Low Culture Boil

Courtney and Amber close out the year with their favorite trash picks as of late. We're talking a latte the equivalent of drinking a Yankee Candle, the new Matrix, inexplicable Swedish family traditions, sparkly dresses, the works! Thank you trash patrons for a delightfully tacky year! Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

Take a trip with Amber and Courtney to the happiest, most aromatic, oil-soaked place on earth: Yankee Village. Yup, the gals get into Yankee Candles! There is perhaps no more audacious a leap from the utilitarian to the excess pleasure than the Yankee Candle, which crackles when lit due to all the additives. What's your flavor— Pink Lady Slipper? Silvery White Winters? Come on an olfactory journey with us and find out! Become a trash patron! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

For LCB's second live show, Rax and Amber— joined by Sean KB and Matt Christman—hold court and devote an entire hour to griping about the plague that is SantaCon. Highlights include: SantaCon's Anarchist origins in Denmark, slyly puking into your own hand in an UberPool, the SantaCon creeds, and a running commentary from the Big Man himself. Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultlureboil

Yes, it's everyone's favorite non-tabloid tabloid. But beyond the "Sexiest Man Alive" shtick and royal baby updates, we find a publication that has, dare we say, some semblance of a moral code? Nahh, but they pay out the ass for content! Poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva joins us to talk coming-of-age with People, the magazine's enduring relevance, and we all say goodbye to a dear friend in a special Gripe Zone. Become a trash patron! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

Rax and Amber take on the furry, slimy, ethereal, spooky, enigmatic world of cryptids. Pursuing their Cryptozoology degrees at (unaccredited) universities, our hosts explore what actually qualifies as a cryptid (is God one?), why we presume to know these creatures' intentions, an indignant Arthur Conan Doyle publicly stanning fairies, and more! Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

Rax and Amber are joined by Daniel Lavery to talk the phenomenon of self-help books. While some are tried-and-true classics, like AA's The Big Book, others offer more dubious advice that really make "take what works, leave the rest" impossible. What makes self-help books work? Are they all just designed to indulge an impulse that works for a moment, but ignore a more holistic approach? Do we really have to journal so much? Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

Black Mirror became trite, so some ingenious English producers decided to fast-track our dystopian descent with the reality show "The Circle". Amber is joined by Matt Christman, noted "Circle" fan, to talk the show's twists and turns (raids! blocks!), creepily segregated group activities, the nuances of yelling at the TV, and, of course, cat fishing. Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

Courtney is joined by American Prestige's Danny Bessner for a rundown of their favorite trash on film and television right now. From Ghostbusters: Afterlife to Succession, the dynamic duo talks about the vitality of movies in this current era, consuming high culture in a capitalist context, why Americans need their own versions of English shows, and more! Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

Rax and Courtney brave a screening of Food Network's first original Christmas story, "Candy Coated Christmas". Set in Peppermint Hollow, a world without race and class (but with every mint-forward food imaginable), this soulless story is notable more for its subtle Evangelical messages than its cinematic flair. Rax and Courtney break down the flick and all it says about Food Network's pivot to Hallmark-adjacent movies. Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

"Christian Girl Autumn", like many-a-meme, quickly took on a life of its own. But did we ever stop to ask what was behind the joyful trolling, the face tune dunking, the ironic celebration? Rax and Courtney get into it with the meme— what does the irony betray, what comes from latent misogyny, who is the proverbial Christian Girl, and more. Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil