Episoder
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*Full episode on Patreon!*
Welcome to Part II of my conversation with my friend and the writer Shaan Sachdev. In this episode, we tackle Beyoncé as a Stargirl: how she handles controversy, deploys narrative control, and the Dream / Threat she represents. We discuss who she offends, and in which ways the jury is still out on her morality, despite her not being an edge-seeker in her personal life. We also wonder about what a Beyoncé successor would even look like, and worry about the decline of performance value in the singer-dancers of today.
Plus, a very special announcement for our Patreon community!
Beyoncé at Glastonbury (2011)
Read Shaanâs work and listen to Diva Discourse
Subscribe to the STARGIRL Patreon! -
Welcome to Part 1 of our Beyoncé special, with my friend and the Beyoncé evangelist Shaan Sachdev! This week, we take it all the way back to Wayne Koestenbaum’s 1993 book The Queen’s Throat, the seminal text on the Diva, fandom, and Vicariousness. We discuss the border between true Divadom and generalized cuntiness, and use Shaan’s recent piece in the Wall Street Journal to discuss Beyoncé’s supreme athleticism and what it means, then, to watch her age.
Shaan Sachdev is a cultural critic and essayist based in New York. He writes about ontology, city life, and his two favorite Divas: Hannah Arendt and Beyoncé. He co-hosts Diva Discourse, a Beyoncé-centered podcast.
Discussed:
Tinx’s podcast episode on weightlifting
Alix Earle for Sports Illustrated Swim
Kim Kardashian and Chloe Sevigny for Variety
The Queen’s Throat: Homosexuality, Opera, and the Mystery of Desire, Wayne Koestenbaum (1993)
“Beyoncé the Athlete Is Adjusting to Midlife” Shaan in WSJ
“The Key to Beyoncé’s Lasting Success” Shaan in Slate
“Beyoncé Is Finally Embracing Her Role as Fairy Godmother to the Gays” Shaan in The Daily Beast“Taylor Swift’s Invisible Merchandise” Shaan in Salon -
Manglende episoder?
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*Full episode on Patreon!*
Cameron Yuen, PT, DPT, CSCS, is a performance physical therapist with a specialty in strength and conditioning, and the Director of Rehabilitation and Training and Bespoke Treatments in New York City. I worked with him in 2023 after I injured my lower back, and his coaching transformed both the way I approach training and my overall relationship to my body.
In this episode, we discuss the importance of strength, mobility, and motor control, how to approach injury and rehab, and simple ways to improve your health and longevity: resistance training, cardio, blood sugar management, sleep, and more. We also ask the question: Why is it important to have a healthy, well-functioning body?
Subscribe to the STARGIRL Patreon! -
*Full episode on Patreon!*
Celebrate two years of STARGIRL in this patron-only special episode, where we look back at the genesis of the project and check in on some of the Stargirls.
We discuss Tinx as a DJ, EmRata as a mom, the race to represent âmainstream white America,â what the heck is up in New York, and more. Plus, breaking my silence on Addisonâs downfall and "the Girls and Gays" as a market segmentation.
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Helloooo!!! Today weâre tackling the phenomenon of Paige Bueckers, college basketball star who has captured the nationâs attention with her skill, swag, and heart of gold. I talk about her TikTok explosion, the sexuality thatâs projected onto her, and how her wholesome silly vibe makes me excited to be alive.
Then, weâll hear from my little sister Nelly, a D1 runner who fills us in on all things NIL sponsorships, injury and recovery narratives, and the way Paige carries herself as a fun and faithful team leader. We also discuss the dynamic among the other top NCAA women's basketball playersâCaitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, etc.âand Paigeâs choice to not declare for the 2024 WNBA draft.
Follow Nell!
Discussed:
Ann Manov eviscerates Lauren Oyler in Bookforum
Paige and Janae Sims at the WNBA draft
WNBA red carpet
Amazing Paige videos: here, here, here, here
Paigeâs speech at the ESPY Awards 2021
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*Subscribe to the STARGIRL Patreon!*
This May marks two years of STARGIRL! As a birthday gift from me to you, Iâm unlocking the most recent episode of The Body Series, my conversation with Tao Lin. I decided it was so important that everyone needed to hear it! Subscribe to the whole series at Patreon.com/STARGIRLpod.
Tao and I talk about how we live our livesâour exercise and caffeine routines, experiences with pharmaceutical vs. naturally-occurring drugs, seeking magic, conceptions of the afterlife, the healing powers of beef, and much more. We also chat about Taoâs next book, on the environmental factors causing autism, and why itâs scary to submit ideas to a public whoâs ready to tear you down.
Follow Tao on Twitter!
Discussed:Trip: Psychedelics, Alienation, and Change Taoâs book (2018)âThe Story of Autism: How We Got Here, How We Healâ Taoâs essayLife After Life, Raymond Moody (1975)
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This week we welcome my friend and writer/editor Alana Pockros to tackle the work and persona of Lauren Oyler. We discuss how Lauren seized authority as the millennial literary critic, how her abandonment of the ârulesâ makes her work difficult to engage with critically, her famous distaste for Vulnerability, the Berlin piece (...), and what it means to be both brave and mean.
Plus, in my quarterly pulse check on Culture, I declare a massive return to all things folklore: earthy spirituality, magic, psychedelics, freak folk, boho chic, metal music, and more.
Follow Alana on Twitter!
Discussed:
Evidence of the Folkloric Return:
Joanna Newsom upcoming tour Timmy as Bob Dylan Kacey Musgraves profile by Allison P. David in the Cut âThe runwayânot TikTokâbrought back Boho Chicâ Madeleine Schulz in Vogue Business Rebecca Yarros books Sotce and @sighswoon Shanin Blake ayahuasca singer vibes Shawn Mendes + Hitomi: Page Six, Hola.com (lol!)Regarding Lauren Oyler:
Lauren at SantaCon for VICE (2017) âThe Miseducation of Lady Birdâ Oyler in The Baffler (2017) âHa ha! Ha ha!â Oyler on Trick Mirror in LRB (2020) âLauren Oyler thinks sheâs better than youâ Becca Rothfeld in Washington Post (2024) Interview with Lauren Oyler in Lit Hub (2024) Fake Accounts, Lauren Oyler (2021) No Judgment, Lauren Oyler (2024) âDance Factoryâ Lauren in Harperâs (2024) âWhatâs Your Type?â Merve Emre in NYRB (2024) Rachel Comey x NYRB collab -
*Full episode on Patreon*
This week, we welcome the writer Emmeline Clein to discuss her new book, Dead Weight, a history of eating disorders. She explains how the medical establishment created a diagnostic hierarchy that feeds into the latent competitiveness of the disease, how the impulse to ritualize your diet can both life-affirming and self-destructive, and how cultural characters like Karen Carpenter, Mischa Barton, and Simone Weil shaped her adolescent vision of the type of woman she should be. Thank you Emmeline!
Buy Dead Weight
Emmelineâs website
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Happy Spring! This week we explore the legacy of @treaclychild (RIP) in her ascent from Twitter darling to HBO executive producer (!!!). We explore why ironic self-debasement felt so electric in the late 2010s (and feels so boring now), the "Our Girl Made It" feeling, and what we lost as her persona drifted into caricature.
Mentioned:
Treadmill video
Shiva Baby poster
Weird moment after Balenciaga show?
Polyester Zine shoot (2022) -
*Subscribe to the STARGIRL Patreon!*
Hello, earth angels! This week Callie and I delve into the sensual world of our favorite YouTuber, @yaknowme_hitomi. We discuss her spiritual evolution from depressed NYC thrifter to fully realized health goddess, explore the Dream/Threat of the ethereal travel vlogger, and relish in our shared nostalgia for West Coast wanderlust circa 2013.
Mentioned:
Follow Hitomi on Youtube and Instagram
Hitomiâs life story video (2017)
Hitomi on Know Thyself podcast (2023)
Follow Callie on Twitter and subscribe to her podcast, Nonfiction with Callie Hitchcock! -
*Full episode on Patreon*
STARGIRL 2.0 is here! Introducing: The Body Series.
Embodiment has always been a central theme of STARGIRL, and we tackle it head on in The Body Series, a Patreon exclusive. In this sequence of conversations, I chat with writers and artists, fitness professionals, athletes/dancers/yogis, etc. whose work centers on the body.
Our first guest is writer Jordan Castroâwe discuss his recent Harperâs essay on weightlifting, how exercise changed our relationships to the world, why certain literary/culture scenes dismiss fitness as anti-intellectual, and why lifting need not be politicized.
Subscribe to the STARGIRL Patreon for access to the full episode, as well as monthly collections of other STARGIRL-y resources.
*Plus, sign up by March 1st to receive a free gift from Emma!*
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Shiva Rea is credited as a key popularizer of modern yoga in the United States: She transformed the physical practice and in so doing, helped to define our mainstream conception of what yoga âis.â
In this episode, we discuss the roots of her Prana Vinyasa style, the aesthetic evolution of yoga chicks from the 1980s to now, yogaâs waning counter-cultural status, and why the knee-jerk response to accusations of cultural appropriationâto further divide the spiritual from the physicalâdoes no one any good.
Discussed:
âPlanet Yoga,â Vanity Fair (2007)
âYoga Without Love Beadsâ LA Times (1987)
âTending the Sacred Fireâ Shiva at Burning Man (2011)
âThe power of embodying your energetic heartâ Shivaâs TEDxMalibu talk (2014)
Shiva Rea Yoga | Earth Flow Practice
Shiva Rea Yoga | Dancing Warrior
Special thanks to Michelle Chambers, (E-RYT 500, MPA, Pulse Yoga Collective), Kristen Lynch, and Becky Simon for all their help on this ep! -
Today we're joined by Sam Cummins of Nymphet Alumni to discuss the timeless American novelist Willa Cather. We talk about the needless politicization of Cather, why Nature is the ultimate identity cleansing force, and how frontier literature has evolved today.
Discussed:
Cather novels:
O, Pioneers One of Ours My Ăntonia Death Comes for the ArchbishopWilla Cather and the Politics of Criticism, Joan Acocella (2000)
The Kingdom of Art, early Cather essays collected by Bernice Slote (1966)
âBecoming Noncanonical: The Case Against Willa Cather,â Sharon OâBrien (1988)
(Homework!: âGetting the Pump,â Jordan Castro in Harperâs)
Follow Sam and subscribe to Nymphet Alumni!
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Happy New Year! Today we take the opportunity to look back at how Gwyneth and Goop defined Wellness in the 2010s. I argue that while Goop lacked a soulful center, Gwyneth is working in the grand Esoteric tradition of seeking the sublime through one's relationship to the body. I look at the current aesthetic detritus of exercise culture, challenge the bad rap on âself-optimization,â and meet Gwyn in her New Age quest for Something Beyond.
Discussed:
âHow Goopâs Haters Made Gwyneth Paltrowâs Company Worth $250 Million,â Taffy in NYT Magazine
Lauren Oyler on the Goop Cruise for Harperâs
âGwyneth Paltrow Looks Back at 15 Years of Goop and More,â Marisa Meltzer in NYT
Outlive by Peter Attia
My fave episodes of the Goop podcast:
with Michael Pollan
with Peter Attia
with Monique Melton
15th Anniversary Special Episode
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Today we use Kim Kardashian and Skims to close out many open conversations of the year: the body, motherhood and domesticity, women megalomaniacs, athleticism as an editorial trend, and so much more. I argue that Skims is the most exciting, subversive contemporary *beauty brand* and *grand editorial project* of 2023, commend Kim for her commitment to her own point of view, knight her as a Free Thinker, and formally retire our paranoia around âGirl Culture.â
Plus! A deep dive into Tate McRae: her revival of White Girl Hairography, confused visual identity, and the renewed thirst for pop stars who can seriously freaking dance đ»đ»đ»
P.S. Addison walked so Tate McRae could run⊠missing her always⊠see u in 2024 đ«
Discussed:
Kim on the goop podcast
Jens Grede on the BoF podcast
Skims nipple bra ad
Rachel Tashjian on the Skims nipple bra in the Washington Post
âNothing Lasts Foreverâ music video, Sevdaliza
âMel Ottenberg Gets Ripped for Rick Owensâ in Interview
âWoman in Retrogradeâ by Isabel Cristo in the Cut
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Bianca Giaever was a local legend, a mythic figure whose forest nymph-like presence lingered in the walls of Garfield High School long after she graduated. I learned about herâher confidence, adventurousness, cleverness, and driveâwithin the first month of my freshman year, and witnessed hoards of girls (and myself) debase themselves to try to emulate her vibes. I kept tabs on Bianca well after high school, too, and, for a few key years in the 2010s, used her viral Vimeo videos to guide me down a vague path toward what I thought I might want to someday get up to.
This episode explores the charm and tyranny of my highschoolâs outdoors club, Biancaâs artful devotion to The Mundane, and why itâs a lot easier to get over the excruciating disappointment of being yourself if you have a role model.
Discussed:
GQ names Kim Kardashian âMan of the Yearâ
âThe Scared is scared,â Bianca Giaever, 2013
âHoly Cow Lisaâ 2012
âCRUSHâ campaign for Rachel Antonoffâs SS14 line
Constellation Prize, Biancaâs new podcast
Tape podcast interview with Bianca, 2020 -
Today we welcome YouTuber and general internet darling Sally Darr Griffin to tackle Taylor Swift. Discussed: Taylor's insidious creep toward total world domination, the Dream/Threat of a Girls' Girl, power hungry female celebrities, songwriting vs. performance value, the Swiftie microeconomy, Taylor's relentlessly out-of-step visual identity, and so much more. I also let SDG nerd out on her favorite fan theories... buckle up!
Follow Sally Darr everywhere:
YouTube
TikTok
Instagram
Twitter
Letterboxd
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This week we welcome K-pop expert and fanatic Alexi Alario, the co-host of Nymphet Alumni, to analyze Miss Jennie Kim ⥠We discuss how Jennie sets herself apart from her BLACKPINK peers, her craving for multi-hyphenate Western relevance, and why the âlazy Jennieâ narrative makes her even more stannable. We also dissect her perfect neotenous face, Calvin Klein billboards, and incoherent budding solo career.
Mentioned:
Alexiâs episode of Stan Accounts, the MTV-produced docuseries on K-pop fans
âLazy Jennieâ
DDU-DU DDU-DU music video
You & Me performance video
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Video of Wonyoung and Sydney SweeneyâŠ
K-Pop Masterclass, Nymphet Alumni episode
Follow Alexi <3
Listen and subscribe to Nymphet Alumni 0:-)
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Welcome back! Today we discuss Zendaya, arguably the most celebrated Face of Young Hollywood and one of my favorite people to watch move. We discuss all that's demanded of her liminal space of race, her incredible lankiness, the attempted "queering" of her relationship with Tom Holland, and what's beneath the understanding of her as a "safe" celebrity.
Mentioned:
"Zendaya Holds Court" ELLE magazine shoot
Euphoria deleted scene w/ Angus Cloud
BTS video w/ Storm Reid
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This week I'm joined by Marisa Meltzer, longtime beauty industry chronicler and the author of the new book Glossy: Beauty, Ambition, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier. We make the case for Glossier as *the* millennial brand, and discuss Emily's guarded, cipher-esque persona, and chat about how the "girlboss" tag is more apt than modern feminist criticisms give it credit for.
Mentioned:
Glossy, Marisa's new book on the subject
"The Story Behind Glossier" Marisa on The Run Through with Vogue
"Milky Jelly Hotline Special ft. Marisa Meltzer" Every Outfit podcast
"The Real Story Behind Glossier with Marisa Meltzer," Forever35 podcast
"Where Have All the Girlbosses Gone?" Marisa in Vanity Fair
NYT review of Glossy
Washington Post review of Glossy
The Guardian review of Glossy
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