Has short form media rotted our brains or is the future one without tech? With generations unable to use a printer, and our social platforms ridden with bots - it seems we're becoming increasingly disenfranchised with our digital lives. This week Ione and Gina are digging into what happens next when the internet and all its apps become unusable. Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast member <3 Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here! A statement by journalists: We condemn Isr...
Mar 11, 2024•31 min
Why is work that takes aesthetics seriously always considered vapid? This week, joining Ione and Gina live is Priscilla costume designer and frequent collaborator of Sofia Coppola, Stacey Battat . We discuss everything from costuming one of the most fashionable women in history, to working on low budget productions and utilising clothing within feminist films to further push unspoken narratives. Recorded in partnership with MUBI to celebrate the launch of Sofia Coppola's Priscilla on streaming, ...
Mar 04, 2024•33 min
Change is in the air for the start of 2024: Those who used to universally love Taylor Swift suddenly seem to be turning on her. Is it the far right convincing themselves that shes a psyop for the democrat party? Or the fact she’s producing more CO2 emissions in a year than most people would in their entire life? Maybe it’s her too good to be true whirlwind romance with Travis Kelce taking up headlines while war rages worldwide. In this episode, Ione and Gina are picking apart why the tide has fi...
Feb 19, 2024•28 min
Have tweens always been this interested in beauty products? And how is ageism affected by classism? In this extra special episode of the podcast, Ione and Gina are joined by writer, editor and brand strategist Funmi Fetto to discuss Wellcome Collection ’s exhibition The Cult of Beauty. Tracking how we went from religious obsession with the visuals of virtuousness to generation alpha purchasing retinols, Funmi, Ione and Gina are asking why people have always been obsessed with looking good. The C...
Feb 12, 2024•40 min
Another day another seemingly innocuous trend borne from TikTok style videos - this week Ione and Gina are using mob wife glamour to get into the nitty gritty of hyper specific aesthetics. Is mob wife glamour a PR move by HBO for The Soprano's 25th Anniversary? Or a fast fashion ploy to shift some coats during the February sales? And why are we all, after all this time, still aspiring to be someone's wife? Join the two leopard print aficionados on deciding whether or not this resurgence of gaudy...
Feb 05, 2024•28 min
Do you have a Stanley Cup? Maybe like Gina, you own a different reusable cup for every occasion. Or perhaps you're more like Ione, who can't stand the sight of them. This week, the girls are fighting their corner as to whether the Stanley Cup craze is harmful or helpless. Should we let people enjoy things? Or is the aggressively feminised marketing and overconsumption something that should concern us all? Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast member <3 The Eden Young Fellowship for ...
Jan 29, 2024•31 min
Poor Things discourse has taken over the internet; with Yorgos Lanthimos latest film being declared a masterpiece in one breath and a misogynistic let down in another. Can a film that traces the consequences of a baby’s brain being implanted into a grown woman’s body ever be called empowering? Or does the story of Bella Baxter - masterfully portrayed by Emma Stone - begin to make more sense when viewed through the lens of disability and privilege? Ione and Gina discuss all. Support our work and ...
Jan 22, 2024•30 min
From Fancams to Lana Del Rey comparisons - she's been the internet fixation for the past fortnight, but what does it mean for the culture that Gypsy Rose Blanchard has exited prison straight into global and meme fame? This week Ione and Gina are discussing the reaction to Gypsy's release, the terror that is the true crime industry, and how women are commodified then dropped in trend cycles that don't consider the real people they revolve around. Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast me...
Jan 15, 2024•30 min
Will 2024 give us hope or apathy? Which cartoon cat is due a comeback? And is the Instagram story a dead artform? To kick off the new year Ione and Gina are taking us through their ins and outs lists while reckoning with the question of if anyone has the authority to make hot or not calls for 2024 anyway. Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast member <3 Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here! A statement by journalists: We condemn Israel's killing of journalists in Gaza and ...
Jan 08, 2024•32 min
Hey everyone, for a variety of reasons, mostly that we all need a little break we'll be taking a few weeks off the podcast until the near year. Thank you for your support this year love you all! Have a lovely rest of the year and we'll see you in 2024 xxx Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 11, 2023•32 sec
Jacob Elordi in angel wings, period sex, and a MILF Rosamund Pike: Saltburn has been the film du jour but does it deserve its controversial accolades? Ione and Gina get into the many ways that Saltburn remains a contentious watch for most working class people, especially when audiences contextualise the movie through the writer and director, Emerald Fennel's gaze. While critics ask if Saltburn is lambasting the right people, our hosts wonder if this film successfully satirises anything at all. S...
Dec 04, 2023•31 min
It's the season finale of The Kardashians and this series can be only summed up as self serving: Every single piece of imagery given in this series has been a medium to send a message: Scott's birthday party serves only to remind the audience that Kim used to grace the covers of canine magazines and now she has featured multiple times on the front of Vogue. But when will the family - made up of literal billionaires - stop positing themselves as underdogs? MJ and Marie Corey hypothesise that it's...
Nov 30, 2023•36 min
Another trend has spawned across TikTok and the site formally known as Twitter - Are you girl pretty or boy pretty? The difference largely lies in how you appeal to the male gaze as hosts Ione Gamble and Gina Tonic explore in this week's podcast episode. Have labels become limiting, do we need to care about our attractiveness or is this all a misogynistic psyop? Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast member <3 Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here! A statement by journalist...
Nov 27, 2023•31 min
This week, The Kardashians are leaning into the uncanny valley nature of their narrative construction, taking us behind the scenes on Kourtney's pregnancy announcement and Kim and North debating fashion as she gets dressed for the Met. Marie and MJ are questioning the hierarchies of who the family - and those around them - defers to. Is North being a brat or is she a creative with valid criticisms? Why do the Kardashians have so much respect for the traditional power structures in place around t...
Nov 23, 2023•27 min
In an extra special live episode in collaboration with Barbican, we invited our art history columnist Zara Aftab to host a conversation with artist Rene Matic and journalist Diyora Shadijanova exploring their exhibition RE/SISTERS: A Lens on Gender and Ecology. The trio discuss the ways categorisation has diminished our connection to nature, the growing intersectionality of feminism relating to the climate and the importance of community care. You can visit the exhibition here: https://www.barbi...
Nov 20, 2023•46 min
What is there to day? There’s an apology tour to squeeze out what’s left of the scandals. Then a lot of time being spent creating more structures and storylines about Kim working constantly, so we’re gonna show her being tired. What does that mean though? Why do we care? A way for The Kardashians to show us a version of true slices of life - the busy reality of trips to New York, meetings, appearances, disorientation at Tiffany's. We know though, smokes and mirrors, it's an approximation of the ...
Nov 16, 2023•29 min
It's finally here: The trailer for the movie of the musical of the movie Mean Girls, but the promotion for 'Not your mother's Mean Girls' has the generations united in disdain. Why did they say that? And why is Regina George wearing combats? This week Ione and Gina are discussing nostalgia culture and the eroding of tweenhood. A statement by journalists: We condemn Israel's killing of journalists in Gaza and urge integrity in Western media coverage of Israel's atrocities against Palestinians. Su...
Nov 13, 2023•29 min
This episode they packed in a loooot of storylines. Lots of the Momager and with Kris needing to be everywhere at once, she finds new ways to do it. There’s questions about Kendall and talk of more Scaffolding to protect the privacy. And a bit more from the NPCs and how it feels to enter it and how it feels to be on the outside of it. Anand in the world of celebrity action this week we’ve got Kim and Taylor doing v similar PR moves and guess what, they both involve sports. But what we really wan...
Nov 09, 2023•33 min
Why has Macklemore got a better take on war than Kier Starmer? This week Ione and Gina are taking a look at the culture surrounding celebrity opinions in relation to major political events. From back peddling to blindly sharing infographics, should we be turning to the feeds of the upper classes for news anyway? READ, A DANGEROUS CONFLATION: AN OPEN LETTER FROM JEWISH WRITERS, IN FULL ACTIONABLE WAYS TO SUPPORT THE END TO GENOCIDE IN PALESTINE (UK) DEMAND A CEASEFIRE IN GAZA (US) Support our wor...
Nov 06, 2023•35 min
What stood out to you sisters? Fake drama on the show? Could they ever? There’s the relevance of incredibly empty and fluffy episodes when so much is happening outside of the show. A very tame Palm Springs for easter trip, some trouble in the grey gardens and it’s clearer than ever the show is just a bunch of scaffolding to shield the sisters from their reality. Kim tells the fam about her new role in AHS, there’s a humble brag - oh she loves taking on a challenge. Our sisters speculate on the i...
Nov 02, 2023•31 min
Is the dirtbag left just conservatism and facism in a pretty outfit? More and more women are joining the alt-right under the guise of irony, playing a crucial part in the widening of political divides and making bank by broadcasting their bigoted opinions. With tradwifes going mainstream and shock-politics podcasts drawing in hundreds of thousands of listeners; Ione and Gina are examining what it takes for women to be indoctrinated into a movement that exists to belittle them. Support our work a...
Oct 30, 2023•31 min
First things first, a famous well loved . . . cat. In all the unreal-ness of the reality you can’t get more real than a cat, and a hiss. We’re used to the family FaceTiming to name drop - but this time the person on the other end is an important player in The Kardashian effort - the goal is always to expand. And we go behind the latest campaign, SKIMS soccer, with a live reaction from the sisters There's a light dive in American Horror Story, and force of will. Back with the family there’s a wil...
Oct 26, 2023•20 min
It seems impossible to go a week without Doja Cat stirring up a new controversy; from sporting a tshirt featuring an alt-right figurehead, to appearing in racist chatrooms and isolating her fanbase. As her behaviour appears to veer away from simple trolling and towards an actual endorsement of alt-right views, Ione and Gina are digging into why we continue to pander to celebrities that act in ways we don't agree with. From parasocial relationships and whether controversy helps or hinders celebri...
Oct 22, 2023•32 min
Is The Bachelor sponsoring this season of The Kardashians? As this season progresses, the family continue to focus on fluffy storylines while ignoring the more serious issues bubbling under the surface. In La, Kris and Khloe are trying to set up Scott, while Kim's in London playing Soccer Mom while dodging her friends matchmaking efforts — and we're still unable to go a full episode without someone begging Khloe to get back with Tristan. MJ and Marie are exploring how the Kardashians keep on top...
Oct 19, 2023•22 min
Between announcements of yet another white man being appointed to lead a luxury house , modelling agencies recruiting refugees and then mistreating them , and curve models making up less than 1% of SS24 runways; its safe to say the fashion girlies are not alright. With memes circulating that decry the lack of diversity and inclusivity within the industry, it can often feel like fashion not only doesn't care, but is actively ignoring the grim reality and structural issues. This week, Ione and Gin...
Oct 15, 2023•30 min
The KarJenner sisters are fictionalising their own PR moves and Kim is pushing it to the extremes with her series of American Horror Story while using the show to embed feminism into Kim's brand alongside shamelessly canonising their world. Meanwhile in the Hulu show, the family distract us with fluffy storylines that don't mean much of anything, except to drive home the fact that the family are aligned with authenticity. Catch up with season two of our Kardashian podcast series! We've teamed up...
Oct 12, 2023•44 min
Earlier this month, an influencer took to TikTok to denounce some women she heard at brunch bitching about their friends. No, this woman did not know the people she was filming. Nor was she friends with the person they were gossiping about. Chaos ensued, with the video being viewed over 1.2 million times over a week and people rushing to find 'Sarah', the subject of the gossip. But is gossiping still really considered the worst thing a person can do to their friends? This influencer is not alone...
Oct 09, 2023•31 min
We’re back in the world of The Kardashians, episode two! The sisters talk about the spectrum of the (The Kardashian) sisters and how they aesthetically and conceptually give us different things... from the tabloids stories about Khloé and will they won’t they with Tristan, to Kim’s trip to Harvard and projecting seriousness. All in all the entertainment of politics, celebrity activism and the parallels of our shows and theirs. A martini (wink) of an episode. Catch up with season one of our brand...
Oct 05, 2023•29 min
From girl math and girl dinner to the fact that all of our clothes have become adorned with little bows; girls once again rule the URL world. But how much has changed since the Tumblr era? Is this latest cycle of reclaiming hyper-femininity harmless, or just another opportunity for our interests to become hyper-capitalist fodder? Ione and Gina are diving into the cultural moments that have brought us here, and trying to figure out what it really means to be a girl in this world. Support our work...
Oct 02, 2023•28 min
As season four premieres, the show itself has finally become its own character - with Kourtney and Kim continuing their fight into the new season by drudging up past drama via edits of The Kardashians. As American Horror Story kicks off with Kim in a starring role; it seems as though the Kardashians are finally unveiling who they are - cosmetic surgery, forced storylines and more. MJ and Marie sit down to dissect both shows, both in relation to each other, and individually. Catch up with season ...
Sep 28, 2023•32 min
