Forget Trump’s most recent indictment. We’re discussing three other big controversies this week: allegations that the white folks behind The Blind Side story were crooks rather than saviors, the lack of protections for reality stars (just see the recent episodes of Below Deck Down Under for an illustration), and the debate over whether Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose in an upcoming movie is antisemitic. Sam gets into all of it with writer R. Eric Thomas. They also discuss Eric’s new memoir, Congratulations, The Best is Over!, and how pop culture gives us access to big feelings.

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The CBS reality show Big Brother just entered its 25th season, making it one of the longest-running reality TV shows in history. But it's also one of the genre's weirdest: There are the edited episodes that air on CBS proper, but viewers are encouraged to creep on contestants via 24/7 live feeds; seasons almost always involve racism or misogyny (or both!); and the show often features games involving... slime? And yet the show gets killer ratings. To pin down the enduring appeal of Big Brother, Sam talks with Taylor Hale, the first Black woman to win the show, and Taran Armstrong, a man who literally watches the show for a living.

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A classic piece of American film dropped recently. It has everything: an epic battle, a giant boat, lawn furniture repurposed as weapons... and everyone's talking about it, including our guests this week Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox's The Weeds podcast, and Alex Abad-Santos, culture writer at Vox. They debate with Sam about who should direct an actual big screen version of the brawl. They also check in on how Jeopardy is dealing with the writers' strike (What is: The show is using old questions during tapings?) and pour one out for the creator of the "Cha Cha Slide" (RIP DJ Casper).

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We've been hearing a lot about artificial intelligence in TV and movies from both sides of the Hollywood strikes. Some actors and writers are afraid AI could replace them entirely. But how does AI work in the industry right now? And to what extent?

Sam chats with VFX artist Ryan Laney about his work digitally replacing human faces — in the name of good. Then, Josh Glick, who studies AI and film at Bard College, lays out the fundamental truth many of us seem to forget: AI is already an integral part of the Hollywood machine. AI has de-aged Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise, provided language translation, and done all sorts of things in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and it's not going anywhere.

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Three of Lizzo’s former dancers sued her for alleged sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. How does this change how we feel about Lizzo — especially those inspired by her joyful, unapologetic persona and empowerment of plus-sized women of color? Sam welcomes his Vibe Check co-hosts Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford to talk it out. Then, as a palette cleanser: A game of Into It / Not Into It where they break down Cardi B’s mic throw, Justin Trudeau’s separation, and the resurrection of Bed Bath & Beyond from beyond the grave.

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At the end of Britney Spears’s conservatorship in November of 2021, most of her fans rejoiced. But conspiracy theories have a subset of #FreeBritney fans convinced she’s still not really free. They focus on what they see as oddities or glitches in some of her Instagram posts. Vox reporter Rebecca Jennings says there are even theories that Britney has been replaced with AI or a body double. Rebecca and Sam talk about her current piece for New York Magazine and get into the TikTok sleuthing of this extreme set of Britney fans, how the conspiracy theories mirror QAnon, and what Britney herself thinks about her fans’ actions.

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What is up right now with country music and race? There’s the controversy over Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” Morgan Wallen topping the charts despite previously being canceled for saying the n-word, and Luke Combs’ country cover of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car – which is doing better than the original. Sam talks with writer, sociologist, and country fan Tressie McMillan Cottom. Tressie unpacks why mainstream country music is so, so white, how Black artists built the genre, and the gulf between the vibrant city of Nashville and the regressive politics of the “Nashville” music industry.

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Bravo replaced the whole cast for the 14th season of The Real Housewives of New York City, but it almost doesn’t matter. “It’s about the franchise,” says Brian Moylan, who writes Vulture’s Housewives Institute Bulletin. There are, however, a handful of housewives that have had a lasting impact. A Housewives Mount Rushmore, if you will. Brian tells Sam why Teresa Giudice, Bethenny Frankel, NeNe Leakes, and Kyle Richards are the four faces on the mountaintop and why we owe so much of what we see on reality TV to the Housewives blueprint.

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It's Barbenheimer weekend and Sam is joined by none other than Who? Weekly hosts Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber for our own doubleheader — of games. First, we break down the long list of Barbie merch collabs from Burger King to Progressive to Uno. Then, we discuss ABC's The Golden Bachelor and why it's never too late for love; social media influencers joining the Hollywood strikes; and the confusing yet popular TikTok trend of NPC livestreams.

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Barbie (the doll) is more than 60 years old. But Barbie (the idea, the aesthetic, the cultural artifact) feels more current than ever. And yes, the highly anticipated Barbie movie is definitely a big part of that, but Barbiecore has been around way before the film was even a sparkle in Greta Gerwig's eye. Sam chats with The Cut's Danya Issawi about her first Barbie memories and the inescapable way that blonde hair, blue eyes, and pink outfits could define American girlhood. And we learn about the fashion history and influence of Barbie from historian Darnell Jamal Lisby: From Legally Blonde to Paris Hilton to Nicki Minaj, we're all just Barbie girls living in a Barbie world.

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