Straight Up

In light of Kate Middleton’s recent announcement (and the prior ‘where’s Kate’ internet circus), this week we debate the fraught but symbiotic relationship between media and monarchy, from what ‘right’ we as the public have to access to the royal family, to previous privacy breaches like tampongate, Kate’s topless holiday pics and the hounding of Harry and Meghan. Next up is Ellie’s favourite new podcast discovery, Sounds Like A Cult, about the modern day cults we all follow. A tale of Lululemon leggings and murder ensues, followed very fittingly by Kathleen’s review of Netflix’s new true crime drama The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping. A shocking look at ‘disciplinary schools’, we found this especially fascinating considering our recent dive into Paris Hilton’s mission to have the industry shut down. Enjoy huns and please do rate review and subscribe as well as shooting us a DM on Insta ⁠⁠@straightuppodThanks so much to our partners:Innermost Nutrition, our favourite new plant protein that's actually really good for you, full of immune-boosting ingredients, a whopping 31g of plant protein and no nasty additives. It's stocked in Ocado, John Lewis, and Soho House, or visit LiveInnermost.comFlare, which makes the best earplugs for light sleepers: tiny, unobtrusive, with memory foam balls that perfectly moulds to your ear, and they don't fall out! Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠London Nootropics, our fave adaptogenic coffee that naturally actually boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. We are obsessed and you will be too! Get 20% OFF YOUR BOX with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reccs discussed: The Princess Of Wales’s Decision To Share Her Cancer Diagnosis Represents A Powerful Break From Royal Tradition, British Vogue Sounds like a Cult podcast The Program on Netflix The Disney Adult Industrial Complex, New Statesman The Pulling, by Adele Dumont Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Male infertility accounts for half of all IVF cases, so why does society so often consider it a ‘women’s issue’? We get into the taboo around fertility and masculinity, as well as the thorny topics of egg freezing, the 'queer tax' and the commodification of reproduction in this second part of our exploration of why more and more people are putting off having children. We also dive into plenty of other unspeakable truths, from 'unnatural' parents, the fantasy mother vs monster mother tropes in Hollywood, and loss of identity. Plus, we discuss some of the most joyous things about being a parent, how social media is shaping parenthood norms, and much more.Reccos discussed Stand Up to Infertility,  BBC 'Elizabeth Day: At 45 I will never be a mother. I’ve made peace with it', The Times Magpie by Elizabeth Day The Birth of My Daughter, The Death of My Marriage by Leslie Jamison, New Yorker Laura Jackson on Grace Beverley's podcast Why Must We Pay Queer Tax? the Guardian 'I’m a sexual and single but wanted to become a mum’, Stylist Straight Up with Tove Lo, and Straight Up with BabyQueen Diary of a CEO: No.1 Neuroscientist: "Kids will make you unhappier" I chose my marriage over having kids by Ruby Warrington, The Times The School for Bad Mothers, Jessamine Chan Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel The false escapism of soft girls and trad wives, Time  How Long Can You Wait To Have A Baby? The AtlanticThanks so much to our partners:@flareaudio makes the best earplugs for light sleepers: tiny, unobtrusive, with memory foam balls that perfectly moulds to your ear, and they don't fall out! Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠London Nootropics, our fave adaptogenic coffee that naturally actually boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. We are obsessed and you will be too! Get 20% OFF YOUR BOX  with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ambl, the incredible app that's like a personal pocket concierge. Perfect for our spontaneous huns who need a last minute dinner reservation in London, Ambl matches you with the restaurants with real-time availability, all the while letting you fine-tune your choice with filters from vibe to price range.⁠⁠ Search Ambl in the app store, or visit https://www.ambl.co Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The startling new data revealing the sharply declining fertility rate in the UK taps into the fraught and personal conversations that we’ve been having since turning 30: are we ready to have kids, financially and emotionally? How has everything from increased gender equality and the thriving child free movement to social media and the pandemic skip affected our reasoning? We try to answer all these questions and more in this two-part series on the societal and cultural issues shaping how we think about parenthood in modern Britain. Next week we will discuss: male infertility, IVF & egg freezing, the child free movement, the taboo of the ‘unnatural’ mother, how pop culture has influenced our idea of parenthood, plus loads more listener DMs. If you don’t feel like your experience has been represented in, shoot us a DM or email us at hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk as this is very much just a conversation starter! We’d love to keep the conversation going. Also don’t forget to vote in our poll, leave us a review, and share this ep with a friend :)Thanks so much to our partners:@flareaudio makes the best earplugs for light sleepers: tiny, unobtrusive, with memory foam balls that perfectly moulds to your ear, and they don't fall out! Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠London Nootropics, our fave adaptogenic coffee that naturally actually boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. We are obsessed and you will be too! Get 20% OFF YOUR BOX  with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ambl, the incredible app that's like a personal pocket concierge. Perfect for our spontaneous huns who need a last minute dinner reservation in London, Ambl matches you with the restaurants with real-time availability, all the while letting you fine-tune your choice with filters from vibe to price range.⁠ Search Ambl in the app store, or visit https://www.ambl.co Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have there ever been so many women divided by a film as Poor Things? We get into the controversy ahead of the Oscars, and report on all the BTS gossip from our gals night at the Brit Awards (which is why we went live a little early this week! ). Plus, we dissect some seriously juicy gossip surrounding Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Mescal, and, following last week’s chat, get into the fascinating real life ‘Shitty Media Men’ list that inspired Yomi Adegoke’s book.Enjoy huns and please do rate review and subscribe as well as shooting us a DM on Insta ⁠@straightuppodReccos discussed: I Want to Live Like Normal People, The Fence Extraordinary, Disney Plus Poor Things, Disney Plus I Started the Media Men List, The CutThanks so much to our partners:@flareaudio makes the best earplugs for light sleepers: tiny, unobtrusive, with memory foam balls that perfectly moulds to your ear, and they don't fall out! Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠London Nootropics, our fave adaptogenic coffee that naturally actually boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. We are obsessed and you will be too! Get 20% OFF YOUR BOX  with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ambl, the incredible app that's like a personal pocket concierge. Perfect for our spontaneous huns who need a last minute dinner reservation in London, Ambl matches you with the restaurants with real-time availability, all the while letting you fine-tune your choice with filters from vibe to price range. Search Ambl in the app store, or visit https://www.ambl.co Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After months of her dominating the news cycle, we’re finally getting down to it and talking about Taylor Swift. From her embodiment of girlhood to the problematic PR moments she’s generated over the years, we dissect Swiftie mania and interrogate our own feelings towards pop’s brightest star. Next up is a review of debut novel The List by Yomi Adekoke, a gripping exploration of online shaming, cancel culture and carefully crafted celebrity in the wake of movements like #metoo. Then, Netflix’s latest true crime offering and the first from Louis Theroux’s production house, Can  I Tell You A Secret, continues the theme of cyber-stalking, while Sandra Bullock’s Lost City Of D, a fun adventure satire about a depressed erotic novelist starring Channing Tatum, Brad Pitt and Daniel Radcliffe, offers some light relief at the end! Enjoy huns and please do rate review and subscribe as well as shooting us a DM on Insta @straightuppodReccs covered: Taylor Swift and the Good Girl Trap by Anne Helen Peterson, Substack  The List by Yomi Adekoke, available via all booksellers  Can I Tell You A Secret, Netflix The Lost City of D, NetflixThanks so much to our partner @flareaudio for this ep, the cutting edge company behind the Calmer earbuds, which soften horrible sounds like chewing, tapping and loud breathing for sensitive souls like us (misophonia!). If you’re someone who gets distracted easily then you absolutely NEED these in your life. Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who is it that you’re really dressing for? That’s the Q we’re debating this week in light of Emily Ratajkowski’s recent Glamour interview, where she says she “kind of feels like everybody’s bullshitting when people say, ‘Oh, no, I’m doing this for the girlies.’” Also: Sydney Sweeney’s Anyone But You, the ‘rom com with an edge’ that was one of the most talked about films of the past year, thanks to the cheating rumours surrounding the costars. And what about the bizarre pizza restaurant allegations in relation to Sydney’s fianceé? Finally, our actual verdict on J.Lo’s new album film, and the viral article making some much-needed noise in the fashion industry by Paloma Elsesser on the Price of Being 'First'.Get in touch with thoughts, reccos and anything else you fancy by sending us a DM⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Insta! We absolutely love hearing from you. Thanks so much to our partner @flareaudio for this ep. Flare is the cutting edge company behind the Calmer earbuds, which soften horrible sounds like chewing, tapping and loud breathing for sensitive souls like us (misophonia!). If you’re someone who gets distracted easily then you absolutely NEED these in your life. Grab a pair at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Reccs discussed:  Dexter's signet in One Day is the next Connell's chain, GQ Anyone But You (streaming online)  Emily Ratajkowski doesn’t ‘give a f*ck’ what you think, Glamour UK Body Type by Mikala Jamison, I Dress Sexy For Other People and So Do You, Substack The Bluestocking, Helen Lewis, The Real Problem with Anti-Woke Comedy, Substack  The Unpublishable by Jessica DeFino, Substack The Price of Being 'First' by Paloma Elsesser for The Cut  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did J.Lo become one of the most iconic celebrities of all time? In honour of her ninth album, which is an ode to her fourth husband Ben Affleck, we look back at Jennifer Lopez’s extraordinary life and career, from the horrific fall out from her 2003 film Gigli (which broke her and Ben up the first time and left her ‘eviscerated’ by the press), to her out-and-proud, very meta obsession with the wedding industrial complex. Get in touch with thoughts, reccos and anything else you fancy by sending us a DM ⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠ on Insta! We absolutely love hearing from you. Thanks so much to our partner @flareaudio for this ep. Flare is the cutting edge company behind the Calmer earbuds, which soften horrible sounds like chewing, tapping and loud breathing for sensitive souls like us (misophonia!). If you’re someone who gets distracted easily then you absolutely NEED these in your life. Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Mr and Mrs Smith reboot has landed on Amazon Prime and is already being dubbed the sexiest series on TV, starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as spies trying to save their marriage. We get into why this show is a million times better than the iconic Noughties film, covering everything from the Brangelina curse, to why original co-writer/ Mrs Smith Phoebe Waller-Bridge exited early on.Next is our cinema pick for the week, American Fiction, a publishing satire about a black writer who writes a ‘stereotypically ghetto’ novel as a joke, only for it to become a literary hit. We discuss how accurately the film skewers white liberals as well as the concept of selling out for commercial gain, which brought us seamlessly onto the highly relevant new Vox article Everyone’s A Sell Out Now. Finally, a review of the hotly-anticipated new Netflix adaptation of David Nicholls’  iconic One Day in all its gorgeous nostalgia, with your cheat-sheet guides to leads Leo Woodall (White Lotus) and Ambika Mod (This is going To Hurt). Get in touch with thoughts, reccos and anything else you fancy by sending us a DM ⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠ on Insta! We absolutely love hearing from you. Thanks so much to our partners for this ep:Flare, the cutting edge company behind the Calmer earbuds, which soften horrible sounds like chewing, tapping and loud breathing for sensitive souls like us (misophonia!). If you’re someone who gets distracted easily then you absolutely NEED these in your life. Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Yonder, the super cool lifestyle credit card that’s ideal for London Huns who want to get huge discounts and freebies across restaurants, bars, and fitness. Every point you spend is then redeemable against amazing experiences in the capital, with plenty of options for Valentine's Day! Sign up today at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠yondercard.com⁠⁠⁠⁠Recommendations covered:  Mr and Mrs Smith on Amazon Prime How Francesca Sloane Reimagined a More Relatable ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ The Hollywood Reporter Maya Erskine: ‘I looked at Angelina Jolie and thought, well, I can’t be her’ Fiona Sturges for The Guardian American Fiction, in cinemas now Everyone’s A Sell Out Now by Rachel Jennings for Vox One Day on Netflix Rev on BBC iPlayer Cat In Disbelief Of Dog’s Breath on TikTok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ofc The Traitors finale fall out had to quickly be discussed prior to kicking off proceedings today, huns, followed by an analysis of the off-the-charts chemistry between Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott in All of Us Strangers. Plus, Paul Mescal has been on the Louis Theroux podcast and, shocker, we’re still finding Louis’s narcissistic interview style annoying.  In the world of TV, Kathleen recommends Nicole Kidman’s glossy new Amazon Prime thriller Expats, where we debate why Nicole has received criticism over her work — professional and cosmetic. Speaking of cosmetic surgery, we get into the deeply disturbing reports of children’s 12-step anti-ageing routines. Finally, we dive into Netflix’s latest true crime offering America Nightmare, which saw a kidnapping case tragically bungled by the media’s misogynistic obsession with Rosamund Pike thriller Gone Girl. Get in touch with thoughts, reccos and anything else you fancy by sending us a DM @straightuppod on Insta! We absolutely love hearing from you. Thanks so much to our brilliant partner for this ep:Flare Audio, whose incredible, studio-quality JET earphones are absolutely top-notch at a highly affordable price, and perfect for listening to our favourite film soundtracks during awards season. They're even on sale atm, so get yours at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Recommendations discussed: All of Us Strangers (in cinemas now)  Paul Mescal on the Louis Theroux podcast  Paul Mescal: I’m Not Just the Token Irish Hunk (The Times) Andrew Haigh interview (Substack, Evan Ross Katz) Expats (Amazon Prime)  They Always Say the Younger You Start, The Better (The Cut) Why Does Gen Z Believe It's 'Aging Like Milk'? (New York Times)  American Nightmare (Netflix) American Nightmare review in the Guardian by Leila Latif  Griselda (Netflix)  Euphoria S2 E1 (HBO) The Traitors S2 (BBC iPlayer) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You asked and so we’ve delivered huns, with a deepdive into Sofia Coppola’s new film Priscilla, starring none other than the internet’s new boyfriend Jacob Elordi. We discuss how the film sits uncomfortably within the grey area between love and coercive control, and whether it would have been described as grooming in our current era. Plus, everything we know about Jacob Elordi to date: from first roles and first loves to his thoughts on everything from handbags to celebrity interviews. Consider us obsessed. Also, what the tween craze for Stanley Cups says about girls today (with a trip down memory lane to our own school status symbols) and whether the latest, hilarious Paul Mescal rumours could possibly be true. Let us know what you thought of the film, and as ever us all your celeb intel, by sending us a DM @straightuppod on Insta!Thanks so much to our brilliant partners for this ep:Flare Audio, whose incredible, studio-quality JET earphones are absolutely top-notch at a highly affordable price, and perfect for listening to our favourite film soundtracks during awards season. They're even on sale until the end of Jan, so head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Yonder, the super cool lifestyle credit card that’s ideal for London Huns who want to get huge discounts and freebies across food, drink, and fitness. Every point you spend is then redeemable against amazing experiences in the capital, from a swanky dinner at Frenchie to authentic Thai at Plaza! Sign up today at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠yondercard.com⁠⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.