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“We are the spear of victory.” Join Ian & Liam for our 334th episode as we march into battle, confront history, and revisit Gina Prince-Bythewood's epic The Woman King (2022). Megs isn't with us this week — she's reportedly been recruited into military service and informed us that podcasting now ranks somewhere below her training and defending the kingdom. Kev? He attempted to negotiate a peace treaty with a rival podcast and accidentally got himself appointed as a trade envoy. We wish them both luck. Later, we're joined for The Endgame by BFF of the BFE: Juleen, who helps us unpack the film's legacy, historical context, and emotional impact. This week we discuss: Viola Davis' commanding performance — fierce, disciplined, and deeply human. Is this one of the great action-drama performances of the modern era? The balance between history and storytelling — where does the film take liberties, and what responsibilities come with doing so? Ian shares some exciting casting news — as he finds out the result of an audition while simultaneously trying out for a second production. The action sequences — visceral, kinetic, and grounded. How does the film distinguish itself from other historical epics? Liam explores the film's treatment of leadership — strength, sacrifice, and the burden of responsibility. Ian makes what may be his most unexpected comparison yet — drawing a connection between The Woman King and The Notebook that somehow makes more sense than it should. The supporting cast — who stands out alongside Viola Davis, and which relationships give the story its emotional core? We discuss the passing of Anthony Head — reflecting on a career that touched everything from cult television to stage productions and beyond. The “show vs tell” balance — does the film trust its audience enough, or does it occasionally over-explain its themes? Juleen joins us for The Endgame — bringing perspective on the film's historical representation, emotional resonance, and where it sits among modern epics. The ending — triumphant, bittersweet, or something in between? What does victory actually look like in this story? And finally, whether The Woman King is the Best Film Ever — or one of the most compelling historical dramas of the last decade. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are very thankful to the following Patreon backers for their generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Aashrey Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
“The drama doesn't stop when the cameras do.” Join Ian, Liam & Kev for our 333rd episode as we step behind the scenes of daytime television, backstage rivalries, and gloriously oversized egos with Soapdish (1991). Megs isn't with us this week — she's reportedly accepted a surprise role as the long-lost twin sister of a character who was presumed dead after falling into a volcano. We expect her dramatic return during sweeps week. This week we discuss: Sally Field's performance as Celeste Talbert — charming, chaotic, insecure, and impossible not to root for. Is this one of the great comedy performances of the early '90s? The ensemble cast — Kevin Kline, Robert Downey Jr., Cathy Moriarty, Elisabeth Shue, Whoopi Goldberg. How does a film with this much talent avoid collapsing under its own weight? The satire of television production — petty feuds, ratings desperation, and the beautiful absurdity of soap-opera storytelling. Ian breaks down the film's narrative structure — twists, reveals, mistaken identities, and why the screenplay commits so fully to the bit. Liam explores whether the film works better as industry satire or outright farce — and whether those are even different things. Kev weighs in on the performances — who understands exactly what movie they're in, and who steals every scene they enter. The soap-opera influence — evil twins, secret children, miraculous survivals, and why audiences keep coming back for more. The “show vs tell” balance — does the film cleverly parody melodrama, or occasionally become the thing it's mocking? The surprisingly sharp commentary — beneath the silliness, what is the film actually saying about fame, aging, and relevance? Elisabeth Shue's role — innocent newcomer, plot device, or the emotional anchor holding the madness together? The ending — ridiculous, heartfelt, and exactly as over-the-top as it needs to be or low hanging fruit in a moment that's aged terribly? And finally, whether Soapdish is the Best Film Ever — or one of the most underrated ensemble comedies of its era. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are very thankful to the following Patreon backers for their generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Aashrey Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
Grab your coffee and join Jess & Megs for another episode where we chat about crochet, knitting socks, and life updates!TRY LARRY'S COFFEE!JESS' YOUTUBE CHANNEL!BERG BOX QUARTERLY!JOIN THE CROCHET BAES FACEBOOK GROUP!CROCHET BAES MERCH!SHUT UP & TAKE MY MONEY!Got a question or comment? Send The Crochet Baes an email: thecrochetbaes@gmail.comFind Jessica & Berg's Nest Crochet online:-Website-TikTok-Instagram-Facebook-Email: bergsnestcrochet@gmail.comFind Megs & Megs Makes Crochet Online:-Etsy-TikTok-Link TreeThank you to Chan's Designs for creating The Crochet Baes beautiful logo!
“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve... does anyone?” Join Ian, Kev & Megs for our 332nd episode as we walk the tracks, dodge leeches, and revisit Rob Reiner's coming-of-age classic Stand By Me (1986). This week is all about friendship, memory, growing up, and the strange sadness of knowing some moments only become important once they're already gone. Liam drops in later for a special bonus segment, while BFF of the BFE: Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most™ joins us for The Endgame. This week we discuss: River Phoenix's extraordinary performance — vulnerable, intelligent, and quietly devastating. Was this the role that proved he was destined for greatness? The chemistry of the four boys — natural, funny, chaotic, and deeply believable. Is this one of the strongest young ensembles ever put to film? The film's relationship with memory — nostalgia, grief, and the way adulthood reshapes childhood stories. Ian breaks down the narration structure — reflective storytelling, emotional hindsight, and why Richard Dreyfuss' voiceover works where so many others fail. Megs explores the emotional honesty of the film — masculinity, vulnerability, and the fear of being left behind. Kev weighs in on the pacing and atmosphere — quiet moments, campfire stories, and why the journey matters more than the destination. The balance of humour and sadness — how the film pivots effortlessly between childhood comedy and existential dread. Ian talks about the short story in the middle of this bigger story and what Stephen King is really doing with it Liam joins us for a bonus segment — dropping in to talk about the film's legacy, Stephen King adaptations, and why stories about friendship hit differently as you get older. The “show vs tell” balance — does the film earn its emotional resonance through subtle character work, or does nostalgia do some of the lifting? Ariannah joins us for The Endgame — helping us unpack why Stand By Me continues to resonate across generations and whether its emotional simplicity is actually its greatest strength. The ending — bittersweet, perfect, and quietly heartbreaking. Does any closing narration hit harder than this? And finally, whether Stand By Me is the Best Film Ever — or simply one of the most emotionally truthful coming-of-age films ever made. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are very thankful to the following Patreon backers for their generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Aashrey Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
“You have been weighed. You have been measured. And you have been found wanting.” Join Ian & Liam for our 331st episode as we joust for glory, dance to Queen in medieval Europe, and revisit Brian Helgeland's wildly anachronistic crowd-pleaser A Knight's Tale (2001). Megs isn't with us this week — she's apparently been appointed to the royal court after successfully inventing modern fashion 600 years early. Kev? Last seen trying to enter a jousting tournament under a fake noble title before being immediately exposed by Paul Bettany. This week we discuss: Heath Ledger's breakout leading-man performance — charming, earnest, rebellious. Was this the moment Hollywood realised he could do absolutely anything? The film's glorious tonal chaos — medieval sports movie, romantic comedy, rock concert, underdog drama. Why does this bizarre cocktail somehow work? Paul Bettany's Chaucer — flamboyant, scene-stealing, and possibly the film's secret MVP. Liam breaks down the film's anachronisms — Queen, Bowie, Nike-energy editing. Does the film transcend historical accuracy through sheer confidence? Ian explores the underdog narrative — class, identity, and whether William's rise actually challenges the social order or merely slips inside it. The romance between William and Jocelyn — genuine chemistry or the weakest part of the film? The sports-movie structure — training montages, rivalries, and comeback arcs dressed in chainmail. The “show vs tell” balance — does the film earn its emotional moments through character work, or simply overwhelm you with charisma and music? Rufus Sewell's Count Adhemar — classic villainy, simmering resentment, and one of the great sneering performances of the era. What's with the romantic plot's detour in Act II - where did that come from? The ending — triumphant, ridiculous, emotionally earned… or all three simultaneously? And finally, whether A Knight's Tale is the Best Film Ever — or simply one of the most aggressively lovable films of the 2000s. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Aashrey Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank
Grab your coffee and join Jess & Megs for another episode where we chat about crochet, knitting socks, and life updates!TRY LARRY'S COFFEE!JESS' YOUTUBE CHANNEL!BERG BOX QUARTERLY!JOIN THE CROCHET BAES FACEBOOK GROUP!CROCHET BAES MERCH!SHUT UP & TAKE MY MONEY!FOLLOW OUR TIKTOK ACCOUNT!Got a question or comment? Send The Crochet Baes an email: thecrochetbaes@gmail.comFind Jessica & Berg's Nest Crochet online:-Website-TikTok-Instagram-Facebook-Email: bergsnestcrochet@gmail.comFind Megs & Megs Makes Crochet Online:-Etsy-TikTok-Link TreeThank you to Chan's Designs for creating The Crochet Baes beautiful logo!
We are back to address the current events of Stefon Diggs and Megs' effect on the black community.
It's all Harry Styles’ fault that the 'taxi cab theory' is everywhere you look. His engagement has everyone debating whether finding 'the one' is a matter of fate, or as Sex And The City’s Miranda Hobbes told us, all about timing? We do not agree. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is officially massive. So, is it good? Why did it almost make Amelia Lester cry and why do some Americans just not 'get' our Aussie love interest Patrick Brammall? REMEMBER: We drop segments just for subscribers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, hosted by Mia Freedman, with Emily Vernem and Holly Wainwright. Become a subscriber, HERE. Why is there a Sperm Olympics? How is Australia performing in it? And… again, why the hell is there one? Clare Stephens explains spermmaxxing. Are you super-stylish, or are you just thin? Lena Dunham is heading back to the Met Gala this week, and a new essay from her about the reaction to her past appearances reveal who’s considered cool enough to go. VOTE FOR US PLS & THX: We’ve been nominated for Best Society & Culture Podcast and Best Producer (go Ruth!) at the The Australian Audio Awards. Vote for us RIGHT HERESUBSCRIBE here: Support independent women's media What To Listen To Next: Listen to our latest episode: She Opened The Fridge. What She Found Ended Her Friendship. Listen: The Real Reason You Resent Your Friends Listen: The One Minute Of Live TV That Undid A Noughties Icon Listen: Scurrilous Gossip: An Engagement, An Affair & A Royal F-You Listen: The Family Ritual That Has Us Divided Listen: The Most Honest Dating Questionnaire We've Ever Seen Listen: Is WFH Bad For Women? Connect your subscription to Apple Podcasts Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here including the very latest episode of Parenting Out Loud, the parenting podcast for people who don't listen to... parenting podcasts. SUBSCRIBE here: Support independent women's media You can now watch our show in full length video on the Apple Podcast app - make sure your phone is up to date and we can't wait for you to see Mamamia Out Loud on Apple What to read: 'My commitment-phobic ex is married with kids. This viral theory explains everything.' The 10 defining moments that made Sex and the City perfect television. 'The 5 types of Met Gala guests I look forward to seeing every year.' A brutally honest review of The Devil Wears Prada 2, a movie that breaks everything. 'I spent a day with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. One moment changed my view on The Devil Wears Prada 2.' THE END BITS: Check out our merch at MamamiaOutLoud.com GET IN TOUCH: Feedback? We’re listening. Send us an email at outloud@mamamia.com.au Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message. Join our Facebook group Mamamia Outlouders to talk about the show. Follow us on Instagram @mamamiaoutloud and on Tiktok @mamamiaoutloud Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we have recorded this podcast.- - - - - AUTO GENERATED TRANSCRIPT:Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Mama Mia. Out loud, It's what women are actually talking about on Monday, May the fourth. I'm Hollywayen right, I'm Clays Stephen, I'm Amelia Lester, and here's what's on our agenda for today. The taxiicab relationship theory gets an update thanks to my close personal friend Harry Styles. Speaker 2: Plus dispatches from the Worst Dressed list ahead of the met Gala tomorrow, and a lister shares what it was like to be mocked over her fashion choices for a decade. Speaker 3: And the Devil West product is absolutely everywhere right now, so we unpack why, and we also talk about the fact that Meryl Streep, who must be the most celebrated actress of all time, apparently didn't discover her worth until she was fifty six. Speaker 1: In case she missed it, though out loud as speaking of knowing your worth, we are pulling on our big girl pants and asking you for a favor. Speaker 3: You have to know, if you're listening to this, that Holly is so uncomfortable right now to just go with us. Speaker 1: To still like asking for this. I don't like asking, okay, But there's this thing called the Australian Audio Awards. It's like like the Oscars or the Emmys of the logos, except it's not but for people who speak into microphones like us, right, and we're up for some awards this year and we need your help to win them. So if you love love, love out loud, and we know that lots of out louders do, and you listen all the time, and you think you know what those those women need. They need some public accolades, Yeah, some affirmation. Speaker 2: Think you think you know what I'd like to see. I'd like to see them dress up in some frocks, you get on a stage and make a speech. Speaker 1: Yeah, but particularly you class evens, I would like to see you do that. The very pregnantness you will be when this event occurs, very high heel, great, and you're in your flop here you keep telling us, so maybe you'll be really indiscreet and just get up there and say something rude. Yeah, anyway, we digress. Tell the out louders how they can help. Speaker 2: Okay, So basically these Audio Awards, you go there's a link that will put in the show notes and you can vote for There's two things and sorry, you can vote anyway that you got. Speaker 1: We're not voting, you know, we've got suggestions. Speaker 2: In our interests. We like you to vote for best Podcast Producer Ruth to Vine, Mummy are Out Loud, and Best Society and Culture Podcast Mummy. Speaker 4: Because we are society high society, and we are very we're so cultured. Speaker 2: And we do. The thing is we pretend to be cool, but we really like awards. Speaker 4: And I think that's what people think of when they think of you and me. They're just like, we're. Speaker 1: Too cool for school. Speaker 2: And meanwhile we're like, we rely on achievement for something. But it would be funny. I think. So the podcast Awards the end of this month, right the twenty eight. I believe I would like to win this award. While Jesse's on Matt lead, I think. Speaker 1: You want to just wade right into that weird Steven's Sister dynamic. Just get into the weird Twin stuff. Come in and help. I think there's a people's choice too, So anyway, like just vote for us, vote for wherever you get to vote for us, and we would love it. We can't bribe you with anything except our affection. Yeah, yeah, anyway, shall we get on with the friends over to you, Amelia Lester, I'm up. Speaker 3: Well, it's been hard to escape the Devil Wears prior to of, like, really has it has been everywhere? Speaker 4: I kind of felt like bullied into going to see it. Speaker 1: I feel like Merril's chasing us down with that red pitchfork. She's like, literally, go theater on and look. Speaker 4: It's done really well. Speaker 3: It's done better than anyone expected at the box office over the weekend. I'm going to tell you what the critics said. They basically liked it, and then I want to know what you thought, Holly Claire. I know you haven't seen it yet. Yeah, the critics praised it. They said it was glamorous, they said it was wishy, They said it was the fun we need right now. They called it a millennial nostalgia bath. I love a millennial nostalgia brath. Look, some did question the whole premise of updating a movie that came out twenty years ago. Someone wrote it's less a follow up than a tribute at the satire apparently didn't bite so hard. Speaker 4: Holy. What I want to know. Speaker 3: Is did this movie live up to the marketing height machine for you? Speaker 1: I don't want to be a debbie down of it. No, I went to see it with my sixteen year old daughter, and that was really interesting because the absolute enormous generation gap there in terms of so this is a magazine. Once upon a time, magazine editors were considered very important and influential. She's like, this was a job everybody wanted. That was a lot of groundwork being laid there with my daughter. And look, I'm not allergic to a nostalgia bath. I like that. I mean I back in the day, I was first in line for the Sex and the City movie like I was. Speaker 4: And the vibes were similar. Speaker 1: And even though as we know, that run of movies ended up disappointing us bitterly, in that first movie, I remember the excitement of seeing those women on screen again and being in the movie theater and seeing them walk down the street and like the audience was kind of like, yeah, there's a girl, and we're back in that world. And I think the Devil Wears Prada nostalgia is similar in that these were great characters who've entered, you know, our culture in lots of different ways. Miranda Priestley and Andy Sex and Emily Blunt's character Emily is just heaven. So I understand that wanting to jump back into that, but they've had to give it quite a cynical update to reflect where media culture is now, and so it ends up to me feeling like quite a negative, like it's not and to be honest, the Sex and the City movie was a bit like this too. I remember they were grappling at the time of the financial crisis and so they were like, this cushion costs two hundred and fifty dollars, and lots of the critics were like, who are these women and why are they spending that money? And this feels a bit like that, and that we're supposed to all be lolling and laughing along while they're telling us our media has been hollowed out, billionaires run everything. Speaker 4: I don't know. Speaker 1: Am I being a bit too cynical? No? Speaker 4: I think you're right. Speaker 3: When I went to see it, I went to see it with two friends and they both turned to me at the end and said, are you all right? Because I kind of feel on the verge of tears and didn't Nicki Gammel, Yes. Speaker 1: I saw a review from Nicki Gammel in The Australian where she said, she cried, And she didn't cry because the plot line was really touching it. She cried because of what it was saying. Yea journalism, which is obviously not everybody's industry and they don't care. But if it is yours, you have this kind of affection for it, and this does not dress that up. Speaker 5: No. Speaker 3: And what's interesting is Lauren Weisberger, who wrote who wrote the book, The Devil was Prida a piece for Vogue dot Com on the occasion of this movie coming out about what her life has been like after that book came out. Now, that book was not seen particularly favorably when it came out. People criticize the bad writing. It was kind of seen as a little bit mean, a little bit throwaway, and then that first movie kind of gave the book a bit more of a sheene than it had on first publication. Now, Lauren Weisberger has done great for herself. She apparently announces in this article that she now lives on a boat in a remote part of the Bahamas, which is good for me. Absolutely sounds difficult to get your mail there, but other than that sounds delightful. But her article reminded me that her book was first and foremost about a bad boss. Yes, that's what people loved about it because everyone, practically everyone has been in a work situation where they felt oppressed underappreciated, and everyone could relate to that kind of idea that when you're young, you want to make your mark on the world, but older people kind of are trying to push you down, or that's what it feels like. So everyone knows what it feels like to be young and underappreciated, but the new movie is so far removed from that idea of bad bosses and bad workplaces as it feels alien to. Speaker 1: It's also funny because the bad Boss, Miranda Priestley, obviously became a cultural hero, so much so that Anna Wintour, who she's famously based on, kind of kept her distance very much from the first movie, but now is entirely in on it. She's appearing in all the promo. There's a lot of partnerships between Vogue and this movie, so she's accepted that. But there are a couple of nods in the movie to how times have changed in that now Miranda Priestley isn't allowed to just throw her coat at people anymore, and she has someone who sits next to on the meetings and says things like you can't say that all the time, as if there has been like a woke update, if you like. And that feels a bit funny, But you're right, it was everybody related to this idea that these people are monsters like glamour. Speaker 6: Like. Speaker 1: The idea was that, you know, the Miranda Priestley was kind of a glamorous monster who you got to see a little bit of the humanity of. But by this movie, we're all supposed to be rooting for her, unquestionably. Speaker 2: Because I think even if that was the kind of premise of the book, in the first movie, you're very much you're looking at Miranda Priestley, but you're also it's obvious that she's an icon and that it's Andy's character arc to kind of fight against that, not that there's something inherently wrong with Miranda. So so I'm interested to see in the second in the second one, whether, yeah, what the stakes are then if there's none of that tension. But as much as you say it was depressing, am I like because I'm going to go see it. I like a film that isn't good. Speaker 1: I don't know what you mean, but for me it felt and look, I'm not no spoilers here. And you do get lots of fashion montages, you get lots of a fashion show montages. You get you know, they're walking in a different coat every two minutes, there's music, there's celebrities everywhere like this. It delivers all that, okay, but it just for me, it felt kind of a bit empty. And basically the steaks are which billionaire is going to get to own this business? Which was kind of the stakes the first time around two is like will Miranda get to keep a job? And it kind of feels like I don't know if I care about that. But Patrick Brammel, isn't it Remember last Wednesday we were all giddy on the show because he was here and we bumped into him in the offices. He wasn't here to see us, sadly, he was here to be interviewed by the amazing Kate Langbrook for No Filter, and that episode's out today. Speaker 2: I have purely been absorbed being vibes so far online and I think you guys are pretty spot on with the vibe of people. People I've seen they're like, yeah, yep, fun But Patrick Brammel. I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed with him and Harriet Dyer, who's his wife. They co wrote, co starred in Colin from Accounts, and now he's. Speaker 4: Maybe one of the funniest TV shows ever. Speaker 2: Yeah, and now he's in a bloody Hollywood movie with Anne Hathaway. Is he hot? Is he car like? What's the what's the go? Is there? Is there? Speaker 4: Bare? So I want to. Speaker 3: Say the outset that I love Patrick Bramore and I think he's so good in this movie. And to me he was a highlight. He was he was just so he gets to play an Australian. So you might remember in the first movie, Andy Sack's love interest is also played by an Australian, Simon Baker, my personal friend has discussed on the show, but he has to put on an American accent, whereas in this one, in recognition of the fact that there are a lot of Australians in New York these days, he gets to play an Australian. So I loved it, But then I started to hear the rumors that his part has really been cut down. People observed that it felt a little underdeveloped, and I. Speaker 4: Was surprised to read that. Speaker 3: A lot of the reviews felt there was zero chemistry between him and Anne Hathaway. Oh. Speaker 1: I didn't feel that necessarily, But what I did fit I knew that his part had been cut. And the reason I knew this is because when we first found out about Patrick Brammle, there lots of pap of him and Anne Hathwayne. She's wearing this particularly incredible sort of bluey purple sequin slithery dress that's just like oh, and she was like spinning around a lamp post and it looked like she was tipsy, and he was holding her back and this kind of stuff. That whole sequence is not in the film, so it obviously has been cut back a lot. Speaker 3: Boy, I love your forensic knowledge of this so bad. Speaker 1: I did spy on that. But I think one of the reasons why he plays such a small part because basically he's the love interesting Again, no spoilers about whether or not that works out, But this movie is about girl bosses. Even though girl bosses are out of fashion now, this movie is ultimately about that. It's about Andy's ambition, It's about Miranda's ambition. They sort of talk a lot about how much they love work, and they're the partners are all a bit beta and a bit like not relevant. Speaker 3: Including by the way, Meryl Streeps, who was played by Kenneth Branner. Yes, and the reviews also commented that that didn't work for them either. So maybe just the writing around these boyfriends and husbands felt hollow because that's not where the interests lay. Speaker 1: But isn't it funny because we used to critique girlfriend roles, you know in movies. We'd be like, oh, the so and so actress, she just has to play the girlfriend. Not no character development, right, no particular complex characteristics or backstory. They're just the girlfriend. And I feel like this and so maybe this is progress. This is one of those movies where there are just the boyfriend roles. Speaker 4: So it's just like true sort of. Speaker 1: Middle aged guy. Well, I don't know whether Patrick Brewmle will qualify as middle age whatever, like nice enough age appropriate guy of name recognition is in this person's life, but we don't really care about them. Speaker 2: There is one person who is pretty convinced that there was chemistry between Anne Hathaway and Patrick Brammel, and it is Patrick Brammle's wife, Harriet Dyer. She I lulled so hard at this. She has uploaded this Instagram video where the caption is trust No One, and she is filming her TV as her daughter stands in front of it, and Patrick's on a red carpet and he is asked by the interviewer about Anne Hathaway, and he says, playing someone who falls in love with Anne Hathaway. Tough gig, tough gig, and he looks straight at the camera, and then the interviewer says, the world's most beautiful person according to People Magazine and everybody in here, and he says, and me too. Andy rewinds it and plays that again and then switches a camera to her and she's like what, And she's got her glasses on and just sitting at home, and then she interspersed it with all this footage of like when you propose to her their wedding. Speaker 4: Apparently they got engaged five days after he proposed. Speaker 2: Yeah, yea, yeah, they got married five days up. Speaker 3: Yeah. Speaker 2: It was like, so they've had this beautiful love story in him reading Newborn books and being miscored and hath the way talking about how gorgeous and joyful he is, and it's just so good But a great part that Amelia directed me to is that so ninety nine percent of the comments from Australians absolutely get it. That they're like, yeah, this is funny because like whose husband ends. Speaker 4: Up in Hollywood? Speaker 2: Blod faster. But there are a few Americans who are like, oh no, this is this isn't right. Speaker 5: Yeah. Speaker 3: No, there's a distinct portion of the comments that are like I don't understand what's happening here, or like check on your husband, or like just completely missing the point. And I have reason to believe, in part from the spelling of said comments that they may be from Americans. There's a suspicious lack of us in words like coloring. And that got me thinking as to why Patrick Bramle, who I thought worked so well in the movie, had evidently been cut down. And I wonder if it's just because he is allowed to play such a quintessentially Australian part in it. He is very laconic, he's very understated, he's got that very kind of irony seeped Australian wit about him, and maybe it just didn't play very well in a movie that's actually not very irony drench. Speaker 1: That's true. I just have to mention one more thing, because I think Mia would throw something at my head if I didn't. Twenty years have passed between these movies. Twenty years has not passed on these ladies' faces. Yeah, it's just be very clear about that. Speaker 2: I could have told you that without saying any Yeah. Speaker 1: That doesn't matter because in lots of ways, I think particularly Emily Brunt Blunt's character she plays, she's obviously still Emily, you know, the former assistant, but she's got a villain arc in this and she is meant to be again, this isn't a spoiler, the hot new girlfriend of a billionaire character. So they're like commenting. The script is commenting on the fact that the tech bros run the world now, and there's kind of a Bezosi character who's had a glow up in her hot new girlfriend, and she would have done all that stuff to her face. Question so perfectly character, you know, in character, and appropriate for the industry, for the vibe and all those things. But it is astounding to think it was twenty years ago. Because Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, who is just one of them. Speaker 2: She seventy, She is incincredible. Speaker 1: To look at her Jita performance and this is great. You're just like, Wow, my twenty years and your twenty is not the same. Maybe I live in doggy well, Meryl. Speaker 3: I did want to also say that Meryl had a great moment in her interviews for this She was being interviewed on the American Today Show by Jenna Bush Hager, who was incidentally George W. Bush's daughter, and Jenna was talking to her about the fact that she initially turned down the. Speaker 4: Role on the Devil Wes product Let's Have a Listen called me up and they made an offer and I said, no, I'm not going to do it. Why because I. Speaker 1: Wanted to see. I knew it was going to be a hit, and I wanted to see if I doubled my ask. Wow, And they went. Speaker 4: Right away and said sure, And I thought, I'm fifty six year It took me this long to understand that. Speaker 1: I could do that, that you can ask for what you want. Yes, and I wanted it. But you know, if they didn't want to do that, I was okay, because I'm old. I'm ready to fifty six. Speaker 4: I was ready to retire. Speaker 1: But you know, I love that story. I also love that story because, as she says at the end, there she was fifty six, and she thought, well, I'm winding down, you know, like good years. Her career has been unbelievably amazing in the last twenty years. Speaker 3: I know. Speaker 2: And it's also quite inspiring to think you can have that lightning rod moment at fifty six, because I beat myself up thinking, oh goodness, maybe it's too late for me. I should have had it backbone before. Now I've got some time. Speaker 4: We've got time time to develop it. Speaker 1: Merril's shown us all that after the break. What Harry Styles can teach us about love? I don't think so what Harry Styles can teach us about taxicabs, which I also have to explain to my daughter what they are as well. God help me. But while we're on a roll of things from another time, A TV show that ended in two thousand and four has provided some of the most enduring relationship theories of several eras. I think there was He's just not that into you, which can also be She's not just not that into you. It's fine, And the other is everywhere in the news this week because of my close personal friend Harry Styles. I think we touched on it last week that Harry and Harry is engaged to Zoe Kravitz. Now, he hasn't said that because he never says anything about his personal life, but sources close to have confirmed. Speaker 4: Oh good, old sources. Speaker 1: The woman is wearing a golf ball sized diamond on her finger. It's on. It's definitely on. And this has started a lot of headlines like this one. Harry Styles and Zoe Kravitz are reportedly engaged after less than a year, and fans think this wild theory explains why, and they mean the theory I'm about to explain to you. Harry Styles proposing after eight months is further proof that taxi cab theory is real and none of us are safe. Okay, are you across what taxi cab theory is? Speaker 2: Yes, I'm across it from Sex and the City. As you say, I believe it was a bit of Miranda Wisdom. Speaker 1: Oh no, it was Miranda brand I'm about to play it to you. Yeah, Season three, episode eight. This iconic statement the wait. Speaker 2: Hedge, it's fate. Speaker 4: It's not fate. Speaker 5: His light is on, that's all what lights. Men are like cabs. When they're available, their life goes on. They wake up one day and they decide they're ready to settle down, have babies, whatever, and they turn their light on the next woman they pick up them. Speaker 2: That's the one, Mary. Speaker 5: It's not fake. It's dumb luck. Speaker 1: It's not fake, it's dumb luck, so says Miranda Hobbs. Now, obviously none of us, not even me with my close relationship to missus Steals, knows whether or not there's any truth to this in terms of their relationship. But the reason that it's being applied to him is because it has one of the classic characteristics of taxi cab theory, which is that he has had quite a lot of high profile relationships. And when I say high profile again, he's never mentioned any of them ever, but there are photographic evidence. Speaker 4: Is that right? Speaker 1: He doesn't talk. Speaker 2: About his was his most recent one before. Speaker 1: So he was with Taylor Russell, who's a British actress, for quite a long time. He obviously famously dated Taylor Swift. Yeah, he was with Olivia Wilde for quite a long time. He's dated Kendall Jenna, He's dated Caroline Flack, He's dated a lot of people. Speaker 3: Can I just interrupt Holly and ask do you think he's going to come to the tailor swift wedding now that he's engaged to no should wedding guests. Speaker 1: I we really hope so that wedding is going to be the best. The reason why they're applying this theory to him is they're saying that a trademark of a taxi cab the taxi cab theory, And I don't think this is just a men thing. I think this is men and women. Is that you know, you date lots of people and you try them all on and whatever, and the theory is that one of them is right for you. But taxi cab theory says it's not that one of them is right for you, it's that the timing is right for you. And they're saying that's why Zoe and another trademark of it is quick. So you've been dating, dating, dating, dating quite long relationships a year here, two years here, three years there, whatever, But then eight months he has been dating Zoe that we know of, he puts a ring on it. Taxi cab theory thoughts. Speaker 2: From the outside, he's looking ready to settle down, and so we all then assume that he's gone, Okay, who am I? Who am I next to right now? Who do I happen to be at dinner with? Speaker 1: Oh? Speaker 2: I happen to be with Zoe kra which is Bloody Convey, which. Speaker 1: Is a very good dinner because, as I discussed, absolutely amazing. Speaker 2: She's incredible. But the way at least this article was constructed was very much that it was about him and his readiness. And the thing I worry about is that do we start thinking if we use this theory, do we start thinking that someone is only with somebody because of timing, that it's interchangeable, it could have been anyone. It's not real, it's not a real life. Speaker 1: I don't think that's the correct way to view taxi cab theory. I think it's not about you'll do, it's that the timing is right. And the reason they're not applying it to Zoe Kravitz is because she's been married before and she's been engaged before, so it doesn't apply to her in the same way, do you know what I mean? So my theory on this, and the reason why I think it's true not for everybody, like everything isn't for everybody, is that we like to have a romantic narrative that there's one right person for us, and whether we meet them when we're nineteen or fifty nine, we will just know that's the right person for us. That's it. And what taxicab theory says is that's not true. There could be lots of right people for you, but in order for you to to get together and settle down in verted commas, you have to it has to be the right timing. So other examples for this might be Taylor and Travis. Right if they'd have met at twenty two, because at the same age, would we not have any of these beautiful songs that we have for Taylor, Or if they'd have met when they're twenty two, would the timing not have been right for them both to commit in the way that they are now ready to commit. So in my mind, taxicab theory doesn't mean you're settling or it's the wrong person. It just means timing is everything. So the people I dated before I met my guy, if you're a serial monogamist, and many of us are, we like to go, well, none of those people were right, This one's right. But the truth of it is is probably like that one probably would have been fine, but if we weren't ready, I don't. Speaker 2: Know it's by romantic sensibility. Speaker 3: I think I sort of agree with both of you a little bit, and agree with both of you a little bit because I think what the taxicab theory misses is it makes it very one sided, now, whether that side is a man or a woman. I take your point, Holly that even though sex and city talks about men are like cabs, we could equally apply to women. But a relationship is about a dynamic between two people. And what I think this theory overstates is that it's just about one person picking another person. And I don't think that's how relationships work. I don't think a relationship works or like ends in marriage. And I'm using air quotes here for anyone listening, just because one person decided, Yes, this is the person I'm going to make it work. It's about two people meeting and deciding together. And that's what's different about when you get in a cab. It's not about a mutual decision. Speaker 4: It's about one person deciding. Speaker 1: I agree. But the way that I've always thought of taxi cab theories, you both have to have your lights on, do you know what I mean, like, you have to both have your lights on for the timing to work. If one of you has the light on and the other one doesn't, it's not going to work. You both have to have your lights on. Speaker 3: I feel like that was what was really You know, we've been talking on this show about what happens over twenty years, and I think that that line from Sex and the City, they weren't talking about both people having their lights on. I think back then we had an idea of relationships which was that men in heteronormative heterosexual relationships men picked women. Yes, I think, and you're trying to update it, which is good. Speaker 6: Yeah. Speaker 1: Although I think I always that was always my understanding of that quote, because I think in later in the show, Carrie's talking about my lights not on, his lights not on, Like I always sort of understand it to mean it's all about timing. And I genuinely do believe that a great deal of whether or not a relationship will work or not is about time. Speaker 2: I think you only have to watch one to eight seasons I've Married at First Sight to see that it is not oh that much about time, because you've got two people who's lights could not be more on who are matched by very clever, non manipulative psychologist and they go in and you can have your light on as bright as it can possibly be, and it still doesn't vibe. Speaker 1: I don't buy that because I don't think their lights are on for that at all. Speaker 2: Oh holy just because they're getting Instagram followers. I am not looking for real love. But the other thing is, I don't know. I think you hear so many stories of people who may be met at a time that wasn't on paper a particularly good time. Speaker 4: Oh that's a good point to people. Speaker 2: To meet, and it's still and it still happens. Speaker 3: Yeah. Speaker 1: But I think, like any theory, it doesn't apply to everybody. One person's going to meet. Some people are going to football in love of their childhood sweetheart stay with them forever, right. But in the dating world, in the world where you are trying people on, if you are serial and anogamizing, I think that's where this comes in, because sometimes your lights on even when it shouldn't be. Like if you heard of the getaway car theory of like you find a relationship to get you out of the relationship you're in, so you could be married and one person's light is on and the other one doesn't know. Like I think the point of it is that for a lot of people, the one true love theory isn't necessarily it. It's more like, is this the right moment? Clooney and a mile? Very good, very good advertising for that. Speaker 2: No, hard because I'm also like A miles A mile. Speaker 3: Zoey, like, I don't know for a proving any extraordinarily Well, no, but I don't like that theory right because I bet that. Speaker 1: I mean, of course a mile is extraordinary, and of course so is extraordinary. But that theory buys into the idea that everybody who didn't get picked there was something wrong with that and we're waiting for like. So my point about A mile and George is he was married when he was young, but through all his big rise he was single, and he was known as the most eligible bachelor in Hollywood. And I think that he made a bet with Nicole Kidman comes to mind, I will never get married again? Speaker 3: Is that during that period, as people may remember, I had a long phone conversation with him. She went for about an hour in a work context, and I guess he's light his life just wasn't. Speaker 2: Why. Speaker 1: But the thing is is that of course these women are amazing, because of course they are. But if you believe that it just takes the right woman, then that's like a model of exceptionalism that I'm not that into. Was more likely getting to a point in his life where it's like, I don't want. Speaker 3: To be a six I don't want the pot belly pig as my life, and. Speaker 1: Then he meets an extraordinary woman, and he would have met other extraordinary women in Amma would have met a million extraordinary men who wanted to tie her down like she's a catch and a half in a million ways, intellect, beauty, human rights, like savior. She's incredible, but her light probably was not. Speaker 3: I feel like you just out sexist argument to know. I thought the taxi like theory was sexist, which turns out I was carrying. Speaker 2: Around the sexes I think. I think that there are I think the taxi light theory does make us feel better about ourselves, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's true, because because I think it's really convenient to be like, oh, that man like George Clooney. The reason he didn't end up with all those women was because of timing, not because he wasn't compatible, it wasn't right whatever, Whereas I think I lean towards Amal and George were always destined? Speaker 4: Is that do I? Speaker 1: Did we just say the word destined? Speaker 2: I think romantic you. Speaker 4: Are because you met the love of your life quite young. Speaker 2: Yes, I think maybe I'm trying to justify my own choices, which is. Speaker 1: And maybe I'm trying to just always because I don't. I don't buy the theory necessarily that everybody before was wrong and it was the right fit. Speaker 4: Oh, you haven't met my ex boyfriend, fair cool. Speaker 1: I'd love to know what we think about the taxi light theory, and also if there's an update, because I've heard a couple like some people say it's musical chairs, who are you with when the music stops? Some people say it's coughing season. EMM has said that, like there's times of years, seasons in your life where you're just like, Okay, let's do it. Speaker 2: I need someone. Speaker 1: But I was wondering because my daughter wouldn't even know about taxis and lights on. Speaker 4: No, no, we need to fit into this. Speaker 2: But yeah, yeah, it's like the ubers available and empty. Speaker 6: The. Speaker 1: Waiting time on this No, I can't ten minutes too long. Tell us out louder. Speaker 2: We're really in an era of maxing, which we've touched on on this podcast. Not me personally. I'm not maxing anything. Speaker 1: I'm just everything is maxim but everything. Speaker 4: Other people very optimi everything. Speaker 2: Yes, so looks maxing, sleep maxing, fun maxing, which sounds gross. But here's one I hadn't heard of until this weekend. Sperm maxing. I like it because it's not something I can personally participate in. I feel excused from sperm maxing. Speaker 1: What how does? Speaker 6: What? Speaker 4: How do you? Speaker 1: Maxis swem? I'm not I don't need to know. I'm just curious. Speaker 2: Headline in Sydney Morning heralds red iced testicles and abandoned underwear. This is the world of sperm maxing. And it begins by telling us about a lovely man named Mick and his partner Holly, and oh there you go, Holly, I'm in. So they were discussing their plans to have a family, and Holly was and Holly was saying she had fears about her fertility, and Mick said, you leave that to me, love, And so what he did was he stopped wearing underwear because most underwear is made of polyester, and that's apparently and a crime disruptor. Come on, and lowers testosterone. Speaker 1: I believe many babies have been born to polyester wearing people. Speaker 2: And then he would ice spark at least once a week, not that shrunk, No, no, no, Heat's the bad thing. Because then another guy called Tom was explaining that he goes in the sauna, but don't worry because he takes an ice pack with him. Speaker 1: And puts it on this necessary that would be a very confusing sensory experience. Speaker 2: Because apparently excessive heat is damaging to sperm. So apparently there is some evidence about heat and sperm. But the rest of this is complete. You won't believe it, but it's complete bullshit. But Brian Johnson, who's that tech entrepreneur who's obsessed with longevity, claims to have the one who has his sons. Speaker 1: Yes, the one who has his son's blood injected into He's done so many and measure time erections. He doesn't need food after eleven am. Speaker 4: Like that guy. Speaker 1: He's living a long but very boring life. Speaker 2: Yeah, well, he claims to have sperm quality to rival a twenty year old. He's got no basis that claim, but that's what he says, which brings me to the Sperm Racing World Cup. Are we aware of the Sperm Racing World Cup? Speaker 1: Totally? Speaker 2: I discovered this and it is the funnest thing I've discovered as of late. It's founded by tech entrepreneurs. Speaker 1: They have too much money, too much money that they should come to my We did frog racing, peak racing, like good. Speaker 2: Sperm race should be doing some sperm racing. It's a race that's going to be held in San Francisco next month. Speaker 4: I think what they're saying is that their cab light is on. Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll show you with my literal sperm. And it's one hundred and twenty eight men, each representing a different country, and they submit semen samples which then compete in a microscopic race for a one hundred thousand dollars prize. Now here's the ad for it, because I know you guys are interested. Speaker 6: The Sperm Racing World Cup one hundred and twenty eight countries, one hundred thousand dollars grand rights, the highest stakes competition elequancy. We are searching for the healthiest man alive. This race will immortalized a nation to your country is watching, the world is ready. Speaker 3: I don't want to know what images are currently playing. Speaker 2: It's sperm racing. Speaker 1: This brings a whole new meaning to the term wanking. Frustrating one hundred thousand dollars price. Speaker 2: Yeah, but I as much as trust the tech bros To make a literal tournament out of sperm racing, which I have to say I'd love to attend. I mean, how do you make it exciting? I don't know. This is interesting in the sense that fertility has traditionally been in something that women have seen as their soul responsibility and burdens. And it's nice that men are starting to recognize that. You won't believe it, but fifty percent of fertility is down to the man. Speaker 4: This feels like Elon Musky to me. It feels musky. Speaker 3: Yeah, and I imagine, yeah, and. Speaker 4: You got the That was the joke I needed. Speaker 2: And obviously the problem is that not every fertility issue is has a cause or like it's it's not your fault. Speaker 3: I'm sorry you're trying to what's problematic about the spermilm? Speaker 4: So I think we get a crash and it's. Speaker 2: Literally not a race. Do you reckon? Speaker 3: You can do a little bit of a race. Are you familiar with the facts of life? It is literally a race. Speaker 2: But do you reckon? You can tell when a man has very fast spur? Speaker 4: Oh my god. Oh interesting. Speaker 1: But do you think he's putting it on his dating profile like one this it would definitely be on that. Speaker 3: It's going to immortalize his nation. Yeah, for Australia, I need an update on this. Speaker 2: When it happens, we'll have to keep everybody updated on the tournament and Australia's participation. We need to find who's representing Australia. Oh my god, sorry, I've got another contact. Speaker 4: So clear, like you asked, you posed a question to the group. Can you tell first sperm? Speaker 2: Yeah, something tells me like you kind of know who would have fast sperm. But I don't think it's necessarily a good thing. Speaker 4: No, it's not always. Speaker 2: No, I think it's it's aggressive and it's like congrats Elon musk. But like you're releasing a lot of sperm and you're not like hanging out with that sperm very much? Speaker 1: Are you may not taking the sperm to soccer again. Speaker 2: No, you're not taking a sperm to sport on the weekend, and I think that's very sad. Oh my god, after the break, we get you across everything you need to know about the Met Gala before tomorrow. Tomorrow on the evening of the first Monday of May, which is always confusing. But America exists in a different time to us. Speaker 1: There are one day behind us. Speaker 2: They're one day behind us, and I always have to google time in New York. As is tradition, four hundred and fifty very glamorous guests are going to start arriving at the Met Gala. The dress code for this year is Fashion is Art and the theme is Costume Art and I don't understand the difference between dress code and a theme. Speaker 1: And also always yeah, the Met Gala is about a costume institute in an eye museum. Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, I'm glad I'm not the only one who was feeling like because I was like, I think it's just me not understanding fashion. But no, it's weird. So guests are invited to explore their relationship to fashion as an embodied art form. That might mean that there are references to literal art, literal paintings, literal kind of art, moments like whether it's the Renaissance or whatever. But it's the Met Gala, so I think everybody just goes bat it crazy and we don't really understand the tide of the theme. Most of her time, Anna Wintur is still the chair despite having handed the rains reluctantly. Speaker 1: Streep is still the chair. Speaker 4: Yes she is. Speaker 2: And she's enlisted Beyonce, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams to serve as their evening's. Speaker 1: Co chair, so they have to go. Speaker 2: Yes they do. Holly, there's a little bit of gossip about Anna Wintour and whether we can expect to see Harry and Meghan at the met Gala. Speaker 1: You see, the thing is about the Met Gala, and we'll get to this in a minute too, but whether this is is particularly fraught with who will accept an int because of the involvement of one aforementioned Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos, because they are bankrolling it. So in the past, big companies bankrolled it. I think Apple's bankrolled it before, TikTok's bankrolled it before. Now it's Lauren and Jeff, and some people are like, I don't think we want to be part of that, So we're not going. Speaker 3: And there have been protests. People have been putting bottles of urine or a liquid that appears to be urine, scattering them around the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the lead up to the gala to protest the fact that the alleged fact that Amazon warehouse workers are not provided with toilet breaks. Speaker 1: Wow, that's a protest. And for the last few years they have been to kind of eat the rich vibe boiling away about the met gala for good reason, but this year it's overt, right, So I reckon that Harry and Meghan might use that as the excuse for why they weren't invited. You I didn't want to go any who wants to go and hang out with Jeff and Lauren. Those people are bad, evil, naughty. But actually it's that Anna wouldn't invite them, And why would Anna not invite them? So the word on the street is that Anna because it used to be Anna. Winter's relationship with celebrities evolved a lot over the years, and if you watch The Devil We was Proud of Too, you'll know that was a matter of survival. There was a time when she was like Kim Kardashian, I don't think so she's not vogue, and then she literally is exceptionally vogue these days. But she apparently doesn't like Harry and Meghan because she's a royalist, a staunch royalist. She's a dame after all. This might be overregged a bit, but she's a royalist, so she doesn't approve of what happened there and the way that Harry treated the late queen allegedly, and also that Meghan chose to do her first ever Vogue cover with Edward Ennafel in Britain and Anna was not happy about that and sees her as a bit. Speaker 2: So I wonder if eventually they'll be considered. Speaker 1: I think Anna's backtracked on enough things and in fact, you know, but as I say, I think that Harry and Megs, if they're not there, which I don't think they will be, well, could definitely use a social justice excuse. But there are a lot of very famous people who are going to be there, of course, including as you've said, the afore mentioned Nicole. Lena Dunham's going, which I find amazing because I've just read a memoir and she talks about the Metgala and not glowing terms, but she was on one of the committees as well. I think we've got Sabrina Carpenter, We've got Zoe Kravitz, so we might get Harry. We've got a lot of very famous people who are going. But this year, more than ever, it's kind of political. Speaker 3: There's a bit of a tipping point being reached about it. Amy O'Dell, who writes a fashion subject called The back Row, wrote last week a piece that I've seen a lot being quoted and circulated which basically argues that the met Gala is in danger of becoming uncool. Speaker 4: And the whole point of the met. Speaker 3: Gala was that it was cool, right, It was like the ultimate and fashion. And the problem is that by allowing the Bezoses to bankroll the whole thing and a winter, risks turning the whole thing into this very craven exercise that no one will want to be a part of. So it's interesting. I'm going to be watching the Red Cup very carefully this year to see if it does feel like the star wattage has been slightly dimmed. Speaker 2: Yeah, and if the people who make it cool because Ndaya is not going Zendaya makes things cool. Speaker 4: She does. Speaker 2: So what I found interesting in all the kind of stuff I've seen about the Met Gala coming up, there was a great piece on Lena Dunham's substack called and her subtacks called good Thing Going, and she wrote a piece called Dispatches from the Worst Dressed List, and I clicked straight away because having been a huge fan of girls, having been a huge fan of her, I remember years and years and years of seeing her constantly mocked for her fashion choices, and I remember wanting to scream at my computer and be like, it's not the fashion, you're talking about her body, And I was so frustrated. And she has now kind of processed that. And as you say, Holly, she's going to be at the Metgala, which is a bit of a surprise. But she writes at the beginning that she's in the process of getting ready for the Met Gala, which she loves to watch but tends to wobble through. And she talks about some of the things that were written about her and how it destroyed her relationship to fashion, and she had loved it when she was little, she had found it really really fun, but it got confusing. She writes when dressing became a bit more of a public affair. Basically, she quotes a bit that Joan Rivers said about her, where she said, it's okay stay fat, but don't say it's okay that other girls can look like this. Try to look better, and Lena Dunham Wrights, I was trying. We just have a different definition of what better meant. And do you guys remember those years? Oh yeah, her just being made fun of. Speaker 1: But also because as I said, I've just read the book, or nearly at the end, it's very clear that she's got like she went through years where she was conventionally skinny, and if you correlate this in the book, that coincides with time when she was really struggling with her health and her addiction issues and with mental health and all those things. Since she'd be super skinny and people would celebrate her for that. She made the cover of Vogue famously once in one of those eras, and then there were other times where she was encouraged. There's a part at the beginning about girls where she was told put more weight on the fact that your body looks the way it does is the thing that makes this show Edgy get bigger. So like her body has obviously been objectified to send different messages at different times about all kinds of things. But it's also clear in her book that she does love clothes and style and fashion and that her mind did does and so it was part of her world. But that's not the case for everybody. Right, If you go to the Met Gala, especially these days, you're generally paid to be there by a brand. They will dress you, they will style you, they will do your duels, they will do your put you up at the hotel, and you'll do all these things and it will cost them millions. But I was reading about how it's seen as the best possible advertise, which is be interesting. If the coolness factor wears off, as you're talking about Amelia, that is the best marketing spender brand can have. Because apparently the media impact of the Metgala is bigger than the Super Bowl in terms of how Father's pictures travel, how much coverage it gets, the fact it's televised, it will be on every news side, it will be on every social media feed forever. That not only the brands who are actively involved, like Vogue and whichever are actually sponsoring it will be the ones who cover it, so it is seen as money well spent, and the event itself costs about six million to put on. Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it's obviously at a level that few of us can relate to the met Gala, But that Lena Dunham piece gave me a lot of feelings. Speaker 4: I loved it. Speaker 3: I read it as a companion piece to the love Story discourse. This whole idea of Carolyn Bessett Kennedy, who was lauded for her fashion sense. Speaker 4: People ask the question, is this fashion or is she just thin? Speaker 3: And this was kind of the flip side to that argument, which is can I not be fashionable if I am not thin? And I loved the fact that she asked that question. This really hit home to me because I have never felt like someone who knows how to dress. I am surrounded by very stylish people, and I grew up with like friends. And I interrupt, Please don't I think of myself as I feel like I've struggled with what to wear my whole life. And I do enjoy clothes. But it's interesting that when I was at my skinniest and probably at a pretty unhealthy relationship with my body. I was lauded much more for my clothes and for my supposed style than at other points in my life. And I love that Lena's teasing out that connection. And just recently I saw some comments online that said that I don't dress very well, and it hurt my feelings because I was like, I try, and I do try with my clothes, and I meant to not try. I mean, as as Miranda Priestley reminds us in The Devil wes Prata, we all have to get dressed in the morning, so you may as well put some thought into it. But I do wonder how much of what we perceive of as stylish is actually connected to bodies. Speaker 1: Oh so much of it is. And I mean this last night literally, I was packing for the week because I always come up to Sydney on a Monday morning. I usually stay for a couple of nights, so I've got to think on Sunday when I'm in my most harried, like what am I wearing? Obviously we're on camera, but and I was in my huffing around in my bedroom, going I hate all my clothes. I hate all my clothes, and my kids could hear me, and obviously because I am aware, you know, feminist mother, I do not huff around my bedroom going I hate my body, nothing fits me. But the code is I hate all my clothes. I've got nothing to wear, and my son it's like, what do you mean, why have you even got those clothes if you hate them? You know, But there is no question that these things are so connected, and that fashion world, particularly the high fashion world, they say we like to imagine that they've made a lot of progress on that in the ten years. But I don't think in Anna Wintour's world that progress. Speaker 4: I'm just not talking about it as much. I think that's what it is. Speaker 2: I remember it still sticks with me. Speaker 3: Now. Speaker 2: Remember when Kim Kardashian went on a red carpet wearing a It was kind of like a high neck dress. There's a lot of fabric, and she was very, very pregnant. Speaker 1: I was working gossip mags and I'm not proud of this at all, but everybody says she looked like a couch. I think we printed that. I think we took the piss out of that overtly, and she was trying very hard to be high. Speaker 2: Fashion exactly and I think about that all the time. As a pregnant person. I'm like, I the idea of being mocked and being so embarrassed because you're like, I didn't choose for my body to grow, Like, like it just grows in the direction and grows when you're pregnant, and it can grow in weird direction. And to be totally honest, this this move now, and I'm sure people have the total opposite perspective to me, But the move now of people having really cool maternity, you know, people make it look really really cool and sexy, having a bump like the Sienna Millers of the world with their like little top that will open and it looks really sexy. I'm like, God, you can't even be pregnant and be able to give up for just a few months. Speaker 1: No, we're not allowed hot at all times. Okay, I just need to ask, right, Because as we said, this mat Gala has got this political weight to it. I feel like for the last few years it has, and there's been a sort of oh but it's fun and we all need the distraction. Are we going to be looking at that red carpet tomorrow? Because I know I will, Yeah, I will. I will I will. Speaker 3: Yeah, I will too, And I think that why I will be looking is because fashion is fun. It should be fun, it should be something that we enjoy looking at. And I love how Lena ties up her piece because it's not a hopeless piece. Speaker 4: She ultimately concludes. Speaker 3: By saying, what I realize now is I was making choices that maybe made people feel uncomfortable, whether it was because I was wearing clothes that that type of body should not have been wearing, for instance, or she was wearing clothes that weren't regarded as as exactly mattering me. She talks about how she spoke to a very well known fashion critic about this sort of debate recently, and the fashion critics said to her, you just have a point of view that's called taste. And I love the idea that just because you're wearing something that might not be universally regarded as flattering or fashionable, you can still have a point of view about it. And I guess that's ideally what these kind of red carpet events are meant to showcase is a unique point of view. Speaker 4: So yeah, I'll be watching. Speaker 1: We will rope in our absolute fashion expert May who used to love the met Gala. As she said, people take more risks there than they do when they're you know, at the Oscars or whatever, because it is the whole point of it is to be quite bad shit. So we will be doing a met Gala wrap up for subscribers tomorrow afternoon, and I'm sure that Maya will have many thoughts. That's all we've got time for this Monday. I hope everybody's week starts well. We will be back in your ears tomorrow for subscribers, and the three of us will be here on Wednesday. Thank you to our team. We'll see you then, Bye bye. Speaker 2: Mummy acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we have recorded this podcast.Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“The Force, it's calling to you. Just let it in.” Join Ian, Liam & Kev for our 329th episode as we celebrate our annual Star Wars Day release by jumping to lightspeed into J.J. Abrams' galaxy-reviving blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). Megs? She's not with us this week — She's been recruited by the Resistance after showing a worrying amount of lightsaber proficiency. This week we discuss: The revival question — how The Force Awakens brought Star Wars back to life after a decade away. Nostalgia, safety, or smart recalibration? Daisy Ridley's Rey — mysterious, capable, and instantly central. Is she the perfect modern Star Wars protagonist? Why is her best work done when she's not talking? John Boyega's Finn — defector, comic relief, emotional anchor. Does the film fully realise his potential? Adam Driver's Kylo Ren — volatile, conflicted, and deliberately unfinished. One of the saga's most interesting villains? Ian breaks down the film's structure — echoes of A New Hope. Homage, remix, or outright repetition? Kev dives into the spectacle — practical effects, sound design, and what it's like to watch your first Star Wars Film The legacy characters — Han, Leia, and Luke. How well does the film balance past and future? The humour — lighter, faster, more modern. Does it fit the Star Wars tone? The “show vs tell” balance — does the film rely too heavily on familiarity, or does it earn its emotional beats? The ending — powerful, quiet, and iconic. Does it stick the landing? And finally, whether Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the Best Film Ever — or simply the most important reboot of the modern blockbuster era. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
“Let my people go.” Join Ian, Liam & Megs for our 328th episode as we part the Red Sea, confront destiny, and revisit one of the most ambitious animated films ever made with The Prince of Egypt (1998). Kev? He's not with us this week — he attempted to follow a mysterious burning bush into the desert and hasn't returned. We assume he's negotiating some very specific commandments. This week we discuss: The scale of the storytelling — biblical epic through animation. How does the film balance intimacy with spectacle? Val Kilmer's dual performance — Moses and God. Subtle, conflicted, and quietly powerful. Ralph Fiennes' Ramses — tragic, proud, and deeply human. One of animation's most underrated antagonists? The music — from Deliver Us to When You Believe. Does the soundtrack elevate the film into something transcendent? Megs explores the film's emotional core — brotherhood, identity, and the cost of doing what is right. Ian breaks down the animation — traditional techniques blended with early CGI. How well does it hold up? Liam questions the narrative focus — is this Moses' story, Ramses' story, or something shared between them? The depiction of faith — reverent, interpretive, and accessible. Does the film succeed regardless of belief? The plagues sequence — visually stunning, morally complex, and still haunting. The “show vs tell” balance — how much does the film trust its visuals versus its dialogue and songs? Ian goes all Old Testament, telling us that 'the book was better' and how they left the ultimate sideplot sitting on the table The ending — epic, earned, and emotionally resonant. Does it land as both spectacle and personal journey? And finally, whether The Prince of Egypt is the Best Film Ever — or one of the greatest animated films ever made. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
“Follow the money.” Join Ian, Liam & Kev for our 327th episode as we type through the night, chase sources, and piece together one of the greatest journalistic thrillers ever made with All the President's Men (1976). Megs? She's not with us this week — she insisted on meeting a source in an underground parking garage and hasn't come back up yet. We assume she's waiting for a shadowy figure to confirm something. This week we discuss: Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward & Bernstein — contrasting energies, relentless curiosity, and the slow grind of uncovering truth. The procedural storytelling — phone calls, notes, dead ends. Why the film makes paperwork feel like high drama. The pace — deliberately methodical. Does the lack of traditional “action” heighten tension or test patience? Megs explores the role of journalism — integrity, persistence, and the cost of getting it right. Ian breaks down the film's structure — accumulation of detail, repetition, and how small discoveries build into something enormous. Liam questions accessibility — does the film expect too much knowledge from its audience, or does it teach you as it goes? The use of sound and silence — typewriters, newsroom chatter, and the weight of quiet spaces. Deep Throat — myth, mystery, and whether the film benefits from keeping him just out of reach. The ending — abrupt, unresolved, and historically loaded. Does it land emotionally without showing the full outcome? We debate “show vs tell” — is the film a masterclass in restraint, or does it occasionally feel too distant? The legacy — how this film shaped political cinema and public trust in journalism. And finally, whether All the President's Men is the Best Film Ever — or simply one of the most important investigative films ever made. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
Jon and Megs are back and they can’t remember anything… This podcast features No No Yeah Yeah by Chinese American Bear
"Welcome to Jumanji!" Join Ian, Liam & Megs for our 326th episode as we press start, pick our avatars, and get sucked into the chaotic, comedic, and surprisingly heartfelt world of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017). Kev? He's not with us this week — he selected his character without reading the stats and is now stuck in the jungle with a weakness to cake and only one life remaining. We wish him luck. This week we discuss: The central gimmick — body-swap comedy meets video game logic. Why this concept works far better than it has any right to. Dwayne Johnson's performance — bravado, vulnerability, and comedic timing. Is this one of his most self-aware roles? Kevin Hart as the reluctant sidekick — high-energy, fast-talking, and constantly outmatched. Does he elevate or overwhelm? Jack Black's scene-stealing turn — Surely even Megs will commend his commitment, physicality, and one of the boldest comedic performances in a mainstream blockbuster. Karen Gillan's balancing act — action hero competence with awkward teenage insecurity underneath. Megs explores the film's take on identity — how stepping into a different body reframes confidence, perception, and self-worth. Ian breaks down the narrative structure — game levels, stakes, callbacks and consequences that are both earned and why the film's pacing feels so clean. Liam questions the emotional core — does the film earn its character growth, or is it just well-disguised formula? The video game rules — clear, fun, and occasionally inconsistent. When do they help the story, and when do they get bent? We're looking at you, Nick Jonas The humour — broad, physical, and surprisingly sharp. Which jokes land, and which ones don't quite stick? The ending — satisfying, predictable, or just the right amount of both? And finally, whether Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is the Best Film Ever — or one of the most unexpectedly successful reboots of the modern era. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
Grab your coffee and join Megs & Jess for another episode where we discuss some big life updates!JESS' YOUTUBE CHANNEL!BERG BOX QUARTERLY!JOIN THE CROCHET BAES FACEBOOK GROUP!CROCHET BAES MERCH!SHUT UP & TAKE MY MONEY!FOLLOW OUR TIKTOK ACCOUNT!Got a question or comment? Send The Crochet Baes an email: thecrochetbaes@gmail.comFind Jessica & Berg's Nest Crochet online:-Website-TikTok-Instagram-Facebook-Email: bergsnestcrochet@gmail.comFind Megs & Megs Makes Crochet Online:-Etsy-TikTok-Link TreeThank you to Chan's Designs for creating The Crochet Baes beautiful logo!
“This is nothing. This is nothing. Why does the dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail.” Join Ian & Liam for our 325th episode as we step into the spin rooms, sound stages, and manufactured realities of Barry Levinson's razor-sharp political satire Wag the Dog (1997). Megs isn't with us this week — she's been hired to produce a last-minute war in Albania (tight turnaround, great exposure). Kev? He's currently composing a patriotic anthem that may or may not exist by the time you hear this. This week we discuss: Dustin Hoffman's Stanley Motss — flamboyant, obsessive, and desperate for credit. Is this one of the great comedic performances of the '90s? Robert De Niro's Conrad Brean — calm, calculated, and morally untethered. Is he the real power in the film… or just the most efficient? The central satire — media manipulation, political theatre, and the terrifying ease of creating “truth.” We share many stories of what it means to guide an actor, when you should back off, and what do we do when we simply 'can't find the character' ourselves Ian breaks down the film's narrative precision — lean, fast, and ruthlessly efficient storytelling. Liam explores the film's relevance — does Wag the Dog feel prophetic, outdated, or uncomfortably current? The machinery of deception — producers, actors, composers. Who actually “makes” reality in this world? The escalation of the lie — how small fabrications spiral into full-scale belief. The “show vs tell” balance — is the film too clever for its own good, or exactly as sharp as it needs to be? Which character were we both all-out on? What does it mean for something to be satirical and at what point does that present itself in the film? Is it harder to get on board with the conceit of the film in 2026 compared to 1997 and why? Ian shares everything he knows about Albania and where he learned it from The ending — dark punchline, inevitable consequence, or the ultimate statement on power? The moral centre (or lack of one) — does the film care about truth, or just the performance of it? And finally, whether Wag the Dog is the Best Film Ever — or one of the most incisive political satires ever made. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE
What happens when scientists are right and nobody wants to hear it? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O'Reilly explore the frustrating history of brilliant minds who were ignored, mocked, and punished for telling the truth with science writer Matt Kaplan. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/told-you-so-with-matt-kaplan/ Thanks to our Patrons William D A, JK Smith, k c, Jim Worke, ufuk mevlevioglu, discount, Mark Snow, scott.hraha@gmail . con, Daren Covington, alex fricke, Alistair Gray, Jordi Estevez, Jeppe Blomgren, Kal McCloud, James Hale, Olivia Ruffe, Barbara, Tyler Dirkse, Bupkis Null, Tamajai Parrotte, Ebony Davis, Hailey Drake, Josh Whalen, SomethingWonderful, Ms.Yi, Luke Williams, L M, DP, Noah Golden, Courtney Minick, Megs, Jake, Terry Kirk, Joe G, Kip Kerley, Alec Walters, Alex Brown, Baxter, Austin Garcia, Sam W, Ladie Charette, Patrick Laverdière, juno brown, John Gary, Lucidious Flow, Leticia Farrar, Chu88, Fatima, Adrienne Bennett, David Labas, David Presnell, BLUE TIGER, Theresa Anoskey, Jahkenan Lloyd, Sambath Kumar Balasubramanian, Michelle Hester, Tatjana Gall, bandofspartans, Scarlet_Bukur92, LeopaldChaos, Mark Schwerin, Jack, Andrew, Edward Landry, Roland, Daniel Peter, Dan, Derek C, Erik Mardiste, Samuel Young, Keith McCredie, Dom, Ulq, Israel Soto, Q/Aurora Phoenix, JeanieZee, Terry Carr, Todd Bergmann, meteor guy, Patrick Congdon, Jeremiah Lewis, Janet Staples-Edwards, Eric Mensah, Chris Morales, Timothy Stanford, Dean Lasseter, Daniel Hays, Madhur Behl, Professor Grumbly Gut, Max Wolters, Jeremy Lewis, José Ikamba, Ian Ravenshaw Bland, Ron Spee, Brandon Smith, Richard Lord, Cody Avery Campbell (codesuniverse), Shawn Shields, M.R. Saar, and Nicole Elizabeth for supporting us this week. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of StarTalk Radio ad-free and a whole week early.Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
“It's not about the money.” Join Ian & Megs for our 324th episode as we step into the perfectly constructed, quietly audacious bank heist of Spike Lee's Inside Man (2006). Clocks are ticking, identities are shifting, and nothing is quite what it seems as we try to work out who's really in control… and who never was. This week we discuss: Denzel Washington as Detective Frazier — cool, controlled, and always just one step behind. Is this one of Denzel's most understated performances? Clive Owen's Dalton Russell — precise, patient, and almost philosophical. Is he a villain, a hero, or something far more interesting? Also, is he more than just a poor man's Gerard Butler? Jodie Foster's power broker — calculated, composed, and operating on a completely different level of influence. Do we forgive her more easily because of her gender? The structure of the heist — meticulous, layered, and deliberately misleading. How does the film hide its intentions in plain sight? Megs explores the film's themes of power and privilege — what's really being stolen, and who actually gets away with it. Ian breaks down Spike Lee's direction and cinematography — style, pacing, and how he injects social commentary into a genre film without slowing it down. The use of misdirection — costumes, timelines, and narrative sleight of hand. When does the audience realise they've been played? The “show vs tell” balance — how much does the film explain, and how much does it trust the audience to catch up? The ending reveal — clever, satisfying, or just slightly too neat? Does the film even know what the ending of its own plot is? Are we satisfied with how it ended and what would be the danger of making it more explicit? The moral question — is justice served, or simply… redirected? And finally, whether Inside Man is the Best Film Ever — or one of the smartest, most rewatchable heist films of the 21st century. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
“I'm tired, boss.” Join Ian, Liam, Megs & Kev for our 323rd episode as we walk the long corridor, sit with miracles, and confront justice, compassion, and cruelty in Frank Darabont's The Green Mile (1999). It's heavy, it's heartfelt, and yes — we all know what's coming… but that doesn't make it any easier. This week we discuss: Michael Clarke Duncan's towering performance — gentle, tragic, otherworldly. Is John Coffey one of the most emotionally devastating characters ever put to screen? Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb — quiet authority, moral conflict, and the burden of knowing what's right when the system says otherwise. The film's central tension — justice versus legality. What happens when the law is wrong but must still be carried out? Megs explores the emotional mechanics — how the film earns its tears, and whether it ever crosses into manipulation. Ian breaks down Darabont's storytelling — classical structure, patient pacing, and why the film leans so heavily into sincerity. Liam questions if the film sacrifices characterisation for what the plot needs to occur Kev weighs in on the execution room and if the set designers missed a trick there The supporting cast — from Brutal to Percy. Who stands out, and who embodies the film's darkest impulses? The treatment of death row — humane, harrowing, and unflinching. Does the film confront or soften its reality? The ending — cathartic, crushing, or quietly haunting? What lingers after the final frame? And finally, whether The Green Mile is the Best Film Ever — or one of the most emotionally overwhelming films ever made. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
In this episode I catch up with Megan where she shares her expansive story about how she healed her relationship to alcohol and her relationship to food - which can both be used as numbing agents. Megan describes the manifestations that came forth when she stepped in to feeling her feelings and the huge up level that came in for her after this.I hope this episode is expansive for you! To book in a free Discovery Call with me, email thrive@coachingbyanneka.co.ukTik Tok: @coachingbyanneka_official
Grab your coffee and join Megs & Jess for another episode where we discuss cozy crochet favorites for the winter!JESS' YOUTUBE CHANNEL!BERG BOX QUARTERLY!JOIN THE CROCHET BAES FACEBOOK GROUP!CROCHET BAES MERCH!SHUT UP & TAKE MY MONEY!FOLLOW OUR TIKTOK ACCOUNT!Got a question or comment? Send The Crochet Baes an email: thecrochetbaes@gmail.comFind Jessica & Berg's Nest Crochet online:-Website-TikTok-Instagram-Facebook-Email: bergsnestcrochet@gmail.comFind Megs & Megs Makes Crochet Online:-Etsy-TikTok-Link TreeThank you to Chan's Designs for creating The Crochet Baes beautiful logo!
What happens when your opinions, routines, and “rules” in the beauty industry start to evolve?In this episode of Browducation, Megs welcomes esthetician Molly Markland of @skin_by_mollym back for Part Two of their conversation and the final episode of Season 3 to talk about skin barrier health, skincare trends, and growing as a beauty professional. Together they dive deeper into skincare misinformation, business boundaries, and the lessons that only come from years of experience in the treatment room.Molly shares subtle signs of a compromised skin barrier that artists often miss, why viral skincare trends can quietly damage clients' skin, and how professionals can navigate contraindications while still maintaining strong client relationships.This conversation also explores how opinions naturally evolve over time in the beauty industry — from changing product philosophies to rethinking rigid policies and learning to trust your own professional judgment.Quick note: Unfortunately, just like in Part One, we experienced a bit of technical difficulty during the final 10 minutes of the episode, so the conversation had to be cut slightly short — but the insights shared throughout are still packed with valuable takeaways for artists and beauty professionals.✨ We Cover:
“I have to believe in a world outside my own mind.” Join Ian, Liam, Megs & Kev for our 321st episode as we piece together Polaroids, tattoos, and fragments of memory in Christopher Nolan's mind-bending thriller Memento (2000). This week the BFE timeline runs forward, backward, and occasionally sideways — and somewhere in the chaos a mystery guest drops in to help us figure out what actually happened. This week we discuss: Christopher Nolan's narrative construction — reverse chronology, fragmented storytelling, and whether genius sometimes requires a second viewing… or a flowchart. Guy Pearce's Leonard Shelby — sympathetic victim, unreliable narrator, or architect of his own personal myth? The two timelines — black-and-white clarity vs colour confusion. How the film weaponises structure to manipulate the audience. Megs explores memory as identity — if you can't remember who you are, can you still be responsible for what you do? Ian breaks down Nolan's early thematic obsessions — time, perception, control, and why Memento feels like the blueprint for the rest of his career. Liam questions the film's internal logic — how much of Leonard's system actually works, and how much depends on blind faith? Natalie and Teddy — manipulators, victims, opportunists, or something much harder to categorise? The mechanics of storytelling — how the film reveals information while simultaneously making us doubt it. Our mystery guest joins us — helping us untangle the film's structure and asking whether understanding Memento actually improves it. The ending (or beginning?) — revelation, tragedy, or the ultimate self-deception. And finally, whether Memento is the Best Film Ever — or simply one of the most brilliantly constructed puzzles cinema has ever produced. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
Jon and Megs cover politics, nostalgia, queer tech, and travel in this episode of Secretly Timid. They discuss Donald Trump's latest illegal war and why forgiveness for those who supported him isn't something everyone is willing to offer. The hosts … Continue reading →
This week's audio-only episode in the Work-Life Balance Series tackles a belief that's been running the beauty industry for far too long:That rest is lazy. That “no days off” is a flex. That if you're not grinding 24/7, you don't want it bad enough.Megs shares her experience as a recovering workaholic and breaks down why hustle culture feels inspiring at first — but eventually becomes unsustainable. From nervous system science to practical rest rituals that actually fit into a brow artist's day, this episode flips the narrative.Rest isn't something you earn. It's part of the work.✨ What We Cover:• Why hustle culture is outdated and quietly burning artists out• How burnout disguises itself as ambition• The nervous system's role in creativity, focus, and patience• Productivity vs. purposeful strategy• Micro, mid-level, and macro rest explained• Real-life rest rituals for beauty professionals• Why peace, boundaries, and attention are the real flexSponsor ⭐️If you're ready to specialize instead of just offer a service, Megs' Hand-Tied Threading Course teaches proper hand positioning, tension control, client experience, and the “why” behind the technique — so you can confidently master threading.
Grab your coffee and join Megs & Jess for another episode where we break down Meg's most recent market!JESS' YOUTUBE CHANNEL!BERG BOX QUARTERLY!JOIN THE CROCHET BAES FACEBOOK GROUP!CROCHET BAES MERCH!SHUT UP & TAKE MY MONEY!FOLLOW OUR TIKTOK ACCOUNT!Got a question or comment? Send The Crochet Baes an email: thecrochetbaes@gmail.comFind Jessica & Berg's Nest Crochet online:-Website-TikTok-Instagram-Facebook-Email: bergsnestcrochet@gmail.comFind Megs & Megs Makes Crochet Online:-Etsy-TikTok-Link TreeThank you to Chan's Designs for creating The Crochet Baes beautiful logo!
What happens when your values no longer align with the place you work?In this episode of Browducation, Megs sits down with Sara, owner of Shed Wax Bar in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to talk about walking away from misaligned leadership, rebuilding from scratch, and creating a brand that actually feels like you.Sara shares the pivotal moment that pushed her to go solo, what the first six months of business really looked like, and how leaning into community — instead of competition — changed everything.This is an honest conversation about integrity, pricing confidence, branding authenticity, social media burnout, and why education matters more than trends.✨ We Cover:
“You said you couldn't believe in someone who didn't believe in you.” Join Ian, Liam & Megs for our 319th episode as we dive headfirst into lace gloves, record store shifts, and 1980s romantic angst with John Hughes' Pretty in Pink (1986). It's class divides, prom politics, and the eternal question of who really deserves Andie Walsh. This week we discuss: Molly Ringwald as Andie — resilience, insecurity, and whether she's a fully realised protagonist or a Hughes archetype dressed in vintage. Blane's behaviour — romantic lead or emotional liability? Does the film let him off too easily? Duckie's devotion — lovable underdog, manipulative “nice guy,” or something more complicated? The class tension at the heart of the story — is the film actually saying something about wealth and identity, or just dressing teen drama up as social commentary? Megs unpacks the fashion — iconic, chaotic, deeply 80s. Does the final dress deserve its reputation? Ian explores the alternate ending — what changed, why test audiences intervened, and whether the original choice would have made for a stronger film. Liam questions the soundtrack supremacy — is this peak 80s needle-drop culture, or nostalgia doing heavy lifting? The father-daughter dynamic — quiet emotional centre or underdeveloped subplot? Are certain viewers predispositioned to be on board with this - or not? The prom climax — catharsis, compromise, or cultural time capsule? We debate whether the film romanticises inequality — and whether Andie's final choice feels empowering or regressive. And finally, whether Pretty in Pink is the Best Film Ever — or simply one of the most enduring teen romances of the 1980s. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
In this solo episode, Megs dives into a philosophy that separates skilled artists from inexperienced ones: Less is more.In an industry that often celebrates dramatic transformations, it can feel like bigger change equals better results. But the truth? Subtle, intentional shaping is often what creates the most powerful impact.This episode is your reminder that true artistry isn't about doing the most — it's about knowing when to stop. ✂️✨ Why “less is more” isn't lazy — it's skill✨ How over-shaping damages trust (and long-term growth)✨ Training your eye to see what actually needs to be done✨ Why zooming out improves symmetry and balance✨ How to communicate your shaping plan to build client trust✨ When subtle tweaks + add-ons (tint, lamination) create better results than more removal✨ The power of restraint in creating long-term loyaltyClean, intentional shaping will always win over aggressive removal with no plan.
“We're all in this together.” Join Ian, Megs & Kev for our 318th episode as we lace up the Wildcats, grab the basketball (and the sheet music), and head back to East High for Disney Channel's cultural phenomenon High School Musical (2006). It's jazz hands, jump shots, and mid-2000s sincerity this week — and yes, we're absolutely committing to the choreography. This week we discuss: The lightning-in-a-bottle appeal — how a made-for-TV movie became a generational event - especially for one member of the panel. Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens — chemistry, charisma, and the myth-making of teen stardom. Does Hudgens get enough credit for the success of the franchise? Ashley Tisdale's Sharpay Evans — villain, icon, or misunderstood theatre kid with ambition? Is she too good to dislike? Megs breaks down the musical structure — why the songs are catchier than they have any right to be, and which ones still slap. The team talks about the difficulty about the audition process - on both sides of the equation We talk about the differences in social cliques in the North American school system versus the British school system Ian talks about how the whole plot is a conceit that he can't fully buy into - but why? Thematically — identity, peer pressure, and the fear of stepping outside the box. Why this simple message resonated so hard. The “show, don't tell” debate — does the film trust visual storytelling, or does it lean on dialogue and lyrics to do the heavy lifting? The Disney machine — how the film's success reshaped the network's future output. The ending performance — triumphant, predictable, or perfectly engineered for maximum serotonin? And finally, whether High School Musical is the Best Film Ever — or simply the most aggressively rewatchable Disney Channel Original Movie ever made. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
Grab your coffee and join Megs & Jess for another episode where we discuss Jessica's crochet endeavors on her recent cruise!JESS' YOUTUBE CHANNEL!BERG BOX QUARTERLY!JOIN THE CROCHET BAES FACEBOOK GROUP!CROCHET BAES MERCH!SHUT UP & TAKE MY MONEY!FOLLOW OUR TIKTOK ACCOUNT!Got a question or comment? Send The Crochet Baes an email: thecrochetbaes@gmail.comFind Jessica & Berg's Nest Crochet online:-Website-TikTok-Instagram-Facebook-Email: bergsnestcrochet@gmail.comFind Megs & Megs Makes Crochet Online:-Etsy-TikTok-Link TreeThank you to Chan's Designs for creating The Crochet Baes beautiful logo!
“Has anything you've done made your life better?” Join Ian, Liam, Megs & Kev for our 317th episode as we confront anger, ideology, consequence, and redemption in Tony Kaye's incendiary and unforgettable American History X (1998). This week, we're also joined by BFF of the BFE: Hermes Auslander, and — in a huge moment for the podcast — we sit down for a special interview with director Tony Kaye himself. This one is heavy. Necessary. Complicated. This week we discuss: Edward Norton's blistering performance — charismatic, terrifying, magnetic. Is this one of the great transformations of the 1990s? The black-and-white vs colour structure — memory, myth, and moral framing. How does the visual language shape our understanding of Derek's journey? The film's central question — can hate be unlearned, and if so, what does it cost? Hermes joins us to unpack the film's cultural and political legacy — why it still resonates, and why it remains controversial. The prison sequence — brutal, pivotal, and narratively dangerous. Does the film handle trauma responsibly? We examine the fine line between depiction and endorsement — does the film risk glamorising the ideology it condemns? The ending — inevitable, devastating, and still capable of knocking the wind out of an audience. What does it ultimately say about cycles of violence? Our special interview with Tony Kaye — reflections on authorship, conflict over the final cut, working with Edward Norton, and how he views the film now, decades later. The legacy question — has the film aged well? Has it been misunderstood? Has it been weaponised? And finally, whether American History X is the Best Film Ever — or one of the most important and confronting films we've ever covered. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
In this episode, Megs sits down with Carol Jaame of @lashchanceartistry for an honest, full-circle conversation about burnout, pivots, ego, gratitude, and finding your way back to the work that truly fulfills you.Carol shares her journey from building a fully booked lash business, transitioning into online education, stepping away entirely, and ultimately returning behind the chair—with clearer boundaries, deeper perspective, and renewed passion.This episode is a must-listen for beauty professionals navigating growth, overwhelm, pivots, or questioning “what's next.”
In this episode, Megs sits down with Alex, founder of @browtab, to talk about what it really looks like to step away from the treatment room and build a sustainable online business—without burning everything down or chasing trends.Alex shares her journey from microblading artist to beauty business educator, what led her to retire from in-person services, and the realities behind online education, digital products, and building income streams that actually support your life.This conversation is especially valuable for beauty professionals who are feeling burnt out, curious about education, or looking for more flexibility in their work.
Grab your coffee and join Megs & Jess for another episode where we discuss Jessica's crochet endeavors on her recent cruise!JESS' YOUTUBE CHANNEL!BERG BOX QUARTERLY!JOIN THE CROCHET BAES FACEBOOK GROUP!CROCHET BAES MERCH!SHUT UP & TAKE MY MONEY!FOLLOW OUR TIKTOK ACCOUNT!Got a question or comment? Send The Crochet Baes an email: thecrochetbaes@gmail.comFind Jessica & Berg's Nest Crochet online:-Website-TikTok-Instagram-Facebook-Email: bergsnestcrochet@gmail.comFind Megs & Megs Makes Crochet Online:-Etsy-TikTok-Link TreeThank you to Chan's Designs for creating The Crochet Baes beautiful logo!
“You think this is just a story?” Join Ian, Liam, Megs & Kev for our 316th episode as we descend into the basement, start pressing buttons we absolutely shouldn't, and dismantle the horror genre piece by piece with Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods (2011). This week is less about jump scares and more about systems, sacrifice, and whether sometimes… you really should just play the hits. This week we discuss: The central divide — why some viewers desperately wish this film had played it straight, and whether subversion automatically improves a genre story. The two-year delay — why The Cabin in the Woods sat finished but unreleased, and how that limbo shaped its eventual reception. Ian's major life milestone this week — and why it weirdly mirrors one of the film's themes about control and agency. Who really enjoys the metaphor — and whether reading the film as an allegory enhances the experience or drains the fun out of it entirely. Liam's unstoppable TV digression — the show he simply will not stop referencing, regardless of relevance. We spend some well-earned time talking about Catherine O'Hara — authority, timing, and why she elevates everything she touches. The mechanics of the horror machine — archetypes, rituals, and the illusion of choice. Megs breaks down the film's gender politics — subversion, exploitation, and how knowingly the film handles both. Kev weighs in on the concept of gatekeeping and who gets to make all these rules anyway? The elevator scene — catharsis, overload, or glorious anarchy? The ending — nihilistic, freeing, or just pulling the plug on the whole genre. And finally, whether The Cabin in the Woods is the Best Film Ever — or simply the most elaborate middle finger horror ever aimed at its own audience. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
In this solo episode of Browducation, Megs continues the Work-Life Balance series with a powerful reframe on hiring help — why it's not about losing control, and how delegation can actually help you grow a healthier, more sustainable business.If you've ever thought “I'll just do it myself” or “I can't afford help yet,” this conversation is for you.Why doing everything yourself eventually leads to burnoutThe hidden cost of not hiring helpHow outsourcing even one task can change your energy and focusWays to get support without hiring a full-time employeeThe real ROI of delegation and buying back your time
“We're doing our part” Join Ian, Liam, Megs & Kev for our 315th episode as we suit up, grab the propaganda reel, and drop feet-first into Paul Verhoeven's gloriously misunderstood sci-fi satire Starship Troopers (1997). It's bugs, blood, and bare-faced ideology this week as we try to work out whether this film knew exactly what it was doing all along. Do you want to know more? This week we discuss: The tone problem (or lack thereof) — is Starship Troopers a dumb action movie, a razor-sharp satire, or both at the same time? Paul Verhoeven's intent — does the film critique fascism so hard that some audiences miss the joke entirely? The performances — intentionally wooden propaganda archetypes, or just bad acting elevated by context? The aesthetics of fascism — uniforms, slogans, and spectacle. Why does the film make authoritarianism look so seductive? Ian breaks down the film's satirical mechanics — how exaggeration, repetition, and irony do the heavy lifting. Liam explores audience reception — why the film was misunderstood on release and reclaimed years later. Megs looks at gender and violence — equal-opportunity brutality, shower scenes, and the illusion of empowerment. Kev weighs in on the action — but don't get him started on the never-ending rounds of bullets The enemy — are the Arachnids monsters, victims, or an invented threat to justify endless war? The propaganda interstitials — world-building masterstrokes or narrative interruptions? Synthia joins us for The Endgame — helping us unpack the film's legacy, its political bite, and why it feels even more relevant now than it did in 1997. The ending — triumphant, horrifying, or both? What are we actually meant to cheer for? And finally, whether Starship Troopers is the Best Film Ever — or one of the smartest films ever disguised as a stupid one. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Paul Komoroski Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
This week on BROWDUCATION, Megs is joined by corrective skincare specialist Molly Markland of Skin by Molly M. for a thoughtful conversation around skin barrier health, hydration, and why long-term results should always come before instant gratification.Together, they unpack how aggressive treatments impact the skin, what professionals should watch for before performing services, and why staying within your scope of practice leads to better outcomes for clients.
“Everybody be cool.” Join Ian & Liam for our 314th episode as we cross the border, miss the last turn-off to sanity, and crash headlong into Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's genre-shredding cult classic From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). Megs isn't with us this week — she took a job managing the Titty Twister and immediately exercised her right to not be around for what happened next. Kev? Last seen arguing with a biker about tequila and quietly backing away when things started growing fangs. This week we discuss: The hard genre pivot — crime thriller to vampire splatterfest. Is this one of cinema's boldest structural swings or an act of deliberate sabotage? The first half vs. the second half — which film do we actually prefer, and should they ever have been stitched together in the first place? George Clooney's breakout performance — cool, controlled, and shockingly confident. Did this film secretly create a movie star? Quentin Tarantino the actor — indulgent, uncomfortable, and deeply divisive. Does his presence add anything, or actively derail the film? Ian questions the film's tonal discipline — is chaos the point, or does excess eventually become exhaustion? Liam explores the film's grindhouse DNA — exploitation homage, midnight-movie energy, and why this works better at 11:30pm than 2:00pm. Salma Hayek's iconic sequence — empowerment, objectification, or pure genre spectacle? We unpack why this moment still sparks debate. The violence escalation — gleeful, grotesque, and increasingly cartoonish. Where does fun end and numbness begin? The rules of the vampires and the timing of when characters turn — clear, flexible, or completely improvised depending on the scene? You won't believe the piece of literature that Ian wants to compare this to The ending — aftermath, absurdity, and the sudden return to moral quiet after absolute carnage. And finally, whether From Dusk Till Dawn is the Best Film Ever — or simply the wildest left turn ever taken by a mainstream '90s movie. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Paul Komoroski Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
Grab your coffee and join Megs & Jess for another episode where we catch up after a long holiday break with a yarn & yap!JESS' YOUTUBE CHANNEL!BERG BOX QUARTERLY!JOIN THE CROCHET BAES FACEBOOK GROUP!CROCHET BAES MERCH!SHUT UP & TAKE MY MONEY!FOLLOW OUR TIKTOK ACCOUNT!Got a question or comment? Send The Crochet Baes an email: thecrochetbaes@gmail.comFind Jessica & Berg's Nest Crochet online:-Website-TikTok-Instagram-Facebook-Email: bergsnestcrochet@gmail.comFind Megs & Megs Makes Crochet Online:-Etsy-TikTok-Link TreeThank you to Chan's Designs for creating The Crochet Baes beautiful logo!
Welcome to Secretly Timid circa 2026. On this podcast, Megs and Jon say goodbye to a friend, discuss the phenomenal new show Heated Rivalry, and, of course, touch a little bit on the current political state of affairs. Under his … Continue reading →
Season 6 is here. New year, new me, new pod. Let me be clear. Nothing changed. Same chaos. Same button. Same “what are we doing?” energy. Appreciate the 2,249-ish of you who keep showing up. If you haven't yet, hit subscribe, hit like, and ring the bell so you get the quack ding whenever I drop an episode, clip, short, or whatever we're calling content in 2026.We kick off Episode 219 with the New Year's trip recap. Megs and I dipped out to Myrtle Beach for the reset. Quick flight. Good food. All you can eat crab legs. Then I get into my favorite Myrtle Beach activity, Dirty Don's oyster shooter flights. Old Bay rim, oyster in hand, vodka in the glass, chew three times, no more, then send it. If you're ever down there, go do it. Tell them Levi sent you. Let Dirty Don know Daddy brought you.Then we talk about Elon Musk's Grok and the internet doing what the internet does. People are using Grok like a public “edit button” on other people's photos. “Uncrop this.” “Remove this.” “Put her in this.” You get the idea. I tested it privately with Megs and with myself, for research, and the results were way too realistic. Which leads to the real conversation. AI has legit business value, I use it daily, but the moment it turns into public, weaponized creep behavior, the arguments against it start sounding strong.After that, we hit the student loan mess. Wage garnishment is back on the table, and millions of people are in default. I break down what this looks like in real life. People choose rent, groceries, and basic survival over sending hundreds of dollars a month to a loan from when their frontal lobe was still loading. I go on a full spiral about how the system pushes people into “pay it off if you're the 1%” or “join the military” as the only way out, and how insane it is to treat lifelong debt like a normal rite of passage.Then we get into the Venezuela situation and the “we're running your country now” energy. I talk through the oil angle, the absurd press conference quotes, the action movie vibes, and the fact that we're living in a timeline where the mission gets described like a film trailer. I also connect it to the Fire Fest universe, because of course I do. If you thought we were done weaponizing bad ideas, welcome to 2026.I pivot into something practical for local business owners. Going live is the cheat code. I talk about real examples like Amici's Pizza and Connor's hot dog cart pulling insane local traction by streaming consistently. If you run a storefront business and you need people to walk in and hand you money, stop treating your phone like the enemy. Put it on a tripod, throw on a mic, go live during your hours, talk to the chat between customers, and build local momentum. Then I give my favorite pro tip. Block people you know. Your audience isn't your high school class.We wrap with two more heavy hitters. Trisha Paytas saying she wants to run for Congress, and me realizing that if that's the bar, I might have a shot too. Then we close on the Pennsylvania grave robbery story that had everyone texting me. A guy allegedly stole over 100 sets of human remains and had them in his basement and storage unit. Skulls, bones, torsos, the whole nightmare. I break down the details, the local connections, the alleged selling angle, and how posting evidence on social media is the dumbest crime strategy imaginable.Season 6 is underway. It's already unhinged. More episodes, more podcasts, more studio builds, more chaos.Watch the episode. Then go to wawdpod.com to catch the latest uploads and the newest Season 6 drops.
Grab your coffee and join Megs & Jess for another episode where we catch up after a long holiday break with a yarn & yap!JESS' YOUTUBE CHANNEL!BERG BOX QUARTERLY!JOIN THE CROCHET BAES FACEBOOK GROUP!CROCHET BAES MERCH!SHUT UP & TAKE MY MONEY!FOLLOW OUR TIKTOK ACCOUNT!Got a question or comment? Send The Crochet Baes an email: thecrochetbaes@gmail.comFind Jessica & Berg's Nest Crochet online:-Website-TikTok-Instagram-Facebook-Email: bergsnestcrochet@gmail.comFind Megs & Megs Makes Crochet Online:-Etsy-TikTok-Link TreeThank you to Chan's Designs for creating The Crochet Baes beautiful logo!
Welcome back to this weeks episode where we are taking a deep dive into Stranger Things season 5. Listen in as we discuss the process of filming, fun facts and our own personal opinions on this show, whether that is good or bad. As always we are not doing it alone, we brought on good friends Sean, Brock and Megs.Always remember if you disagree with our takes, leave us a comment, let us know what you disagree with or what you did agree with. We always love to hear your opinion.If you would like more from your hosts and the guests that we bring on, go check out our social media to hear even moreStone Social MediaTikTok: Stone | Medical Movie ManInstagram : medicalmoviemanConor Social MediaTikTok: MovieSharkInstagram: MovieShark18YouTube: movieshark18Dan Social MediaTikTok: Reel TakesInstagram: reeltakesreviewsGood Will PodcastingTikTok: goodwillpodcastingInstagram: goodwillpodcastingYouTube: Good Will Podcasting
It's another edition of See It or Skip It, and this time Ian is joined by Kev and Megs as they click their heels, defy gravity (again), and head back to Oz for Wicked: For Good — the second chapter of the long-awaited big-screen adaptation of the Broadway phenomenon. But does Wicked: For Good stick the landing, or does splitting the story in two finally come back to haunt it? Ian, Kev, and Megs unpack whether this concluding chapter delivers the emotional payoff fans have been promised — or whether it buckles under the weight of expectation, spectacle, and inevitability. Is the heart still there? Do Elphaba and Glinda's journeys feel earned, devastating, and cathartic — or overly polished and pre-packaged? The trio dig into performances, musical moments, and whether the film earns its big themes about power, friendship, compromise, and legacy. Can a story everyone knows still surprise you? Does For Good justify its existence as a standalone film, or does it feel like the second act stretched to breaking point? All this and more in this week's See It or Skip It review of Wicked: For Good — and of course, Ian, Kev, and Megs will let you know if you should SEE IT or SKIP IT.
Episode 218 finds me recording the podcast home alone the day after Christmas because Megs is stuck on Long Island thanks to an ice storm, which leaves me, my dog, four vodka shots, and a microphone to unpack everything wrong with adulthood, holidays, politics, the internet, and money. I talk about why I am officially done opening gifts forever, why grown adults do not need Funko Pops or graphic tees, and why the only acceptable Christmas loopholes involve cash or household gifts Megs opens for both of us. I explain how family gatherings improve dramatically when you time edibles correctly, how the stress drops, the noise fades, and life feels manageable again. From there I break down Nicki Minaj taking a massive paycheck to headline Turning Point USA, flipping on years of public positions, praising politicians her audience opposes, ignoring the fact she cannot vote, and why the entire event felt calculated, uncomfortable, and hollow. I react to Joe Budden's response, the internet fallout, and why this move damaged trust across culture and fandom. I then roast the AI Christmas photo trend, the sparkly romper epidemic, bad prompts, lazy re-renders, and why most people do not resemble their AI alter ego despite pretending otherwise. I shut down the viral environmental panic posts about AI destroying the planet, explain why the water usage claims are misleading, and point out industries quietly doing far more damage while everyone yells at computers. I close by breaking down Logan Paul's Liquid Marketplace mess, the fractional ownership of the PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card, how money flowed in, payouts never landed, accountability disappeared, and why this situation looks like CryptoZoo with better branding and the same outcome. This episode is a full post-Christmas spiral covering family, money, internet delusion, celebrity hypocrisy, and why none of this should surprise anyone anymore.**********Disclaimer: We at the What are We Doing podcast want to make it clear that the views and opinions expressed in this video belong solely to the speakers or authors and do not represent the views and opinions held by YouTube, its partners, or its owners.We must also emphasize that the information contained in this video has been produced with no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding the validity, accuracy, reliability, completeness, legality, or usefulness of what is said or expressed. Therefore, we strongly advise that no one viewing or listening to this video should rely on the information presented herein.We want to make it clear that the speakers or authors in this video express their views in an "artistic" manner as defined within the YouTube guidelines and that this video is purely for entertainment purposes only.
“I just want to be loved… preferably by Christmas.” Join Ian, Liam (always listed second), Megs & Kev for our 310th episode as we swap mirror-lined jealousies and boxing-laden family dramas for frosted cottages, floppy fringes, and Nancy Meyers' warm, impractical kitchens with The Holiday (2006). Crack open the mulled wine, argue about accents, and prepare to answer the most important seasonal question of all: is this even a Christmas film… or is it secretly a New Year's movie pretending to care about tinsel? This week we discuss: Whether The Holiday qualifies as a Christmas film at all — or if it's really a New Year's movie wearing a festive jumper, pressed into service only because our Patreon members voted it in as the Christmas review. How Ian possibly survives reviewing a film starring Cameron Diaz — given his long, storied, and deeply felt loathing toward her screen presence. How Megs approaches a film built around Jack Black — an actor she famously does not enjoy - despite her choices of undergarments - especially when he's positioned as a romantic lead. Nancy Meyers' world-building — does the film ever show us emotion, or does it rely entirely on characters telling us exactly how they feel at all times? Cameron Diaz's Amanda — chaotic, guarded, and allergic to crying. Is this performance misunderstood… or exactly why Ian struggles? Kate Winslet's Iris — earnest, wounded, endlessly self-sacrificing. Is she the emotional heart of the film or a fantasy of suffering femininity? Jude Law's Graham — peak Meyers male fantasy, or walking red flag wrapped in knitwear? Jack Black's Miles — pretentious douchebag, charming underdog, or the film's secret emotional MVP? The dual-location structure — England vs. LA, coziness vs. confidence. Does the contrast deepen the story or just sell vibes? The film's relationship with grief, loneliness, and romantic recovery — is it sincere, or comfort-food cinema avoiding real mess? Kev weighs in on the soundtrack and score cues — emotional shorthand or effective storytelling tool? Can we get over the plotholes? Who goes to LA to visit a house sight unseen and who leaves their dog behind for someone else to look after? The ending(s) — festive payoff, narrative convenience, or emotional earnedness? Haven't they just chosen a false ending once you really look at it? And finally, whether The Holiday is the Best Film Ever — or simply the most aggressively rewatchable seasonal comfort movie ever made. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Paul Komoroski Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
“I'm not a stepping stone.” Join Ian, Liam & Megs for our 309th episode as we step into the sweat-soaked gyms, fractured families, and hard-won resilience of David O. Russell's The Fighter (2010). Lace up the gloves, tape the wrists, and prepare for a story about loyalty, damage, and the cost of fighting your way out of the place you came from. We're bragging about knocking down Sugar Ray Leonard this week as we discuss: Christian Bale's extraordinary, Oscar-winning transformation — volatile, compulsive, heartbreaking. Is this one of the great supporting performances of modern cinema? Mark Wahlberg as Micky Ward — or is he just playing Mark Wahlberg with less swearing? Amy Adams' breakout performance — sharp, grounded, and unflinching. Did the camera take advantage of her though? The family dynamic — love, obligation, manipulation, and control. When does support turn into sabotage? Megs breaks down the portrayal of working-class women — authenticity, resilience, and why the female characters feel unusually real for a boxing movie. Ian explores how The Fighter subverts the sports-film formula — less about glory, more about survival and self-definition. Is it even a boxing film? The documentary-style camerawork — raw, intimate, and invasive. How does the film blur the line between sports drama and social realism? The ethics of redemption — does Dicky earn his comeback, or does the film soften the damage he's done? Which member of the cast just couldn't forgive him The boxing itself — brutal, unromantic, and exhausting. Does stripping away spectacle make the fights hit harder? The ending — triumphant, restrained, emotionally complicated or underwhelming? We unpack what “winning” actually means here. And finally, whether The Fighter is the Best Film Ever — or simply one of the most honest American sports dramas of the 21st century. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Paul Komoroski Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
“I just want to be perfect.” Join Ian & Megs for our 308th episode as we step into the mirror-lined, razor-edged, emotionally fraught world of Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010). Lace up your shoes, crack your knuckles, and prepare to descend into obsession, duality, and tutu-level trauma. This week we discuss: Natalie Portman's extraordinary, Oscar-winning transformation — fragile ingénue, ruthless perfectionist, and fractured psyche in one. Mila Kunis as the effortless chaos to Nina's claustrophobic control — real threat or manifested paranoia? Aronofsky's visual language: reflections, doubles, textures, and body horror. How does he trap the audience inside Nina's deteriorating mind? The film's depiction of artistic pressure and perfectionism — when does ambition turn pathological? What other film could we not stop referencing whilst watching this film Megs questions the ballet accuracy (and the wildly inaccurate bits) — including the culture, the training, and the psychological toll Ian asks if the film does a good enough job educating the audience about ballet to make the film accessible We talk about how Black Swan functions as a companion piece to The Wrestler — obsession as both craft and self-destruction. The boundaries between reality and hallucination — when does the film stop being literal? Or was it metaphor all along? We examine the film's treatment of sexuality, identity, and agency through the lens of duality: White Swan vs. Black Swan, innocence vs. corruption, submission vs. liberation. The final performance — triumphant, tragic, transcendent? We unpack the film's unforgettable ending. And finally, whether Black Swan is the Best Film Ever — or simply one of the most hypnotic psychological thrillers of the 21st century. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE. We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Cheezy (with a fish on a bike) Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Paul Komoroski Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/