Round Up: Podcasts, Books, and Bingeing an old show

Podcasts:

Armchair Expert: Monica Lewinsky: Hello, my name is Brittny and I love Dax Shepard and Monica Padman. And this episode of Armchair Expert solidified that love. I was 10 years old when the “scandal” broke in 1998, and I’ll be truthful, I do remember thinking she was a “slut,” even if I’m not really sure I knew the full context of what that word meant. It’s incredible to think about everything she’s been through; her family background is fascinating, she had an affair with the president, she confided in her best friend who taped her phone calls and leaked them to the federal government. But was all in all legal because it was a prosecution trial. She talks so much about how after the scandal she tried to prove her worth and intelligence, which is just so sad. In today’s world, I hope that we would treat her different, but my brain and heart tell me I know better. Anyway, this was one of the best episodes of Armchair I’ve listened to, and really helped me correct my thinking about Monica Lewinsky.

Fresh Air, Lizzo: I was SO excited to see this pop up on my podcast feed, and boy did it deliver! I’ve listened to dozens of Fresh Air interviews, but never once had I heard a guest challenge Terry Gross. I know there are some previous interviews that get a bit contentious (apparently Richard Simmons’ interview from the earlier 2000’s is nutty) but those were before my time. Anyway, in the first 10 minutes of the interview, Terry asks Lizzo about posing nude on her album cover, to which Terry prefaces that it was “bold” for Lizzo to do so. Lizzo eloquently refutes Terry and asks her if she is saying that because she is fat, because plenty of thin women have posed nude on their album covers. It’s an extremely fair point, and was the first time I had ever heard someone push-back on Terry while being interviewed by her, and I really admired Lizzo for doing so. You can hear Terry get a bit flustered, and while I don’t think she intended any harm, it’s clear that she was uncomfortable. But, I was impressed with how both women forged on and didn’t let that hiccup sour the interview. It was still pleasant and enjoyable, as they go on to speak about how Lizzo is a classically trained flutist and her relationship with Prince.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: An Interview with Terry Gross: When I saw this episode pop up on my feed, I thought to myself “I hope Linda brings up the Lizzo interview.” Well, she did, and it delivers. They address it head on, and Terry basically says that any time she sees a woman on an album cover or the like, her concern is that, as a feminist, it’s for men and/or to sell something. However, I think that’s an old feminist way of thinking; I think women now pose nude as a statement of empowerment, and because they can. It’s clear that her views of feminism are shaped from her experiences, where a new generation’s are now different because of how we have evolved. Anyway, they also talk about Terry’s preparation styles for interviews, if she ever gets intimidated when she interviews people she really likes, etc.

The Thing About Pam: It’s been a while since there was a truly good true crime podcast, and while this one I would say is captivating, it didn’t compare to Dirty John, which in my opinion is the best true-crime podcast ever. What’s nice is that it’s a quick listen- about 30 minute episodes and 6 episodes long. Basically, the story is about a woman who is murdered, her husband is charged… but weird facts about her best friend come out. I’d give it a 7-8/10, but it was a good story.

Books:

Normal People: I loved this book so much, it inspired me to do something I’ve been meaning to do for years now, which is start a book club! This book has very mixed reviews, and I can definitely see where people’s frustrations lie: from the author’s writing style (lack of quotations to denote talking amongst characters) to frustrations with the characters themselves (these characters are majorly flawed, but may be the case for how and why they are normal people). I appreciate its rawness, where you could literally feel the anxiety these characters had in various situations.

Three Women: To quote my friend Danielle and her review of Normal People, for Three Women I was expecting “a movie in IMAX with fireworks but instead I got a black and white silent film.” This book tells the story of, you guessed it, three women, and their relationships with sex. I only found one woman’s story, Maggie’s, to be compelling. I thought the other two were either uninteresting or repetitive.

TV:

Downtown Abbey: Mike and I have a bit of a hard time finding a tv show or movie we can both sit down and watch. We’ve had some success with The Crown, Friday Night Lights, Handmaids Tale (only the first season- I had to stop at the second because it got too crazy for me) to name the few. So when we were desperate about a month and a half ago, I suggested Downton Abbey, and he indulged me like the wonderful husband he is. I watched Downton years ago, but stopped watching after an incident in season 4 that scarred me. Anyway, Mike ended up getting absolutely hooked, and we watched all six seasons in the course of I’d say 4 weeks. We ended up having so many conversations about the characters, their depth, the time-period, etc. It was really fun to have a show both of us loved so much, and we can’t wait for season 3 of The Crown to come back this Sunday!