"Traitors Among Us..." (w/ Matt & Bowen)
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- Bo, listen, vacation, it's something you gotta get right. - I have never agreed with you more. And I've had so many wonderful trips with you in the past. I remember one of our fantastic Airbnb trips upstate. We got this four bedroom Airbnb, little cabin,

We had like a whole acre to waltz around in. It was so much fun and a gorgeous kitchen, remember? I do remember. That ended up being an iconic trip. But why is Airbnb better than a hotel? First of all, more space. Second, more bathrooms because sharing a bathroom, I know it's not our favorite thing to do. Also, more common area spaces to hang out together. Airbnbs can have things like a private movie room or game room. Doing an Airbnb may also get you access to a better location. Airbnb, it's just for you and me. Fee!

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- Look, man. - Where? Oh, I see. - Bowen, look over there. - Wow, is that culture? - Oh my goodness. - Las Culturistas. - Ding dong, Las Culturistas calling. - My girl sneakily did this thing right before the countdown where she made me laugh. - Oh, I have a habit. - I have a habit of making the world very happy. Can I congratulate you on a milestone?

I guess. I don't know what it could possibly be. Well, you wrapped Wicked the film. Oh, I wrapped Wicked the films. The films. Oh my God. Which one is better? I think we're going to do a third installment that's very Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Oh my God. It's Fanny and Shenshen are kind of

you know, navigating Oz. I kind of like navigating Oz when Dorothy lands. I think that could be really slay. And they're trying to like get to Dorothy because like she's the new queen bee. Oh my God. Yeah. The new girl on the block. The new girl on the block. I mean, Glinda is still always queen bee, especially in the Dorothy wizard of Oz story. But when Dorothy shows up, they're like,

We have to find her. She killed the Wicked Witch of the East. We must slay. So your character's name is Fanny. I always want to pronounce it Fanny because of the way it's spelled. But your character's name is Fanny and Glinda's other BFF is named Shenshen. Shenshen. So you find out that you guys are the ones that wrote, Who's that girl? E's that girl.

One of the actual best melodies of all time. It's actually really close to number 26. Who's that girl? Is one of the best melodies of all time. Think about it. It has everything.

It has questions. It has la la la. And it kind of just like stretches on longer than you think it will. And then you're very happy that it's, it clocks in how it does. Like I dare you the next time you hear it. And it's obviously always playing to not absolutely get up and spin around in your joyous freak bag.

Oh my God, it is always playing, isn't it? I'm just so proud of you. I'm so proud of you and your role of Fanny. Well, thank you, dear. I think that you're going to change hearts and minds with this one. Well, the thing is, what were Ella Frank Baum and Baum?

What were L. Frank Baum, not Frank Oz, and... Of Muppet fame. What were L. Frank Baum and Gregory Maguire thinking with some of these names? I mean, Winky Country. Winky, I guess, means like cock, like wiener in the UK. Pee-pee-ville. Pee-pee-ville. And then Fanny means pussy in the UK.

Oh, shit. To the brits. So, like, there's a lot of... I think I know exactly what you are. You're a fanny boy. My name is literally Pussy, and then Fiyero comes from Wiener Country. Like, Cockville. Well, that one's for the real fans out there that have the real fan service. How excited are you about potentially really young kids seeing this and writing sexy fan fiction about Fiyero and Fanny? I think...

Unless they cut it, there's a moment... Oh, my God. I don't know if you can spoil it, girl. We are months out from this. Well, I feel okay saying... That's my catchphrase. I feel okay saying this. That's my catchphrase on this show. There is a fun little comedy moment between Fiyero and Fanny that I hope and pray they keep. Would you call it the, like, if there's, like, an A story, a B story, a C story, is this, like, the...

This is Zed. This is Zed. This is the Zed story. It goes to the Canadian alphabet. That's how bottom rung this is. Bottom rung. Not the Canada is bottom. The Fanny story. Bottom rung. I'm just so excited to see the film. I'm so excited that you've... How long was the filming? Okay, total it was like 150 days for two movies and...

It's been a full calendar year of shooting with the strike built in. Anyway, thank you, dear. We're not really here to talk about films that much today or even upcoming films because we did that last week. Today is Tuesday, January 16th. We are sitting in the afterglow of the Emmy Awards, the Primetime Emmy Awards. And not just that, but also the fleet of award shows that have been sort of hitting us

Back to back to back. And you're going to always get it again and again and again. Critics' Choice, Golden Globes, Emmys. Boom, boom, boom. And...

I think I have the reaction that we... I mean, the one I wanted to have was that Ayo would sweep, and now Ayo has swept, and we're proud of you, girl. We are proud of you, girl. Not only are you winning for great performance, but you're also turning looks. You're being charming in every speech, every moment, very winning. We feel the industry has said, it's you, girl. And we couldn't be prouder. Go back and listen to... And we're not making this about us, obviously, but...

listen to the Omarosa fan club. Omarosa fan club, a great episode. An Omarosa fan club member now has Critics' Choice,

Emmy and Golden Globe and Not For Nothing. SAG's coming up. SAG nominee as well. And that'll also have probably happened for her. This is the thing is it's like it's one of those moments and we've said before, obviously we're happy because it's our friend, but it is one of those results again this year where it feels like they have chosen three shows. You know what I mean? Like it's like Beef,

Succession, and The Bear. And they're all incredible. But it has been a lot of the same names again and again, which probably is just all the award shows being packed into one. But yeah, I mean, it's just so weird to see Succession still awarded in 2024. But it feels like, well, yeah, if that's when it was eligible, it should take everything. It just felt so long ago. A little victory laugh for Succession. But I think that...

No surprises last night for the most part. No, especially not being the third award show in a row. I guess what I was surprised about was like, well, not surprised about, but like if you look at the collection of winners, you know what I will say? Like much has been said about like, you know, how difficult it is to get things made lately, etc. But like the stuff we were awarding yesterday, the people we were awarding yesterday, like you can look at it and really be like, you know, the industry really has...

There's been evolution in the past 10 years. And it's really amazing to see. I mean, there was an extremely diverse group of winners, an extremely deserving group of winners, and a lot of passion behind, let's call it passion behind certain shows because people are really excited about them, which is a good thing. Yeah.

I think the only non-Succession Beef the Bear winners on the acting side were Quinta and Coolidge. Coolidge. I think those were the only two, which go off. And everyone else, completely deserving. And I will say the biggest surprise for me of the night? What?

being in this Grey's Anatomy tribute. We got to talk about it. So I will say I did love all of those little retrospectives. I think my favorite might have been Ally McBeal. I just loved watching. Oh, I didn't see that. I didn't see that part. Like Calista in a bathroom and it was all voiceover and she's just like looking at herself in the mirror. She's like, I look good. And then like her Ally McBeal castmates from way back come out and like dance her over to the stage and she like shimmies over to the mic. It was kind of wordless and

But then she came out and I believe she presented either best actor or best actress. It was best actor in a drama because Kieran won. Congrats to you, Kieran. Well deserved. But that was my favorite. And then I have to say the Grey's Anatomy one did shake me. When they said at the end, an Emmy winner, Katherine Heigl, I was like, here we go. My theory is she and Shonda have patched things up.

I don't know about she and Shonda, but you know who's in Camp Team Heigl? Ellen. Camp Team Heigl. Team Heigl? Ellen. Ellen has gone on record saying Katherine Heigl was ahead of her time. And a lot of the stuff that she said then would have been well-received now. Well, that Actors on Actors was really interesting to me. Oh, yes. And I think that's when Ellen said it. She was like,

And then they go into their whole like thing about, I don't think, it's more Ellen Pompeo doing this, but like, and this is beautiful Ellen Pompeo Bostonian vibes, which is just like,

I mean, now everyone has an opinion. And it's like, she's like, you were ahead of your time for having an opinion back then. And she's not wrong. But I really, it really hit me where I was like, oh, we have come, we're 20 seasons into the show. Yep. That was another thing. It was like when they said when that show debuted, I was like, oh my God, it was 20 years ago. Like insane. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. You know what I was thinking the other day? Like, do you remember when American Idol started in like 2002 and Paula Abdul was on the judging panel and everyone was like, oh yeah, wow. Like now the kids get to know Paula Abdul, who was a pop star when I was young, like an old pop star. She had been famous like 10 years before. Right. Like now in the year of our Lord 2024, like Katy Perry is like Paula Abdul for these kids. You know what I mean? Wow.

Wow. Also an American Idol dress. Do you ever think about that? That's what I'm saying. It's like, oh yeah, that old pop star Katy Perry. It's like, meanwhile, we were in college for the California girls. But you know what? Katy, and I don't quite have the working knowledge of Paula Abdul's discography to define this analog, but Katy has...

will always be able to hang her hat on Teenage Dream. Do you know what I'm saying? I mean, it's one of the great records. It is a time capsule for us. It will always remind us of being like, young, fun, and free. Those are not the words, but they feel like they could be. Yeah, Katie is, Katie is a legacy. What also came out 20 years ago,

was Mean Girls. Oh, wow. The film. Yes. I saw it last night. I saw it a couple days ago. I want to say that Renee Rapp is here to stay. And here's what I love about Renee's performance. Like, not even for a second.

trying to copy Rachel, which is so the move for two reasons. A, speaking about getting further away in time from certain things, like the further you get away from that performance, the more you realize it is one of the great performances. I think she should go down like...

in history for that. The other thing is like that type of bully wouldn't work for a movie about like a Gen Z group of kids. You know what I mean? Like, and so Renee took it entirely in a different place and her voice is just insane. Huh? I mean, world burn. Excellent.

Excellent. All I wanted was I wanted the last note in World Burn held out longer. Oh, okay. Like, it ends in this insane, like, crazy high belt. And I just wanted it extended a little bit more like the gay person in me just wanted to hear her sing louder, longer. Yeah.

Gay people always want these girls to sing louder and longer, and we should. That feels like a rule of culture to me, bro. And what number is that? I think six. Rule of culture number six. Gay people always want women to sing louder and longer. And they should. I thought that the movie was... Really, what I appreciated about it was it felt almost like...

A tip of the cap to us, like the people that love that original movie. It felt more of like it was like a commemoration and acknowledgement of the original movie in a way that felt really fun. Like and also just like it's testament to its staying power. The fact that like it feels like a lot of this movie actually stayed the same because you do have reverence for literally even the way that some of these lines were said, you know what I'm saying? Like a lot of Gretchen stuff.

It's like, how do you walk? It's a tough task because how do you walk the line between fan service, which ultimately the existence of these things are fan service. Yeah.

and also wanting to create and give an opportunity to these people to be iconic in their own right. It was interesting where I thought the movie went for commemoration and throwback vibes, and where it went for interesting swings at updating it and making it into a movie for kids that are that age now. Yeah. I feel like they had this really, they as in Tina and these directors,

I had this really hard task in terms of modernizing it with social media stuff. Right. Where the burn book can kind of easily be replaced by the entire like apparatus of social media, but then they do the smart thing of just like making those things work in tandem. I don't think...

either thing is diminished necessarily. - No, I think it was right to update it in the script where they were like, "Virginia's mom finds the burned book." It's like a relic that they used to do. That feels right, especially like even the prop work on that book, they made it look exactly like the old book. - Yes, yes, yes. - You know what's funny? I think for some reason,

I remember in 2004 seeing this and feeling like I have to remember these lines. You know what I mean? Like it was like that. Like you felt like there was some sort of like we were in hallowed ground watching the movie in terms of like cinematic relevance. I think that's what motivated me to go see it like four times in theaters when I was 13 years old. Yep. Going in.

By myself, I think two out of the four. Yeah. And then going up with my sister for one of them. And then I forgot who else for another, but like it was, I was like, something's happening. Yeah. Like this is my favorite movie ever. I think. Yeah. Like it, it just like,

defined everything about the way I was, like, speaking from then on and the way I viewed the world. I was like, oh, this is all, like, hierarchical and this is what I... So the year this came out, it launched us into high school. We were, like, in the eighth grade, I think, going into high school. Yeah, it's fuzzy for me, but yes. Yeah, yeah. And I think it just informed everything about high school for me. It was just going into it being like, well, this is, like...

Saw high school movies, which were big at the time. Didn't really apply it to anything real or grounded or lived in in my own little world. But then something about Mean Girls, based on the source material of the book by Rosalind Weissman, I was just like, oh, this is all pretty well-studied behavioral stuff. And that's what makes it work and that's what makes it evergreen, I think.

You know what's interesting is it's like certain things that were really integral to the plot of the 2004 film that really, you know, alter the direction that characters are going. Like in the update, you realize how much our world has changed. Like for example, in the 2004 version, one of the ways they destroy Regina is they fuck with her weight. And in the 2024 version,

The weight thing feels a little different. Doesn't have as much. Yeah. I realized that when like, well, for me, it felt like,

it actually felt even more sensitive because this is something that it feels like, I don't know, it feels like in 2024, we are in a more diverse version of this school. And we're in a more, like, even though there's like bullying at play, we are like in an environment where it feels like the world has changed. So when they try to fuck with her weight in the 2024 version, and Renee has the line where she's like, sweatpants are all that fits me right now.

it felt like darker and a little different and heavier now in 2024 because we know better as a culture to do this. And also like you get the sense, like it,

it hasn't really felt like they care about their weight too much. And then at the end, you're like, well, this is, of course, something that's still going to be sensitive, even in a time of body positivity and talking about being really at the forefront of we're an inclusive accepting world. It's still interesting how that still hurt in 2024.

as it did in 2004. I don't even know if I'm making an elegant point about this. Yeah. It just hurts different. The weight thing in 2004 was embedded in the culture a little bit neater than it does now, where I think there's this really tough incongruity with the way bodies are discussed now. But I think...

it's still ongoing, but it's like now in like a post-Ozumpic culture, it's like, well then I guess, and then how, but how do we really feel about? I guess what I'm trying to say is like in 2024, it feels like we know better than to make this an issue. And, and so the character saying like, so,

sweatpants are all that fits me right now. Like, and her realizing that this is what they've done. Like, it feels like even more of a betrayal because it's just weird. Like, I was more on Regina's side at that point than I was in 2004. Does that make sense? Because I was like, it feels like this is really brutal in 2024 when we've had this conversation, especially Gen Z, is like,

very like, you know, there's like a refusal to, at least like on face value, there's like a refusal to condemn each other for whatever your body size may or may not be. And so for that to happen in 2024 felt like more of a betrayal. And it almost like complicated it for me in terms of like what side I was on Regina versus the other plastics and Katie, you know what I mean? Totally. It makes it compelling to watch. But I think on that note of being on Regina's side, it does make me think

Well, in character, wouldn't Regina George make the weight gain work for her? Right. And that was a part of the original that I was like, I didn't even think about that update, but I was like,

Wow, it feels like really interesting and different when we're talking about it now via V then. Also the queer stuff, because they made a lot of updates to the Janice stuff. Like Janice isn't out lesbian in this movie. And she has been since she's young and it's part of the central conflict between her and Regina, which I think also was a pretty smart update for now. Totally.

I think that was done well. Yeah. In 2004, the weaponization was like the closetedness and the thing of like, she might be a lesbian. And in 2024, it feels like the weaponization is based on the fact that like, you thought you had a safe space with me. Right. And now I'm hurting you based on your feelings and I'm emotionally manipulating you based on your feelings, which felt like,

It's still about the closet. It's still about the closet, which I think is smart. But anyway, I think it's kind of cool that it opened, that it was number one, because where are we on this whole, where are execs on this with the whole, like, let's hide the broccoli under the cheese when it comes to a musical? Like, let's never market these things as musicals. And then I guess it works. I guess people are like,

snookered into like going to buy a ticket for Wonka when like there's no there's nothing in the publicity that's like it's a musical but then like people sit down but then it gets butts in seats so I'm like okay I guess this is working but I don't respect it necessarily I think what separates these two examples from everything else is IP

So Wonka is like people that were going to see Wonka, we're going to see Wonka because they love that property or they love Timothee Chalamet or whatever reason. So the fact that it's a musical like also kind of lives in the DNA of what that is. So you're buying into a certain thing when you buy into the Wonka of it all. You know, you're going to go to like a surreal, silly place where if they sang, it wouldn't feel crazy. I mean, it's like that's part of what the original Wonka was. I think with Mean Girls, I

that IP was also going to do well regardless. Like I never for a second thought, oh, that movie might not make money. Like I was actually shocked when they were putting it on Paramount Plus. Initially, I was like, why wouldn't you put that in theaters? That will make money. And so when they did and it made money, I wasn't surprised because Mean Girls is a very, very, it has a stronghold on like pop culture. Like that is pop culture. Yeah.

I think that in a pre-Eris tour Barbie world, which is maybe when Paramount was deciding on where to put this, they were like, put it on the streamer. After the year of the girl, summer of the girl thing went down, they were like, wait a minute.

women love to spend money at the theater. It's so insane that they don't realize that by now. It's like the fact that Barbie and Aristore like quote unquote needed to happen or needed to play out or needed to at least feel like it was going to play out for them to make a decision to put mean girls in theaters. Like I understand we all want to help that they all want to help their streamers out. So that's part of it. But it's just like,

Of course this movie was going to make money. You know, it's Mean Girls. Like it's not even like a hit movie from 20 years ago like anything else. This is Mean Girls. Like this is something that is readily quoted 20 years later. And people don't even think about the fact that they're quoting the movie because it became part of the lexicon.

You know what I mean? Like, it's just how many of these lines did they feel like they couldn't change because they're so important to people, you know, like. I know. Color me totally unsurprised. But in terms of the musical of it all, like the fact is they do hide it. They hide it all the time. So strange. So strange to me. Anyway, this is me like coming off of, not that I was heavily involved in any of this discussion, but like,

All respect to Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson for

Oh, yeah. Like making a film and like going with it and calling it Dicks the Musical. Right. Like God bless you for putting musical in your title. Yeah. I mean, also, it's just like, I don't believe this thing. And I get that there's like empirical data, but I don't believe this thing that people don't see musicals because wasn't it not that long ago that one of the biggest hits of the entire year was Greatest Showman?

You know what I'm saying? It's just like, what about these examples that make a fuck ton of money? And maybe I'm naive, but isn't it just the movie should be good? Yeah, but that's so arbitrary and I don't know. To the people, I guess, greenlighting it, maybe. Yeah. Yeah.

I guess it's that thing where these studios are more and more separated by this chasm of not knowing what the audience is anymore. It's just about the audience relationship, and there are more and more agnostic things about capital T, capital A, the audience. I'm speaking so abstractly, but... But it's just weird because you would think that they would understand...

that when you activate a demographic that you can literally see activated over the things they love in all media, like for example, like in music, that demographic,

even if the heiress tour movie never came out, even if the heiress tour never happened, you know how Gavin Ozday are for like Taylor Swift and Harry Styles and like all those things. So why wouldn't you make something for that market that can engage them and make them dress up and make them like interact with each other and like in some cases meet each other? You know what I mean? To engage on this thing because we know how powerful culture is. I mean, that's how we do this podcast. It's like,

These things literally bring people together. So it's just like the hesitancy about whether to put Mean Girls in theaters to me is just like, I understand not wanting to just pull the trigger and just do it. But like, what a sure thing it is to make money, at least from my point of view. Like had that bombed, I would have been really surprised. Right, right. Same thing kind of applies, but not quite to Color Purple. Like, it did great.

Yeah. Well, especially something that's like literally tried and true. Like both those things. I think, you know, what must have really scared people is the West side story of it all. But,

But genuinely think about who the audience for West Side Story was and when they were opening it. Like, it's not rocket science to find out that that might not do well. It was a nostalgia movie geared towards older people. It is unabashedly a musical. There's no way to hide it. And it's long. And it was pretty deep COVID. It was like a dark time for COVID. So that, to me, shouldn't be a bellwether from musicals and film. Right.

But yeah, that was kind of the like crater for a second. And now we're coming out of it. Yeah. It felt like, well, if that failed, we can't do this genre. And I'm like, just because it's a famous musical doesn't mean that people would want to see it. Like I know 50 people who you say you want to see Mean Girls the musical. They'd at least be like, oh yeah, I definitely want to check it out. I love the movie. You say West Side Story. That's a different ask. Right.

They're like, um...

I am not necessarily interested or I am so emotionally attached to the original. Like there, there are a million reasons for people not to see it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Or also like, you know, it's going to be really sad. You know, it's going to be really dark. Yeah. Like as much as it's like that, that, that, that, that, that, and that's me doing like little sharks and jets dance. Like it's sad. It's dark. It's deep. Like you disrespect Leonard Bernstein again. Yeah.

And he can always get it again and again and again and again. Bo, listen, vacation, it's something you got to get right. You can't roll the dice. You have to make sure that it's all together. Everything is where it's supposed to be when you get where you're going on vacation. Can you agree? I have never agreed with you more. And I've

so many wonderful trips with you in the past. Bowen, I remember one of our favorite trips to Toronto when we shared that Airbnb. Remember that? Airbnb came in the clutch. We were doing our I Don't Think So Honey live in Toronto. We stayed in that amazing Airbnb. We loved it. We had the time of our life. Thanks, Airbnb, still to this day. I remember that Airbnb like it was my own childhood home. Thank you, Airbnb.

If you're planning a trip on Airbnb, try a guest favorite. The most loved homes on Airbnb. The guest favorites are a collection of some of Airbnb's most loved homes based on reviews and reliability. But why is Airbnb better than a hotel? First of all, more space. Great for a trip with a lot of people and allows you to be closer to friends and family when traveling together. Second, more bathrooms because sharing a bathroom, I know it's not our favorite thing to do.

Also, more common area spaces to hang out together. No more feeling crammed in one person's hotel room for the pre-party. Airbnbs can have things like a private movie room or game room. Think pool table darts, board games. These are easily accessible and you don't have to share the amenities with others. Looking for an authentic and local experience? Stay in the coolest parts of the area instead of the touristy ones. Airbnb, it's just for you and me. Hey everyone, we here at Las Culturistas love

Philadelphia cream cheese. With over a dozen different flavors, it is extremely versatile and can be used to enhance any meal or snack. Philadelphia cream cheese makes everything creamier. It can be used in so much more than their classic bagel and cream cheese. You can dip veggies or crackers into it to snack on, enhance your guacamole with it, make creamy pasta alfredo, buffalo chicken dip, and more. I personally love to use it to make things like cheesecake cookies and sauces dips.

Oh, we love a good dip in this house. The Philadelphia website has so many amazing recipes. You can try if you need some more inspiration as well. One I've been eyeing lately is their Philly stuffed mushrooms. Yum. Sign me up. Visit creamcheese.com for recipe inspiration so you can start adding Philadelphia cream cheese to your recipes at home.

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My pay credit limits range from $20 to $500. $2 fee to get funds instantly. Spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Fees apply at out-of-network ATMs. We got some blowback last week for our what were apparently hot takes. People have really turned on me for my innocent, not innocent. I was, I guess I was pretty like, uh, who cares? But I'm like, you know, she'll be fine. But if people want to listen, this is a beautiful thing to me.

if your affinity for Rosamund Pike is more important than our friendship relationship or your relationship to this podcast, I, I understand. Listen, go off, go off this actress who maybe has nothing in common with most of us. Like if you want to line up with that, go ahead. Love you. Someone, someone DM me. This was, this was so, it set a chill up my spine. Oh,

And I didn't even say anything really negative about her. I said, I do think she's pulled it off. I said, I do think she's going to... You're catching some of the backflaps. It was funny, Bowen. It was like a serial killer. Someone sent me a picture of her and said, you will never be as talented or as successful. That same person sent me the same thing.

And I was like, oh, brother. Oh, my God. It's going to chill up my spine. It was like getting a message from the traders. It's from the traders. Oh, which we have to talk about. But I'm like, in that moment, when I saw that message, I laughed and I was like, well, this bitch is clearly listening to the podcast. I was like, thanks for your readership. I went full Monica Garcia and I blocked. It was like, okay. I actually also blocked. I almost responded, watch me, bitch.

But I just bluffed. Challenge accepted. Challenge accepted. On my way to Rosamund Pike levels of fame and success, bitch. I'll see you there. I mean, listen, I feel bad that she fell down the stairs at Christmas and therefore she had to wear that cage around her face at the Golden Globes. And I think she's really talented. I disagree with my sister on the basis of has she ever pulled it off? I think that she has pulled it off. And I said it as an asterisk, she has pulled it off as well.

Her Jane Bennett is supreme. First of all, really all I have to say is... I don't want to talk about her anymore, but let's finish this point. But I will double down on this thing about Gone Girl. Because people were floored that we would say that Reese Witherspoon would make a better Amy in Gone Girl.

That's my opinion! In the words of the great Tamara Judge from Traitors Season 2. That's my opinion. That's Bowen's opinion. We have a different view on what would have made Amy effective in that movie. If you think obvious Ice Queen from Go works better for you and you love the turn and you love the way she did the cool girl monologue, congratulations, man.

Many millions agree. So do Academy voters. That's incredible. I thought she was good, but there could have been more of a misdirect in that characterization from the beginning. That's my opinion. And if you don't think Reese Witherspoon is capable of that, you have not seen the work you went to see. Oh, L people are saying that we are perfect.

pro-Reese in this case because we want to work on her projects. To say that we... Reese isn't getting anywhere near me. It's so funny to be like, well, they probably want to work with Reese. It's like, babe, we want to work with Emerald Fennell too. It doesn't make us stop saying we didn't think Saltburn was a 10. These are our opinions. Can I get real?

Uh-oh. Either we are too filtered and too like... Say it. Walking on eggshells because we're like... Say it. In the morass now with these people. Yeah. Or it's that when we do express an honest, authentic, genuine opinion, it's because we're like...

bitchy gays. Or that we have the wrong opinion. What do you want from us, people? That's all. We love you guys. I never have felt any real actual contempt for anything in this Las Culturistas ethos. But, like...

It's okay if you guys don't like the same movies as us. It's okay if we don't like the same movies as you. It's fine. We're all having fun here. It's actually art and subjective. Like someone said to me that we were talking about the SAG nominations. And in my group chat, I was talking about like, you know, who I might vote for. Because, you know, Bowen and I are in SAG and we get to vote for this one. So I was like, you know, for Best Actress, I might vote for Margot Robbie.

And people were like, why? Oh, God. And I was like, oh, because art is subjective and that's my opinion. And I don't think anyone else could have played Barbie. I respect the way that she crafted an arc of stereotypical perfection into human realization, into full-blown humanity. I don't think it was easy. You know, I don't see a ton of people producing their movies the way that she seems to actively produce it. She hasn't won a big award like this. And I liked her performance.

And I'm torn between her and Emma. That's my opinion. But people would treat me like it was like a Jill Stein vote. I was like, I don't care about being right or predictive. I am in the union. I'm going to vote for the performance that I think was the best. I have a lot of respect for Margot Robbie and

and her characterization, and I've voted for her before for SAG. I voted for her for I, Tonya. I'm a fan. That's my vote. That's my opinion. This is what makes art a beautiful thing to discuss on a podcast like Lost Culture Reasters. Now, speaking of Tamara Judge, shall we move on to The Traitor Season 2? Yeah. Yeah, we should.

I'm so happy this show has returned. Oh, first of all, if you want to get into Traders, you're so in luck because there's the whole first season of U.S.,

There's a great season of UK and an excellent season of Australia. Which I will be getting into soon. The same game, familiar. But really what's so great about this is you see how just the dynamics of a cast can change the entire way and outcome and upper hand that a faithful can have over a trader. I also love all the different hosts.

But speaking about the second season of Traitors, I think we have probably the greatest reality TV cast of all time. Every fandom is eating good, as they would say. And I just can't think that they could have offered better fan service that also feels like exciting, watchable gameplay and not just fan service. I just can't think of a better way they could have done it. Like, the way it shook out is so iconic. Genuine moments of triumph.

in my viewing experience. And let's just say, not for nothing... Spoilers here, spoilers. This is spoilers for the first three episodes of Traitors. Don't say we didn't say it. Okay, continue, sorry. Maybe we'll insert a little thing here to tell you where to skip to. But I watched it with a group of friends who have not seen any Traitors before. And everyone was remarking. We were all just laughing, applauding at every single thing Alan Cumming was saying. Because I think...

Whenever Drag Race wants to, like... Whenever RuPaul even just wants to, like, take a step back from racking up all these Emmys, like, Alan deserves some kind of recognition for the work he's doing here. He's having so much fun doing it. He does look amazing. And also, he has...

It's like that thing when a host is perfectly matched to the show. You know what I mean? He's in the fabric of that show. And it's funny because when you do watch the international versions from UK and Australia, it's the same vibe with those hosts. Like you buy it and you love it. But there's something about Alan that's...

he's just got this gravitas that's also playful. That's also very authoritative, like just perfect. And I hope for, again, not that it really matters, but like, I hope for recognition for him at the Emmys for this. And I'm hoping that all the traders needed to do was establish itself as a show. That's like a real hit and a real zeitgeist moment because like,

I mean, if the rubric, like I always say, is could anyone else have done it this well? I don't think anyone else does it as good as Alan. No, and speaking of that rubric, no one is doing it as well as Parvati Shallow and...

This is a spoiler. There's a moment where she is recruited to the traitors. Yeah. I launched out of my chair and applauded. It was, I mean, so I think that I was praying to God when they said it was between the four of them because they were choosing between, and this was so long. They were choosing between Parvati, Janelle from Big Brother who...

is an icon. My sister is freaking out about Dan and Janelle from Big Brother. She's like, you don't understand. They picked the two best people. She's like, this is going to be major. Dan is an icon, etc. Apparently, he played the best game of Big Brother ever. Where he staged his own funeral or something? He staged his own death or something. It's very, very insane. But it was between them, Larsa, Sandra, and Parvati.

The Larsa thing, their logic was let's break up that couple of Larsa and Marcus. But the Sandra thing, I mean, you made a very good observation. Just Sandra always plays best from the bottom. From the bottom. She's really amazing. You can see in her first two games of Survivor, she has a rough time. And she plays defensively really well because people just don't think they have to worry about her. And then meanwhile, she's been right under the surface. She's collecting. Doing it.

she's carrying the bones. And then in her last two games of survivor, when her ego was sort of part of her thing, queen stays queen, et cetera. And she plays very aggressively. It becomes very clear. She has to go. And so what I'm seeing her do in traders so far is she's being a little bit more on the client side. She's playing as a faithful. She's playing from the bottom. So that makes her a threat.

Now, I only remark on this because it is the year 2024. But for her to have a substantial amount of money from winning Survivor twice in the year 2024, to have...

full-on braces. Braces on TV. Braces on TV and not Invisalign. You can at least go for the Invisalign. I don't think she should change a thing. I think Sandra should keep following her every instant. I think when Sandra, Diaz, wakes up in the morning, she wakes up in the morning and opens her eyes. She should always do the first thing that comes to her mind. She cannot lose.

braces on TV as a full grown woman who should have the money to work around this. I say chef's kiss. She is so necessary right now in this moment. In this moment of reality television competition specifically, Survivor specifically, where everyone's like collectively rediscovering it. It's so important that she's back on our televisions. Oh, 100%. And I will say, but I mean, Survivor fans know.

You can't pick better people than Sandra and Parvati. You just can't. Like, that's like exactly right. And then I would say the challenge people would probably say the same thing about CT and Bananas and even Trishel. Like, those are characters. Drag Race people had Peppermint for a short time, but, you know, at least we had that. And then the Housewives...

They've chosen pretty fun housewives for this. I mean, even Larsa, who's about as dumb as a rock, like, has been showing a galvanization in the wake of Marcus's murder. That's, like, really interesting. It's very interesting because... She's right. She's intuitive. And I think they even... Oh, no, this is... I'm reading an Agatha Christie book where someone says...

The way women form their intuition is from this undercurrent of analyzing every single thing, every single input that comes their way. And I think the housewives are actually... Everyone's like, oh... Even people on the show are like, well, the housewives aren't physical players and they're very new to this whole concept of reality competition. But it's like the housewives have this...

these antenna that are extremely useful for a game like this. And Larsa has Dan's fucking number. 100%. I think it's also a mistake to not think of housewives as a game. I think it's a mistake to think that they don't compete because what you see every season, especially as the show has become as a franchise, something that is, uh,

really, really, really embedded and feels like it does feel gamified in a way because I mean, what you want, if you are really someone who wants to play this game and wants to keep the check and wants to keep the spotlight and wants to keep the platform, you want to be sitting next to Andy on that couch. You want to be safely, let's call it center diamond.

And so you're playing mind games on like another level. You know what I mean? Like, is it mentally healthy? Probably not. But for example, like there were winners and losers of the recent Salt Lake season. You know what I mean? Like the winner of Salt Lake was Heather this season. The loser was Monica in that social game. The core four win. The faithfuls win.

The Faithfuls won. Oh my God. I need to rewatch this season of Salt Lake with the frame of this is a season of the traitors. I mean, think about it. It was someone with the knowledge the rest of them didn't have the entire time trying to make them feel comfortable. Yeah, yeah. And trying to eliminate other people on that cast based on lies. Like, it's not that different. So to think that a housewife can't win the show

is a mistake. Huge mistake. I'm curious to see how far Tamara goes. Obviously curious to see how far Phaedra goes. I think Phaedra's great. They're not cutting to Shirei in the confessional at all. Not yet. Which really is strange to me and it must, something must have happened on the production side where like, it wasn't usable or something and like,

Well, not everyone can get... It's a large cast and not everyone can get airtime. And I feel like right now...

Well, it's two things, right? It's like one thing is they have to actually follow the game that's being played. And another thing is based on a rewatch, you actually have to be able to track the winner from the first episode. Like that's just like an editing rule of reality television. But speaking of the editing, they're not investing in anything that Sheree's doing at all, which makes me go, then does that mean...

But, like, if she's sticking around for at least four episodes and, like, cut to her for at least a couple seconds, that's, I don't know. I'm just a little confused. I'm thrown. They do a pretty good job on this show of making it feel like everyone is a part of the show when that literally can't be the case. I do want to take this moment to say, over the past two days, you know what I've done? I've finally binge-watched this most recent season of Survivor.

Forget what you heard. This was a great season. This season was excellent. It was the most dynamic relationships I've seen on this show in a really long time. I am confident calling it, I think, the best season of the new era. It is...

It's really good. And a post-Winners at War era? Yes. The winner is a 10. Wow. The winner is a 10. I don't want to say anything because I think you'll have fun watching it. Yeah. But really compelling, like strategic moves out of relationships.

and not just gameplay which I've been missing on this show for a really long time like long scenes that are just establishing relationship and storyline and character dynamics that I think make the show really compelling and it's great to see someone win playing a great strategic game but also being really winning in that respect and

10 out of 10 this was a great season it starts weird because some of the players are not odd but um really really really worth it and I'm happy that I got to binge it all in once because that's the way I love to watch Survivor it's how I trained myself to watch it during the pandemic but everyone jump in and and anyone that watched it live and was like what are you doing you gotta watch you were right I finally did and I love it I love to hear this

I love to hear this. So are you predicting, who are you predicting to win Traders at this moment? Well, it's, Faithfuls are always at a disadvantage. And this is, if you've played enough games of Mafia or Werewolf or whatever, you know this already. Like, there was a real period where we were playing this all the time at Chinese school on Sundays. Like, it was the obsession. And Mafia usually wins. It's really hard for these Faithfuls to root out

who among them is deceiving, cunning, whatever. But I think my opinion, and this is me being pretty big brother illiterate, I feel like Dan is not as smart as he thinks he is. He's not playing it. Obviously, his scent is sort of wafting through the halls a little bit. I think that he's not making it till the end. And I think that what's showing...

What was interesting about last season, mild spoil if you haven't seen the first season of the Traders U.S., Sri was able to manage these boys well.

And what's happening now is Dan thinks he can manage these women, but he is in over his head. It's very much giving. I know better because I'm a man. I'm sorry. That's just how it's coming off to me. I think also, well, I was having this discussion the other day, which is if I'm a contestant on the traders and I look around and I'm someone who knows something, right?

and I look at someone like Dan, or I look at someone like Parvati, I'm thinking, well, they're going to want to pick them as a traitor. Yeah. Because that's what the audience wants to see. So I hear that argument. But at the same time, as someone who is like a fan of several different franchises here, when they picked Phaedra, I wasn't surprised at all because that, to me, felt like Housewives fan service. Mm.

And I feel like someone who loves Big Brother feels the same way about Dan. Someone who loves Survivor feels the same way about Parvati. And in that respect, you kind of can't really use the logic of, oh, well, they had to pick them because every single fandom has that person and they can't all be picked as traitors. So, like...

If I'm there, you have to go solely off gameplay. And that's where knowing something about these franchises comes into play. Because if you see Dan acting weird, then Dan's acting weird. You know what I mean? Also, I think it's different when everyone is a reality show person who's trained to think in this psychotic way.

Where, like, you can't be quiet, Dan. Like, you don't have the option of being quiet. You look suspicious. Because you wouldn't be quiet. Right. And Parvati, I think, is doing great. I think she's flying under the radar a little. Like, all three of these traders are a little too quiet for my liking.

But Parvati walking around with this chalice was hilarious because I don't think it's the gameplay that she's used to. No. And I had pure, I had like real anxiety watching her. I was like, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. She's being so obvious. She's being so obvious. Yeah. Like, and readers, Katie's published this final list. If you don't know what we're talking about, just please, please, please try and watch this as soon as you can. You won't regret it. But Parv walking around with this goblet, I was like,

She is not used to this kind of like surreptitious behavior necessarily. And the way that Survivor, you can sort of like couch your intentions in like communication. This is her with something physical being in like a crowd of people. So many variables around her. It's a little panic inducing for me as a viewer. Yeah. And this is where I think like as a viewer, like,

you're just looking for things that they're not. Like, I think us as viewers, we, with the knowledge of poverty as a trader walking around with that chalice, we're like, Oh my God, she's so obvious. I genuinely think if you're there, you might just forget that she could hand you something. That's a poison drink. You know what I mean? Like, it's like, that's where it's, it really makes it seem like it should be easier and more obvious until like,

You're doing it. I would imagine. I would imagine it's like anything else where it's just like anyone on the couch would be like, oh, I'd absolutely crush this. Like you should have seen me yesterday watching Survivor being like, well, here'd be my game plan. Like, no, it wouldn't bitch. All bets are off when you're there. All bets are off, but they couldn't have picked Survivor.

I mean, the outcome was incredible. I mean, when I heard her voice laughing, I was like, oh my God, they actually picked her. And it was similar to what you were saying. Like, I think I got up out of my seat and paced around. I was like, I love my life. I love my life. I hate how the Peppermint stuff shook out. And fucking Trishel. They still haven't spoken. I saw a headline where Peppermint and Trishel still haven't spoken. Because Trishel is a fucking loser. Yeah.

I didn't love the way that shook out. I just wish it didn't have to go that way. One thing I'll say is you do get the sense that Peppermint is a very big personality. They do tend to leap on the big personalities, especially early when they have nothing to go off. But that whole situation with them talking and then Trishel making Peppermint's reaction so much more than it was...

felt like amplifying something in a negative way. Yeah, I know what you're saying. I know what you're saying. Yeah.

We'll leave it at that. Cut to Sheree. I am not happy right now. Sheree is so funny. Sheree is so funny. I hope she stays a little bit longer than we expect her to, but we're not expecting her to. She's the bone collector. She carries the bones. I mean, you know me. I want Housewives supremacy. There would be nothing I want more than to watch this be all Housewives. They're insane social tactics being used. Tamara interrogating this

man from parliament about his asthma was completely out of hand. Tamara's gameplay so far, I'm like, okay. Her asking for an inhaler when they're running, I'm like, pretty smart.

pretty clever. I think nothing's been as smart so far than Parvati faking out that she was going to vote Dan, crossing out the D, and then writing. Yes, oh my god, I was obsessed with that. She's just good. She's just thinking more than... She just hasn't missed a step. She has not missed a fucking step. I was thinking about

the web and Black Widow Brigade. And I was just like, I was just thinking about her thing with What's-His-Face in Micronesia of like, who do you want to take to the end? Girls. Yeah. So, such a great TV moment. Sheree, though, I'm like,

Have we talked enough on this podcast about the force that is Sheree Whitfield? Just like the staying power of so many of the things that she said. I was with Tomas Matos the other day and like... Oh, I'm jealous. We were laughing and then someone was talking about like the beat of a song and then like immediately they launch into... Definitely I liked the... I liked the track. I liked...

It was good. I like the beat. I like the beat. And Hugo and Check Me Boo, of course. I watch Hugo and Check Me Boo frequently. And my sister, who's like a huge Big Brother and Survivor fan, doesn't know Housewives. She was like, how do I know who these people are? I just sent like...

four clips that would get them all across and of course I said who gonna check me boo and she was like my daughter was screaming screaming laughing at like what played out what transpired between Shrek and the party planner I mean it's like product television so good whatever happens to customer service and then and then whatever happened to hello how are you

My name is. My name is. Hello. How are you? How are you? My name is. My name is. And then the thing that gets overlooked in the September, spring, summer moment is Candy going like he's asking you like when it's coming out or something. And then and then Sheree goes.

Shiret like brushes her off and then Kani goes, "Okay, well it wasn't clear." And Shiret goes, "You're not being clear." - Atlanta. We have to save Atlanta. We have to save Atlanta. - We have to save our girls. - And I'm telling you like,

I so of course like there's been interview. I'm obsessed with the traders like I cannot stop and so I'm watching all their interviews and like trying to suss out like based on what they say in the interviews with like ET or whatever the fuck online like like whether or not they stay I was watching an interview with Trey and they were like what's up with Real Housewives of Atlanta like when are we gonna hear and she was like well there's gonna be a cast shakeup and I was like please God like

Let's fix Atlanta. And by fix Atlanta, I don't mean fire everybody. Because I understand why that needed to happen for New York. I'm not there yet with Atlanta. But what do you think? Drew, Sonya, Marlo gone? I think they have to go. I just don't think Marlo...

I don't think Marlo is... She does not hold a peach well. I don't think it's positive. You know what I mean? No, it's a bad vibe. I don't know. It just feels like something dark-sided about it, whereas I think we could move forward with Kenya. Candy's so hugely popular that you kind of can't just fire her, but I don't think she gives great story, but maybe she could be.

And then Sheree and, you know, I just, I want the classic girls. You know, Atlanta in the seasons where Portia was there, where Phaedra was there, where Cynthia Bailey was there. Like, you know, not to say, but like Nene in her prime, there was no one better. Obviously, we'll never get those days back because Nene is never coming back. But we could do it. We could do it with these great characters that we know and love. It's just...

I don't know. It has to make sense. They have to have real relationships. It's like any other shows. Yeah. Brooke Ashley did a whole video essay about how

Potomac is in its block. I watched it. Well, I think essence wrote an article. Yeah. It was a whole thing about how, like how disappointing it is to have, you know, Wendy and NECA against each other, the way that they are based on culture and based on, you know, heritage. And it's really ugly. And they really called out the way that it feels like the goalposts do move for certain cast members. Um,

You know, it's in its flop era, I would agree. But I'm so thrilled that Brooke Ashley shares our opinion, which is break up or just get rid of entirely the Green and Beyondettes. She was making a really good point about how Beverly Hills this season is so great. Because Rin is gone. Because they got rid of, you know, a toxic...

element of the group and i say this as someone who has really liked we love and appreciate what rina has done before but at a certain point like we know what the show is with giselle you know what i'm saying it's like we know i'm bored we know what the environment and the setting and the feel of the show is with giselle at the center and it's not working anymore and who knows i

maybe it will be a lot better at this point. Like it can't get worse. I don't think Potomac can get worse. What a hateful person. I will say it till the day I die. Giselle, Brian, God, you are a canker on this state. We're going to get DMs now that are like, I don't care. Pictures of Giselle being like, you will never be as talented and successful as her. Bring them forth. Come forth.

Bo, listen, vacation is something you got to get right. You can't roll the dice. You have to make sure that it's all together. Everything is where it's supposed to be when you get where you're going on vacation. Can you agree? I have never agreed with you more. And I've

had so many wonderful trips with you in the past. Bowen, I remember one of our favorite trips to Toronto when we shared that Airbnb. Remember that? Airbnb came in the clutch. We were doing our I Don't Think So Honey live in Toronto. We stayed in that amazing Airbnb. We loved it. We had the time of our life. Thanks, Airbnb, still to this day. I remember that Airbnb like it was my own childhood home. Thank you, Airbnb.

If you're planning a trip on Airbnb, try a guest favorite. The most loved homes on Airbnb. The guest favorites are a collection of some of Airbnb's most loved homes based on reviews and reliability. But why is Airbnb better than a hotel? First of all, more space. Great for a trip with a lot of people and allows you to be closer to friends and family when traveling together. Second, more bathrooms because sharing a bathroom, I know it's not our favorite thing to do.

Also, more common area spaces to hang out together. No more feeling crammed in one person's hotel room for the pre-party. Airbnbs can have things like a private movie room or game room. Think pool table darts, board games. These are easily accessible and you don't have to share the amenities with others. Looking for an authentic and local experience? Stay in the coolest parts of the area instead of the touristy ones. Airbnb, it's just for you and me. Hey everyone, we here at Las Culturistas love

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Oh, we love a good dip in this house. The Philadelphia website has so many amazing recipes. You can try if you need some more inspiration as well. One I've been eyeing lately is their Philly stuffed mushrooms. Yum. Sign me up. Visit creamcheese.com for recipe inspiration so you can start adding Philadelphia cream cheese to your recipes at home.

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Oh, thoughts on Yes And? I like Yes And a lot. Like, it's so funny. Like, I knew when I was first hearing it, I'm like, oh, people are going to be like, I don't know about this. And then in two spins, they're going to be like, it's my favorite song. And that's what happened. I just was like, trying to put myself in the mind frame of like,

This is going to be a fucking moment. I happen to like it from the very beginning. Like, I really did like the song, but there was that reaction that I could tell was going to happen, which was like, I might need to listen to this a bunch of times. And now it feels like people are turning a corner and liking it. But it certainly feels like an installment in that type of song we've been getting again and again, which is that like,

House Revival sort of thing. House-inspired, like, you know, summer bop. Like, it's certainly in vogue right now to do this type of song, but it's also, like, very essentially Ari. I feel like her DNA is in there. Yeah. I love the swing of you're not getting a vocal from me until it's 45 seconds into the song. Yeah. Yeah.

I love that. I have a different opinion on this because I think after recording the album, I really have an appreciation for just how layered and like textured she is in all of her music. Even if she's not like belting down, like just listen to the little harmonies and like little places where there's vocals and like really extra color and just like,

She's two things. She's an amazing singer. She's also an amazing recording artist. And I really like the way that she creates her like scape. Like I just, I'm really into it. Like I'm, I'm re-listening to positions again, the album, which was my fucking shit.

In the pandemic. It was a grower for me though. Yeah. But that's what I'm saying is it's like, I think a lot of her music people call growers because they're not appreciating, appreciation. They're not appreciating just how fun and how much there is. And like her more quote unquote, simple music where she's not singing, uh,

to the rafters. But the consistent thing with her stuff is that it's always technically very lush. And have you seen this video that she put up of her? It's like, I want to say like five, six, seven, eight minutes long of her like on Pro Tools. Yeah. Picking the takes, going back, being like, well, I sound like I'm actually speaking English in this one. Like she like, you hear her thought process and she's teaching Max like,

Like, the shortcuts and, like, how to do things in pro... Like, she's telling Max Martin, like, little production things. You know what I'm saying? Like, she, like...

She is this like technical person literally on like the software level. Yeah. In a way that I think people are finally starting to appreciate. Yeah. Because they think of Ari, they think, oh, like singer, the singer and the looks and the makeup and the, you know, all this stuff. But it's like, this is a fully rounded artist. Yeah. She is very intentional and thoughtful about what she wants to say in each song. Um,

She thinks of... She is an album artist down. She has this very holistic view on things in terms of her body of work. She is really excited. That's all I can say firsthand. Yeah. She... I mean, she's kind of got all the tools. She's a great singer. She's like...

a really adept producer. She's someone who can create her own work lyrically. She also has great taste and she also has a really, really, really strong individual brand. All that stuff that comes together, like it's kind of unbeatable and really sets her apart, I think, from a lot of other people. You know what I mean? And so therefore, it feels like she can kind of

do whatever she wants to do and people aren't going to be like, they're never going to say Ari flop era. They're just not. And even when she goes through her, you know, publicized struggles, right? Like she's always going to have her gift and her talent. And it feels like she's always able to kind of divert back to that in a way that I think is like,

A, kind of crucial in an era where people are always going to be up in the business and think that they know better. And B, like something where maybe if she does make a mistake, she always has that. You know what I'm saying? It's like it's six of one and no one knows really what's actually going on. But everyone knows that she's fucking talented as fuck. Yeah, yeah.

I wanted to kind of quickly shout out one other thing before we move on. Waxahachie, new single, right back to it. Excellent, beautiful. If you're a Waxahachie fan, subscribe to her sub stack. She is really writing some beautiful pieces, long form things about how she's writing these songs. And it's really interesting. I'm so excited she's back.

She did send me the whole album. It's coming out in March. It is fantastic. I'm so, so, so excited. Oh, now I'm going to reach out. I want to hear it. Katie! Katie Crutchfield. Come on, Crutch. Come on, Crutch. Prior guest of the pod, of course, if you weren't aware. Okay, that's all. So speaking about when you say prior guest, I think that Vaughn and I want to take this opportunity to just talk about the podcast and just talk about how in our ninth season...

We want to evolve and we want to feel like the podcast is, while this is so fun, not always us just talking about the culture catch up because let's just be real, as you guys have seen, we don't have a lot of guests anymore.

And that's for a couple reasons. I think that I can say for us, like, we've gotten busier. And I think that while the guests are incredible, they require a certain amount of prep on our part. Logistical alignment, yeah. And there's just a lot going on. And the truth is that Bowen and I really like just doing it like this. And it's no shade to the concept of guests. And we're not saying we're not going to have guests. But it's just shook out the way that this is the way the podcast is –

happening now and we love it. And in the next few months, like leading up to our 400th episode, which is so exciting, Bowen and I aren't going to be in the same place because I have to remain in Los Angeles for good reasons and Bowen has to be in New York for what we know are good reasons. So we wanted to think of a way to create a new element of the podcast and we came up with something that we're pretty excited about.

We have not really named it. And is that an important piece to this, you think, or no? I think we should index what this is because it is not quite a segment. It is a new segment.

facet of the full prism of the podcast. - Yeah. - But basically what we're gonna do is we are going to randomly, oh, you have it. Okay, then you- - I have a goblet. I have a goblet in my hands. So, Belen, before, the reason I was two minutes late to the Zoom, and I can admit to being two minutes late to the Zoom,

is because, so this is what happened. Bowen texted me the other day and he made a great point, which was that, you know, a lot of times, like, especially like in podcasting now where it feels like there's a million, a lot of people are doing the thing of two people talking. And we just want to make sure that we feel ahead of this thing and don't make it feel like, what was that article that you said? Like results in like overindulgent glut when people are just talking to each other.

This is a piece in Byline, which is a lovely, lovely, lovely new online publication that is really trying to fill in this really sad, huge, gaping hole in media right now where there is no place for new writers to start. We're not in a time of Man Repeller Gawker, Ricky Mag anymore, and as all these...

Things get, like, bought out by these bigger media entities and it's really sad. And anyway, it's quite sad. But they did a whole profile on these— on the two founders in The New York Times that I thought was really interesting. But someone writes this piece about podcasting becoming overcrowded. We know this to be true already. I sent Matt this little excerpt: "Podcasts need to embrace seasonality. The trend towards open-ended podcasts leads to overindulgent glut and ultimately audience fatigue."

Creating podcasts with different themes and seasons allows those making them time to ebb and flow and fold in new ideas. This is a new idea, and we're very excited about it. Yeah. And so we're going to be doing it all the way up until our 400th episode. I have a goblet in my hands, and this is the goblet of cultural years. So these are, there are 50 years in this goblet. And so every episode, we're going to, at the end,

pick out of the Goblet of Cultural Years. And whatever year that is, and it's the most recent 50 years, we are going to, on the following episode, do a full cultural excavation. We're going to be talking about

The news of this day, the pop culture of this day, how they interacted, what the top films were. This day being the year. Yes. Sorry. What the top films were, what the top music was, what the top stories were, what was happening to the girls in this year, what we remember of this year if we were alive, what we can find out about this year and do a full-blown cultural excavation on that year, sort of calling back to the very origin of this podcast, which is Las Culturistas. We are culture curators and excavators

excavators. So we are really excited about this because it's going to not be homework, but also be educational culture. And this podcast being mentioned in academic work, I mean, I can't really think of a better move for us in terms of us getting an honorary degree from Harvard one day. You know what I mean? Absolutely. That is the goal here. And I am very excited. I'm

I am so curious to see what this first year is. Should we find out? Let's find out. Let's find out. I am reaching into the goblet of cultural years, and this will be on our next episode. We will be deep diving, twirling, and thriving in the year that I pick out, and it's in my hand right now. That year is, Bowen, the gods are shining on us.

Because this was a culturally ripe year and it's an important year for you and I. 1998? 2009. 2009 will be the year that we culturally excavate

On the next episode of Lost Culture Recess, I mean, I'm already bursting at the seams. This was such an important year. I already know what I'm going to talk about. DJ Earworms, United States of Pop mashup. That was his best work. That was one of the best mashups in the history of mashups. It's mashup culture. We're talking about mashup culture. We're talking about girl talk. We're talking about all the pop girlies. I'm so excited. You know what happened is the culture gods...

They actually heard us say Katy Perry Teenage Dream earlier in the episode. And they were like, well, let's get truly into it on the next episode of Lost Couch. Wow, I didn't realize how much I loved this idea until we did this. I can't think of a better year.

This is good. So you can now think of Las Culturistas as the occasional guest will come on. If there's anything really, really insane that's happened in the culture, we might do a full culture catch up. Think of Las Culturistas going forward as a third culture catch up, a third cultural excavation from the hands of the goblet of culture, and then a third I don't think so, honey, in the aftermath. How about that?

I love that. And obviously the pie chart is going to be a little uneven at times. I don't think Stephanie might take up a mere three minutes, all told. But we're excited. I think this is... Nothing is really fundamentally changing about the podcast. And it's a thrill. And we're very excited. But it has to remain fresh. You know what I mean? And I think that this is just something that...

If you really think about it, like, I don't think I ever have more fun than when we're doing our, like, you know, our rankings and our lists and our stuff like that. And I feel like this is, like, in the family of that and the way that we can make a permanent part of the podcast. I'm, like, super excited about it. Yes. Let's go into I Don't Think So Honey on that note. I'm into it. What even is that? I Don't Think So Honey is our segment we've done every episode where we take one minute each to...

go into a diatribe about something that's really bothering us in the culture. And do you have something, Matt Rogers? I do, I do. We missed a Golden Globes recap when we did our last episode because we recorded it right prior. And I have something to say. Okay, this is exciting. This is Matt Rogers' I Don't Think So Honey as time starts now. I don't think so, honey, that 10 days is not enough time to put together jokes for a Golden Globes monologue.

I understand that it's a really high profile gig and watching it. I even think sometimes this is a no win gig, but you have ten days to put together what is essentially really only has to be a five to ten minute bit.

And I'm not dragging because I feel like he's been dragged enough. But Joe Coy has been in the game since 1994. So I would imagine that he knows a lot of people that he could have gotten together to put a room together. And also that room could have included people who really cared about or knew about those movies. Because the fact that we ended up with a situation where we have to compare Oppenheimer, whose story was based on a book, to Barbie, whose story was based on a doll with big boobies, it was humiliating.

And that was a really early joke. To throw your writers onto the bus, you didn't pick the right writers. You are given the opportunity of a lifetime. Don't blame it on everything else. 10 days is a lot of time. That's one minute. I can't imagine what it's like to be noted at a thing like this. You've written for the Globes. If you can provide some insight into this, I would love to hear it. It just felt ridiculous to me that that A ended up what it was.

quality-wise, and B, that the story ended up being what it was, which is, well, production was such a nightmare, I only had 10 days, now I'm spinning out publicly. So on that note, we got there for the year that Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh hosted, I think like six days, six or five days of lead time. I agree. It's like, it's 10 days to write, eight minutes. Right. And maybe come up with like,

two, three quick little bits interstitially throughout the show, whether that's something in the audience, something on stage, something outside of, whatever. Right. There's a lot of latitude there. You are well resourced to, like, the reason I went was because it was my first season working at SNL and, like, there was this sort of

I think Sandra wanted some Asian writers, so I went, Karen, she went, and Sudi and Fran had written for her It's an Honor to be Asian thing at the Emmys that summer. So they were able to have their pick of who was going to write for them. I would imagine Joe Coy had the same latitude. So all that being said, I agree with you. I think it's just a matter, though, of...

this guy not being embedded in that room. - Right. - It's everyone being like, who is this guy? He's not one of us. And then you put that together with the jokes being what they were.

They were rough. And also one of the lamer jokes of it in that it wasn't even a hard joke, but got a lot of pickup for no reason was this Taylor Swift thing. First of all, there's not a more innocuous joke than one difference between the Golden Globes and the football, whatever, is that there's less cuts to Taylor Swift. First of all, then they cut to her. She didn't look pissed. She was just playing along, like looking pissed and taking a sip of her champagne. I don't think there's anything negative about the way that she acted. No.

I just thought like there's a fervor around that joke because of her fan base because of what it is. Yeah. Yeah. That was, that was like a perfectly whatever middle of the road, like five of a joke at that show. There were some truly heinous,

jokes at that show, which I think is exactly what you're saying. The root of it being he doesn't fucking care about this opportunity. I would doubt that he watches these movies. I would doubt that he- Well, he had to be told. Ali Wong had to tell him. They were asking him, what was the advice? Before the show, they were like, what advice have your friends given you, your fellow comedians given you? And he was like, well, Ali Wong, my good friend,

told me to watch all the movies yeah which i don't think made a difference at all like i don't think like you could tell that he had even his whole thing if i didn't have a new year's i was watching all these movies while everyone else was drinking champagne it's like well none of that showed that wasn't i mean you didn't that wasn't none of that was in the like you made a joke about barbie's boobies why did you watch all the movies then you should have had a new year's

It's like your writers are going to watch all these movies and write jokes about that. I don't quite know who these people ended up being. I don't know if it's anyone that we know, which is neither here nor there. I just think it's complicated because it's just like a perfect shitstorm of stuff. Like he blames them. He panics. It's like it's every bad, rough worst case scenario thing transpired. What's sad to me is that this is like,

pulling in all these conversations about is there a need for a host? It kind of feeds into this larger cultural conversation that we're all having about, or not that we're all having, that's in the back of our minds about comedy and about how like,

if hard comedy has a place anywhere. Because if hard comedy has no place at award shows, if someone can't go up there and open the show with jokes about the movies and about the people there, then where does it belong? Where does it exist? It's harder and harder to get movies made that are hard comedies and TV shows to be categorized or even exist as that. There is nowhere to go anymore for comedians.

It's really sad to me that this is like a sidebar conversation that we're having in the wake of it. Look, I think that here's the thing that we have to remember is that there actually have been great performances of hosting these shows. It gets lost, but the year of Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, and Amy Schumer, that year of the slap, they did a great job hosting that show. Literally, this last weekend, Chelsea Handler, Say What You Want,

she was the type of person who should be hosting a show like the Critics' Choice Awards. You know what I mean? - Melaney did amazing last week at the Governor's thing. - Right, and Anthony Anderson last night. I didn't love the opening bit, but perfectly charming, had a place there, kept the pace, got the vibes to be at a certain place where it felt good.

Joe Coy coming in, it was a specific vibe that he felt uncomfortable, didn't want to be there, and was just badly advised about how to set up his bit because at least the party that I was at, people just got up and walked away because it was too uncomfortable. And it was. It was hard to watch. But then it got worse when he spun out and blamed it on all these things. But to say that a comedian can't host this show, like...

That's just not true. I mean, we see it happen all the time. It's just that that job sometimes feels no win because when people do do an amazing job, it's not the story. When people do a bad job, it's the story. And I don't mean to help that narrative. I guess I just feel like it's a cop-out to...

To say that you didn't have enough time or that the writers didn't serve you because I'm sorry, but I don't buy that. As a comedian and other people that I talk to, 10 days would be more than enough time if you even wanted to be there with 50% of your being.

It would be more than enough time. What else do you have to do on the schedule that's more important than an internationally watched television show?

where your job is to just for five to eight minutes or whatever it is, just set a good tone and make jokes. Yeah, yeah. That's the part of it I didn't like, is this idea, this narrative being built that like, that wasn't enough time. Like, I'm sorry, but give me a break. Well, yeah, and I'm here to say that like, we had less time the year that Andy and Sandra hosted. And that's what I wanted to ask. Yeah, yeah. So there you go. Joe Coy, though, I mean...

perfectly respectable, serviceable comedian. That sounds so fucking shady of me to say, but like a solid, successful comedian. No, he's great. I mean, that just wasn't his venue. It just wasn't the venue. And Joe Coy, though, if you want to see more of him, he plays my little henchman in The Monkey King on Netflix.

And I bet he's great in that because I'm sure he wanted to be in the booth. You know what I mean? I know. I guess my thing is just like, there's so many people that would want that job. I know. Like, that would do an amazing job at that. Like, that would treat it like an opportunity because...

I don't know. Like, I don't think that audience wants to hate the host. I just don't. Like, that audience wants to have a good time. That audience has a sense of humor about itself. Like, and if they don't, like, and the joke is good enough, then whatever. I mean, like, it is what it is.

Part of the reason why people go to those award shows, people watch award shows. Look, look, the words thankless job have been thrown around so much since those Golden Globes that I'm like,

questioning whether or not that's even true. And I'm starting to think maybe it's not because people go to those shows and watch those shows because it's giving Hollywood. You know what I mean? And like, someone coming out and like doing the hosting thing is like a huge part of it. There is a, like, I just remember growing up and watching Billy Crystal would be being like, it was the reason I watched. Half the reason I watched was just to see what like

Billy Crystal would do. And when Whoopi came down from the fucking ceiling of the Kodak Theater being like, I am the sexy beast, I was like, this is blowing my mind. Like, there is a way not to be all nostalgia-pilled about this, but like, and not to be all like make blank great again, but it's like this, there is this way back to that. I am so sure of it. It really bums me out now that we talk about this that like,

I think it's another cop out to be like, get rid of hosts entirely. No, no, no, no, no, no. Please let's not. Let's please not. This is actually a sacred place for comedians to like try new things, break out. It's, it is like, for lack of a better term, a captive audience for comedians. Right. In a way that like, we don't get other places. I also think like,

There is absolutely a world where you make a good joke about Taylor Swift and her fans actually like it. You know what I mean? Like maybe you have to be more intentional about what that joke is. Okay. So what? Like she's far and away one of the biggest stars in that room. Like she's there. You're going to have to make a joke about it. I honestly think the reason why that

totally innocuous joke hit the way it did is because the vibes had been so rancid in the lead up to that joke. He had already been flopping. I think there was no coming back from that Barbie joke. Right. That cut to Greta in the audience after that Barbie joke. I know she's being a good sport about it now and being like, yeah, it didn't bother me. That was not a good vibe at all. That was really, really rough.

It was not for nothing a Golden Globes that had moments. And like between the Joe thing, it kept the conversation going about the whole award show. The whole Selena whispering, like the mouth reads. Like the Taylor of it all. The Timmy and Kylie of it all. Timmy and Kylie. And like Aya winning her award. Like Ali and Wong and Bill Hader kissing. I'm like, there were just, it gave us moments. And I was like, this is what award shows should be. Except for the host moment.

That's the only note I have. But you know what? Even that is kind of a tale as old as time. You know what I mean? Like we remember like we remember famously David Letterman hosted the Oscars and it was one of the worst hosting performances of all time. It didn't hurt him in the long run. I think it was just like a hazard of the trade. Sometimes when you host these things, you're going to bomb. I guess it's just like if you're going to bomb, don't also show us the seams. Yeah.

Like, then it's not even fun. In real time. Right. Like, it was just like to blame, especially after everything that we've been through with the strikes, to be like, the writers flopped.

And you know what? No one's perfect. And again, I'm not saying Joe Coy's a bad comedian. He was the wrong person for this job. And if you know that's true, and if you know it's not something you're going to do well, don't say yes to it. I don't think it helped anyone. By saying yes to something, and maybe it got in his head too that everyone else had passed and he wasn't the first choice.

At that point, it's like, make your decision then based on that feeling. But there's even a way around the I'm not like you element to it. Like, who is this guy? He's not one of us. Like, the way that Tina and Amy and Ricky Gervais all were in their own way successful. And with Ricky, I'm like, I don't quite know about that. Is that, like, they felt like they were, like, ingratiated into that space. Right. Mulaney did the best thing at his Oscars thing where he was just like,

I'm just like one of you. Let me read an email, like a casting email. And it was a great play into a great joke. I was like, that's how you do it is that you like make a joke about how you aren't one of them. And then that kind of like,

dusts off that shelf and then you get to like put whatever you want on it. You know what I mean? Would you ever want to host the Golden Globes? Not the Globes. Maybe no award show. It actually, I don't know. It seems like the culture needs to get into a better place first. Like the culture is bad right now because like award shows are bad because the culture is bad. And I know that's a cop-out answer, but it's like, that's my answer for so many things.

I would do it with you. I would only do it with you. I know we would crush because we would have fun with it because this is what we talk about all year.

Also, like, you just have to have fun. Just have fun with it. And then they have fun. I don't know. Maybe it's simplistic of me to boil it down to that. But, like, there's got to be a sense of fun and, like, you know, sense of wanting to be there. If you have fun and you want to be there, they'll have fun and they'll want to be there. What Joe, not to note this to death, but, like, people kind of got on Joe's shit about, like, him doing a mom impression because that's kind of what he does a lot in his stand-up. Mm-hmm.

I think he should have leaned into that more because that's clearly his comfort zone. That's him having fun on stage. Like, do that. Like, do like a whole bit about your mom talking about all the nominees. Make that a whole fucking two, three minutes. Exactly. Exactly. And even if that bit hadn't like placed him in the greatest host of all time category, he wasn't going to be that anyway because he doesn't, he's not really the right person for that job. So do something that's going to be fun and reliable and you're good at and just get off

the stage your job as the host is the vibes curator yeah like leave with good vibes make everyone have a good time don't be yelling about the writers what did you expect the reaction was gonna be from Greta Gerwig about Barbie big boobies did you think she's gonna be laughing and cackling that everyone in that room was gonna be like hilarious boobies joke about Barbie like this isn't a fucking middle school talent show with all boys in the audience like it's the Golden Globes what did you think

Yeah. Bo, listen, vacation, it's something you got to get right. You can't roll the dice. You have to make sure that it's all together. Everything is where it's supposed to be when you get where you're going on vacation. Can you agree? I have never agreed with you more. And I've

had so many wonderful trips with you in the past. Bowen, I remember one of our favorite trips to Toronto when we shared that Airbnb. Remember that? Airbnb came in the clutch. We were doing our I Don't Think So Honey live in Toronto. We stayed in that amazing Airbnb. We loved it. We had the time of our life. Thanks, Airbnb, still to this day. I remember that Airbnb like it was my own childhood home. Thank you, Airbnb.

Second, more bad.

Bathrooms, because sharing a bathroom, I know it's not our favorite thing to do. Also, more common area spaces to hang out together. No more feeling crammed in one person's hotel room for the pre-party. Airbnbs can have things like a private movie room or game room. Think pool table darts, board games. These are easily accessible and you don't have to share the amenities with others. Looking for an authentic and local experience? Stay in the coolest parts of the area instead of the touristy ones. Airbnb, it's just for you and me.

Hey everyone, we here at Las Culturistas love Philadelphia cream cheese. With over a dozen different flavors, it is extremely versatile and can be used to enhance any meal or snack. Philadelphia cream cheese makes everything creamier. It can be used in so much more than their classic bagel and cream cheese. You can dip veggies or crackers into it to snack on, enhance your guacamole with it, make creamy pasta alfredo, buffalo chicken dip, and more. I personally love to use it to make things like cheesecake cookies and sauces, dips...

Oh, we love a good dip in this house. The Philadelphia website has so many amazing recipes. You can try if you need some more inspiration as well. One I've been knowing lately is their Philly stuffed mushrooms. Yum. Sign me up. Visit creamcheese.com for recipe inspiration so you can start adding Philadelphia cream cheese to your recipes at home.

Hey, everyone. We're so excited to tell you about the Golden Girls Deep Dive podcast, a new podcast we're obsessed with. That's right. It's a brand new podcast recapping episodes of everyone's favorite comfort show, The Golden Girls. And in each episode, the hosts also give you a fully researched deep dive into something from the Golden Girls universe. For example, remember Coco, the gay chef from the pilot episode? Where did he go? Whatever happened to that actor? The Golden Girls Deep Dive podcast will give you his whole story, including its unbelievable

ending. Hosted by comedic podcaster Patrick Hines and Broadway scene stealer Jennifer Simard, the Golden Girls Deep Dive podcast is about to be one of your new favorite podcast obsessions. So grab your cheesecake and head to the Lanai as you follow the Golden Girls Deep Dive podcast wherever you listen. Episodes one and two are available to binge right now. That's the Golden Girls Deep Dive podcast. So Bowen Yang, this is your I don't think so, honey. Are you ready to absolutely tear and pop?

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Bowen Yang, this is your I Don't Think So Honey. Your time starts now. I Don't Think So Honey, for me personally, gratitude. I'm done with gratitude. It's time to shift into full ambition. In the words of Ashley O, I'm stoked on ambition and verve. I'm gonna get what I deserve. So full of ambition and verve. I'm gonna get what I deserve. This is my thing. I made a whole playlist yesterday. I was like, I think...

I've been wallowing in gratitude and I'm not wallowing, but I've been in gratitude for so long that I'm like, it's time to get out of the pool and actually reach for the stars because it's time. Niecy Nash's Emmy acceptance speech lit a fire under my ass. Period. You need to believe in yourself. In her press room speech, she said, that's why it's called self-esteem, not mama esteem, not them esteem. 15 seconds. Because ain't nobody have to believe in it,

but you. And that is part of ambition. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious. It is time for us to scale new heights as a culture, as individuals, but collectively, we are all getting out of gratitude for the current circumstances and reaching for something better. There you go. That's one minute. My sister is galvanized in the year of our Lord 2024. Oh my God. The way this is the year, really, if we're talking about vibes curation, to

Today, Wednesday, January 17th, the vibes are fucking good. This is, can we say, now that we've introduced the goblet of years, 2024 is the year of years. Whoa. 2024 is the year of years. That's title of app. 2024 is the year of years. And you know what? We have to.

We have to put good vibes out there. Okay? Because there are forces of evil, Bowen, all around. There are forces of evil that are going to try to make this a year. Traitors are among us. There are traitors among us. I'm serious. And there are forces that are going to try to make this year, 2024, a bad year in retrospect. And we have to fight that with all of our might. We have to.

And it starts here. Okay? It starts here. We're recording this from the Iowa caucus. We are in the cold. We have to fight. Yes. We are in the cold with these Iowans. We've never been colder. We are at Nikki Haley HQ. Trying to figure out what's next. We are trying to strategize, honey.

Girl. Can I say, just before we go, you know what I've started doing this week? Berries. Oh my God. I'm so excited for you. What are your thoughts? My thoughts are, let's get shredded. It's going to be three times a week at Berries for me and let's fucking try hard this year. Oh, I'm so jealous. Why are you jealous? That can be you. It literally can't. When I'm at work, there's just no time. I can put in once a week, but not three. And I need three.

You couldn't do Monday? I could do Monday. I could do Tuesday if I... I was going to do Tuesday with just going to the gym and then I couldn't because we had... Because we decided to move the recording from Monday night to Tuesday morning because we were like, we have to talk about the Emmys. We wanted to scoop the Emmys. And I have no regrets. But then the rest of the week is kind of a bust. And then Sunday, I'm catatonia. I'm catatonia. The best thing you can do at that point is just rest. Yeah.

I'm so excited you're doing berries. Can I say what's worked wonders for me already? Yes. And I hate that I'm this person now and it's only going to last like two weeks tops. I have meal prepped, protein rich foods, protein rich meals. I love it.

And it's working for me right now for my lifestyle because I am just like, I don't care what I'm eating really. I have the decision fatigue down. Let me just pop this chicken and broccoli stir fry with brown rice that I made on Sunday night in a huge wok. Let me put that in the microwave and I'm eating protein at least 30 grams per meal.

And I'm eating the Quest protein-rich cookies. I'm eating these protein-rich things because I'm like trying to what? Tell my body to burn the fat instead of the protein. That's all. And it's already working. Healthy choices, healthy life, healthy queen. Healthy wife.

Healthy wife. Happy life. Christmas tree. Christmas tree. Tree paint. Well, should we tell everyone? So a while ago, I said to Bowen, as I want to do, I gave him a new name. I said, hey, Christmas Jones, which is Denise Richards' name in the James Bond films. And then Bowen turns to me and he points to me and he raises his eyebrow and he goes, Christmas tree.

I think we were both very stoned. I said, you told me, girl. Christmas tree. Christmas Jones? Christmas tree. I was just like, wow, you are so right about that one. Yeah. Hey, Christmas Jones. Christmas tree. Christmas tree. I think I even repeated. I think you said, hey, Christmas Jones, and I repeated. I said, Christmas Jones. Christmas Jones. Christmas tree. Christmas tree.

I said, let me sit back. Wow. What a thrilling episode this has been. It's the beginning of the year. It's the beginning of a new era. Of the year of years. Of the year of years. And 2024 is the year of years. And that's how we're setting the tone. I'm very excited. And thanks for joining us on this journey. Thank you so much. And before we do ads, we're going to end this episode with a song. Yes! Yes!

It's almost like you're a baby bird singing. She's really in her mix. I love my girl's falsetto vibrato. Italian vibrato. I am a soft throat. Bye. Bye. Bye.

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