This episode, we ask the age old question: if being emotionally invested in celebrities and fictional characters is wrong, do we really want to be right? We talk you through parasocial relationships and why people like Emma Chamberlain and John Mulaney seem to have such a vice grip on our collective consciousness. Plus: was the commercialisation of authenticity ever going to be a sustainable enterprise? And why aren't more people talking about Tony Armstrong from ABC News?

Required Reading:

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/on-parasocial-relationships-and-the-boundaries-of-celebrity

https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/parasocial-relationships-online-cancelling-bon-appetit

https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1329&context=honorscollege_theses

Music Credit:

https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/the-lowdown

License code: PPH9FBEMASHOI7PB

https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-now

License code: 5WQG1LQRLH7QMYPC

NB: All opinions are our own and this podcast is for humorous and fun analytical discourse only!