It’s smutty book club this week, so let’s go deep on Onyx Storm -- the latest bestselling instalment of the Rebecca Yarros Empyrean romantasy series.   

Onyx Storm follows Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, continuing the saga of lightning-wielder dragon rider Violet Sorrengail's intense bond with her broody, shadow-wielding lover, Xaden Riorson. 

Bev and Hannah have a lot to discuss – like who are all these characters? How’s the smut? Is there anything to rival the famous “throne scene” in Iron Flame?  

This episode is for romantasy fans and the romantasy-curious, but be warned, there are spoilers.   

Get in touch: Tell us what you think of Onyx Storm. Write or send a voice note to [email protected]

New Stop Everything! co-host Hannah Reich reveals how her postpartum state has influenced her TV tastes. Together, Bev and Hannah examine how what you’re going through in life can change what you want to watch. 

What content got you through a big life change – a birth, a break-up, or bereavement? Write to [email protected] and tell us about it.  

Also, Bev and Hannah break down the Grammy’s most pivotal moments, and how Beyonce’s reaction spoke volumes about her long journey to the big win. 

Next week we’re diving into the world of romantasy with a book club on the latest huge hit from Rebecca Yarros: Onyx Storm. Tell us what you think this series has sparked with women around the world? 

It’s been a good run, and it’s not going to stop. In fact, from now on, it’ll be double your money – Bev’s welcoming a new co-host, Hannah Reich!

Hannah is an ABC digital arts producer, journalist and vexed pop culture nerd, obsessed with romantasy and mumfluencing, among other things. Together, Bev and Hannah will hold space to overthink and process the world around them every week.  

But that’s not all, in 2025 Stop Everything! wants to hear from YOU. Look out for call outs and special drops in the feed.  Email us all your thoughts, whatever you’re overthinking about pop culture, at [email protected]

January hit hard: LA burned, Mark Zuckerberg ended fact-checking on Meta, President Donald Trump was sworn in again, Elon kept Musking, and ... it’s awards season! 

If all of this is making you feel — destabilised — you’re not alone. It’s time to check the vibe on 2025. Screen critic and pop culture reporter Jared Richards is in to help Bev overthink how what’s happening out in the world is affecting our social media and pop culture habits. Is there an ethical way to reach for escapism? 

Bev and Jared also pick through the Oscar nominees for Best Picture and have a lot to say about Emilia Perez and The Substance! 

And: Bev has a special announcement about Stop Everything! Listen to the end of the episode to find out what it is.  

Comedian, rom-com lover and professional bookworm Jennifer Wong confesses that she’s never read Jane Austen, and Bev is horrified. 

But 2025 is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth so Jen is ready to break her own denim rule for content and find out what the hype is all about. 

Meanwhile, Bev has pop culture knowledge gaps of her own to disclose ... what could they be?!? 

Show notes: 

Read: Joel Kim Booster essay on reading Jane Austen as a gay manGet in touch! Stop Everything wants to hear from you! What’s your pop culture knowledge gap? What’s the big movie, book, TV show or trend that totally passed you by? How did that happen and how do you feel about it? E-mail: [email protected] 

Twenty-three years after the original series of The Office debuted, Australia has its own version of the mockumentary workplace comedy, They Office featuring needy bad boss - and chump- Hannah Howard, played by Felicity Ward.

Felicity and show runners Jackie Van Beek and Julie De Fina talk to BW about how this 13th version of The Office, streaming on Prime Video, adapts itself to the post-pandemic world of work.

Vietnamese-Australian actor Hoa Xuande stars as The Captain in HBO's The Sympathizer, a limited series based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer-prize winning novel.

Hoa takes us behind the scenes, telling us about how he landed this huge role, and what it was like to act opposite heavyweights like Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh.

Stop Everything! and catch up with Atsuko Okatsuka – stand-up comic, social media star and bowl cut icon.

In 2022, Atsuko's debut HBO comedy special, The Intruder – and her viral "drop challenge" – marked her arrival as a comedy star on the rise.

Atsuko talks to BW about backup career plans, crowd control and the power of the bowl cut.

We love a summer recommendation and self appointed Stop Everything! nerd correspondent, Ahmed Yussuf joins BW to introduce us to the latest season of Dr Who. The revamped BBC x Disney co-production features the latest incarnation of the Doctor played by the joyfully charismatic Ncuti Gatwa.

And Ahmed makes an argument for why we should be watching more anime.

Michelle Visage gets candid about her friendship with RuPaul, the art of critique, career longevity and honesty in friendships.

The newly minted RuPaul's Drag Race down under host, Michelle Visage in The House of Stop Everything! and joins Beverley Wang as his week's guest critic.