High Low Brow

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Off the top, Ama & Danita live-react to an interview with Lourdes Leon before pivoting to a completely unplanned tangent about which child of a Real Housewife is likeliest to write a tell-all memoir.

Then, writer & resident spooky bitch Mary Beth McAndrews joins Danita to chat about the merits of found footage films, their parallels to reality television, scary internet rabbit holes, and where the ever-evolving genre is headed next.

If you liked what you heard, maybe think about rating us! You can also find all our social links by visiting our Lnk.Bio page.

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Further Reading

• How a New Wave of Found Footage Films Are Tackling Truth
• 20 Scary Videos From TikTok That Literally Have Me Shook
• Here's Every Creepy Tweet Adam Ellis Has Posted About "Dear David”
• READ MARY BETH'S WORK & FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER!

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Want to support us?  Then send us a few bucks on Ko-Fi! All the money helps us with production costs and creating the podcast you hear today.

Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/highlowbrowpod)

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Off the top, Ama and Danita chat about the chaotic casting of the Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip & the significance of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith finally confirming they have an open marriage.

Then, writer Keah Brown joins Ama to discuss finding solidarity in online communities, harnessing the power of social media for good, the joy of liking things, and the importance of seeing yourself represented in the media.

If you liked what you heard, maybe think about rating us! You can also find all our social links by visiting our Lnk.Bio page.

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Further Reading

• Vicki Gunvalson implied that ‘Housewives’ could die from COVID-19 vaccine
• Introducing the Real Will Smith
• These Sassy #DisabledAndCute Tweets Will Give You Life
• Disabled creators on TikTok show the world it’s time for a different kind of star
• How Disabled Creators on TikTok Are Going Beyond "Inspiration Porn"
• BUY KEAH'S BOOKS!

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Want to support us?  Then send us a few bucks on Ko-Fi! All the money helps us with production costs and creating the podcast you hear today.

Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/highlowbrowpod)

Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/highlowbrowpod)

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Off the top, Ama & Danita cover the latest in cursed internet content, from James Corden's flash mobs and Kanye's latest album launch. BTW, if our opening isn't as ~timely~ as usual, it's because LIFE HAPPENS. But hello, it's us from a few weeks ago!

Then, two Amandas are better than one as Ama welcomes Amanda Montell, author of Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism to talk about the power of words, Instagram cults, and Mormon MLMs.

If you liked what you heard, maybe think about rating us! You can also find all our social links by visiting our Lnk.Bio page.

(CANADIAN FRIENDS, ARE YOU READY TO VOTE? GO here!)

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Further Reading

James Corden’s ‘Cinderella’ flash mob is getting dragged on Twitter

Topline: Does the world really need a gay bank?

Could the Donda Release Have Been Any More Chaotic?

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Want to support us?  Then send us a few bucks on Ko-Fi! All the money helps us with production costs and creating the podcast you hear today.

Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/highlowbrowpod)

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Off the top, Ama & Danita chat about the upcoming Canadian election, the internet's reaction to Lorde's new album, and Taylor Swift TikTok (a.k.a SwiftTok).

Then, Ama is joined by Ann Pornel, comedian and co-host of The Great Canadian Baking Show, to talk about diet culture, plus-size fashion, fat representation on television, and the most superior form of potato.

If you liked what you heard, maybe think about rating us! You can also find all our social links by visiting our Lnk.Bio page.

(CANADIAN FRIENDS, ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE? Check here!)

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Further Reading

When fans don’t want change: Should we give Lorde a break and respect her need for growth?

Taylor Swift Just Joined TikTok To Show Off Four Very Different Music Eras

Forget the sweets, the real treat on The Great Canadian Baking Show is new co-host Ann Pornel

Here’s What “Plus-Size” Really Means — Fashion Brands, Take Note

Pastry Chef Attempts to Make Gourmet Ferrero Rocher | Gourmet Makes | Bon Appétit

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Want to support us?  Then send us a few bucks on Ko-Fi! All the money helps us with production costs and creating the podcast you hear today.

Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/highlowbrowpod)

Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/highlowbrowpod)

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Off the top, Ama & Danita share another hopeful #FreeBritney update before taste testing Paris Hilton's new Netflix show, Cooking With Paris.

Then, Ama is joined by Stacy Lee Kong, writer, editor, cultural critic, and founder of Friday Things to examine our complicity in the media's victimization and villainization of young female celebrities in the 90s and early 00s.

If you liked what you heard, maybe think about rating us! You can also find all our social links by visiting our Lnk.Bio page.

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Further Reading

Cooking With Cooking With Paris

‘Reading the story today makes me cringe’: Female stars and the media machine of the early 2000s

Speaking of Britney … What About All Those Other Women?

The Biggest Moments in xoJane History

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Want to support us?  Then send us a few bucks on Ko-Fi! All the money helps us with production costs and creating the podcast you hear today.

Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/highlowbrowpod)

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Off the top, Ama & Danita get real about how their respective post-vaccine re-entries are going, the CBD scandal & racism at the Olympics, and the Anthony Bourdain documentary.

Then, Ama is joined by Natalie Zina Walschots, Extremely Online Person) and author of one of our favorite books (Hench - READ IT OR ELSE!) to dive into everything fan fiction. What draws people to the genre? Why are content tags so great? What even constitutes literature? Do the Avengers watch the Bon Appetit YouTube channel in their downtime? 

If you liked what you heard, maybe think about rating us! You can also find all our social links by visiting our Lnk.Bio page.

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Further Reading

Doobie Standard? Megan Rapinoe Promotes Cannabis Brand at Olympics After Sha'Carri Richardson Ban

The Ethics of a Deepfake Anthony Bourdain Voice

The delicate relationship between grief and fanfiction, explained by a psychologist 

I Miss Using Floppy Disks as Small Treasure Chests for Fanfiction

FROM FANFICTION TO NETFLIX HITS - Wattpad’s plan to become the A24 of teen dramas

A Britney Spears fanfiction was published in the world’s leading science journal

People Are Reading So Much Fanfiction It's Crashing the Biggest Fanfic Website

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Want to support us?  Then send us a few bucks on Ko-Fi! All the money helps us with production costs and creating the podcast you hear today.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Off the top, Ama & Danita share a hopeful #FreeBritney update, discuss the soapy life of Erika Jayne, and the Emmy nominations.

Then, to celebrate the Spice Girls' iconic 'Wannabe' turning 25 this month, we get personal about our formative years, rank our favourite songs, reminisce about 2008's reunion tour, and explore their queerness (and queerbaiting). It's like a sleepover for your ears.

If you liked what you heard, maybe think about rating us! You can also find all our social links by visiting our Lnk.Bio page.

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Further Reading

Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Nightmare
The Unintended Racial Horror of ‘Lovecraft Country’
Amber J. Phillips' IG post about 'Lovecraft Country'
The Secret Feminist History Behind The Spice Girls’ “Wannabe”
The Spice Girls are kind of gay, viva forever
How Ginger Spice helped me discover my sexuality

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Want to support us?  Then send us a few bucks on Ko-Fi! All the money helps us with production costs and creating the podcast you hear today.

Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/highlowbrowpod)

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Off the top, Ama & Danita dish about which music icons are giving off okay boomer energy this week, preferred ice types, and breaking news about The View.

Then, after the steady rise and swift downfall of the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, what's next for Food Media? Ama is joined by Bettina Makalintal, food + culture writer for Vice, to explore the nuances of cultural appropriation, foodie fandoms, TikTok recipes, and most importantly, who Bettina would choose for her team on Top Chef's Restaurant Wars.

If you liked what you heard, maybe think about rating us! You can also find all our social links by visiting our Lnk.Bio page.

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Further Reading

• Pellet Ice Is Extremely Overrated
• The food world is imploding over structural racism. The problems are much bigger than Bon Appétit.
• What Really Happened at ‘Reply All’?
• The Untold Truth Of David Chang
• Guy Fieri's Restaurant Employee Relief Fund Has Raised Almost $25 Million for Struggling Workers
• How Supreme-Style Merch Drops Took Over Corporate America
• So you're white and own an Asian restaurant: Let's talk
• Alicia Kennedy - a food writer from San Juan, PR with an amazing newsletter
• Alyse Whitney, managing editor of Cravings
• Illyana Maisonet, a food writer who focuses on Puerto Rican cuisine
  
  

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Want to support us?  Then send us a few bucks on Ko-Fi! All the money helps us with production costs and creating the podcast you hear today.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Off the top, Ama & Danita are both double vaxxed, not waxed, and hoping to win big on Lotto Max. We talk about Heather Dubrow's RHOC return, Weird Twitter (RIP), The Cringe Show starring Chrissy Teigen, and Bo Burnham's Inside.

Then, amidst controversy, backlash, fracking, and problematic moments, how much can we still enjoy RuPaul's Drag Race? Ama is joined by fierce Atlanta queens and co-hosts of the Good Judy Podcast, Ellasaurus Rex & Brigitte Bidet to get into it from the show's racism and transphobia to why it's so important to seek out local drag.

If you liked what you heard, maybe think about rating us! You can also find us on Instagram.

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Further Reading

• Kelly Dodd vs Golnesa Gharachedaghi
• What Exactly Happened With Courtney Stodden and Chrissy Teigen?
• Chrissy Teigen's "Apology"
• Bo Burnham And The Online Condition
• Bo Burnham shades comedian Gabbie Hanna during special 
• Weird Twitter: The Oral History
• ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Doesn’t Represent The Diverse World Of Drag
• RuPaul Needs to Take Responsibility for the Racism on Drag Race
• Everything wrong with the universe of Rupaul’s Drag Race 
• RuPaul and Drag Race: Racism, fracking, and transphobia galore
• Justin Ling Reveals the Full Story of Gay Serial Killer Bruce McArthur
• Let's Keep Hanlan's Queer And Safe This Summer!

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We have decided to take a different approach to our podcast's Ko-Fi. We want to raise funds not just for ourselves, but for others.

Since this month is Pride, we have decided to raise funds for the LGBT Youth Line. This youth-led organization helps provide support and affirms the experiences of Queer, Trans, Two-Spirit youth (29 and under) across Ontario.  To find out more about the work they do, visit: https://www.youthline.ca/

We will be donating 75% of the total amount raised to charity!

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Off the top, Ama & Danita share their psychoanalysis of the Richards sisters and the possible dark side of Kathy Hilton. They also dive into a certain New York Times piece that had Twitter (rightfully) in a tizzy this week.

Then, from RHONY's Wedding March for Equality to RHOC cast reactions to Braunwyn coming out, the Real Housewives have a long history of ugly homophobia. So how and why do Bravo's legions of queer fans continue to reconcile their love of all things Bravo? We're joined by Trash Box co-hosts and comedians and best friends Emily Richardson & Marshall Lorenzo to talk about camp, hagsploitation, justice for sex-positive goth queen Carlton, and accessorizing gay men.

If you liked what you heard, maybe think about rating us!

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Further Reading

• How to Rearrange Your Post-Pandemic ‘Friendscape’
• @CAwkard's incredible Twitter thread on the above NYT piece
• 'Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City' Star Jen Shah's Family Launches GoFundMe Asking For $2.5 Million To Cover Legal Fees
• "The Real Housewives" Has A Lesbian Problem
• The ‘Real Housewives’ has a long history of homophobia and transphobia
• Miss Lawrence Gets Real About Atlanta Housewives: I Was the Token Gay
• Why Are Gay Rumors The Go-To Real Housewives Insult?
• ‘Real Housewives’ Stars Apologize For Transphobic Remarks About Model
• Can We Talk About…? The Gay-Baiting Story Line in “The Real Housewives of Potomac”
  
  

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We have decided to take a different approach to our podcast's Ko-Fi. We want to raise funds not just for ourselves, but for others.

Since this month is Pride, we have decided to raise funds for the LGBT Youth Line. This youth-led organization helps provide support and affirms the experiences of Queer, Trans, Two-Spirit youth (29 and under) across Ontario.  To find out more about the work they do, visit: https://www.youthline.ca/

We will be donating 75% of the total amount raised to charity!

Support the show