On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… Kim, there’s people that are dying. 

We can probably all agree that reality shows aren’t exactly peak TV. But there’s a time, a place, and an audience for pretty much everything.

In a world where Love Is Blind’s chart-topping run is frequently described as brilliant and awful in the same breath, it’s easy to dismiss this stuff as a product of the social media era. But that’s not quite accurate.

Culture critic and podcast host Kristen Meinzer joins us to talk all things trashy. She maintains that not everything we watch needs to be brain food… and that, in fact, the entertainment we hate to love and love to hate might be good for society after all. 

Podcast production by Maura Currie

You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.