Sentimental Garbage

Whether it's a baked potato in a M&S cafe, a Jane Norman shopping bag, or a limited-range of celebrity dresses at Topshop, there's nothing that gets our hearts racing or our wallets twitching like the high street. Fashion writer Lauren Bravo joins Caroline to talk about the nostalgia of the high street, the evolution of Christmas gift giving, the unique personalities of each shop (Warehouse is for cool girls who have long weekends in Berlin, end of) and the ever-changing world of retail. Lauren Bravo is the author of How To Break Up With Fast Fashion, What Would The Spice Girls Do? and has a novel coming in 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a very clear narrative on Julie & Julia, Nora Ephron's final feature film, and it's this: the Julia Child portions of the movie are heavenly, and the Julie Powell side of the movie is both infuriating and a drag. American Girl In Paris correspondent Fiona Zublin returns to the podcast to defend Amy Adams' performance but ends up bashing it just like everyone else. Still, for a movie that is so uneven, so confusing, and so curiously lacking in stakes... why is it so much fun to watch, and why do we cry by the end? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Young women's use of the word 'like' has been parodied for decades, but where did it come from, why do we use it, and why is it, like, so goddamn useful? Linguist and host of Sounds Like A Cult podcast Amanda Montell discusses the versatility of one of the most despised words in the English language, primarily because it's associated with teenage girls. We talked about female voices, how we perceive public speech, and the mystery of Elizabeth Holmes. Amanda Montell is the author of WordSlut and Cultish. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Janina Matthewson joins Caroline to discuss the legacy of Titanic, Rose as a protagonist, the camp factor of Billy Zane, the value of historical fiction, the feminist parable of Rose and the ship, the love story in Titanic, and the iconic scene symbolizing rejection of privilege. They also touch on photography dynamics and mention Janina's book and another podcast.

The Guardian once compared Maroon 5 to 'rats scavenging through pizza boxes', but to a generation of millennial women, they were as close to sex-positive as indie music was willing to get. Caroline and Cosmopolitan editor Catriona Innes talk about the rise and fall of Adam Levine, the mystery and allure of 'Jane', the fan fiction this album has inspired, how the way we thought and felt about sex was influenced by its existence, and of course, the insane beauty of Levine that almost seemed to be the architect of his downfall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to best-selling author Séamas O'Reilly's family, this is not just the superior Grease film, but a classic movie on a par with Jaws and Scarface. We discuss Michelle Pfeiffer's breathtaking star turn as Stephanie Zinone, the idea of Grease as a genre of film, our hatred of squares, and a lot else. Séamas O'Reilly is the author of Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? and the features editor of The Fence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author, witch and host of Your Magic Michelle Tea talks about one of the most guilt-ridden feminine practices of all: magic and witchcraft. Caroline and Michelle talk about tarot, astrology, belief, having an altar, Catholic childhoods and devotion. Michelle is the author of many books, including Modern Tarot, Against Memoir, Black Wave, How to Grow Up and more. She has a weekly podcast about magic called Your Magic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I AM big... it's the pictures that got small." Drag Race UK star Joe Black joins us to talk about the camp Billy Wilder classic that took the best of gothic literature and the best of old Hollywood to make one of the best movies of all time. We talk about the blurred lines between fact and fiction, the craziness of the monkey funeral, the fear of age within the entertainment system, the unique fascination of silent cinema, and much more. Joe Black is a drag queen and cabaret artist based in Brighton. Check out their website for tour dates: https://www.misterjoeblack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mona Lisa Smile was a 2003 movie about women's education in the 1950s, and it was also the first Julia Roberts drama to spectacularly fail. We talk a lot about the negative reception to the film – in some cases, the negative reception from the cast itself. We discuss movies about education, and why no one ever seems to have quite the same high standards of filmmaking when it comes to making movies about men. We also talk about women who act against their own best interests, TERFs, evolving view points and whether Giselle would write a sex book. This one goes all over the shop but it's a really cosy and fun talk, just like the film! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coin Operated Boy Tom McInnes is back and we're here to cry about Amanda Palmer. Amanda Palmer is a singer, songwriter and performance artist who first rose to fame in the early 2000s with her band, The Dresden Dolls. After singles like Coin Operated Boy and Girl Anachronism, The Dresden Dolls became a staple of indie music and were known for their cabaret-inspired aesthetic and wild live shows. Amanda has since become a solo artist, releasing several albums under her own name and becoming one of the first major artists to use a crowd-funding model to fund her work. She has attracted many critiques over the years: both for the lyrical content of her music as well as her behaviour on social media. She is currently married to the author Neil Gaiman.PLAYLIST OF THE SONGS WE TALK ABOUT HERE: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0SgYWvoAKB8srS7sNWOCRM?si=1cbc904906774151 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.