We come armed with BTS goss on a huge range of pop culture talking points this week gang, from the newly announced Harry Potter documentary about Daniel Radcliffe’s paralysed stunt-double (with juicy tangents on Emma Watson, Rita Skeeter and more) to the hilarious, hard-to-believe celebrity stories from James Blunt’s new memoir – including the time he ate his own poo at Jamie Foxx’s house, on Bear Grylls’ advice. As requested, we also get into the Wagatha Christie documentary on Disney + that de...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 10 min
A forensic analysis of Britney’s memoir is top of the agenda this week, as The Woman In Me’s many bombshell revelations make headlines everywhere. From childhood she was constantly sexualised by the media and after releasing her hit single Baby One More Time in 1998, aged just 16, the world was divided over what she represented: good American role model or dangerously bad influence? We look at how a toxic media and dated purity culture obsessed and shamed Britney over whether she was a virgin, a...
Oct 26, 2023•1 hr 47 min
Do we have a right to tell our stories if they involve the private lives of others? It’s the ethical conundrum we’re discussing this week following the explosive revelations in Jada Pinkett Smith’s memoir about her 'husband' Will Smith. And, on the same theme, the very dark stories ‘Kanye’s muse’ Julia Fox has revealed in her brilliant memoir Down the Drain. And for all the huns wondering, who is Julia Fox, don’t worry, Ellie gives us her wild life in a nutshell — prepare for your eyes to POP. P...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 17 min
This week there’s only one pop culture topic on everyone’s lips: the Beckhams. The four-part Beckham documentary dropped on Netflix to rave reviews, but what were the juiciest revelations and what did brand Beckham conveniently leave out? We get stuck into everything from the tabloid shaming of Victoria’s weight and the disturbing quotes about Beckham’s dad, to those Rebecca Loos allegations (including how the story was actually put together) and whether Loos had any leg to stand on selling her ...
Oct 12, 2023•1 hr 28 min
Hiii huns, we had such a fun afternoon catching up about everything from the latest celeb divorce (it never ends!) to Anya Taylor-Joy's beige wedding dress, featuring some reminiscing from Ellie on the time she had brunch with Anya and left her "devastated" (whoops). Then, Kathleen gives the latest on the never-ending Kim and Kourtney fallout, including the "Not Kourtney" whatsapp group, and Kendall Jenner's Gucci campaign with boyfriend Bad Bunny, followed by a big dig into the new Jorja Smith ...
Oct 05, 2023•1 hr 7 min
This week we are so excited to welcome Emma Gannon on the pod, ahead of her speaking at the fantastic Wimbledon Bookfest , which runs 12-22 October. Emma is the author of six books and creator of hit Substack newsletter, The Hyphen. Having published The Success Myth earlier this year, which explains why our obsession with achievement is a trap and how to break free, Emma was diagnosed with chronic burnout, an irony that she unpicks with us as she gets into how it left her dissociated and unable ...
Sep 28, 2023•1 hr 30 min
Hi everyone, we’re all aware of the horrific rape and sexual assault allegations against Russell Brand - which he vehemently denies, maintaining all sexual relations have been consensual - so in this episode we analyse what this means for the media (TW). Why is it that so many Brand supporters think this is a media conspiracy? What does ‘the media establishment’ - Brand and his supporters’ enemy no1 - really mean? And are ‘alt’ voices like Brand really being silenced by traditional titles? Using...
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr 24 min
We’ve said it before huns, this is the year of the chaotic celebrity divorce, but the Joe Jonas vs Sophie Turner divorce drama has left us REELING. From Joe’s PR team playing what appears to many as a misogynistic smear-campaign against Sophie — who he married in 2019, when she was just 23 — to wild rumours involving partying and ‘ring cameras’, this might be the messiest celeb divorce we’ve witnessed since Brad and Angelina. We discuss everything from Sophie’s public battle with mental health a...
Sep 14, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Poor Els got mugged last week huns, so today’s episode starts with the download on her enforced digital detox, before taking a sunnier towards perhaps the best news we’ve heard all year – Maya Jama and Stormzy are back together!! – and our slightly tragic obsession with this ultimate modern day love story. Then, more summer reading recommendations, including Imogen Crimp’s A Very Nice Girl, the buzziest debut novel of last year, and Dolly Alderton’s upcoming second novel, Good Material, as well ...
Aug 31, 2023•1 hr 4 min
All the celebs are on holiday this week, angels, so we’ve got another jam-packed pop culture debrief for you, starting with Coleen Rooney’s fabulous – but divisive – Vogue cover for the September issue, the most important of the year! We get into all her explosive Wagatha Christie revelations and backstory with Wayne, as well as the criticisms of the cover. Are the suggestions that Coleen is not a Vogue cover girl rooted in classism? Then, a look at one of the most powerful and hated men in musi...
Aug 24, 2023•1 hr 7 min
From the outrageous 'dirty' celeb dating story that has blown up our WhatsApp chats to the Harry Styles rumour that sent the internet spinning, it's safe to say we have been SHOCKED by the world of celebrity gossip this week huns!! And of course we are here to share all of our uncensored thoughts. In more serious news, we also look at the claims that Lyme disease is a 'celebrity' sickness that has become an identity for some, as well as the absolutely horrific allegations that have come out of a...
Aug 17, 2023•57 min
It's a dark and sordid week in the world of fame and celebrity huns, with pop stars Lizzo and Ariana Grande both getting flack from all directions. Lizzo is at the centre of wild allegations from three former dancers – all of which she denies – while Ariana Grande has been accused of living a little close to her lyrics by finding herself at the centre of yet another cheating drama. We get into all the arguments for and against both women, and let you be the judge! Finally, we have a juicy debrie...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 2 min
We are SO excited to share this fascinating chat with our favourite chef and cookery writer Gizzi Erskine with you all this week, getting into everything from naked dinner parties to psychedelics, via public shaming, misogyny and body image. Author of killer books from Gizzi’s Healthy Appetite to Slow and Restore, you might recognise Gizzi from her various TV appearances over the years, or perhaps from her lockdown fakeway brand with Professor Green, Giz and Greens. She’s a proper celeb chef and...
Aug 03, 2023•1 hr 36 min
The headline speaks for itself huns, this episode is spicy!! After seeing Barbie together last week (dressed in pink, obv) we couldn’t wait to discuss our verdicts and debate the VERY polarised online conversation, including Barbie-burning Republicans and some very cross incels. Plus, we deepdive into Barbie’s salacious origin story and the woman who created her, and reveal why Ken’s crotch became one of toymaker Mattel’s most unexpected nightmares. Also, what is going on with so-called Margot R...
Jul 27, 2023•1 hr 14 min
We are SO excited to introduce you to this week’s utterly fascinating and highly controversial guest: Caroline Calloway, one of the very first internet celebrities, a self- anointed ‘scammer’ and perhaps our first guest who has been publicly shamed. If you haven’t heard of her before, don’t worry, we give you the complete lowdown in our intro, but in a nutshell: Caroline moved from New York to the University of Cambridge in 2013 and swiftly became famous as one of the first Instagram influencers...
Jul 20, 2023•1 hr 11 min
No interview this week angels, instead, we're covering the hottest celeb talking points from the past few days. First, we get into the topic that's currently ruling the internet, actor Jonah Hill's toxic 'boundaries', which came to light when his ex Sarah Brady shared their private messages on her Instagram. We debate the dangers of therapy speak and at which point it becomes a tool for manipulation and narcissism, the difference between boundaries and controlling behaviour, plus why fame enable...
Jul 13, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Right huns, gets ready for an episode full of drama, because this week we're debriefing on America’s sweetheart Blake Lively getting her first taste of cancellation, and why celebs are in their peak chaotic divorce era (and we secretly love it). Plus, is it at all possible to escape the insane multi-million pound marketing campaign for Margot Robbie’s new Barbie blockbuster, encompassing everything from AirBnb to inflatables — and might it be overcompensating for a potential flop? We also get st...
Jul 06, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Today’s guest is the best-selling author Caroline O’Donoghue, the GENIUS behind one of our favourite podcasts, Sentimental Garbage, for a pop cultural deep dive on everything from And Just Like That and Desperate Housewives, to Fleishman in Trouble, the career vs kids conundrum and why fame is less like being the most important in the room, and more like being the entire public’s PA. Plus, Caroline’s top recommendations for you all, including Brooke Shields’s Pretty Baby documentary and her favo...
Jun 29, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Gang, we have waited SO long to debrief about HBO’s new “torture porn” show The Idol, starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd that is already the most talked about TV show of 2023, and since three episodes have passed we think we’re finally ready to give our verdict. We get stuck into its grotesque flaws and surprisingly more promising moments, debating everything from whether Lily-Rose Depp is any good (and if her character Jocelyn could ever really be a viable pop star), to the allegations of “...
Jun 22, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Hi huns, we’ve got someone a little different from the usual celeb on the pod this week: Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, who is currently having a second wind of fame thanks to his top-charting podcast The Rest is Politics, of which both of us are HUGE fans. This month he also released a brilliant new book called But What Can I Do? which is all about motivating young, capable people to get into politics and shake things up, with lots of practical tips on how to improve the ess...
Jun 15, 2023•1 hr 23 min
This week’s mad developments in celebrity culture has aligned perfectly with Straight Up’s USP, to deconstruct ‘fame’ in all its surreal highs and horrible lows, so we’re talking about everything from Matty Healey’s controversial performative fame and the online outpouring of outrage from Taylor Swift fans, to the the surreal This Morning saga and Phil Schofield's fall from grace, as well Johnny Depps's return to Cannes. Then, we debrief on the wildly shocking new data on what top podcaster Chri...
Jun 08, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Hello huns, we were SO excited to go round for tea at Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s gorgeous London home the other week to chat all about her extraordinary experience of fame, from her initial “failed” start in a band as a teenager, who were dropped by their label before their second album, to the incredible success of her iconic hit Murder on the Dancefloor just a few years later (Europe’s biggest song of 2002 and our primary school selves’ FAVE). The queen of the kitchen disco was just as fun as we’d ...
Jun 01, 2023•1 hr 20 min
Welcome back to another cultural debrief gang! This week, Ellie interviewed the icon that is Kesha for the Telegraph ahead of her brilliant new her album Gag Order, out now, and gave us all the behind-the-scenes gossip and juicy talking points, specifically: did Kesha really have a vaginal ghost exorcism? Plus we both reveal our own experiences with the paranormal, featuring Kathleen’s mum’s run-in with a hag at the end of her bed and Ellie’s unexplained sleep paralysis... Then, we debrief on Li...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Buckle up huns because today’s guest is one of our all-time favourites: fellow Londoner and proper funny man Allan 'Seapa' Mustafa, the BAFTA-winning actor, writer and co-creator of hit crime comedy, The Curse, as well as the ICONIC People Just Do Nothing, the BBC mockumentary series – and feature film – where he played MC Grindah. In this hilarious chat, Allan tells us all about the inspiration for PJDN, from his work in a call centre (featuring retellings of some of his best pranks), to the pi...
May 18, 2023•1 hr 7 min
We’ve got a real treat in store for you today angels, starting with the latest explosive Gwyneth Paltrow interview and the many, many revelations she made on how her exes Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck compare, as well as a big debate on therapy, finding yourself and how the Goop guru’s life advice actually works in practice. Next, we get into a fascinating chronology of the ‘It Girl’ phenomenon, based on a new New York Magazine feature, covering Jaime King, Chloe Sevigny, Alexa Chung et al and expos...
May 11, 2023•1 hr 3 min
This week hunnies we have musician, The X Factor semi-finalist and Strictly finalist Fleur East on the show for a chat all about what it’s like to go through the often brutal churn of reality TV, and come out very much on top! She shared stories about how she almost pulled out of her big The X Factor audition, dealing with managers who wanted to lie about her age, and the wildest A-List party she ever attended. She also shared the cutest story about how she got together with her now husband Marc...
May 04, 2023•1 hr 2 min
We’re back with a thrilling culture debrief for you today, angels, and as you can hear from our unhinged giggling, we are really very excited to be reuinited with you all, gossiping about everything from Sofia Richie’s wedding at the infamous, ridiculously luxurious Cap Du Eden Roc hotel in France, to the explosive sex scandal gripping the cast of Netflix’s latest hit, Beef. We also get stuck into Lewis Capaldi’s Netflix documentary, How I’m Feeling Now, which highlights his struggles with Toure...
Apr 27, 2023•54 min
Hello darlings, have you missed us? Kathleen is back from Mexico so Straight Up is back to business and we have an excellent celebrity interview for you today: Ryan Hennessy, frontman of Picture This, the childhood friends turned Irish mega band who flew to the top of the Irish charts with their debut album in 2017. If you go weak for an Irish accent and swoon over gorgeous introspective songs about love, breakups and existentialism then you are going to absolutely love em. We met Ryan one sunny...
Apr 20, 2023•1 hr 27 min
Hi gorgeous ones! Today we round up our mini celebrity journalism series with the fourth and final part (listen to parts one to three by scrolling back in our archive - they’re super juicy!). And it’s all about celebrity journalism’s uncertain future: in an era in which celebs increasingly hold all the power, and publications are losing their relevancy, who needs who? After Ellie reveals a shock celebrity encounter that got her feeling all kinds of existential angst, we discuss why and how celeb...
Mar 30, 2023•55 min
Jordan Stephens is in the studio today angels and this is defo one of our favourite chats to date – you are going to absolutely love this one! Jordan shot to fame as a teenager as one half of Rizzle Kicks, they disbanded in 2016 and he went on to pursue a super successful, incredibly varied career, from actor and painter to children’s book author (as well as still releasing music ofc). We sat down at Brixton Village studios to debrief on the rise of Rizzle Kicks and being thrown into fame overni...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 7 min
