All across our social feeds, girlies online are embracing religion and creating memes out of catholicism. Whether you've bought the Praying 'father, son, and Holy Spirit' bikini, or still can't stop thinking about Julia Fox praying in her cut editorial - christianity is back baby! But is this appropriation of religious iconography a harmless foray into aesthetics, a subversion of their power, or simply in bad taste? We're discussing the origins of the trend, its current incarnation, and if we should be aestheticising a religion that still harms so many people. Please note, this episode was recorded prior to the overturning of Roe vs Wade on the 24th of June 2022, we'll be discussing this news in upcoming episodes.Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Want to support the podcast? If you're a brand or organisation that could help us continue the show, Please fill in this form. Can't wait to hear from you!We'd love to know what you think about our podcast. Fill out this survey here to have your say <3 Have an opinion and want to be featured on an upcoming episode? We want to hear from YOU! Send us your thoughts on this episode to ione@polyesterzine.com, leave a review, or drop us a DM on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Love Island is back! And as the reality series returns, so does the age old discourse; should reality tv be inclusive? Or is inclusivity on these shows a poisoned chalice that sets the 'diverse' contestants up for failure? This week Ione and Halima are discussing whether its best to let reality tv be trashy, guilty pleasures that do not reflect the wider world; or if there's a better way forward, in which inclusivity is not retroactively fitted and those of us who love the genre aren't left with a bad taste in our mouths. Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Want to support the podcast? If you're a brand or organisation that could help us continue the show, Please fill in this form. Can't wait to hear from you!We'd love to know what you think about our podcast. Fill out this survey here to have your say <3 Have an opinion and want to be featured on an upcoming episode? We want to hear from YOU! Send us your thoughts on this episode to ione@polyesterzine.com, leave a review, or drop us a DM on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this live Sleepover Club special, Halima and contributing culture editor Misha MN sit down with director Ninja Thyberg to discuss her debut feature film, Pleasure. A raw and groundbreaking exploration of the adult film industry, we chat with Ninja about her decision to use actors from the adult industry, maintaining safety on set, challenging conceptions about porn, how she went from anti-porn activist to advocate, and much more.We've also teamed up with MUBI to offer 30 free days of MUBI to all podcast listeners, meaning you can check out the film and join in our digital watch party this Monday, 20th, over on our instagram @polyesterzine. Click here to watch the film! Pleasure is now showing on MUBI in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Turkey and Latin AmericaOrder Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Want to support the podcast? If you're a brand or organisation that could help us continue the show, Please fill in this form. Can't wait to hear from you!We'd love to know what you think about our podcast. Fill out this survey here to have your say <3 Have an opinion and want to be featured on an upcoming episode? We want to hear from YOU! Send us your thoughts on this episode to ione@polyesterzine.com, leave a review, or drop us a DM on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Musicians are being held captive! Forced to step onto the content treadmill and churn out TikTok's that they supposedly don't want to make, this week Halima and Ione are discussing whether the social media platform is helpful or harmful to those in the industry. We'll be dissecting the impact of those videos; the ones in which musicians lament the fact their labels are forcing them to partake in TikTok trends. As well as debating autonomy, whether forcing artist's into content creation is stifling their creativity, or if they're just being snobs towards a platform that isn't necessarily made for them. Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Want to support the podcast? If you're a brand or organisation that could help us continue the show, Please fill in this form. Can't wait to hear from you!We'd love to know what you think about our podcast. Fill out this survey here to have your say <3 Have an opinion and want to be featured on an upcoming episode? We want to hear from YOU! Send us your thoughts on this episode to ione@polyesterzine.com, leave a review, or drop us a DM on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DeuxMoi has been unmasked, with the famed gossip account being run by two socialite-adjacent white New York women. In honour of her no longer anonymity, we're discussing the legacy of modern gossip accounts. Do celebrities set themselves up for this type of attention, or do gossip accounts encourage a gross surveillance state? And once these accounts aren't anonymous anymore, can they ever retain their integrity? Especially when they start monetising their content? Ione and Halima argue it out on the podcast this week! Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Want to support the podcast? If you're a brand or organisation that could help us continue the show, Please fill in this form. Can't wait to hear from you!We'd love to know what you think about our podcast. Fill out this survey here to have your say <3 Have an opinion and want to be featured on an upcoming episode? We want to hear from YOU! Send us your thoughts on this episode to ione@polyesterzine.com, leave a review, or drop us a DM on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard civil trial comes to an end, Ione and Halima are discussing the case. From why the internet is so anti-Amber, what the discourse surrounding it says about how we treat white men, and whether #MeToo is well and truly finished. Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Want to support the podcast? If you're a brand or organisation that could help us continue the show, Please fill in this form. Can't wait to hear from you!We'd love to know what you think about our podcast. Fill out this survey here to have your say <3 Have an opinion and want to be featured on an upcoming episode? We want to hear from YOU! Send us your thoughts on this episode to ione@polyesterzine.com, leave a review, or drop us a DM on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Ione is in the hot seat, as she sits down for an interview with our one and only Halima to dish all the deets about her debut non-fiction book, Poor Little Sick Girls! Exploring how Wellness is oppressive, self-love is a trap, hustling is a health risk and it's all the patriarchy's fault, Halima and Ione delve into the process of writing the book that has been dubbed 'the anti girlboss bible'. The pair also discuss how we can pull feminism from the rubble of commodification, oversharing, representation of illness, and much more Pre-order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Want to support the podcast? If you're a brand or organisation that could help us continue the show, Please fill in this form. Can't wait to hear from you!We'd love to know what you think about our podcast. Fill out this survey here to have your say <3 Have an opinion and want to be featured on an upcoming episode? We want to hear from YOU! Send us your thoughts on this episode to ione@polyesterzine.com, leave a review, or drop us a DM on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're told being confident is the answer to all of life's problems. That to be a good feminist, or friend, or to excel at your job and learn to love yourself, you must be confident. But when did empowerment become dependent on our ability to be believe in ourselves? And is the cult of confidence merely a distraction that keeps us from tackling real systemic oppression?This week Ione and Halima are discussing how the pressure to be confidence is actually holding us back, and how we can find a balance between individualism masked as self improvement and believing in ourselves for the greater good. Pre-order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Want to support the podcast? If you're a brand or organisation that could help us continue the show, Please fill in this form. Can't wait to hear from you!We'd love to know what you think about our podcast. Fill out this survey here to have your say <3 Have an opinion and want to be featured on an upcoming episode? We want to hear from YOU! Send us your thoughts on this episode to ione@polyesterzine.com, leave a review, or drop us a DM on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the last five years, we've all collectively been lamenting the downfall of instagram. First, they took our chronological feed. Then, they pivoted to Reels. But as we all become increasingly exhausted with the platform, why can't we let go? And with the reaction to Elon Musk buying Twitter being so intense, do social media platforms owe anything to their users?This week we're discussing how Instagram has become culturally void, whether TikTok is the future, and whether insta's downfall is an inevitable part of the cycle of social media or our reluctance to let it go signals a greater shift in our culture.Pre-order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Want to support the podcast? If you're a brand or organisation that could help us continue the show, Please fill in this form. Can't wait to hear from you!We'd love to know what you think about our podcast. Fill out this survey here to have your say <3 Have an opinion and want to be featured on an upcoming episode? We want to hear from YOU! Send us your thoughts on this episode to ione@polyesterzine.com, leave a review, or drop us a DM on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lived experience is a debate that comes up time and time again in our cultural landscape - should only gay people play gay roles on-screen? Should white people be able to tell people of colours stories? And should non-disabled people be allowed to portray those with disability? This week Ione and Halima are discussing this article, and all of the discourse surrounding our lived experiences. We're talking about whether the lived experience argument is based in fact, or is merely a myth conjured by those more privileged who feel oppressed by the limits of storytelling. And why instead of focusing on this age-old debate, we should draw our focus towards ways of actually letting our voices be heard. Pre-order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Want to support the podcast? If you're a brand or organisation that could help us continue the show, Please fill in this form. Can't wait to hear from you!We'd love to know what you think about our podcast. Fill out this survey here to have your say <3 Have an opinion and want to be featured on an upcoming episode? We want to hear from YOU! Send us your thoughts on this episode to ione@polyesterzine.com, leave a review, or drop us a DM on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.