on those infamous American Girls, the childhood pastime of torturing your dolls, and the uncanny world of reborns. Digressions include the bonding experience of having curly hair, Allegra’s new Julia-approved boyfriend, and finally addressing tintypegate…

To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

Find Allegra at @severedlegs on all socials!

Julia is joined by bestie of the pod Michaela Okland to explore the practice of chosen celibacy, from its ancient history to its resurgence in modern culture. The girlies share their own celibacy journeys, revisit iconic historical figures who opted out of sex and marriage, and discuss the radical 4B movement gaining attention in South Korea, where women are walking away from men entirely. Digressions include the karmic power of The Melting Pot, graduating from Men Are Trash discourse, and dating after grief and loss. 

This episode was produced and researched by Julia Hava and edited by Livi Burdette. 

Find Michaela Okland (@michaelaokland) on Twitter and IG!

To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

SOURCES:

4B movement: what is it and how did it start? | The Week

After Trump’s win, some women are considering the 4B movement | CNN

Are antidepressants making you asexual? | The Spectator

Book of the 10th Muse: Love and Marriage

Boston Marriages

Boston Marriages: Romantic but Asexual Relationships Among Contemporary Lesbians

Chaste Marriage In The Middle Ages

Going boysober: the women who turned to celibacy in 2024

How Celibate Women Became a Threat | TIME

“I Don't Miss It”: Celibacy Is Bringing Some Women Peace

Less Is More: Welcome To The Rise Of #Celibacy

Neither ‘incel’ nor ‘volcel’: Relational accounts of UK women's sexual abstinence

Re-reading (Vestal) virginity

Sex-positive feminism had its moment – and now it has been replaced by voluntary celibacy | Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian

SWORN VIRGINS OF THE BALKAN HIGHLANDS

The 4B movement: envisioning a feminist future uwith/in a non-reproductive future in Korea

The last of Albania's 'sworn virgins'

The rise of voluntary celibacy: ‘Most of the sex I’ve had, I wish I hadn’t bothered’ | Sex | The Guardian

Women’s Agency Through Spinsterhood and Celibacy – Childfree History Museum.

Women's rights and the rise of the 4B movement - University of Birmingham

Why Gen Zers Are Choosing Celibacy

Join Julia and beautiful Nick as they recap their arduous journey to Medieval Times, unpacking the show’s unintelligible plot, the vibeless knights of dubious talents and the disgraceful shortage of jesters and wenches. Digressions include Benson Boone’s Gower Gulch, Jane Goodall’s sneaky link in the jungle and the abominable flop of boomers.

This is a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode and access over 50 bonus episodes, mediasodes, and monthly zoom hangs visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

This week, the girlies get nostalgic, looking back on the years of Binchtopia and sharing a few updates. Digressions include the memes that shaped us, our truly out of pocket episode titles, and Ozzy Osbourne’s forgotten impact on our very first live show.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Eliza McLamb and edited by Livi Burdette. 

To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, zoom hangouts and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

This week, the girlies slip into the dreamworld to decode the binchie subconscious. Between prophetic triplet births, missing teeth, doomed flights, and Scrappy Doo lurking in the shadows, they ask: what does it all mean? Digressions include our favorite unconventional influencer, AI psychosis, and the girlies’ own cursed dream cycles.

This is a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode and access over 50 bonus episodes, mediasodes, and monthly zoom hangs visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

This week, the girlies log on to discuss the strange and somewhat evil journey of content streaming. They track the rise from radio to Napster to Netflix, expose how labels teamed up with platforms to rob artists blind, and unpack how mood playlists and background noise culture encourage you to passively consume your music, not listen to it. They also hear from binchies who have done away with streaming entirely, and talk about hopeful alternatives for finding and interacting with art you love. Digressions include: Matt Rife’s new haunting business venture, Katy Perry’s stay at the Khia Asylum, and unfortunately, hitting the Sydney Sweeney button.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Eliza McLamb and edited by Livi Burdette. Research assistance from Kylie Finnigan.

To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, zoom hangouts and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

SOURCES

A cultural lineage of streaming 

Adolescent Mental Health in the Digital Age: Facts, Fears and Future Directions

be your own algorithm (video)

Binge Watching as a Young Adult Linked to Cognitive Impairment: Study

Mood Machine by Liz Pelly

Netflix Reveals the Shows That You Binge Watched the Fastest 

Netflix’s 'Skip Intro' Button Makes TV Ever More Like an App

Stream a Little Dream: How Netflix Turned Our Culture into Content  

Streaming Culture by David Arditi

Swedish composer becomes Spotify’s most-famous musician you’ve never heard of

The Algorithm Killed the Radio Star by Eliza McLamb

The Best Streaming Services For 2025  

The Death of the Artist by William Deresiewicz

The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur 

The Evolution and Impact of Streaming Services: Changing the Media Landscape 

The Ghosts in the Machine 

The Oxford Handbook of Radio and Podcasting 

The Right to Art by Eliza McLamb

The Telephonoscope (1879)

This ‘secret’ composer is behind 650 fake artists on Spotify. His music has been streamed 15bn times on the platform (report) 

83% of U.S. adults use streaming services, far fewer subscribe to cable or satellite TV  

This week, the girlies are in a place of tour, reporting live from Binchicago! From the technical difficulties and gonjus gowns of live shows to meeting all the insanely impressive binchies (and their radicalized family members), they reflect on whether or not alcohol is poison, the beauty of Zanies, and the haunting image of a backpack hiked to the TOP! Digressions include: twin ethics, binchie-submitted icks, and the emotional significance of a backyard.

We’re on tour!!!! Find tickets at (https://linktr.ee/binchtopia)

This is a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode and access over 50 bonus episodes, mediasodes, and monthly zoom hangs visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

This episode was originally released on December 31, 2024 as a Patreon exclusive, and we’re unlocking it for you to make the most of the extra week in July. Become a patron today to support the show, keep us ad-free and unlock our backlog of over 50 bonus episodes and mediasodes at patreon.com/binchtopia.

We’re on tour!!!! Find tickets at (https://linktr.ee/binchtopia)

BOOKS

Rouge by Mona Awad

Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

The Searcher by Tana French

The Hunter by Tana French

Existential Kink by Carolyn Elliott

Long Bright River by Liz Moore

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

TV

Say Nothing

Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story

The Jinx

Breaking Bad

MOVIES

Subservience

Tangerine

Sugarcane

Hanna

My Old Ass

Sweethearts

How to Survive a Plague

ARTICLES

The Invisible Man

Bad Influence

The Despair of the Young

JULIA'S BEST OF THE YEAR

Book - Rabbit Heart by Kristine S. Ervin

Movie - When the Levees Broke

TV - Baby Reindeer, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

Album - Charm by Clairo

ELIZA'S BEST OF THE YEAR

Book - The Door by Magda Szabo

Movie - Problemista

TV - Breaking Bad

Album - Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman, Power by Illuminati Hotties

This week, the girlies are hairy on main to address the question: why are we so obsessed with being smooth? From ancient sugaring practices to TikTok lasers, they trace the cultural history of body hair and explore how whiteness, misogyny, hygiene myths, and beauty marketing all converged to make your stubble a moral failing. Digressions include Eliza’s ongoing war with air travel, Lena Dunham’s latest press tour, and non-qualified med spas that will definitely leave you botched.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Eliza McLamb and edited by Allison Hagan. Research assistance from Kylie Finnigan.

To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, zoom hangouts and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

SOURCES:

A full Brazilian or all natural: understanding the influences on young women's decision to remove their pubic hair 

ASU professor encourages students to defy body hair norms 

Body Hair Removal: The 'Mundane' Production of Normative Femininity. 

Caucasian Female Body Hair and American Culture 

Darker-skinned people urged to take extra precautions as laser hair removal industry booms 

From flint razors to lasers: a timeline of hair removal methods

Hair or Bare?: The History of American Women and Hair Removal, 1914-1934

History of Hair Removal 

How the beauty industry convinced women to shave their legs 

How Much A Beauty Editor's Hair Removal Routine Actually Costs 

Male Stigmatization of Female Body Hair

Mapping 'Gross' Bodies: The Regulatory Politics of Disgust 

Plucked: A History of Hair Removal by Rebecca Herzig

‘Plucked’: Race, gender, science, medicine converge in history of hair removal

Pubic Hair Grooming Prevalence and Motivation Among Women in the United States 

Shaving and fashion: A storied history

The Casualties of Women's War on Body Hair

The Hair-Raising History of Women's Body Hair 

The History of Female Hair Removal 

The Naked Truth: Why Humans Have No Fur

The Strange Secret History Of Hair Removal Will Blow Your Mind 

Trends in body hair removal as depicted through art

UNSHAVED resistance & revolution in women’s body hair politics 

Why women feel pressured to shave

This week, the girlies are joined by writer, cultural critic, and internet princess Rayne Fisher-Quann for a bonus follow-up to our literacy episode. We unpack Rayne’s recent essay on “poser ethics” and ask: is pretending to have read Dostoevsky really that bad? Are there different kinds of reading, and is one better than the other? Have we fully reckoned with the cultural impact of a generation of men raised on Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Digressions include everyday activities that bring us closer to lead poisoning, a crucial Nerds Gummy Cluster taste test, and a deep dive into our personal neuroses.

Check out some of Rayne’s work here: https://internetprincess.substack.com/

This is a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode and access over 50 bonus episodes, mediasodes, and monthly zoom hangs visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

We’re going on tour!!!! Find tickets at https://linktr.ee/binchtopia