Related.

SPOILERS AHEAD! Elaine and Carlyn discuss a little Canadian show that has people talking. From our own impressions of the series, to who makes up the intended audience, to what the wave of popularity says about our world at the turn of this new year… its time to talk Heated Rivalry.

Further Reading:

* Heated Rivalry on HBOMax

* South Park Clip

Theme Music: “Banjo Beat” - Will Records

Elaine and Carlyn talk about their religious upbringing and the importance of community in this holiday season.

Theme Music: “Banjo Beat” - Will Records; Handel’s Messiah: Part II, Hallelujah Chorus (Sargent 1958)

As romance culture wobbles and capitalism keeps capitalism-ing, a century-old idea has reentered the group chat: marrying a best friend for the benefits, not the butterflies. We explore why lavender marriages are resurfacing now, what they reveal about modern adulthood, and how people are redesigning partnership to fit the lives they actually have. It’s marriage, but make it pragmatic.

Further Reading:

The lavendar marriage is back — but why? (The Guardian)

What is a lavender marriage? (Cosmopolitan)

The uncomfortable truth behind the lavender marriage trend (Mashable)

Theme Music: “Banjo Beat” - Will Records

“Millennials killed” have become the first two words of a countless number of articles blaming our generation for the death of fads, traditions, and even industries.

Today, we talk about the attention-grabbing trend and whether or not this naming convention is something too that millennials should kill.

Further Reading:

* The decade of ‘millennials killing’ things has come to an end, but it wasn’t the generation’s fault in the first place (Business Insider)

* I Did All the Things Millennials Are Accused of Killing (Vice.com)

* 5 Industries Millennials Are ‘Killing’ (And Why) (Forbes)

* Things we’ve killed:

* 18 Things Millennials Have Been Killing Off in the Last Decade (Reader’s Digest)

* RIP: Here are 70 things millennials have killed (Mashable)

* Here Are All The Things Millennials Are Killing, According To Olds (Ranker)

Theme Music: “Banjo Beat” - Will Records

Rollerskating. Gardening. Knitting. Rock tumbling. Hiking. Palm reading. Fly fishing. Birdwatching.

Hobbies are making a comeback among the Gen Z and Millennial generations…In this episode we dig into our own hobbies and simultaneously unpack this rising trend.

FURTHER READING:

Why Gen Z says ‘hotties need hobbies’ (WBUR)

What is Millennial Hobby Energy? (Culture Study)

From hiking to birdwatching to early nights - gen Z are coming for my hobbies, and they’re much better at them (The Guardian)

In the last several years there has been a change in public perception about powerful men. People like Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Jeff Bezos of Amazon, who were once proclaimed as geniuses, have undergone increased scrutiny by the media and by citizens examining our capitalist infrastructure.

And they are not the only ones being questioned. People are looking closer at the intentions of notable men–not just in business, but across the spectrum–from entertainment to politics.

But we’re not focusing on them.

Today, we discuss the women beside these men: the wives and partners. As the facades are pulled away, what did these women see in their partners when they first got together and do they still see it? We are revisiting the women behind these quote-unquote great men.

Over the past month, a few essays about work and corporate life have struck a nerve online.

In “The Death of the Corporate Job,” Alex McCann argues that traditional work isn’t collapsing; it’s quietly dying because people no longer believe in it. The offices, the meetings, the decks all still happen, but the meaning has leaked out. More and more, the paycheck is just funding the real work: side projects, creative pursuits, anything that feels alive.

In “The Futile Search for the B******t-less Job,” Anne Helen Petersen agrees that modern work often feels hollow, but says the problem runs deeper. Decades of eroded labor protections have left individuals shouldering all the risk. Freelancing or launching a Substack might feel like freedom, but it’s often precarity in disguise.

In this podcast episode, we’re asking: What even is work now?

Is a job still a career…or just a funding mechanism? Is self-employment true freedom, or another hustle trap? And perhaps most important, can we find meaning in work?

In 2025, the story of Pride & Prejudice has a few significant anniversaries. The 1995 BBC miniseries is celebrating 30 years and the 2005 film is celebrating 20 years. Plus, this upcoming winter marks 250 years since Jane Austen’s birth.

Despite the time elapsed since Austen wrote the book and its publication, the novel seems to have remained part of our cultural narrative. Today, we sit down and talk Austen.

Further Reading:

* Pride and Prejudice - Wikipedia

* On the Box: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ at 30 – does the BBC’s beloved 1995 series still sparkle? | Irish Independent

* 20th Anniversary of Pride and Prejudice (2005) | Jane Austen's World

* Did Jane Austen even care about romance? — Harvard Gazette

* Shirt worn by Colin Firth as water-soaked Mr. Darcy in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is up for auction (Today.com)

Theme Music: “Banjo Beat” - Will Records

When notable figures have acted in a way that swaths of people have found unacceptable they are boycotted and shunned, resulting in losing work opportunities and, in some cases, retreat from the spotlight.

Such “cancellation” or decision to stop supporting a public persona, entered the vocabulary about ten years about, but really started to grow in popularity during the #MeToo movement, beginning in late 2017 when women in the film industry spoke up with allegations of sexual misconduct by people…men… in power.

Now “cancel culture” has spread, gaining traction in other spheres, such as the political and literary worlds, fueled by social media.

Further Reading:

* What Is Cancel Culture and What Does It Mean in 2024? (Vice)

* Americans and ‘Cancel Culture’: Where Some See Calls for Accountability, Others See Censorship, Punishment (Pew Research)

* Pros And Cons Of Cancel Culture: Tool For Change Or Trendy Toxicity? (Dear Media)

* Specific Cases Discussed in the Episode:

* Bill Cosby: The rise, fall and release of 'America's Dad' (BBC News)

* People are looking to forgive him’: inside Will Smith’s carefully choreographed comeback (The Guardian)

* Love Island USA's Cierra leaves show after racism row (BBC News)

* In light of George Floyd’s death, ex-NFL exec admits what we knew all along: Protests ended Colin Kaepernick’s career (Yahoo! Sports)

* A complete breakdown of the J.K. Rowling transgender comments controversy (Glamour UK)

Theme Music: “Banjo Beat” - Will Records

Today, we’re talking about hair! Specifically: curly, mixed, natural hair.

As biracial women with naturally curly hair ourselves, our relationship with our hair has been…complicated. And in recent years, the conversation around curls/natural hair has become more pronounced — with the rise of curly brands and products like Pattern by Tracee Ellis Ross, hairstyle trends like ‘cloud curls’, and increased representation of curls on film & tv.

In this episode, Elaine and Carlyn dig into their own hair stories and asking: what does it really mean to embrace your hair?

Further Reading

In Films and on TV, a New Openness to Natural Black Hairstyles (New York Times)

Politics, Policy, & Social Media: How Natural Hair Has Influenced A Generation (Refinery29)

For the First Time Ever, I Wore My Natural Hair for a Week (Cosmopolitan)

How I Brought the Curls from my 20s Back to Life in My 40s (Allure)

My Decades-Long Journey to Curls (Marie Claire)