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Are you feeling the burn of fandom fatigue? Fear not, because this episode has got you covered! We're joined by the incredibly insightful podcaster (from queer Star Wars podcast, RuPalp's Podrace) and cultural critic Klaudia Amenábar, who's ready to help us navigate the world of passionate fandoms and the challenges of finding quality content. Together, we'll explore the art of storytelling, the issue of recycled content, and the potential for audience fatigue.

Get ready for a hilarious segment where we debate the "worst" fandoms between Star Trek and Star Wars, and dive into the complexities of fandom discourse. We'll also discuss our experiences with social media, fandom spaces, and how they've shaped our relationships and careers. Plus, Klaudia makes a case for how the best content is just usually from the same franchise.

Don't miss out on this intriguing discussion on fandoms where we ask the age-old question: when is too much of a good thing bad? Laugh along with us and Klaudia as we try to find out.

Also, shout out to illustrator Elana Delaney for our rad new cover art that she made for season three. Why yes, we are giving a nod to The Simple Life.

Don't forget to tune in on Sunday, June 25th, for our next mini-episode.

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Show Notes and References!

1.  My Life as a Secret Tumblr Star - Klaudia  Amenábar
2.  Is There Such a Thing as Too Much ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’? - Decider
3. The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms - Wired
4. It's Time to Forgive Hayden Christensen for the Star Wars Prequels - TIME
5. Klaudia on the WGA Writers Strike (and what this means for content) 
6. Fashion Blogger Amy Roiland Has Generated Some Drama on TikTok — What Influencers Are Saying - Distractify

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What do you get when you combine a chaotic comedy series, a messy queer reality TV show, and an attempt at making our first YouTube video? You get this week's episode of High Low Brow! We're back to give you our unique high-brow takes on some of the most entertaining low-brow television out right now. We've had plenty of time to catch up on TV between our misadventures in a mansion-turned-cottage and a nasty bout of sickness, so buckle up for a wild ride through our new favorite guilty pleasures and hopefully yours.

First up, we discuss the hilarious chaos of Jury Duty, a comedy series following Ronald, the only real juror, as he navigates a three-week-long trial with a cast of bizarre characters. Then we dive into The Ultimatum: Queer Love and compare it to its straight counterpart.

As always, we appreciate your support and love to hear your thoughts on these shows. Don't forget to rate this episode after you've listened or tell your friends about High Low Brow and stay tuned for more unhinged conversations! In two weeks, we'll tackle the ever-present issue of fandom fatigue with Klaudia Amenába, critic, podcaster & writer.  See you then!

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Show Notes and References!

1. Jury Duty Is Terrific TV. It Shouldn’t Get Another Season - The Atlantic
2. "Jury Duty" Is The Best New Comedy Of The Decade — Here's Everything You Need To Know - Buzzfeed
3.  Gay Ph.D. drop-out & Full-Time TV watcher, TV Scholar
4. Meet the Cast of The Ultimatum: Queer Love Before the Chaos Begins - THEM
5. Lexi and Mal Are the Sanest Couple on The Ultimatum: Queer Love - Men’s Health
6. One Good Thing: A game that turns romance into a teetering tower, doomed to fall - VOX

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It's hard to believe we're already on our third episode of season three! In this episode of the podcast, we delve into the fascinating intersection of AI and the music industry. Our guest for the day is Pablo the Don, a culture critic and TikTok influencer known for their insightful commentary on the latest music and pop culture trends. We have been a massive fan of Pablo since they popped up on our FYP a while back and knew they would be the perfect guest for this episode.

Pablo helps us explore how AI is changing the music industry, from how music is produced and distributed to how listeners consume it. They share their thoughts on the benefits and drawbacks of using AI in music creation and whether or not it could ever fully replace human creativity.

We also discuss the impact of AI on the business side of the music industry and how it's helping to personalize the music experience for listeners. As someone constantly immersed in music and pop culture, Pablo brings a unique perspective to the discussion.

Whether you're a music fan or simply curious about the latest technological advancements, this episode will offer an entertaining and thought-provoking conversation about the role of AI in the music industry. So join us as we explore this fascinating topic with Pablo the Don!

Don't forget to tune in on Sunday, May 28th, for our next mini-episode.

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Show Notes and References!

1. When you realize your favorite new song was written and performed by ... AI - NPR
2. Universal Music Group calls AI music a ‘fraud,’ wants it banned from streaming platforms. Experts say it’s not that easy - CNN
3. An A.I. Hit of Fake ‘Drake’ and ‘The Weeknd’ Rattles the Music World - The New York Times
4. How Will AI Impact The Future of Music? - Complex
5. Is AI Music a Genuine Threat To Real Artists? - VICE
6. Spotify Has an AI Music Problem—but Bots Love It - WIRED

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Welcome to our second episode of season three and our very first MINI High Low Brow episode. As mentioned, we'll drop one mini-episodes a month alongside one full-length guest episode so that you can get the maximum High Low Brow experience.

In this episode, River and Ama are digging into stuff they're watching and pop culture news that has been happening recently. Like Tucker Carlson being canned at FOX News or just how disappointed we both were with Brandon Cronenberg's horror film Infinity Pool. Plus, Ama waxes poetic about her new fave can-con show, Sew Fierce, airing on OutTV, and finally, we dig into the garbage fire that is Love is Blind.

Tune in now to hear our hot takes on this (and so much more!), which also gives you a small slice of what our Minis will be like. Don't forget to tune in to our next episode on Sunday, May 14th, where we'll have special guest TikTok commentator Pablo the Don discussing AI and the music industry.

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Show Notes and References!

1. Don Lemon "Notes App" Departure 
2. Tucker Carlson’s Unceremonious Departure
3. Brandon Cronenberg 2012 Film - Antiviral
4. Sew Fierce on OutTV 
5. Designer Dianna DiNoble - competitor on Sew Fierce
6. Ama's article on designing for Canada's Drag Race featuring Evan Clayton for CBC Arts
7. Laws of Robotics and Party Rights episode of Community 
8. Owl House’s Hexside School of Magic and Demoics
9. Danielle LIB Filming Experience CW: Suicidal Ideation 
10. Business Insider Article on LIB Filming Conditions (Behind Paywall) 
11. TikToker domesticblisters talks about Neurodiversity on LIB
12. LIB Contestants Address Mental Health Conditions - Buzzfeed

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Welcome to our first episode of season three and a special episode just before 4/20! We're here to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the classic movie, Dazed and Confused (directed by Richard Linklater) and to dig into the film's impact on North America's widespread cannabis use and media representation.

Of course, for this first episode of season three, we needed to invite one of our favorite podcasters and one of our first 'friends of the pod,' Jenny Blaze, from the podcast Bravo & Blaze!

Although Jenny is a huge fan of the BCU (aka Bravo Cinematic Universe) just like us, Jenny was more than keen to try and unpack how Dazed and Confused —with all the music, drugs, clothes, and relationships — showcased the stigma on cannabis, and challenged traditional narratives surrounding cannabis use.

We talk about the challenges that still face individuals who partake in cannabis use and why, although we've made such huge strides in showcasing weed culture in film and television, why there is still so much that still needs to be done to change society's perception of marijuana.

Tune in now and blaze up the conversation now. Don't forget to tune in on Sunday, April 30th, for our next mini-episode.

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Show Notes and References!

1. The New Yorker - The Dazed and Confused Generation
2. 5 Teen Movies That Didn't Age Well - Screen Rant
3. ‘RHONJ’ Fans Slam Margaret Josephs For Calling Jennifer Aydin a “Disheveled Little Drug Addict”: “That’s a Low Blow”
4. Tamra and Eddie Judge's CBD Company, VENA Wellness, Is Officially Open for Business
5. Only 484 marijuana pardons have been granted since the program started in 2019 (Canada) - CBC

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It's only been 84 years, but we're back for Season 3 of High Low Brow. I'm sure you all understand - we're all collectively exhausted.

For this week's intro to season three, I'm happy to introduce the pod's new co-host and probably my fave person: my partner, River Gilbert.

In this short 30-minute episode, listen to one person with ADHD and one person with autism discuss trans rights, the futch scale, all the board games we would like to play, how season three may be a bit more chaotic than usual and play a game (in true High Low Brow fashion) and what would put a small Victorian child into a coma.

Yeah, it sounds like a pretty chill episode, right? Guess you'll have to listen and find out. Thanks again for supporting us as we enter S3 and don't forget to check back for our next full-length episode on April 16th.

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Show Notes and References!

1. The Futch Scale - Know Your Meme
2. TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida
3. Princess with a Cursed Dick game
4. “All My Exes are in Mech Suits” game by Anna Anthropy 
5. CGI Kiss in the film, You People
6. They did, in fact, have cocaine in the Victorian Era 
7. Brace Land’s Neutri-Ceuticals
8. RiFF RaFF being...RiFF RaFF

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Well, faithful listeners, it's that time again ⁠— the end of the season. You have been on such an incredible second-season journey with us. We brought on our brand new host Ameema! We tried out a new show format! We had on some of our fave guests (to date) and broke some of our listening records.

And that was all thanks to you! So kick back and listen to this 40-minute love letter to season two of High Low Brow — plus, a huge thanks go out to everyone involved in the show's making: producer Vanessa Murphy, social media editor Adara Nikkanen, and blog editor Olivia Petts.

We will be back in the fall of 2022 with a new season and many more laughs. So stay tuned and don’t feel shy: tell us in the comments or leave us a voicemail (link in bio on social media) on what you’d like to hear from us!

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Media featuring cops has been a staple of North American film and television culture. Heck, who didn't grow up watching Law and Order on A&E? However, during the George Floyd protests, copaganda was identified as a widespread tactic of the police and media. Officers kneeling with protestors in performative displays of solidarity online. People worldwide became increasingly aware of how pieces of popular culture (*cough, police lip-sync challenges on TikTok, cough*) tried to be more sympathetic to the police without showcasing the real cost of policing to marginalized bodies. And it's not hard to see why.

For this week's episode, we have invited Reina Sultan, a Lebanese-American Muslim freelance journalist and one of the co-creators of 8 to Abolition. She is a PIC [prison-industrial complex] abolitionist and anarcha-feminist working to dismantle systems of white supremacist cisheteronormative patriarchy. Her work can also be found in VICE, WYV, Bitch Mag, ZORA, and Teen Vogue - to name a few.

In this week's episode, we discuss the following:

• What is copaganda?
• How can we begin to ask more questions or have better media literacy when it comes to  copaganda
• Is all cop media copaganda - how and where do we draw the line?
• Is Paw Patrol ACAB? How are kids films and TV shows being infiltrated by copaganda and having discussions with your kids earlier on what they should know
• How do we put an end to copaganda or can we, realistically?
• Then we play a game called "Cop or No Cop"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
  
  Further Reading on this Topic!
  1. When ‘Cops’ Forced Ugly Copaganda Down America’s Throat - The Daily Beast
  2. How 70 years of cop shows taught us to valorize the police - Vox
  3. NSW Police Are Being Slammed On TikTok For ‘Copaganda’ - Junkee
  4. Even the best cop shows fall into "copaganda" – helping the real-life police more than survivors - Salon
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Listen, we don't mind admitting it:  memes are a huge love language for us. No matter who you are and what stage we are at in our friendship,  you best believe you will get a meme sent from me to you. Throughout the pandemic, many people used memes to cope with the world's heaviness, as they're an undeniably fun way to express one's emotions and feelings. But they are also a great way to connect with others in so many things, including pop culture, reactions, and the news. ✨

So for this week's episode, we decided to sit down and dig into memes as a love language. While Millennials and members of Gen Z are constantly criticized for their inability to put their phones down and connect with people through in-person interactions, how valuable are memes for digital self-expression? In this week's episode, we chat with Thea D'souza from the wildly popular Instagram account @YourMomsAreWatching. Her account uses a mixture of humorous memes, serious analysis, and personal stories to analyze the Bravoverse has been on the tip of everyone's tongue recently, as she has been in the middle of the Lisa Rinna/Patrick Somrs/Kathy Hilton drama - D'souza has used memes to build an engaged community of Bravo fans who can laugh at the sheer absurdity of the shows drama.  📺

Throughout the episode, we try to explore the ideas, the spread, and some of the behind the scenes of running a popular meme account, including:  

• How important is this form of digital self-expression?
• Where do you get your ideas from, and/or does your audience ever reach out with ideas?
• Why are memes so intimate and another form of communication?
• Has anyone (celeb or otherwise) ever reached out and been mad about something you've created?
• Memes are basically editorial cartoons for the internet age, true or false?
• Then we take a quick break for a segment where Ama chats with James behind the hilarious and popular Instagram account Gay Writes - the queer book coven that uses memes to get people to read books. 
• Then we talk about the Lisa Rinna/Patrick Somrs/Kathy Hilton drama because OBVIOUSLY.

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Further Reading on this Topic!

1. Choose your memes carefully. They might change your mood. - Mashable
2. Memes have helped those cope with stress during the pandemic - The Washington Post
3. Memers are Taking Over TikTok - The New York Times
4. From Doge To TikTok: How Society And Our Memes Changed In The 2010s - HuffPost
5. The Evolution of Memes - Complex

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We're at the end of Pride Month and wow, what a Pride Month it has been. The U.S. Supreme Court justice just overturned Roe vs Wade and there are rumblings that same-sex marriages are next. 👀😡 Wow, we hate it here, officially.

So perhaps to get our minds off things, it's time for our latest episode. It's our next installment in this month's all Pride-related content! 🌈✨🌈 This week's episode focuses on why millennials (specifically queer millennials) are so obsessed with astrology. We decided to invite on to High Low Brow one of our favourite writers and astrologers, Jeanna Kadlec.  The creator of the newsletter, Astrology for Writers and author of the upcoming novel, Heretic (to be released in October 2022) - we chat with Kadlec about astrology as a form of social, cultural currency in the queer community.

Throughout the episode, we try to unpack the good, bad and the ugly when it comes to the cosmos: 

• The power of astrology and how in some instances it is replacing religion
• How do some people use astrology as a crutch to replace their problematic behaviour  
• How can astrology be political
• Are astrological memes and other social media tropes hurtful or harmful to those looking for guidance?
• Is there a reason why traditional astrology is so fucking gendered?
• Are tarot, astrology, and witchcraft the same? Why do people often get these confused?
• Then we take a quick break for a segment where Ama chats with Mecca Woods, a New York City-based astrologer, and horoscopes and astro-guidance have appeared in places like Bustle and Essence, as well as on TLC. Mecca chats with Ama about the ethics of astrology and why we need to respect it. 
• Finally, we play a game where we take a Buzzfeed quiz to figure out if it can ACCURATELY figure out what our astrology sign is based on random questions it asks us. The answers may shock you! 

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Further Reading on this Topic!

1. The Rise of the Queer Astrology Movement - VICE
2. Meet the Queer Skeptics Who Hate Astrology - THEM
3. Queer Astrology: Why LGBTQ People Seek Answers in the Stars - LOGO
4. Astrology is booming, and it's queerer than ever -Mashable
5. The importance of astrology in online queer communities - Hello Giggles 

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