STARGIRL

*Full episode on Patreon*

This week we reflect on the recent significance of the musician Ethel Cain: as the leading musical animator of rural Southern Christian life, a Dark Prophet to rally around, and an idiosyncratic emblem of so many conversations that marked the past few years. We also examine the recent bloating of the “Southern Gothic” genre, analyze the longing to portray regional American identities, and propose Ethel as a cultural bridge between pandemic-era Christian poseurs and today’s girlygirl obsession with alternative spirituality.

We also hear directly from STARGIRL listener Alex (@daught3rmourn1ng_) who is originally from the Florida panhandle, was brought up in the Southern Baptist tradition, and now makes experimental drone music (like what?!). <3 So grateful for all that you shared!

Thanks also to Soraya Beheshti @sorayaofficial and Nim @nimityonline for your great ideas as well! 

Links:

• “Ethel Cain’s Guide to the Southern Gothic” The Face (2022)

• “Daughters of Cain, Sharp Objects & How the Recession Gave Rise to the Southern Gothic” Polyester Zine 

• “Ethel Cain Is Done Trying to Control the Narrative" W Mag (2022)

• “Ethel Cain: An All-American Girl” Paper Mag (2022)

• Ethel Cain on Popcast (2025)

• “my experiences with the paranormal, the otherworldly, and the generally bothersome” Ethel Cain’s Youtube

• Wikipedia list of “Southern Gothic” media

• “Nettles” explained

“American Teenager,” “Crush” music videos

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Hello from the final weeks of the Wood Snake year ;) …. This week, we pick up where we left off with “Metal Season," to dissect the ever-accelerating Chinese-ness of internet culture these days. We talk more TCM (seasonality, womb health, qigong morning routines, etc.), the newly mainstreamed fascination with the Chinese Zodiac system, and the ways I’m choosing to let the Year of the Horse vibes wash over me and spur me into clarity & aligned action.

Plus: 2016 nostalgia acceleration machine, Fetty Wap out of prison, UDA virality and the overly-masculine approach to hip-hop dance, the shifting signifiers of health and beauty, and why, as always, it’s important to not primarily view your life/other’s choices/the world through a political lens and to instead connect to intuition so you can be self led. Shine on!

⁠*Full episode on Patreon*⁠

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Links:

• “This Is What Year of the Horse Means for You” Morgan Fargo in Vogue (2026)

• “Why everyone is now Chinese” Elle Jones on Substack (2026)

• Anne Hathaway sings North London Forever

• Fetty Wap’s label welcomes him back after he returns from prison

• UDA: LSU Hip Hop finals 2026, LSU Hip Hop Finals 2022

• “The hip hop category feels to Jabbawockeez” dre.shady on TikTok

This week we’re joined by Laura Gunder, a classical Pilates teacher, ex-professional ballet dancer, and the creator of The Emergence Podcast. Laura shares her story: her career as a ballerina, the identity transformation upon leaving the ballet world, and how she found a new relationship with her body and movement in the fitness world. She also sheds light on the difference between Classical and contemporary Pilates, gives her thoughts on the explosion of franchised Pilates studios in the last decade, and offers concrete advice for anyone new to the fitness industry. 

This episode is for former dancers, early-stage fitness professionals in need of lifestyle tips, those who owns their own business in NYC, and anyone inspired by systematic, formal movement styles <3

Laura’s IG and website 

Links:

• The Emergence Podcast (and on Instagram)
  Emma’s interview on Emergence

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This week we’re joined by the writer Vanessa Lily Chung to (finally!!) tackle Anne Hathaway, an unassailable Stargirl whose Dream / Threat has always been totally vague but universally felt. We explore our own girlhood memories young Anne (Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted, The Devil Wears Prada) and the latent “makeover” dream therein, reflect on the near-decade of #Hathahate, trace her comeback in the last few years via her fashion and beauty renaissance, and speculate on the major 2026 she’s about to have with TDWP II, Mother Mary, The Odessey, and more. Plus: Vanessa’s fascinating racial misidentification with Anne as a young woman, Anne’s obsession with playing “sick girls,” the psychology of the default brunette, and the Threat of plainness. 

Vanessa Lily Chung is a writer from Brooklyn. Her criticism has appeared in The Baffler, The Brooklyn Rail, and The Henry James Review. Follow her on IG or email her at [email protected].

*Emma’s opening a few more personal training spots for Winter 2026. If you’re interested in learning more, book a free consult call here!

Discussed:

• Performances mentioned: Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted, Brokeback Mountain, The Devil Wears Prada, Rachel Getting Married, Love and Other Drugs, Get Smart, Bride Wars, The Dark Knight Rises, One Day, Les Mis, Interstellar, The Intern, Ocean’s 8, Eileen, The Idea of You, Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada II, The Odessey, Verity

• #Hathahate archive in The Cut (!!)

• Anne at the 2008 Oscars

• Anne in pink Prada fake nipplegate moment

• Anne in Les Mis Fantine vibes…

• People Magazine cover July 2008: “The Princess and the Con Man”

• Lip Sync Battle: Anne Hathaway “Wrecking Ball” (2015)

• Anne on Mark Maron (2017)

• Anne at Cannes 2022 (internet-breaking)

• Anne in Interview Mag (2022)

• Anne and Emily Blunt Variety Actors on Actors (2024)

• Anne recent Vogue profile (2025)

• Mother Mary preview (2026)
  STARGIRL episode on Bianca Giaever (2023)

  
  

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Happy New Year everyone! We’re back with the next episode of The Body Series, a client testimonial with my dream personal training client Miss Andrea! She shares her experience turning to strength training after a decade of the group fitness churn, the long-term, sustainable way she’s approaching body recomp in preparation for her wedding (!!!), why real consistency (+ accountability) has 10-xed her results, and the confidence she’s gained by leveling up the way she treats herself. I adore Andrea and am so excited to share her light with you all! <3

This episode is for: 2026 brides, Type A babes who tend to go ham and burn out, ex-athletes who want to reconnect to their adolescent identity, women who don’t yet feel comfortable in the gym, and anyone who’s feeling called to glow the heck up….

Interested in personal training? Sign up for a free consult call to learn about how I work and see if it's a fit <3

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This week, I share my observations on the dominant cultural patterns of Fall 2025, most of which can be traced back to the TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) craze sweeping through New York and hot girl Internet circles (think: breakfast soup, seasonality, heightened Lunar awareness, lymph and fascia care, etc.). Also discussed: the grifter energy of the online healer community, leaning into political grayness with health-related interests/intuition, some recent mainstream criticism of GLP-1s and SSRIs, and reflections/intentions after my birthday last week <3

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Links:

• Alix Earle on DWTS (Maleficent, Maneater/Sports Car Mashup)

• Emily Gates on TikTok

• Ballerina Farm addresses criticism for the first time (to my knowledge?)

• Sigh Swoon Ayahuasca Recap Video

• ALP Sponsors Red Scare after Dasha gets dropped from her agency

• Getty Museum Twelve Days of Medieval Illuminations exhibit

• TCM on TikTok

• “How the Right Coopted Psychedelics" Justin Smith-Ruiu in GQ

• “The MAHA-Fueled Rise of Natural Family Planning” Caroline Kitchener in NYT

  “More Teens are Taking Antidepressants. It Could Disrupt Their Sex Lives for Years” Daniel Bergner in NYT

• • “Life in Beige: Are GLP-1s Worth a Life Devoid of Pleasure?” Allison P. Davis in The Cut

This week we’re joined by Dr. Aumatma Simmons, a naturopathic doctor and double board-certified endocrinologist, and the founder of the Holistic Fertility Institute and Madre Fertility. Dr. Aumatma shares her journey from conventional to naturopathic medicine, research that complicates the prevailing myth of mid-30s fertility dropoff, her views on traditional intervention models (egg freezing, IVF, etc.), simple things that people can do to support their fertility (read: Vitality), and why she views fertility as the optimal lens through which to assess health

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Lily Sperry is a writer and brand consultant. She runs the newsletter Health Gossip.

In this magical episode, we discuss the origins of her project, the larger esoteric fairy-girl moment we’re living through, and why creation is the ultimate antidote to ennui. Plus, Lily shares her definition of “health” as maintaining a “clear channel,” and we reflect on the benefits of not centering our days around consumption, why New York can feel hostile to femininity, and the connection between femininity and fertility. Thank you Lily for your wisdom and grace! 

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Links:

• Health Gossip on Substack

• @health.gossip on Instagram

• Lily on Instagram

*Full episode on Patreon*

Checking in after a busy fall season... in this month's letter, I reflect on the current biggest sources of meaning in my life (work, creative partnership, my marriage, dance, and spirituality), voice my desire to be a formal student again, get nostalgic for the first time I encountered D'Angelo, and keep the good vibes going after the STARGIRL party last week. Sending love XOXO!

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This week we welcome the writer Marisa Meltzer back to STARGIRL to discuss her new book It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin (out this week!). We discuss the myth of Jane Birkin and Marisa’s project to animate her beyond a 2D moodboard figure, and use Jane as a vessel to revisit classic STARGIRL conversations such as Artist vs. Muse, Narrative Control, and Nature vs. Artifice. We discuss Jane’s lifelong Lolita energy, character as a mother, natural aging process, and comfortability as a vessel for others’ creative and sexual projections.

Plus, I reflect on seeing Addison live after 5+ years of indulging my fixation in my imagination, give my take on the various Showgirl vibes in culture right now, and answer the elephant in the room: Is Jane Birkin a Stargirl or an It Girl?

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Discussed:

• It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin, Marisa Meltzer (2025)

• Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Life of Emily Weiss’s Glossier, Marisa Meltzer (2023)

• STARGIRL episode on Emily Weiss with Marisa (2023)

• “Do the right thing Addison Rae…” @_artsartsarts on X

• “Addison Rae Wants More Than Virality” Alex Hawgood, W Mag (2025)

• Alix Earle on DWTS (so good!)

• “Margaret Qualley Manifested This Cover Story” Willa Bennett Cosmopolitan (2025)

• The Power Notebooks, Katie Roiphe (2020)

• • “Why I Got a Neck Lift at 41 Years Old” Sophie Pavitt in The Cut (2025)
  • Jane B. par Agnes V. (1988)