Culture Club

Hi friends!

After a plethora of fun interviews (Poh Ling Yeow! Jessica Mauboy! Indy Yelich!) we are back with a juicy pop culture episode. But first, we give you a little update on what we've been up to. After some Culture Quickie updates, we launch into the engagement news of the year: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Is it the parasocial moment of the decade?

Next, former West Coast Eagles player, Mitch Brown, made history in Australia this week after coming out as the first queer player in the AFL's (that's the Australian Football League) 129-year history. We discuss the importance of this moment, the response of the other clubs, and hear an excerpt from Bridget Hustwaite's opinion article on the topic for Missing Perspectives.

US tennis champion Serena Williams has made headlines this week after becoming the face of weight loss drug and direct-to-patient healthcare company, Ro. We debate the ethics of an athlete promoting a weight loss drug and discuss the back-and-forth the news has created on social media. We reference Jameela Jamil's Instagram post, the PEOPLE magazine exclusive Serena broke the news in, and the Sydney Morning Herald's article by Nell Geraets.

In Bookmarked, we have two book recommendations to help get you out of your reading slump. Jas is sharing an all-time favourite in Nora Ephron's Heartburn, while Maggie recommends the Australian eco-dystopian book Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.

Chat to you next time! Jas & Mags xo

This episode of Culture Club is sponsored by WHEN Fertility. Learn more about your reproductive health with the at-home fingerprick test. And, speak with your trusted GP if you have questions or concerns about your health.

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In 2006, a teenage Jessica Mauboy auditioned for the fourth season of Australian Idol during the show’s regional audition tour, finishing as a runner-up. Fast forward nearly two decades, and Jessica is one of Australia’s most beloved (and successful) artists. 

The singer has achieved six top-ten albums (including two number-ones) and 16 top 20 singles. She’s also been nominated for an ARIA a whopping 25 times and has won two. And while we personally think Jess was robbed in the recent Triple J Hottest 100 Australian songs countdown, she is receiving her flowers with her induction into the National Indigenous Music Award’s Hall Of Fame.

In this chat, we discuss her new independent music label Jamally, her nostalgic resurgence on TikTok, and what it means to be inducted into the National Indigenous Music Award’s Hall Of Fame.

Jas & Mags xo

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Have you always wanted to travel alone but were overwhelmed by the thought? Or maybe the wrangling of friends in group chats meant compromising your holiday plans?

In this special solo episode of Culture Club, Maggie is breaking down her dos and don'ts of solo travel.

From safety as a woman to packing tips and why she's so obsessed with hopping on a flight, Maggie is sharing everything she's learnt so far and answers your burning questions.

We'll be back in your ears with pop culture eps soon.

Jas & Maggie x

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Indy Yelich is a New Zealand-born indie pop artist who’s just released her second EP, ‘Fame Is A Bedroom’. The EP explores age-gap relationships, sisterhood, sexuality, and the conversations that happen behind closed doors.  

And, if her name sounds familiar, that’s because Indy is the younger sister of Ella Yelich, AKA, Lorde. In this interview, we chat about what it’s like to move to NYC from Auckland, New Zealand, her diary-like new EP, and how she grappled with her older sister’s stratospheric rise to fame as a young teen.

Indy kindly gave us heaps of recommendations during our chat.

In music, Indy loves 'Feeling' by Billy Marten and 'All I Ever Asked' by Rachel Chinouriri. When it comes to books, Indy is in her fantasy era with 'Fourth Wing' by Rebecca Yarros and 'Skipshock' by Caroline O'Donoghue. In poetry, Indy's favourite poems are 'June' by Alex Dimitrov and 'Wild Geese' by Mary Oliver.

This episode is brought to you by Lifeblood. Find your nearest donation centre (and get props for being the middle child) here.

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Poh Ling Yeow has been a beloved fixture on Australian TV since her Masterchef debut in 2009. She’s hosted multiple shows, like ABC’s Poh’s Kitchen and SBS’s Poh & Co, and has authored multiple cookbooks. Now, she’s back on our screens as one of the Masterchef judges. Poh has also been nominated for the prestigious TV Week Gold Logie! You can vote for Poh here until 7pm on Friday August 1.

In this chat we discuss how she balances multiple creative pursuits, why her shyness became her strength, and "sucking the marrow" out of all life has to offer.

Poh recommends Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

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Hi pals!

Strap in, cos we have a whole host of Culture Quickies to run through.

Filming for The Devil Wears Prada 2 is officially underway with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway papped on the streets of New York. The Trisha Paytas baby reincarnation theory continues, and has Rebel Wilson “deliberately undermined” the release of her comedy musical, The Deb?

We know many Culture Clubbers have fantasised about Mr. Harry Styles, and now he’s letting us take him to bed – or, at least, his product. In Culture Shock, we discuss Pleasing's new product and whether we'd buy it ourselves...

Next, Charli xcx and her musician husband, George Daniel, got married in Hackney, London. We share our thoughts on the pap pics and ask why everyone's obsessed with "low-key" weddings.

Fashion brand Guess has published print ads in Vogue US… using AI models. Seraphinne Vallora, an AI marketing agency that creates editorial-level AI-driven marketing campaigns, is behind the images but who is responsible here? The publication or the brand?

In recommendations, Maggie shares YouTube series, Worth It – Andrew, Steve and Adam and Jas is obsessed with The Summer I Turned Pretty. Up top, we also chat about Melbourne International Film Festival, which kicks off on August 7. Go support the arts!

Chat to you next time!

Jas & Mags xo

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Hi pals!

For the first time in ten years, the gender pay gap has flipped — at least for Gen Zs. According to a recent report, full-time working Gen Z women between the ages of 16 and 24 are out-earning their male peers. But is everything what it seems? We discuss the findings and our own thoughts on the rhetoric around men being "left behind". Jas references this TikTok.

Courtney Palmer (@courtney_joelle on TikTok) has gone viral with her take on “princess treatment,”. In a recent video (viewed millions of times), the self-proclaimed housewife princess shares that she doesn't look at or talk to wait staff when on a date with her husband. Is this rhetoric signalling a darker turning point for feminism? Maggie also references an article in The Guardian by Emma Beddington titled 'Is ‘princess treatment’ a harmless trend – or yet more fuel for misogyny?'

Next, Australian retailer Big W was in hot water recently after selling MAGA hats on its website. It caused people to ask who should be held accountable and how much heat should Big W cop? This leads us into a discussion around the shock departure of Love Island USA contestant, Cierra Ortega, who left after screenshots of her using an anti-Asian slur circulated.

Maggie references a Refinery29 article titled, 'Two Things Can Be True: Cierra Was Wrong & Love Island Mishandled Her Exit' by Taryn Finley.

After a bit of a meatier episode, we end on two pop culture recs that we think you'll also love.

Maggie recommends the musical Annie, while Jas surprisingly adored Superman in IMAX. If you want to see all of our podcast recommendations in the one place, download Australian app, Pod Recs! Thank you to the people who asked for us to be included on the app.

Chat to you next time!

Jas & Mags xo

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Hi!

After culture quickie bites, including Maggie's matcha TikTok take and the media's response to Bob Vylan's Glastonbury protest, we dive into the P Diddy verdict announced this week. This segment includes a reference to The Cut's article titled Maybe Me Too Is Really Dead by Andrea González-Ramírez.

Do you feel the pressure to be always digitally available? It’s a question Sydney writer, Miski Omar, asked in The Guardian Australia this week. Miski kindly read out a snippet of her article titled 'I’m not ignoring your message – I’m overwhelmed by the tyranny of being reachable'.

In Bookmarked, Maggie enjoyed the 2008 teen movie The Clique. Social Media Producer Allie Daisy King gave Culture Club a snippet of her take on the seminal movie before her video essay is published on Extra Virgin. Jas enjoyed the Substack, how to want more without hating what you already have by Milk and Cookies author, Ayushi Thakkar.

We hope you enjoyed this ep! Chat next time xo.

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Hi friends!

Welcome to Culture Club.

In this week's ep we have pop culture bites that we NEED to discuss with the class. First up, the new Sense and Sensibility adaptation starring Daisy Edgar-Jones has been announced. Plus, author (and Culture Club Chats alumni) Diana Reid worked on the screenplay! Huge.

Next, Olivia Rodrigo had her movie moment as she spotted at Glastonbury singing along with the "Common People". Sabrina Carpenter has an album cover that's "approved by God". And, has the rumoured fued between Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia finally been put to bed?

In Culture Shock, we discuss the stepping down of publishing titan, Anna Wintour as she departs the top job at Vogue.

The “wedding of the century" has landed in Venice – Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and ex-American journalist Lauren Sanchez have tied the knot in a lavish (and controversial) three-day affair. We discuss the high profile guests, Lauren's dress, and the protests that followed the billionaire's arrival. Jacqueline Maley reads a snippet of her article for SMH, The Bezos-Sanchez wedding party proves it – the age of vulgarity is upon us.

In Bookmarked, Jas recommends the Disney+ show, Rivals, while Maggie is loving the Amazon Prime series, Overcompensating.

That's all for now! Chat soon. Jas & Mags xo

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Hi friends!

The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders have had a pay increase and Jojo Siwa says she felt pressured to come out as a lesbian. We reference the Cosmopolitan article 'Prestige Won’t Pay My Rent' by Cait Emma Burke.

Next, actress and advocate Jameela Jamil says she's done being interviewed by women. After an interview with The Times UK, Jameela took to social media and her Substack to share that the story “read like a cheap, bitchy, Daily Mail blog, written by a student desperate to get clicks to keep their job.” In our chat, we discuss celebrities' expectations of profile interviews and why journalists wanting to be friends with their subject is leading to worse media and content.

In recommendations, we share two books: Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors and Gliff by Ali Smith.

Chat next week besties.

Jas & Mags xo

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