It’s been more than 60 years since both the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild have gone on strike at the same time. Sam chats with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw about what the actors want and what the walkout will mean for Hollywood in the coming weeks and months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
That recent scene in The Idol, the one where the intimacy coordinator gets locked in a bathroom, was fully unrealistic. So what does an intimacy coordinator do? They choreograph intimacy scenes and help filmmakers not get canceled. What do they work on besides sex? Well anything involving nudity, including bodily functions and medical procedures. What do they bring to a set? Mints, strapless underwear, and a lot of tape. Sam chats with Intimacy Coordinator Adelaide Waldrop about the misconceptio...
We're about halfway into 2023... but are we into it? Sam and Jay Jurden, comedian and writer on The Problem with Jon Stewart, take stock of the year thus far in pop culture: messy celebrity breakups, songs of the summer, the expanding cinematic universe of Mattel toys and dolls, the fall of Twitter, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What better way to celebrate our nation's independence than with an episode about Miss Americana herself? We revisit our episode about Taylor Swift from the eve of her Midnights album release. What is the meaning of Taylor Swift? She's performed damsel in distress, but represents women's empowerment. She's a confessional artist, but is careful about how much she reveals. She's an adult, but is often still viewed as the teenager she used to be. Sam dives into the mythos and craft of Taylor Swift ...
What led podcaster and Spotify executive Bill Simmons to call Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "grifters" following the news that Spotify wouldn't continue its reportedly $20 million deal with the couple? Sam asks Vulture critics Kathryn VanArendonk and Nicholas Quah whether the era of huge celebrity content deals is over. We also get into the improbably good second season of FX's The Bear and why it's so hard to make a beloved show even better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...
Content creator and head of the Beyhive Kalen Allen is more than OK spending four thousand dollars on one ticket for Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour. 2023 feels like a big year for huge stadium tours for artists like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran and more. But why are tickets so expensive, and how much are fans willing to put up with in order to go? Sam talks with music journalist Nate Rogers about why the touring industry might just be broken and what lawmakers and some artist...
Samantha Irby knows what you think about the newer characters on ‘And Just Like That.’ She writes for the ‘Sex and the City’ reboot, which addressed critiques of the original series’ whiteness by introducing new, non-white friends. Reactions were mixed over how well they pulled it off the first season, and people especially hated the over-the-top character of Che Diaz. Sam Irby insists the writers were in on the joke. In time for the show’s season 2 premiere on Max, Sam and Sam talk about whethe...
Sometimes before we have the language to describe ourselves, we have the culture in front of us to help — the movies, TV shows, and music we listened to and watched that's had a lasting impact. In honor of Pride Month, we ask three creatives about the culture that made them queer: writer, actor, and producer Lena Waithe; Tony Award-winning actor and singer Alex Newell; and writer and comedian Guy Branum. Plus, Sam shares his own story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...
The Flash is giving DC Comics its own multiverse, but its star is giving... controversy. Ezra Miller was once considered The Next Big Thing in Hollywood, but after a string of arrests and destructive behavior... where does that leave us? More importantly: Do we really need more superhero multiverses? And we chat about whether the best approach to HBO's The Idol is hate-watching it, and the mess of Netflix's The Ultimatum: Queer Love. Sam is joined by Vox senior correspondent Alex Abad-Santos to ...
Netflix broke the TV mold in 2013 with ‘House of Cards.’ Now, the streaming wars may have broken TV altogether. There’s so much stuff, a lot isn’t good, it’s confusing to find, sometimes disappears entirely, and, as the writers on strike will tell you, people making it aren’t getting paid the same as they once were. Vulture’s Josef Adalian tells Sam about how the race to compete with Netflix destroyed TV as we knew it, twisted viewers' expectations, and may lead us back to the cable bundles we t...
This week, Sam is joined by Lovett or Leave It host and Crooked Media co-founder Jon Lovett to get into the week of culture: Taylor Swift's breakup with Matt Healy, Apple's dip into augmented reality with its Vision Pro, and the latest in the wild animal x drug movie collaboration space Crackcoon. We also hear about the culture that's haunting us: Vanderpump Rules' Tom Sandoval has single-handedly ruined white nail polish. Send us your culturegeist. What specific thing in the culture has haunted...
‘Across the Spider-Verse’ was an animated feast, but many live-action, CGI-bloated summer blockbusters are visual mush. If you’re tired of lackluster computer-generated special effects, guess what? So are the artists who make them. They’re tired from long shifts and working paycheck to paycheck. VFX workers are some of the few Hollywood creatives who aren’t unionized, and they're scared to speak out against big studios for fear of being blacklisted. Today, Explained guest host Sean Rameswaram ta...
This week, Today, Explained co-host Sean Rameswaram keeps our host chair warm while Sam is away. He's joined by Vulture TV critic Kathryn VanArendonk to figure out what kind of show Succession really was, whom it was for, and what to watch to fill the Succession-size hole in your heart. We also ask if Kathryn is into Ted Lasso ending, the return of the flip phone, and more. And we hear about the culture that's haunting us: Lana Del Rey losing her vape is as relatable as writing lyrics about soda...
Christy Carlson Romano was ubiquitous on the Disney Channel in the early 2000s, starring in ‘Even Stevens,’ ‘Kim Possible,’ and ‘Cadet Kelly.’ But after the roles stopped and the checks dried up, she lost money to psychics, struggled with family relationships, and grappled with addiction. Now she processes those experiences on her popular YouTube channel, with videos like “Why I Don't Talk to Shia LaBeouf.” She talks with Sam about overcoming her past, tapping into nostalgia to find new audience...
This week, Sam is joined by comedian Zach Zimmerman. We catch up on the writers' strike and ask for his opinions on the series finale of HBO's Succession, the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max (it's just Max now, thanks), standing ovations at the Cannes Film Festival, and more. We also chat about Zach's new book Is It Hot in Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)? and the ways we might lose a religion, but find something better instead — a deeper re...
Halle Bailey stars as Ariel in the live-action remake of the classic Disney animated film. Casting a Black actress in the role caused quite a splash — which inspired us to look back at two of Disney’s forays into Black princess movies. Dr. Aria Halliday studies cultural constructions of Black girlhood and womanhood at The University of Kentucky. She and Sam break down the 1997 made for TV ‘Cinderella,’ starring Brandy, and 2009’s ‘Princess and the Frog.’ Then, Vulture’s baddest film critic Angel...
This week, Sam is joined by comedian and writer Samantha Irby to dive into the week in culture: the latest movie in the Fast and the Furious franchise, Martha Stewart's historic Sports Illustrated cover, and Love Island-inspired British accents. We also chat about her newest book of essays Quietly Hostile and why she'd no longer want a TV show about her life. Exhibit A: her experience writing for And Just Like That... and the backlash to the character of Che Diaz. And we hear about the culture t...
AI is making fake Drake/The Weeknd songs, weird images, and there’s a worry that TV and movie scripts could be written by ChatGPT. But it’s also about to dramatically change the way we consume, share, and obsess over pop culture. Nilay Patel, Editor-in-Chief of The Verge, explains to Sam how pretty much everything we search on the internet is mediated by Google… and how AI is about to disrupt it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, Sam is joined by Into It's own Travis Larchuk and Tarkor Zehn. They try to convince Sam of the things they're into: The new Legend of Zelda game is worth your time (and money) and the Tarte makeup controversy actually has meaningful implications. Then we flip the game back around and ask for their thoughts on the end of MTV News, Tucker Carlson moving to Twitter, and more. We also hear about the culture that's haunting us: Given their career trajectories following the film Just My Luc...
As tech companies assure us AI is here to help and not to eradicate humanity, the Peacock series ‘Mrs. Davis’ explores what happens in a world where AI really does deliver on that promise. Executive producers Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof join Sam to talk about how they combined science fiction and Christianity in a show about a technophobic nun who is literally married to Jesus. Plus, Lindelof reflects on lessons he learned from behind-the-scenes toxicity he says helped create on ‘Lost’ and...
This week, Sam is joined by Jay Jurden, comedian and writer on The Problem with Jon Stewart. We dive into how he's faring during the writers' strike and that time he auditioned for Ryan Murphy's Dahmer. We also ask if he's into looks from the Met Gala, Missy Elliott's Rock Hall induction, and more. And we hear about the culture that's haunting us: If Akon is trying to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful and can only come up with "damn, you's a sexy bitch," maybe some...
Last weekend, 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' passed $1 billion. But another film quietly hit theaters and really defied all expectations. It’s called ‘Polite Society,’ and its director and writer, Nida Manzoor, describes it as “an action comedy about sisterhood” and “a joyful, kung-fu heist Bollywood epic.” Sam and Nida talk about how the success of her acclaimed TV show 'We Are Lady Parts' finally convinced film executives to buy this movie, her breadth of influences from Jackie Chan to Bette Da...
This week, Sam is joined by Sam Taggart and George Civeris, hosts of StraightioLab, a podcast from iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network (with new episodes out every Tuesday). We dive into their favorite ways to say hello and if you can still poke someone on Facebook. We also ask if they're into the dual cable news firings of Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon, Marvin Gaye's estate suing Ed Sheeran for copyright infringement, Timothée Chalamet's expanding cinematic universe, and mor...
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. wants the job — and he's ready for it. Sam chats with Roy about guest hosting 'The Daily Show' since Trevor Noah's departure and how hard it is to pitch an idea and find the solace in humor in an increasingly bleak (and fast) news cycle. And they discuss his other upcoming hosting gig — the White House Correspondents' Dinner — and why he'll be sweating it out in our nation's capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Josh Gondelman isn’t just a comedian and maybe the nicest person on the planet — he’s also an elected council member of the Writers Guild of America-East. Josh talks to Sam about the potential writers’ strike, and then gets his thoughts on AI-produced Drake songs, Kelly Ripa’s new cohost, and Netflix’s botched attempt at live programming. We also hear about the culture that's haunting us: Despite airing for several seasons, our cultural memory of 'The Magic School Bus' only allows us to remember...
When did the rise of spoiler culture begin? And what should the modern-day rules of spoiler etiquette be? Sam traces back the evolution of spoilers with Vulture critics Jen Chaney and Kathryn VanArendonk from the days of Charles Dickens to The National Lampoon to ABC's Lost to that very big episode of HBO's Succession. Why do we get so upset about spoilers? How can we embrace them instead? And why did it take Sam a whole second viewing to realize you-know-who was dead the whole time? (Here's you...
This week, Sam is joined by Normal Gossip host Kelsey McKinney and producer Alex Sujong Laughlin. We dive into the things they're into (a song by Jess Williamson is perfect for your Sad Girl Playlist, and we explore the cinematic universe of Lofi Girl) and ask for their thoughts on Taylor Swift's breakup with Joe Alwyn, a Baby Shark podcast, and more. We also hear about the culture that's haunting us: Did you know there's a drunk driving PSA at the end of the original Broadway cast recording of ...
Just in time for the finale of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ season 9 winner Sasha Velour joins Sam to talk about the political push to criminalize drag, the long history of the art form, and her drag transformation from Wicked Witch of the West to Gollum. Her new book is called ‘The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag.’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, Sam is joined by Vox's Alex Abad-Santos and Rebecca Jennings for the latest on the effort to ban TikTok in the U.S. (and, in the process, break one of The Cut's modern etiquette rules by describing TikToks). We also ask if they're into the new Barbie movie trailer, fading Taylor Swift merch, a Moana remake, and more. And we hear about the culture that's haunting us: Have you ever thought about Party Down's proximity to the future of our nation's democracy? Send us your culturegeist. W...
Sam can't get enough of HBO's Succession. The phrase "fuck off" has turned into a term of endearment among his friends. But he can't put his finger on why so many love it at a kill-their-first-born level of devotion. As the show draws to a close, Sam chats with writer and Succession scholar Hunter Harris to figure out why a show about miserable white people still resonates so much for so many people. Send us your culturegeist. What specific thing in the culture has haunted you for days, weeks, o...
