This week, Sam is joined by Lovett or Leave It host and Crooked Media co-founder Jon Lovett to get into the week of culture: Taylor Swift's breakup with Matt Healy, Apple's dip into augmented reality with its Vision Pro, and the latest in the wild animal x drug movie collaboration space Crackcoon.

We also hear about the culture that's haunting us: Vanderpump Rules' Tom Sandoval has single-handedly ruined white nail polish.

Send us your culturegeist. What specific thing in the culture has haunted you recently? And why? Email a short voice memo to [email protected].

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‘Across the Spider-Verse’ was an animated feast, but many live-action, CGI-bloated summer blockbusters are visual mush. If you’re tired of lackluster computer-generated special effects, guess what? So are the artists who make them. They’re tired from long shifts and working paycheck to paycheck. VFX workers are some of the few Hollywood creatives who aren’t unionized, and they're scared to speak out against big studios for fear of being blacklisted. Today, Explained guest host Sean Rameswaram talks with New York Magazine’s Chris Lee about a race to the bottom for film quality and working conditions, and what it means to be “pixel f’d.” We also hear from a VFX worker who’s helping push to unionize the industry.

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This week, Today, Explained co-host Sean Rameswaram keeps our host chair warm while Sam is away. He's joined by Vulture TV critic Kathryn VanArendonk to figure out what kind of show Succession really was, whom it was for, and what to watch to fill the Succession-size hole in your heart. We also ask if Kathryn is into Ted Lasso ending, the return of the flip phone, and more.

And we hear about the culture that's haunting us: Lana Del Rey losing her vape is as relatable as writing lyrics about soda.

Send us your culturegeist. What specific thing in the culture has haunted you for days, weeks, or even years? And why? Email a short voice memo to [email protected].

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Christy Carlson Romano was ubiquitous on the Disney Channel in the early 2000s, starring in ‘Even Stevens,’ ‘Kim Possible,’ and ‘Cadet Kelly.’  But after the roles stopped and the checks dried up, she lost money to psychics, struggled with family relationships, and grappled with addiction. Now she processes those experiences on her popular YouTube channel, with videos like “Why I Don't Talk to Shia LaBeouf.” She talks with Sam about overcoming her past, tapping into nostalgia to find new audiences, and advocating for changes in the entertainment industry for child actors.

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This week, Sam is joined by comedian Zach Zimmerman. We catch up on the writers' strike and ask for his opinions on the series finale of HBO's Succession, the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max (it's just Max now, thanks), standing ovations at the Cannes Film Festival, and more.

We also chat about Zach's new book Is It Hot in Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)? and the ways we might lose a religion, but find something better instead — a deeper relationship with our parents and a deeper understanding of ourselves. Plus: a round of "F*ck, Marry, Kill" with Adam, Eve, and Satan.

And we remember the late Tina Turner from a moment in 2004: It was Oprah's birthday, but it was always Tina's party.

Send us your culturegeist. What specific thing in the culture has haunted you for days, weeks, or even years? And why? Email a short voice memo to [email protected].

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Halle Bailey stars as Ariel in the live-action remake of the classic Disney animated film. Casting a Black actress in the role caused quite a splash — which inspired us to look back at two of Disney’s forays into Black princess movies. 

Dr. Aria Halliday studies cultural constructions of Black girlhood and womanhood at The University of Kentucky. She and Sam break down the 1997 made for TV ‘Cinderella,’ starring Brandy, and 2009’s ‘Princess and the Frog.’ 

Then, Vulture’s baddest film critic Angelica Jade Bastién tells us whether 2023’s ‘Little Mermaid’ has legs.

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This week, Sam is joined by comedian and writer Samantha Irby to dive into the week in culture: the latest movie in the Fast and the Furious franchise, Martha Stewart's historic Sports Illustrated cover, and Love Island-inspired British accents. We also chat about her newest book of essays Quietly Hostile and why she'd no longer want a TV show about her life. Exhibit A: her experience writing for And Just Like That... and the backlash to the character of Che Diaz.

And we hear about the culture that's haunting us: The NBC "Brotherhood of Man" Super Bowl commercial is a rich tapestry of people's souls being sold out in real time.

Send us your culturegeist. What specific thing in the culture has haunted you for days, weeks, or even years? And why? Email a short voice memo to [email protected].

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AI is making fake Drake/The Weeknd songs, weird images, and there’s a worry that TV and movie scripts could be written by ChatGPT. But it’s also about to dramatically change the way we consume, share, and obsess over pop culture. Nilay Patel, Editor-in-Chief of The Verge, explains to Sam how pretty much everything we search on the internet is mediated by Google… and how AI is about to disrupt it all.

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This week, Sam is joined by Into It's own Travis Larchuk and Tarkor Zehn. They try to convince Sam of the things they're into: The new Legend of Zelda game is worth your time (and money) and the Tarte makeup controversy actually has meaningful implications. Then we flip the game back around and ask for their thoughts on the end of MTV News, Tucker Carlson moving to Twitter, and more.

We also hear about the culture that's haunting us: Given their career trajectories following the film Just My Luck, did Lindsay Lohan pass her real-life luck to co-star Chris Pine?

Send us your culturegeist. What specific thing in the culture has haunted you for days, weeks, or even years? And why? Email a short voice memo to [email protected].

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As tech companies assure us AI is here to help and not to eradicate humanity, the Peacock series ‘Mrs. Davis’ explores what happens in a world where AI really does deliver on that promise. Executive producers Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof join Sam to talk about how they combined science fiction and Christianity in a show about a technophobic nun who is literally married to Jesus. Plus, Lindelof reflects on lessons he learned from behind-the-scenes toxicity he says helped create on ‘Lost’ and reconciling past bad behavior.

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