Landon Y. Jones joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the underbelly of fame — including its corrosive effects on culture. And we’ll also hear about stars using their platforms for good.
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Hollywood’s big bet on Barbie
Journalist Kelly Gilblom talks about the gamble Warner Bros. is taking on Barbie – and the attempted modernization of Mattel behind the scenes.
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How lesbian culture went mainstream
Jill Gutowitz discusses her personal essays about how lesbian culture went mainstream and her own place in it, using pop culture as a measure of society’s values.
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Does reality TV understand Black women?
Bethonie Butler covers television and pop culture for The Washington Post, and she joins us to discuss the stereotypes these shows often play into, and if progress is being made on television.
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Tony Soprano lives on
Willy Staley joins us to discuss our obsession with mafia stories, cynicism in the decade the show premiered compared to today, and what its new-found popularity says about the current state of America.
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When MTV Got Real
Amanda Ann Klein, associate professor of film studies at East Carolina University, joins us to discuss why MTV moved away from rock stars and shifted to ordinary people living wild lives.
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Refusing to Be Defined by Disability
Journalist Keah Brown joins us to talk about how she moved beyond self-pity to become an advocate for people with disabilities.
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The Comforts Of Pop Culture
Roy Wood Jr., Nate Sloan, Charlie Harding, and Linda Holmes, join us to talk about how pop culture can at least provide a respite in a world of bad news.
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Why Trump Is THE T.V. President
James Poniewozik, chief television critic for The New York Times, joins us to argue that Donald Trump represents the melding of politics and pop culture.
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The Woman Writing Black Panther
Nigerian-American writer Nnedi Okorafor joins us to talk about writing black characters into popular culture – including her recent work on the Marvel “Black Panther” franchise.
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The Seoul Of Korea
We’ll talk this hour about how South Korea is attempting to become a superpower by taking over the world of entertainment with the author of The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture.
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