In July 2019, Rax King published an essay about Food Network Star Guy Fieri. The so-called mayor of Flavortown is known for his bleached hair, bowling shirts, and rhyming exclamations ("so much salami, call my mommy").

King wrote about how Fieri's unadulterated tackiness was the perfect balm to help her move on from her ex-husband — a preppy, uptight, anti-Guy kind of guy.

That essay went viral. King's followed it with her new book, a collection of essays that extol the benefits of what the subtitle calls "the worst culture we have to offer." These supposedly include things like "The Jersey Shore," The Cheesecake Factory, and the band Creed. King argues that guilty pleasures shouldn't make us feel guilty at all, but are where we find the most joy. They help us connect with each other, without surroundings that demand we play it cool.

We talk about King's book and what guilty pleasures are all about.

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