Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Pop Syllabus
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Pop Syllabus
Pop Syllabus episodes
- Why Open Relationships Are More Common Than You Think With Dr. Amy Moors
Non-monogamy is everywhere right now, and so are the opinions about it.
In today’s episode, Christiana sits down with psychologist and Chapman University Professor Dr. Amy Moors to unpack open relationships, ethical non-monogamy, and why more people are exploring love outside the traditional mold.
Dr. Amy Moors research
Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack
Merch available now!
Sponsor Pop Syllabus: [email protected]
If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments.
Email: [email protected]
01:07 Meet Dr. Amy Moors03:31 Defining non-monogamy
04:30 Defining polyamory and open relationships
05:50 Different types of polyamory
07:06 Who engages in consensual non-mongamy? And how common is it?
10:25 Loving multiple people
14:10 Stigmas towards people who practice consensual non-monogamy
17:35 Christiana’s familial experiences with polygamy
21:35 Both monogamy and non-monogamy can be messy
22:40 How societal inequities show up in relationships
25:19 Lindy West, millennial feminism, and trad wives
27:04 Gender ratios among non-monogamous couples
28:10 Measuring “success” among non-monogamous relationships
31:01 Couples who open their relationships after being monogamous
34:20 Why is non-monogamy seemingly everywhere?
39:18 Americans don’t like to talk about sex
41:45 LGBTQ+ couples and non-monogamy
44:28 Learning from people who practice non-monogamy
46:16 Non-monogamous parents and their children
53:20 Non-hierarchical polyamory
55:30 Finding the time to sustain non-monogamous relationships
57:42 The future of consensual non-monogamy
01:04:30 Where to find Dr. Moors’ work
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 9 min - Are They a Star, Celebrity or Famous Person? with Sam Sanders
No matter where you find yourself on the internet, celebrities’ lives are constantly in front of us, but who’s actually a star and who’s just famous?
From icons like Beyoncé to rising names like Sabrina Carpenter and Sydney Sweeney, Christiana sits down with award-winning reporter and podcaster Sam Sanders to play “star, celebrity, or famous person” and break down what really makes someone last in pop culture.
Follow Sam: Instagram
Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack |
Merch available now!
Sponsor Pop Syllabus: [email protected]
If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments.
1 hr 12 min - Hypergamy & Sugar Dating With Dr. Megan Sawey
#SugarBaby culture is everywhere online. But why is it making such a big comeback now?
As money gets tighter and “SugarTok” gains traction, conversations around sugar dating and hypergamy are becoming more mainstream.
Christiana sits down with Cornell lecturer Dr. Megan Sawey to examine what’s driving the trend and what it means for modern dating.
Megan’s research on sugar dating
Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack
Merch available now!
Sponsor Pop Syllabus: [email protected]
If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments.
Email: [email protected]01:17 Meet Dr. Megan Sawey
07:20 Understanding hypergamy and dating up
12:29 Sugar dating in relation to sex work
17:55 Sugar dating as an entrepreneurial endeavor
31:50 Sugar dating and the digital intimacy economy
33:50 Sugar dating and politics
37:20 How sugar dating is portrayed as heteronormative in media and marketing
41:45 Sugar daddies and how sugar dating is regulated
45:20 Sexual racism and sugar dating
48:28 Sugar dating for men vs. women
51:07 The future of sugar dating and hypergamy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
58 min - A Sexual History of the Internet With Mindy Seu
The internet didn’t just change sex. Sex built the internet. So who actually gets credit for shaping the digital world?
Today, Christiana speaks with Mindy Seu, author of A Sexual History of the Internet, to unpack how sex, desire, and the labor of sex workers quietly built the foundations of the internet, and why that history is still left out of the conversation.
Follow Mindy on Instagram
Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack
Merch available now!
Sponsor Pop Syllabus: [email protected]
If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments.
Email: [email protected]
00:56 Meet Mindy Seu
01:32 Cyberfeminism
05:04 How sex and sex workers have influenced the evolution of the internet
10:10 Sex workers and cryptocurrency
12:05 Defining “sex work”
23:36 Why don’t more people know about the sexual history of the internet?
26:40 The physicality of technology
32:26 Female body parts named after men
33:51 How technology and the sex industry are influencing each other
35:36 How the sexual nature of the internet is affecting girls and women
38:31 Digital black books for sex workers
39:30 Sex workers currently experimenting with technology and artificial intelligence
42:05 OnlyFans
45:54 The internet as a utopic fantasy space
47:30 The future of the internet and AI
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 4 min - Taylor Swift & Swiftynomics With Misty Heggeness
If you’re a Swiftie, this episode is for you.
Today, Christiana sits down with professor and author Misty Heggeness to break down her book Swiftnomics and how Taylor Swift turned fandom into a $4 billion touring empire, and what it reveals about consumption, influence, and the rise of a new economic model led by women.
Misty’s website: https://www.mistyheggeness.com/
Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack |
Merch available now!
Sponsor Pop Syllabus: [email protected]
If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments.
Email: [email protected]
00:42 Meet Misty Heggeness04:07 Swiftynomics and studying Taylor Swift as an economic muse
09:20 How do we scale swiftynomics?
11:13 Women creating space for other women
15:08 Swiftnomics vs. Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” movement
18:00 “Pearl clutchers” vs. “granolas”
20:00 Women leaving the workforce and being economically sidelined
31:44 “Masterminding” the systems
36:08 Hoarding wealth
42:45 Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
49:40 The future of Swiftynomics
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
54 min - Why “Valley Girls” Are Totally Misunderstood With Koa Beck
Like, why did the “Valley Girl” become America’s favorite punchline?
Today, Christiana sits down with journalist and author, Koa Beck, to talk about how the Valley Girl stereotype took off in pop culture, why it has been so misunderstood, and how it reflects America’s bigger anxieties about young women and femininity that still shape how we see them today.
Follow Koa: Instagram
Subscribe to Koa’s Substack
Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack |
Merch available now!
Sponsor Pop Syllabus: [email protected]
If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments.
Email: [email protected]00:28 The Valley
01:25 Defining the “Valley Girl”
05:03 Valley speak and the valley girl accent
08:10 From the valley girl to the modern day influencer
17:35 The history of the Valley Girl
24:31 Why the trope of the “Valley Girl” is white
26:44 Why the valley stereotypes are associated with girls
31:00 How the concept of the “Valley Girl” became negative
40:00 The Valley Girl and sex
44:29 The Valley Girl and influencer culture
48:19 The future of the Valley Girl
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
59 min - Hollywood’s Colorism Curse With Dr. Yaba Blay
Colorism isn’t new. It’s the curse embedded in Hollywood’s DNA.
Today, Christiana sits down with scholar-activist Dr. Yaba Blay to unpack how colorism operates behind the scenes of pop culture, why lighter skin is still centered, and how these hierarchies shape everything from stardom to self-worth.
Follow Dr. Yaba Blay: Instagram
Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack |
Merch available now!
Sponsor Pop Syllabus: [email protected]
If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments.
Email: [email protected]
00:37 Defining “colorism”
03:30 The relativity of colorism
06:04 How colorism functions in Hollywood
08:15 A history of colorism and skin bleaching
12:50 Gender bias and colorism in entertainment
17:02 Beyonce and colorism in the music industry
28:40 Moments that feel like societal shifts
33:00 How skin bleaching has transformed
37:00 Understanding the context around why people bleach their skin
42:55 Hair trends among Black women
51:00 Questioning society and capitalism (not just the individual)
54:20 What choices can we make in light of colorism?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 4 min - The Dangers of Looksmaxxing With Dr. Michael Halpin
Looksmaxxing is the internet’s latest male self-improvement trend — where your jawline is a strategy and your face is a project.
Today, Christiana sits down with Associate Professor of Sociology at Dalhousie University, Dr. Michael Halpin, to explain what looksmaxxing really is, why cosmetic surgeries are on the rise, and how this corner of the Manosphere is reshaping masculinity and the way men see women.
Dr. Michael’s research on looksmaxxing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hn3HDozK8_GMWOVtv3do3joZ4Guyxlpp/view
Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack
Merch available now!
Sponsor Pop Syllabus: [email protected]
If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments.
Email: [email protected]
03:35 Defining “looksmaxxing”09:45 Who is looksmaxxing?
11:00 Lookism and why boys and men are looksmaxxing
14:50 How looksmaxxing and its harmful impacts are spreading beyond the manosphere
20:42 The PSL scale
24:40 How looksmaxxers and incels are subcultures within the manosphere
40:38 What can be done to stop harmful looksmaxxing
44:00 Looksmaxxing as an emerging health crisis
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
55 min - The Power of “Sinners” With Wunmi Mosaku
Almost a year later, Sinners is still unforgettable, and Wunmi Mosaku’s Annie stole our hearts. But behind the performance was a woman navigating first-time motherhood, career crossroads, and big life choices.
On today’s episode, Christiana talks to Oscar-nominated Wunmi about her maternity brand Iyadé, self care, and lessons from a career-defining role.
Wunmi’s maternity brand’s website:.iyadebywunmi.com
Follow Wunmi on Instagram: @wunmimosaku
Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack
Merch available now!
Sponsor Pop Syllabus: [email protected]
If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments.
Email: [email protected]
00:36 Wunmi’s Oscar nomination
03:40 “Sinners” and how playing Annie changed Wunmi’s life
08:40 Why Annie resonates with audiences
14:57 Loving yourself
18:45 Wunmi’s Golden Globe pregnancy announcement
24:04 Creating Iyadé, a maternity clothing brand
29:55 Being careful about who and what you invite in
38:43 Admiring Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan’s acting
42:35 Self care
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
50 min - Space Racism & Astrology With Margaret Gaida
Astrology is everywhere, blending spirituality, social media, and even AI apps that promise to read your future.
Today, Christiana speaks with astrology historian, Margaret Gaida, to understand how astrology shapes love, culture, and the hidden inequalities of the cosmic world.
Margaret’s website: mghsci.wordpress.com/dissertation
Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack |
Merch available now!
Sponsor Pop Syllabus: [email protected]
If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments.
Email: [email protected]
02:20 Astrology in the East vs. West
03:30 Astrological predictions throughout history
07:45 The mothers of astrology
12:45 Why women and LGBTQ+ communities are attracted to astrology
18:32 Astrology and science
23:48 Big Zodiac, tech and AI
29:31 White influencers and astrology
41:04 “Space racism” and dating
44:50 Individualism vs. communities
47:40 The future of astrology in America
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
55 min
About Pop Syllabus
From the publisher's feed
Pop Syllabus is a show where host Christiana Mbakwe Medina deconstructs the zeitgeist and answers the big cultural questions. How did we swing from body positivity to thin-being-in? Why do so many…
people trust wellness influencers over medical doctors? And how did tech oligarchs become the new celebrities? Think of Christiana as a cross between a messy news anchor and guerilla academic. Each week, she and an expert guest will unpack a buzzy topic, and help us understand the moment while going through it.
Best of Pop Syllabus
Ranked by our users in the last 21 days