Helllo friends! Welcome to the EIChapel! This week we're making a vow to you all to cover interesting stories, dive deep into the discourse and share yet another bouquet of excellent recommendations.

First up we're discussing a pretty grim story out of Manchester, after a school librarian revealed she had been asked to remove a host of book titles from her shelves. These books included Heartstopper, The Da Vinci Code, 1984, We Should All Be Feminists and Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates. We discuss the importance of reading beyond your age group and why we think these decisions fail children rather than protect them.

Secondly we're untangling some thorny feminist internet discourse, after one Gen Z account accused millennial feminism of being sex-obsessed, shallow and misguided. They wrote "Gen Z is kinda clocking millennial/Gen X feminists tea. Y’all said/say men are trash but then advocate for having casual sex with many of them and partaking in kinks that may be harmful. It never made sense." We unpack this idea and interrogate the feminist messaging that we grew up with and whether our attitudes to sex really have been harmful to younger generations.

And finally- Kristoffer Borgli's new Zendaya/R-Pattz fronted film The Drama. If you've not heard about it, then congratulations on being born literally this morning. To catch you up: what starts as a gorgeous meet-cute becomes something else after Emma (Zendaya) shares the worst thing she's ever done during a pre-wedding dinner with her maid of honour (Alana Haim), her husband (Mamoudou Athie), and Charlie (Edward Cullen Robert Pattinson). Don't worry- we signpost our spoilers very clearly.

Thanks so much to Cue Podcasts for the edit and for all of you listening at home!

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This week Ruchira was loving MAFs and reformer pilates, Oenone was loving The XX radio on Spotify and hating Leave The World Behind, and Beth was loving learning her lesson about ChatGPT and Dandelion Is Dead by Rosie Storey.

School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books - Index on Censorship

Queer author from Essex devastated after school removes book - BBC News

Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates

No, Millennial Feminism Did Not Trick You by Michaele Makusha on Substack

Roger Ebert - The Drama review by Robert Daniels

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Hello EICockapoos! This week we're diving into some discourse that's been rumbling on steadily for a few weeks and spawning new discourse in its wake... Lindy West's latest memoir and what it reveals about her polyamorous relationship and wider attitudes to non-traditional ways of loving.

Some context: Lindy West is a feminist author, activist and comedian whose newly released memoir Adult Braces explores her journey from denial about her husband Aham's need to be poly and her eventual happy ending as one third of a triad with him and another partner. The details of the memoir have caused a bit of a stir after she described finding out from a third party that he was out kissing someone at a bar, with readers struggling to see this as anything other than what NOT to do when opening a marriage.

With your help we discuss the fall out, the coverage and the case for caution when exploring a non-normative relationship style. Thanks so much for all of your messages- we try to include as many as possible, but rest assured they are ALL read by us BTS and each one helps to guide our discussion.

Enjoy! O, R, B

Lindy West and the Trap of Perfect Polyamory - Harpers Bazaar

The Horseshoe Theory of Polyamory - The Atlantic

Why people are having such strong reactions to Lindy West's new memoir - Vox

Lindy West Thought That she Couldn't Handle Polyamory. She Was Wrong - The New York Times

Slate - Lindy West's How-Not-To Guide to Polyamory

Elena Bridgers Substack note

All Fours by Miranda July - Everything In Conversation, Book Club edition

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Hey EICrumpets,

This week Wireless Festival announced that all three days would feature Ye as their headline off the back of his 12th studio album Bully. Ye was blocked from entering Australia last year after releasing the song ‘Heil Hitler’, and declared himself a Nazi around 2022, going on many X rants saying countless antisemitic things. We ask why now, and why are such comebacks easily dished out to men?

Are the divas in for the same fate of dodos? Pop culture writer Louis Staples argues so. In a piece for Harper's, he says we're witnessing the extinction of divas in real-time.

Women are the target for predictive market apps – platforms that sees users betting on everything from war, to Taylor Swift's wedding. Social accounts like @Polybaddies on X and @Kalshigirls have their eyes on young women through memes on matcha and starter packs. Why? Owners say they want women to be benefitting from the financial gains available to men, but is this really true?

THANK YOU Cue Podcasts.

And thank YOU for listening <3 We'd love to hear your thoughts in the Spotify comments or in our DMs xoxo O,R,B

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This week Ruchira has been watching The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and Last One Laughing S2. Oenone has been loving Nicole Daniels, and Beth loved Project Hail Mary.

Kalshi and Polymarket are using influencers to lure in the 50% who don’t bet on sports gambling sites: women | The Independent 

Exclusive: Federal prosecutors are exploring whether prediction market bets trip insider trading laws | CNN Politics

Women Wanted: Kalshi Pushes to Expand Far Beyond Sport Bets

Is the Diva in Danger of Extinction?

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Hello EICreatures, we're back, and so are TV producers! Did we ask for another dating show? No! Did we get one? YES!

Netflix says ‘Age of Attraction is throwing out the rulebook — and birthdates — singles build connections based purely on chemistry, compatibility, and an undeniable spark that has nothing to do with the year they graduated from high school. In this dating experiment, there’s only one question they can’t ask: 'How old are you?’'

Filmed in Whistler Canada, the 40 singles meet at a retreat and take part in different activities to get to know each other… if they feel a special connection they can go to the 'promise room', exchange rings and commit to each other before they reveal their age to each other…

Ellie Muir for the independent writes it's ‘an Oedipus complex disguised as a dating show’ ‘Age, surprise surprise, turns out to be a bit more than that. Mommy and daddy issues are always the elephant in the room here, but rarely interrogated. The younger women lament the "immature" men in their own generation and seek out someone older with financial stability, while the older men — most of them with children from previous relationships — definitely signed up to this show with the sole intention of securing a 20-something girlfriend.’ 

Has the pendulum swung back on the stigma around age gap relationships? Or does this show prove that they can indeed be very tricky territory?

We hope you enjoy, as always please do rate, review and follow the show on your podcast player app! O, R, B xx

Age Of Attraction

Netflix’s Age of Attraction is an Oedipus complex disguised as a dating show

The Myth of the 25-Year-Old Brain

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Hello EICorgis! Happy Friday!

This week we kick off by discussing a feel-good story involving seven courageous canines who went missing in China before returning home as a pack- led by a bossy little corgi called Da Pang (or Big Fatty).

Then we get a first person report of Lily Allen's tour from Oenone. O is a huge fan, but does she think that the critics are right in calling Lily's 45 minutes of stage time a little... underwhelming?

Then we're reviewing the show everyone was loving to hate (even before the first episode had aired)- SNL UK. Did we like it? Will we watch again? And do we think this could end up as enormous as the American OG?

Up next, more Chappell Roan drama after she was slammed by former Chelsea footballer Jorginho. He claimed that she sent her security guard to scold his wife and 11 year old stepdaughter for bothering the singer at a hotel breakfast. Chappell (who has been banned from an upcoming festival in Rio de Janiero because of this drama) denies that this security guard was hers and says she never saw a mother or a child while having her breakfast. What do we make of it, why is Chappell such a target for these stories, and how the HELL is Jude Law involved?

Finally: some literary drama after horror novelist Mia Ballard had her book Shy Girl pulled from shelves and cancelled after Hachette received claims it had been written with the help of AI. Mia denies these allegations and claims a third party editor was to blame. We discuss the book, the allegations and what it means for publishing that a partly AI book could potentially make it all the way to shelves before being detected.

This week Oenone has been loving the group of seven dogs who travelled 17km home, Ruchira has been loving The L Word and Beth has been loving Ready or Not 2.

Thank you SO much for listening and Cue Podcasts for the edit! You can find us on IG & TikTok @ everythingiscontentpod. See you on Weds- O, R, B x

Links:

The Guardian - Lily Allen Revew

Deadline - Saturday Night Live UK: What the critics are saying

The Guardian - Chappell Roan responds to criticism

YouTube - i'm pretty sure this book is ai slop | frankie's shelf

BBC - Publisher cancels horror novel's release over AI claims

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Hello EIContent-obsessives, this week's deep-dive is on child influencers.

Jessalyn Grace, now 18, used to post YouTube videos to her 1.5m online audience as a child. But the former influencer has recently shared the dark reality behind that smiley online veneer. Behind the scenes she was an over-worked, anxious child and the breadwinner of her family. In this new video, she's also accused her mother of financial, verbal and physical abuse and shared why she left her family home.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. We'd love to hear your thoughts in the Spotify comments and in our DMs – did you agree/disagree with our takes?

Love O,R,B xxxx

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my experience as a "child youtuber"

Stacey Dooley: The Family That Live Online

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Hello EICritics! This week on the podcast we have a special guest! Fred Asquith is here to help us bring to you this Oscars special.

You may know Fred from his videos with his darling wife, he's a Yorkshire man in London, making some of the funniest videos on the web, as well as being a movie critic, you can follow him @fredasquith & @fredasquithonfilm.

We talk about that Timothée Chalamet faux pas, find out a little Oscars trivia, and discuss what we made of this years awards, the nominees, winners and of course, the outfits.

Thank you so much to Cue Podcasts for the edit.

We hope you enjoy the episode, and always please do share with your friends and leave us a rating or review on your podcast player app!

O, R, B xx

The Oscars feel silly in an era of endless crisis. But film still matters

Oscars Viewership Slides 9%, Its First Drop Since 2021

The Oscars are rigged and there's a formula to win

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Happy Wednesday EICoveters! So a couple of weeks ago a video by TikTok user Farah Ammarah went viral, in which she describes envy in a friendship from the perspective of being the envious friend. She lists her former friend's car, job and neighbourhood as reasons she felt envious. She admitted that it made her feel bitter to see a friend doing so well.

The video was seen millions of times and sparked a hot debate about whether there was something strange or toxic in her experience. Thousands of commenters lashed out- saying envy and jealousy in friendships shouldn't be possible and that anyone who feels it is dangerous to be around. Other people were kinder, reminding other viewers that it's a totally normal emotion, we all experience it (even if we pretend otherwise) and it only matters how you respond.

So we asked you all what you made of the video and the response. What does envy/jealousy mean when it's directed to a friend? Is it a sign we should distance ourselves or lean into it and communicate? + we share our our jealousy/envy experiences and what they've taught us.

Thanks so much for your thoughts, prayers, opinions and takes! Talk soon, O, R, B x

Farrah's video

Merriam Webster - Jealous vs. Envious

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Hello EICherry pies, we're back with a new episode for you <3

Ruchira is back with a dispatch from her recent trip. We then dive into an excruciating interview with Louis Theroux that's dividing the internet. Next: Style-ish, the Australian fashion podcast under Shameless media, got into hot water after they discussed a TikToker's video on personal style. We wade into the discourse to work out what happened. Finally, Freya India is fast becoming the 'voice of a generation' in some circles and has been branded the 'anti-woke influencer' for Gen Z. We previously loved a piece of hers on social media slop... Were we wrong to like it?

Thank you for Cue Podcasts for production.

This week on the podcast, Oenone reccomended Line of Duty and the Bride bad reviews. Beth loved Netflix's new series Vladimir and Ruchira reccomended the March issue of Vanity Fair and Yesteryear.

‘Would you like me to cry now?’: Louis Theroux on the manosphere, marriage and misunderstandings

How to Develop Your Own Sense of Taste | TikTok

“Private princess”: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy would hate this

Unpacking your feedback–Style-ish – Apple Podcasts

The 26-year-old Brit who is the anti-woke voice of Gen Z women

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Happy Wednesday EICorporeal beings. Last month, a BBC documentary posited the question, 'can AI ‘cure’ grief?', which got us wondering, should we want to cure grief?

In AI confidential with Hannah Fry, Fry speaks to Justin Harrison, founder of You, Only Virtual. He ‘created the concept of the Versona after facing the dual challenges of his own near-fatal motorcycle accident and his mother's terminal cancer diagnosis. During this difficult period, he sought a way to preserve the unique bond he shared with his mother, leading to the development of YOV's Al technology. The Versona allows individuals to digitally recreate and continue conversations with their loved ones, even after they've passed, providing lasting emotional connection.’

Justin Harrison is not the only person working on this emerging technology, there are others such as Project December which is is an online AI platform created by video-game designer Jason Rohrer that allows users to simulate text-based conversations with specific personalities, including deceased individuals and, HereAfter AI which promises to ‘Preserve memories with an app that interviews you about your life. Then, let loved ones hear meaningful stories by chatting with the virtual you’.

Is this something that we need? Is it something we want?

Thank you so much for being so generous and sharing with us your experiences on such a sensitive topic, we're always so grateful.

Love you! and hope you enjoy the episode O, R, B xxx

AI Confidential with Hannah Fry

The Dead Have Never Been This Talkative

Alexis Ohanian thread

The Year Of Magical Thinking - Joan Dixon

The Obliterated Place

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