The High Low

The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to another baby prince, but all anyone’s talking about is that bouncy blow dry, that red dress and those heels - a mere 7 hours after she gave birth. Is this glamorous portrayal of new motherhood doing a disservice to mothers and the trauma of birth? Why is it an inevitable part of Kate’s role as a princess? And could it in fact be a form of protection?Also today: we discuss Millie Bobby Brown’s inclusion on Time’s 100 Most Influential List. The 14 year old actor has over 16 million Instagram followers and is currently producing her first film. Is she too young for such adulation? You can email us [email protected] or tweet us @thehighlowshow. Links:- Lovesick on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80041601 - The Week Unwrapped, hosted by Olly Mannhttps://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-week-unwrapped-with-olly-mann/id1185494669?mt=2&i=1000409321265- When Beauty Is A Troll, by Megan Garber for The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/558467/- The Rise of Beauty-Standard Denialism, by Amanda Hess for The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/movies/i-feel-pretty-amy-schumer-beauty.amp.html- Heartburn, by Nora Ephron with an introduction by the authorhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Heartburn-Virago-Modern-Classics-Ephron/dp/0349010358/ref=nodl_- Cariad Lloyd on The Adam Buxton podcasthttps://m.soundcloud.com/adam-buxton/ep73-cariad-lloyd- No woman should have to pose post-birth, by Sali Hughes for The Pool https://www.the-pool.com/health/wombs-etc/2018/17/sali-hughes-on-kate-middleton-post-birth-scrutiny Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some excellent e-mails on voice notes in The High Low mailbag this week - turns out The HL listeners are more than a little bit obsessed with voice notes. On this week’s agenda: a butt-load of article recommendations from Pandora (Christie Watson’s book about the NHS had Pandora in a puddle), some stellar advice from Dolly on how to survive your social life sober, a hefty discussion on miscreditation and appropriation in the internet age and - the big stuff - why we all love to hate Coachella (it’s not just the headdresses, people.)You can e-mail us any thoughts on this week’s episode at [email protected] or tweet us @thehighlowshow.ReadingAnatomy of a Scandal, by Sarah Vaughan https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anatomy-Scandal-bestseller-everyone-talking/dp/1471165000Falsely accused of rape: is the justice system biased against men? - by Katie Glass, for The Sunday Times Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/magazine/the-sunday-times-magazine/falsely-accused-rape-men-reveal-deepest-shame-gvxh88f9wSocial media helped me connect with my husband in a way I couldn’t in real life - by Jennifer Malia for New York Magazine, https://www.thecut.com/2018/04/the-relief-of-social-media-dating-as-a-woman-with-autism.htmlThe Language of Kindness: A Nurse’s Story, by Christie Watson https://www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Kindness-Nurses-Story/dp/1784741973Elitism and the Oxbridge access problem, by Sathnam Sanghera for The Times Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sathnam-sanghera-elitism-the-oxbridge-access-problem-and-why-i-never-felt-i-belonged-at-cambridge-8dtm77jvf The Friendship Cure by Kate Leaverhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Friendship-Cure-Kate-Leaver-ebook/dp/B076J26KZQTo Throw Away Unopened by Viv Albertinehttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Throw-Away-Unopened-Viv-Albertine/dp/0571326218ListeningCall Your Girlfriend podcast on shine theory and millennial pinkwashing http://www.callyourgirlfriend.com/millennial-pinkwashing/Literary Friction’s memoir episode https://m.soundcloud.com/literaryfriction/memoir-viv-albertineFearne Cotton’s Happy Place with Alexandra Shulman http://www.officialfearnecotton.com/news/2018/4/9/happy-place-alexandra-shulman#C1IlcccJVh3q2EGA.97Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place with Kirsty Young http://www.officialfearnecotton.com/news/2018/4/16/happy-place-kirsty-young#P6mbddR5SEszBZSM.97 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well, THANK YOU High Lowers - last week’s episode pushed us over 2 million downloads and up to No.3 on the iTunes podcast charts. The mailbag was also bulging this week: some helpful kind corrections; some not-so-helpful - and we’ve got a little something to say on that....This week we discuss the results of The ONS’s report into loneliness, which has revealed that - contrary to popular belief - it is not pensioners who are society’s most lonely, but 16-24 year olds. Is social media to blame? Has celebrity replaced community? And what will Tracey Crouch do about it?Also today, we talk about former Everton footballer Neville Southall who has been lending his Twitter platform (with its associated 127,000 followers) to minorities less privileged than him. Pretty great, huh? Well, apparently not. We talk about criticism, the liberal echo chamber and why curiosity is something to be prized not derided. Ultimately, we could all be a bit more Neville.And on a lighter note: there’s Cardi B; the fragrance that ‘smells like’ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding; why Cynthia Nixon hates it when Big builds Carrie a wardrobe; and Dolly’s drunken obsession with voice notes.Use an exclusive discount to get £10 off your first Treatwell booking with HIGHLOW10. You can tweet us @thehighlowshow or e-mail is [email protected] - but please do note that we are unable to reply to all messages. Links:Neville Southall - A Man Too Good For This Cruel World by Stuart Heritage https://www.esquire.com/uk/life/amp19733417/neville-southall-a-man-too-good-for-this-cruel-world/Interview with New Zealand’s pregnant Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden - by Helena de Bertadano for The Sunday Times Magazinehttps://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jacinda-ardern-prime-minister-new-zealand-work-life-balance-meeting-barack-obama-cmtbg6mn2The Chinese workers who assemble designer bags in Tuscany - by D. T. Max for The New Yorkerhttps://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/16/the-chinese-workers-who-assemble-designer-bags-in-tuscany/ampKim Noble - The Woman With 100 Personalities https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/sep/30/kim-noble-woman-with-100-personalities Is It Time For Small Plates To Die? by Lauren Bravo https://www.the-pool.com/food-home/food-honestly/2018/14/Lauren-Bravo-calls-time-on-sharing-menusHow Do You Want Me? By Ruby Wax https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Do-You-Want-Me/dp/0091887895 James Martin interviewed by Laura Pullman https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/134b3bfe-39d5-11e8-a03f-05e11e5a873a Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The High Low is back! Where did those 6 weeks go? Dolly’s been on a nationwide book tour; Pandora’s birthed a tiny dictator. We round-up all the articles, programmes and podcasts we’ve been enjoying during our hiatus, as well as the topics that made us miss The High Low.On today’s agenda: the depressing arc of the weightloss celebrity and the esoteric nature of reality TV (Dolly compares it to an old-fashioned Italian family - Pandora wonders if that is a good thing); and the controversial verdict of the Ulster Rugby rape case, which concluded last week, after a 42 day trial, with an innocent verdict. 2018 may have been a year of MeToo; but does the disappointing denouement to this case suggest that it’s all just hot air?You can tweet The High Low @thehighlowshow or e-mail us [email protected]. ReadingHow A Young Woman Lost Her Identity - byRachel Aviv for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/02/how-a-young-woman-lost-her-identityWill Ferrell interviews Joaquin Phoenix -for Interview magazine https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/joaquin-phoenix-april-2018-cover-story-will-ferrellPromising Young Women by Caroline O'Donoghue https://www.amazon.co.uk/Promising-Young-Women-Caroline-ODonoghue/dp/0349009902 Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brit-ish-Race-Identity-Belonging/dp/1911214284/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522873963&sr=1-1&keywords=afua+hirsch Inside Court 12: the complete story of the Belfast rape trial - The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/inside-court-12-the-complete-story-of-the-belfast-rape-trial-1.3443620 Who Was Really On Trial In The Ireland And Ulster Rugby Rape Case? - The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/ireland-ulster-rugby-rape-case-not-guilty-brendan-kelly-qc-victim-a8278216.html Watching This Is Us - on Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-is-Us-Season-1/dp/B01N1PBW1GSave Me - on Sky https://www.sky.com/watch/title/series/f9843d4d-5610-4b7f-abc9-fb7a6d3bb61aUnREAL - on Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B014GGAJQISex, Drugs and Murder - on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/group/p04nllxxDamned on Channel 4  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The High Low is going on maternity leave - or maturity leave, as Pandora accidentally e-mailed someone this week - for 6 weeks, so we’ve decided to go out with a bang, with an interview with the Oscar nominated actor and producer, Margot Robbie. We discuss I, Tonya, about American figure skater, Tonya Harding, with the Australian A-Lister, how she plans to put women centre stage via her production company, LuckyChap productions and what Hollywood really looks like, post MeToo. Also this week, Pandora champions the feel-good, feminist Amazon Prime drama about a women’s glossy, The Bold Type (like a ‘woke' How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days) and a brilliant new podcast series produced by Save The Children. If you’re looking for some powerful, real-life story-telling, please give it a listen. Meanwhile, Dolly has weaned herself off Mad Men, in order to discover the Instagram account skewering men’s pointed shoes (Sniper Watch, if you’re interested) and read a new book that promises to reduce your worries and anxieties.We’ll see you in April!LinksThe Bold Type, on Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0731NL1W3Anywhere But Home, a podcast by Save The Children https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/anywhere-but-home/id1343264169?mt=2Sniper Watch instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/sniper_watch_101/ The Worry Trick by David A Carbonell: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Worry-Trick-Brain-Tricks-Expecting/dp/1626253188 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An explosive Quincy Jones interview via Vulture; an even more explosive Sex and The City row via Kim Cattrall (just try and get Dolly to shut up about it); and some fun Valentine’s Day facts for you: did you know that 5% more babies are conceived during Valentines week than any other time (Christmas comes second); and that 52% of people are choosing to stay at home for Valentine’s - or Galentines - this year? Also, old people are having more sex than ever and Dolly’s very happy about it.Much has been happening in the world of celebrity, but we’ve also been reading some great new books (Pandora recommends Zadie Smith’s short story anthology, Feel Free; whilst Dolly’s pick for this week is Bad Romance, by Emily Hill) and The Reading Cure, by journalist Laura Freeman, who is also our guest today. A lyrical book from a former anorexia sufferer, on how books restored her appetite, Laura compares a disordered mind to that of a disordered library: where the books have flown off the shelves, the pages are ripped and the windows are smashed. We discuss the increase in eating disorders - according to a report by The Guardian this week, they have doubled in women - and why Laura sees the term ‘eating disorder’ as an insufficient descriptor of this obsessive mental illness.LinksFeel Free, by Zadie Smith https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feel-Free-Essays-Zadie-Smith/dp/0241146895/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518639110&sr=8-1&keywords=zadie+smith+feel+freeThe Reading Cure: How Books Restored My Appetite, by Laura Freeman https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reading-Cure-Books-Restored-Appetite/dp/1474604641Bad Romance, by Emily Hill https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Romance-Emily-Hill/dp/1783524960/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518639876&sr=1-1&keywords=bad+romance+emily+hillSix Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain, by James Bloodworth https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hired-Months-Undercover-Low-Wage-Britain/dp/1786490145In Conversation: Quincy Jones, by David Marchese for Vulture http://www.vulture.com/2018/02/quincy-jones-in-conversation.htmlYou don't have to be a CEO to be a superwoman, by India Knight for The Sunday Times magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/india-knight-you-don-t-have-to-be-a-city-ceo-with-nine-kids-to-be-a-superwoman-ordinary-women-perform-miracles-every-day-nnkbw2r72Carey Mulligan and David Hare interview, by Louis Wise for The Sunday Times Culture magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/interview-carey-mulligan-david-hare-bbc-drama-tv-show-collateral-3w5dj7308Inside The Mean-Girls Culture That Destroyed Sex And The City for the New York Post:  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your usual mixed bag this week: Cheddar Man, Nutella fights and Lady Doritos.It’s the 100 year anniversary of the Suffragettes! We deliver to you some facts and a round-up of this week’s celebrations. We discuss Kylie Jenner’s secret pregnancy (her daughter, Stormi Webster was born this week.) How did the world’s most famous 20 year old - Kylie has over 100 million followers and is the richest of all of the Kardashian/Jenners - hide her pregnancy from the paps for an entire 10 months? Is it yet another PR ploy; or a genuine bid for privacy from a young woman long uncomfortable with her own, inherited fame?Also today, some discussion of Woody Allen - mainly via some excellent journalism, links below - and the latest Hollywood MeToo, via Uma Thurman. This one’s a little different though… it’s more about Quentin Tarantino than it is Harvey Weinstein. And, a first: Tarantino replies, at length. Both articles, below, are well worth reading.Plus, a bit on food snobbery, after the wonderful writer and former Bake Off contestant, Ruby Tandoh, spoke out against the “classism and ableism” inherent in slamming ready-made meals. Choice is a luxury; and ‘wellness’ is a concept that the working class can ill afford (there’s also a bit of personal bias from Pandora, on this subject.)ReadingThe Friendship Cure, by Kate Leaver https://www.amazon.co.uk/Friendship-Cure-Manifesto-Reconnecting-Modern/dp/0715652524Why Woody Allen should be tried in court and not by public opinion, by Hadley Freeman for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/feb/03/actors-condemn-woody-allen-hadley-FreemanFeminism is excluding working class women, by Camilla Long for The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/thats-right-sack-the-poor-grid-girls-only-the-rich-are-entitled-to-flaunt-their-bits-ctw9p6szwThis is why Uma Thurman is angry, by Maureen Dowd for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/03/opinion/sunday/this-is-why-uma-thurman-is-angry.htmlQuentin Tarantino responds to Uma Thurman http://deadline.com/2018/02/quentin-tarantino-uma-thurman-harvey-weinstein-kill-bill-car-crash-new-york-times-1202278988/Kylie Jenner has baby and seemingly grows way up, by Harling Ross for Man Repeller https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/02/kylie-jenner-baby-girl.htmlListening & WatchingJack Whitehall on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qb1hwLove Stories, by Dolly Alderton (Pandora’s insertion, not Dolly’s) https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/love-stories/id1343714594?mt=2Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - at cinemas now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kim Kardashian is making all kinds of headlines this week; not because her new baby boy, Chicago, arrived via surrogacy - but because she’s sharing dozens of pics of herself in the nuddy with what she has called ‘Bo Derek’ braids aka: cornrows or Fulani braids. We discuss the knotty issue of cultural appropriation, how it exists within fashion and beauty and speak to Sharmadean Reid, the founder of WAH Nails and Beauty Stack, on why she isn’t offended by Kim’s appropriation of a black hairstyle - but how offence is not a blanket thing. How can and should we navigate the nuances?Also today, we discuss Trump’s assertion that he isn’t a feminist (snore), why the world’s gone mad for Tupperware (and why no-one has written about this?) and the brilliant Radio 4 show that had us both wincing: are women sexist towards other women? Before you shake your head - take a listen (link in the show notes.) We plunge deep into our unconscious bias and try to be as honest as possible.A note from Pandora (who writes these bios, because Dolly’s skills lie, let’s say, elsewhere): Dolly’s book, Everything I Know About Love, published by Penguin, is out today. GO BUY IT! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything-I-Know-About-Love/dp/0241322715LinksThe Mothers, by Brit Bennett https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mothers-Brit-Bennett/dp/0399184511Ex-convicts on how to go ‘straight', on BBC Radio 4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b074zbxgWhy are even women biased against other women? On BBC Radio 4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09pl66dAn interview with Helena Morrissey, by Eleanor Mills for The Sunday Time Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/helena-morrissey-nine-kids-and-a-mega-salary-has-she-found-the-secret-to-having-it-all-k2h6ktjkk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First thing’s first: 1 in 4 women are still skipping their smear test - please don’t be one of them. Dolly talks to Kate Sanger from Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust who emphasises the importance of smear tests in preventing cervical cancer.Also today, we discuss the UK’s newly appointed Minister for Loneliness, Tracey Crouch - and why loneliness is not just a problem in the elderly ; new evidence which suggests that psychologically we are all children until the age of not 18, but - duh duh duhhhhhh - 25; and why “well-intentioned racism” is still, well, racism.NB: Courtesy of our kind sponsors, Treatwell, you can get yourself £10 off a £25 treatment with the code HIGHLOW10. Visit treatwell.co.uk to book!Reading:The linguistic evolution of ‘like’, by John McWhorter for The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/11/the-evolution-of-like/507614/Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman https://www.netflix.com/title/80133311Money Diary: A freelance writer living in London on 14K, by Anon for Refinery29 http://www.refinery29.uk/money-diary-freelance-writerThe minister for loneliness will need all the friends she can get, by Stewart Dakers for the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/23/tracey-crouch-minister-loneliness-friends-powerful-vested-interestsListening:Fashion Unzipped, by The Telegraph http://unzipped.podcast.telegraph.co.ukSo You've Been Publicly Shamed on Audible by Jon Ronson: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Non-fiction/So-Youve-Been-Publicly-Shamed-Audiobook/B00S8QO068 Peter Morgan on Fresh Air: https://www.npr.org/2018/01/16/578281741/crown-creator-sees-britains-reigning-monarchs-as-just-a-regular-family David Remnick interviews David Attenborough for The New Yorker Hour: https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/david-attenboroughs-planet-we-just-live-it/ Watching:Riverdale, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80133311Dreams of A Life on 4 OD: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dreams-of-a-life/on-demand/50028-001 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 43 is a pretty exciting one for The High Low - a bit of a pinch-me moment, if you will. One minute we were begging Faber & Faber for an advance copy of French novelist Leila Slimani’s cult read, Lullaby - a troubling but beautifully written read about a nanny who murders her two young charges - the next, we had Leila in our studio.The twelfth woman to win the Prix Goncourt, last year (the highest literary prize in France, previous winners include Proust) Lullaby sold a whopping 600,000 copies in Leila’s native France (under the title, ‘Chanson Douce’), led to Emmanuel Macron asking Leila to be the Minister for Culture (she turned it down) and the movie rights have, unsurprisingly, been snapped up. Comparisons with Gone Girl and Girl on a Train are crass - but indicative of the book’s breathtaking success. Leila talks to us about finding unexpected success with her “ little book” (“I thought my great book would be about war”), the societal role of working motherhood and the nanny (who is both "inside and outside of the home”) and why being a Muslim woman of North African descent “does not mean I care about identity.” Also today, we discuss Catherine Deneuve’s apology, whether the Babe.Net piece about Aziz Ansari undermines the MeToo movement; the H&M hoodie-race-row, why the new cultural buzz-trend of ’self-care’ is lofty BS (isn’t it just letting yourself buy the cushiony bog roll, not the scratchy stuff?) and the joyous news that The Bayeux Tapestry is coming to the UK for the very first time in 950 years. Joking, thought that’s quite cool that France finally let it leave. Not so cool? That 24,000 attempts to access porn from inside the Houses of Parliament have been made since the General Election. THAT’S 700 A DAY. Lots of pieces have been getting us talking and hotly debating this week. Read them - and lots of podcast recs - below!Thanks you to our sponsors Treatwell and Google Pixel 2 and Wardour Studios, who hosted us this week.You can e-mail The High Low [email protected], or tweet us @thehighlowshow.LISTENING:Angela Hartnett on Desert Island Discs http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09lxn6wDaisy Buchanan on Desert Island Dishes https://www.acast.com/margiebroadhead/29-daisy-buchanan-author-and-journalist READING:Lullaby, by Leila Slimani https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lullaby-Leïla-Slimani/dp/0571337538The Killer-Nanny Novel That Conquered France by Lauren Collins for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/01/the-killer-nanny-novel-that-conquered-franceThe Melting Season, by Jami Attenburg https://www.amazon.co.uk/Melting-Season-Jami-Attenberg/dp/1594484996Swimming Underwater, by Tatterhood http://www.tatterhood.co.uk/poems/I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned out to be the worst night of my life, by Katie Way for Babe.Net https://babe.net/2018/01/13/aziz-ansari-28355The humiliation of Aziz Ansari, by Caitlin Flanagan for The Atlantic  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, you stable geniuses! (Or as the pedants may prefer, genii.) The Golden Globes happened on Sunday night in Hollywood and The High Low has many a point to discuss:Does the #TimesUp movement - where actors wore black dresses on the red carpet, in solidarity with victims of sexual harassment - convey a real and true political message? Can a gown be a harbinger for social change? The New York Times’ T Magazine Fashion Critic, Alexander Fury, provides an eloquent argument in favour. Or, is it mere Hollywood “fakery’ - as actor Rose McGowan denounced it.Self-deprecating and woke as he was, should Seth Meyers have been the host... or should it have been a woman? And what about Natalie Portman, who pointed out that no female directors were nominated for best director? No amount of black gowns can cloak that. Either way, Justin Timberlake *perhaps* missed the point. “Damn my wife looks hot! #timesup” the Trousersnake tweeted. From Hollywood, to Westminster. Also on this weekend agenda, journalist Toby Young’s resignation from his university regulator role, for the Office for Students - just 8 days in the job - after thousands of Young’s archive ‘titty tweets’ caused 20,000 people to sign a petition arguing for his sacking. Is a man, or woman, the sum of their tweets? Should your ability to be do your job dependent on your social media timeline? Possibly not. But when you become more known for a tweet that reads “I had my dick up her arse, mate” than your work in the education sector, we wonder if, possibly, a governmental role isn’t quite for you.Episode takeaway, kids: the internet never forgets. Thank you very much to our sponsors Google Pixel 2 and Treatwell and to Acast, for letting us use your studio.E-mail [email protected] and tweet us @thehighlowshow. LinksListeningYou & Yours - on parity, post Carrie Gracie’s resignation from the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qps9Sarah Jessica Parker on The Nerdist: https://nerdist.com/nerdist-829-sarah-jessica-parker/ Janeane Garofalo on Guys We F****d: https://soundcloud.com/guyswefucked/0173-01042017-janeane-garofalo Sandi Toksvig on Table Manners with Jessie Ware: https://www.acast.com/tablemanners/ep7-sanditoksvigReadingThe Female Persuasion, by Meg Wolitzerhttps://www.amazon.com/Female-Persuasion-Novel-Meg-Wolitzer/dp/1594488401Toxic Femininity, by Ginny Hogan for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/examples-of-toxic-femininity-in-the-workplace/ampBelle Gibson: the wellness blogger who fooled the world, by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano for The Sunday Times magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/the-sunday-times-magazine/belle-gibson-the-wellness-blogger-who-fooled-the-world-with-a-healthy-eating-scam-hq6dc73cxPre-order Things Bright and Beautiful by Anbara Salam:  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy 2018! It's the first High Low episode of the year. We've got some books, shows, podcasts and articles to recommend to you, a Queens impression from Pandora (that's the suburb in New York, not the royal OAP) and a reader question about what to do when you're a Hot Mess.In this week's episode, we discuss the shocking - or is it so shocking? - new research from Kings College London, which reveals that 27% of pregnant women suffer from mental health problems. Is the 'pregnancy glow' myth to blame? Pandora - who at 8 months pregnant, believes the 'glow' to have passed her by entirely - speaks from experience; whilst Dolly muses upon the fetishisation of pregnant women in the media. Also in today's episode, we talk Dry January, Veganuary and other zeitgeisty lifestyle trends. Should we stop being so negative about 'new year, new me'?Thank you to our sponsors Google Pixel 2 and Treatwell plus Acast, for letting us use your studio.E-mail us [email protected] or tweet us @thehighlowshow.LinksListeningRomesh Ranganathan on The Adam Buxton podcasthttps://soundcloud.com/adam-buxton/ep61-romesh-ranganathanReadingThe Magical Art Of Not Giving a F**k by Sarah Knighthttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Changing-Magic-Not-Giving-Spending/dp/0316270725Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blink-Power-Thinking-Without/dp/0141014598The Vagina Monologues, 20th anniversary edition, by Eve Ensler https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vagina-Monologues-Eve-Ensler/dp/0349011281The Year the Grenfell Tower Fire Revealed The Lies That Londoners Tell Themselves, by Sam Knight for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2017-in-review/the-year-the-grenfell-tower-fire-revealed-the-lie-that-londoners-tell-themselvesThere's Nothing Empowering or Feminist About The All-Female Line-Up on Celebrity Big Brother, by Georgia Aspinall for The Debrief https://thedebrief.co.uk/news/celebrity/celebrity-big-brother-anti-feminist/Braids, Cultural Appropriation And The Media's Erasure of Black Women, by Jamé Jackson for Fashionista.com https://fashionista.com/2018/01/black-hair-braids-cultural-appropriation-media-erasureWe Need To Stop Our Obsession With Lifestyle Trends (Particularly Danish Ones) - archive piece by Pandora (ahem) for The Spectator https://life.spectator.co.uk/2017/01/need-stop-obsessed-lifestyle-trends-especially-scandinavian-ones/WatchingBlack Mirror - series 4https://www.netflix.com/title/70264888Jim and Andy - The Great Beyondhttps://www.netflix.com/title/80209608 Little Women - BBC... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy New Year High Lowers! 2017 has been the year of covfefe, Dr Robert Kelly and of course the birth of yours truly. We have friend of The High Low’s and Guardian journalist Stu Heritage on to review the highs and lows of the past year, including Pandora’s very own and rather difficult Big Fat Quiz of the year which listeners can play at home. We talk resolutions, New Year plans and Stu’s fantastic book published earlier this year called Don’t Be A Dick, Pete. The book is a very funny and often moving memoir, told through the story of Stu’s relationship with his brother Pete. We sort of wish we’d invited Pete on too, tbh. Finally, we answer listener questions with Stu as our visiting agony uncle. Including one of our own: who is responsible for those slightly dismissive reviews of The High Low from The Guardian, Stu? Hmmmmm? Happy New Year High Low listeners. We end on a compilation of the best bits of our first year, one that we couldn’t have done without you and your support. Thank you - and see you in 2018 for more! LINKS:Don’t Be A Dick, Pete by Stuart Heritage: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Dick-Pete-Stuart-Heritage/dp/1910931470 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a festive episode with a special High Low nativity play; written by professional screenwriter (as you will be able to tell) Dolly - and sponsored by frankincense and myrrh. As Amazon and John Lewis declare ambitions to open their end of year sales on Christmas Day itself, and the Bishop of Cambridge descends into outrage, we talk the evolution of ‘family time’ and whether online shopping during a day of rest (and/or religion) is a moral issue or merely one of ease and convenience. What about all the people that don’t celebrate Christmas? And side note: HOW has Amazon only just launched in Australia? Also up for discussion, Twitter finally rules against hate speech - with the leaders of far right party Britain First suspended from Twitter for Islamaphobic fake news (which was retweeted by Covfefe Trump - natch.) We discuss censorship versus the oft hackneyed cliché of free speech: and why a bigot is not one size fits all. Two book recommendation via Pandora:Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brain-Fire-My-Month-Madness/dp/0141975342/ref=nodl_Nobody Told Me: Poetry and Parenthood by Hollie McNishhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Nobody-Told-Me-Poetry-Parenthood/dp/0349134359Don’t forget to shop the Papier.com site with or excloooosive discount HIGHLOW for 15% off all your customisable stationary needs. HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM THE HIGH LOW! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pandora's been moving house and Dolly's been hosting Pretendmas (don't ask; she'll tell you all about it anyway) but there are still plenty of water cooler topics to discuss this week. From some brilliant pieces of journalism (including a heart-breaking piece by Empire Editor Terri White on the vital role a woman's refuge played in both her own childhood and in British society as a whole) to plenty of podcast recommendations from the ultimate podcat, Dolly, this week we discuss 'Cat Person', the New Yorker short story that went viral - and what this piece of fiction tells us about modern relationships; toxic masculinity; bad sex and female pleasure. We also play you an excerpt of the shocking and riveting speech given by former Facebook VP Chamath Palihapitiya at Stanford University, on how Facebook is ripping society apart. In light of this and plenty of other disclaimers from both former and present tech execs, we discuss the dangers of social media in both a personal and a social context. From the richest (first world FOMO caused by your Instagram feed) to the poorest (Whatsapp hoax that caused violence in a rural Indian village), we are all affected by social media in its myriad forms.What we are reading, watching and listening to:A Woman's Refuge Saved My Family, by Terri White for The Pool https://www.the-pool.com/life/life-honestly/2017/49/Terri-White-on-the-funding-crisis-hitting-women-s-refugesI Made My Shed The Top Rated Restaurant on Trip Advisor, by Oobah Butler for VICE https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/434gqw/i-made-my-shed-the-top-rated-restaurant-on-tripadvisorThe People vs O.J.Simpson: American Crime Story, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80083977'Cat Person' - a short story, by Kristen Roupenian for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/cat-personFallout, by Sadie Jones https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fallout-Sadie-Jones/dp/0701188502Ladybird directed by Greta Gerwig: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNi_HC839WoCariad Lloyd's Griefcast with Adam Buxton: https://www.acast.com/griefcast/episode-1---adam-buxtonJames Franco on WTF: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-870-james-francoCariad Lloyd's Made of Human with Jo Brand: http://mohpod.libsyn.com/31-jo-brand-i-was-surprised-the-heroin-addict-was-unfaithful Felicity Morse on Cat Person for The Debrief: https://thedebrief.co.uk/news/real-life/cat-person-short-story-new-yorker-consent/ Amy Jones on Cat Person for The... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s December, which means that silly season is officially upon us. Thank goodness, then, for Alabama student Kelsey who dressed up as a Christmas tree - for every single lecture. Oh, and the scientists who think they’ve found one of Santa’s bones. We discuss Christmas in all it’s technicolour madness, and whether or not it’s really anything to do with religion anymore.Also today, the hashtagged social trend of 'women spreading’ (Pandora prefers ‘fem spreading’ but also acknowledges that it sounds a little too like margarine for your vag.) Is women spreading a symbolic riposte to man spreading? Or, is it a gimmick confined to Instagram? We talk activism in it various guises. Either way, Dolly won’t be getting her gusset out on the tube this December. Sorry lads.This festive month, The High Low is sponsored by Papier. You can get 15% off their gorgeous stationary - it’s not too late for Christmas cards! - at papier.com, using HIGHLOW.This week, we are reading, listening and watching:Demi-Gods by Eliza Robertson https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33414010-demi-godsFriends From College, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80117485Internetting with Amanda Hess for The New York Times: The White Internet’s Love Affair With Digital Blackface Is https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/28/arts/internetting-with-amanda-hess.htmlEva Wiseman interviews Graham Norton for The Observer magazine https://www.theguardian.com/global/2017/dec/03/graham-norton-the-bbc-dont-defend-themselves-robustly-enough-Sarfraz Manzoor on Muslim foster parents for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/03/muslim-foster-parents-it-has-been-such-a-blessingThe Marvelous Mrs Maisel:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3WEKki6znkIndia Knight's Sunday Times Magazine column on the joy of a drink at Christmas:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/india-knight-look-out-there-s-a-new-puritanism-afoot-don-t-let-abstemious-control-freaks-spoil-the-christmas-party-9wpv8zxn9You can e-mail us at [email protected], and tweet us @thehighlowshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thank you to everyone who enjoyed our special episode with Tina Brown last week - we had a huge response. We miss her already <3This week in the Tina-free studio, we discuss whether corporations offering to pay for women to freeze their eggs - as happening in America and soon, Australia - is a generous health benefit, or a patriarchal attempt to stave off motherhood. Shouldn’t we improve conditions and parity for working mothers (subsidised nurseries, better paternity leave, flexi-hours) first?Also in this week’s episode: Taylor Swift has been accused of espousing Trumpian values, with her white feminism and political silence. We draw on several brilliant pop-culture writers, to discuss whether this theory has any value. We cannot help but wonder, in that Carrie Bradshaw way: when did it become possible for a popstar to just be, well, a popstar? Now, they must be a symbol, an icon, a vessel and a plate. As Greta Gerwig says on Fresh Air, when quizzed why she worked with Woody Allen - women are just terrified of saying the wrong thing and getting it wrong. Tiring, huh.Nuggets from The Top Line include the revelation that salted caramel is comparable to heroin; Christmas dinners are more expensive than ever before; and, devastatingly, that a third of women’s refuges are under threat of closure in the UK.There’s a slew of podcast episode, series, articles and exhibition recommendations this week - links all below - and in the run up to Christmas, a few requests:Who will help Pandora find a Father Christmas jumper, complete with patent belt, to spread across her pudding-like paunch?And, Adam Buxton, when will you come on our podcast?You can e-mail us [email protected] or tweet us @thehighlowshow.Reading/ watching/ viewing & listening this week:Laura Freeman on Modigliani for The Sunday Times Culture mag https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/art-review-amedeo-modigliani-nudes-tate-modern-mfn8mkvp2Book tickets to Modigliani at The Tate Modern http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/modiglianiWatch The Sinner, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80175802Hadley Freeman on why feminist theory didn’t cure her anorexia, for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/25/wasnt-feminist-theory-cured-anorexiaEva Wiseman interviews Little Mix for The Observer mag https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/26/little-mix-interview-new-album-we-embrace-who-we-are-not-perfectDorian Lynskey on Taylor Swift for GQ mag (December issue, on sale now)Taylor Swift: An Envoy for Trump’s Values? By anon for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/24/the-guardian-view-on-taylor-swift-an-envoy-for-trumps-valuesGreta Gerwig on Fresh Air:  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our favourite *ever* episode of The High Low - as we try not to fangirl the fuck out.For those of you with short memories, the High Low is named in homage to iconic editor Tina Brown. The creator of High Low journalism - our founding ethos of merging the trivial with the political; the irreverent with the weighty - Tina became editor of Tatler aged just 25, of Vanity Fair aged 29, and then The New Yorker, before launching the short-lived Talk and then The Daily Beast.Now, in an arguably meta move, we get Tina into the studio, to discuss her hilarious, pacey and searingly honest memoir The Vanity Fair Diaries. We talk misogyny and #MeToo; Princess Diana and Trump; the Kardashians and Meghan Markle; and, of course, Weinstein - who Tina worked with for a disastrous 2 years after they launched Talk magazine together. We take a romp through the media decadence of the 80s (when having a ‘dress allowance’ and a ’social secretary' was vital for any editor worth their salt), with the thread of tragedy thanks to the AIDS crisis, weaving its way throughout.The Vanity Fair Diaries have now been optioned by producer Bruna Papandrea, who is behind the epic hit Big Little Lies. So expect to see a gripping mini series of Tina’s diary on your screens ASAP. Links:The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown: http://amzn.to/2hINVyxMarlena by Julie Buntin: http://amzn.to/2AmKR6KSarah Silverman on Louis CK, via The Guardian: http://bit.ly/2zN6r3nNora Ephron Knows What To Do, by Ariel Levy for The New Yorker: http://bit.ly/2jOkAa2 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No singing this week courtesy of Louis Theroux, but three different accents from Pandora in compensation. This week on The High Low, we discuss Boris Johnson’s buffoonery - and when being a dotard can put another woman’s life in danger. Our hearts go out to Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 19 months into a 5 year sentence in Iran. As Boris (finally) meets Nazanin’s husband, Richard, we discuss the Foreign Secretary and why we struggle to understand the seeming impotence of the government in scenarios such as these.Also today, the controversial new app, MakeApp, which leaves women ‘barefaced’. Dolly think it’s misogynistic; Pandora thinks it’s yet another example of tech working against cultural psychology and the greater good. BTW Pandora did it and Dolly thought she looked better than normal, so, that’s interesting.And Pandora busts the myth of tumeric lattes with the help of registered dietician Rosie Saunt.Fun fact to (slightly) bum you out: Amazon have revealed that Fifty Shades of Grey is the No1 downloaded book on Kindle, of all time.DO SUMMINK GOOD TODAY: buy a pin from The Pin Project and support refugees, returnees and people displaced by warhttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1541394380/the-pin-projectBUY YOURSELF A TREAT: if you liked our The High Low pyjamas, you can buy your own pair of Poplin London pyjamas with neon pink piping, at poplin-london.co.uk with 20% off when you enter thehighlow at checkout.WATCHINGLouis Theroux documentaries on anorexia, and heroin, on BBC iPlayerhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09d5nk2/louis-theroux-talking-to-anorexiahttps://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0991fsb/louis-theroux-dark-states-1-heroin-townMotherland, on BBC iPlayerhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p05j1k3t/motherland-series-1-episode-1READINGEverything I Never Told You, by Celeste Nghttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything-I-Never-Told-You/dp/0349134286A Different Kind of Pregnancy Announcement, by Leandra Medine for Man Repellerhttps://www.manrepeller.com/2017/11/leandra-medine-pregnant.htmlHow The Myth of The Artistic Genius Excuses The Abuse of Women, by Amanda Hess for The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/arts/sexual-harassment-art-hollywood.htmlOut of Time by Miranda Sawyer: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Time-Miranda-Sawyer/dp/0007521073The Cult of Boris Johnson by Grace Dent:  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After some disruption to the schedule (namely two live recordings in a row and an author special, whilst Dolly’s enjoyed monsoon season in Thailand and practiced wellness with a monk) The High Low is back in the Acast studio. And we’ve got tons (literally tons) of reading, listening and watching recs for you, from our sojourns away.This week we discuss Kevin Spacey’s “I’m Gay” disclaimer, Netflix dropping him and whether or not you can separate the art from the artist. Will their legacy live on? Is the whole thing a hackneyed debate? And if Frank doesn’t come back…. will Claire?Also today, we speak to a High Low listener about the difference between an arranged and a forced marriage, after the sad news story of Aasiya Bibi, the 21-year-od Pakistani girl who murdered 15 of her husband’s family with poison, in her desperation to escape her forced marriage. It’s our first official week with Google, our sexy new partner, and Dolly kickstarts our new ‘curiosity’ segment with the Google Pixel 2, by asking Pandora what the meaning of love is. A nice gentle ease into the series, that. If you want to see the fruits of our new Google Pixel shoot, head on over to our Instagram’s @pandorasykes @dollyalderton for a taster. More magic to come, my friends.Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to The High Low on iTunes. You can e-mail The High Low [email protected] or tweet us @thehighlowshow.READINGThe Wife, by Meg Wolitzer https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wife-Meg-Wolitzer/dp/0099478196\Valley Of The Dolls, by Jacqueline Susan https://www.amazon.co.uk/Valley-Dolls-VMC-Jacqueline-Susann/dp/1860498876 Disclaimer, by Renee Knight https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disclaimer-Renée-Knight/dp/1784160229Lust, by Roald Dahl https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lust-Roald-Dahl/dp/0718185617Zoe Heller profile on Roald Dahl for New Republic, 2010 https://newrepublic.com/article/78552/the-miserabilist-roald-dahlOwen Jones on Kevin Spacey https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/30/kevin-spacey-vicious-lie-gay-men-accusation-attempted-sexual-assault Jess Phillips on A Terrible, Toxic Week at Westminster https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/05/jess-phillips-a-terrible-toxic-week-in-westminsterAlec Baldwin interview by Janice Turner https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/alec-baldwin-for-president-0r5b8k08wLISTENINGThe Adam Buxton interviews with Zadie Smith, Kathy Burke and Louis Theroux https://soundcloud.com/adam-buxtonHere's The Thing interview with Barbra Streisand http://www.wnyc.org/story/visit-barbras-place/ Kay Mellor's Desert Island Discs  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vlogger Jim Chapman is YouTube royalty. But what happened when “the guy from the internet" turned his hand to a book? We chat animal facts (did you know that a group of baboons is called a flange?), whether or not the intent is misogynistic and why millennials have it good, with Jim Chapman.LINK:147 Things: My User’s Guide to The Universe, by Jim Chapman, published by Pan Macmillan, is out now:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Jim-Chapman/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AJim%20Chapman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s another live episode! (Normal recording will resume soon.) We’re at The Curiosity Rooms, in collaboration with Google and Selfridges, talking about the #MeToo hashtag and - because it’s called The High Low - the Kardashians.The #MeToo hashtag has swept across society in the wake of Weinstein, as hundreds of thousands of women come out to share their stories of harassment and abuse. Pandora has collated over 85 on her Instagram, some of which she reads out - while we both discuss the nuances of this campaign: are men excluded? Does it dwell on collective victim-hood? Does it place the onus on the women, to come out - rather than the men, to ‘fess up? You’ll have to listen to find out, but one conclusion you can be sure of, to paraphrase Emma Watson speaking at the UN in 2014: women’s rights are not about man-hating. We need to break this thought pattern ASAP.On to the Kardashians - whom Blac Chyna is suing. Yup, the lot of them. Rob Kardashian’s ex fiancee is suing the entire family for “torpedoing” her reality TV career and preventing her from reaching her potential as a social media entrepreneur. When did a social media entrepreneur become a thing? And is this the first time a whole family has been sued, because of it?Please do get in touch with The High Low [email protected] and you can tweet us @thehighlowshow.The High Low is going on holiday next week, so you’ve got a nice author special to look forward to.Bye bye! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s our first ever live podcast! This week The High Low is brought to you live from tibits, a vegetarian restaurant in Mayfair, where we recorded the episode on Monday 16th October. Thanks to everyone who came and latterly stuffed their faces with the food boat.This week we discuss Hollywood in the aftermath of Harvey Weinstein’s downfall - and, specifically, James Corden’s controversial jokes about Weinstein at the AmFar Gala. Was Corden speaking out of turn; or have we begun to censor the role of the comic too much?Also on this week’s agenda is culture overload, after we read a brilliant piece in November’s issue of British Esquire by the Culture Editor, Miranda Collinge, who returned from holiday to find 81 books on her desk. Yes, 81. Are you mired in podcasts, not knowing which way to turn; being buried alive by the pile of books by your bedside table, unsure which to start fast; feeling the impending doom of a boxset binge, knowing that as soon as you finish this series, there’s another that just HAS to be read? And what if you read/watch/listen to the wrong thing. What do you do THEN? We discuss making your own culture agenda and consuming the culture that resonates with you, not your Twitter/Instagram timeline.Highlights from The Top Line: diet avocados (for god’s sake), the man who changed his middle name to Yorkshire Tea and why Ivana Trump is, in her own words, the real First Lady.You can e-mail us @thehighlowshow - short of tattooing her tits, Pandora isn’t sure where else to put this e-mail address - and tweet us @thehighlowshow. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on iTunes!READING/ LISTENINGNothing to Envy by Barbara DemickMarina O’Loughlin's first restaurant review for The Sunday Times - Dolly can provide linkGrace Dent for The Independent on James Corden’s jokes about Harvey Weinstein - Dolly can provide linkLINKS:http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/james-corden-harvey-weinstein-women-can-joke-but-you-cant-a8002926.htmlhttps://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/table-talk-our-new-restaurant-critic-marina-oloughlin-on-the-biting-wit-of-her-predecessor-the-late-aa-gill-k3djnc930Laura Snapes for The Dolly Mail: http://us14.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d694237eb6ca85f6f4c7d854b&id=e1fc988477 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a great week for sexism. Swedish model and artist Arvida Bystrom was threatened with rape, after she appeared in an Adidas advert with hairy legs; a senior writer at Vice’s women’s channel, Broadly, was fired after leaked e-mails revealed that he had been lobbying alt-right ‘media personality’ Milo Yiannapoulos to bully ‘fat feminists’; and then, well, there’s Harvey Weinstein.The 65-year-old American producer, considered to be one of, if not the most powerful man in Hollywood, has been fired from his own company, dumped by his wife and dispatched to ‘sex addiction rehab’ (obviously) after it was sensationally revealed by The New York Times and a dizzying further array of publications, that he had sexually harassed dozens of women in Hollywood, from A-Listers such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, to journalists, assistants and models. You’ll never look at a pot plant in the same way again….How was Weinstein’s behaviour tolerated, as an open secret, for so long? Why are women expected to come forward, more than men? Was he fired because he sexually harassed women - or because the public found out? And, as we discuss at length, will the demise of Harvey Weinstein finally lead to the dismantling of the systemic sexism upon which Hollywood’s very foundations are built? Time can only tell.On a trivial note, did you know pesto pasta has more salt than a McDonald’s burger? Pandora’s happy, veggies not so much.Please do e-mail us [email protected] or tweet us @thehighlowshow if you have any thoughts on the episode.BIG NEWS!The High Low has signed a shiny new partnership with Google, in collaboration with their Google Pixel 2 Phone. To kick off the partnership, which stars in November, we are doing a live episode of The High Low at Selfridges (as part of a shiny roster of speakers including Adwoa Aboah and Riz Ahmed) in their Curiosity Rooms installation, on Friday 20th October. You can sign up for a free ticket here:https://events.withgoogle.com/curiosityrooms/READING & LISTENINGNothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea, by Barbara Demickhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Nothing-Envy-Lives-North-Korea/dp/184708141X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507757675&sr=8-1&keywords=barbara+demickGaga: Five Foot Two, on Netflixhttps://www.netflix.com/title/80196586Uncommon Type: Some Stories, by Tom Hanks https://www.amazon.co.uk/Uncommon-Type-Stories-Tom-Hanks/dp/1785151517Lullaby by Leila Slimani (out in January) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lullaby-Leila-Slimani/dp/0571337538/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507757742&sr=1-1&keywords=lullaby+leila+slimaniThe State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity by Esther Perelhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/State-Affairs-Rethinking-Infidelity-anyone/dp/1473673542/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507757760&sr=1-1&keywords=esther+perelWTF Podcast Episode 242 with Russell Brand (from 2012)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4w0U84v6ik Here’s Why So Many Women Knew The Rumours About Harvey Weintein, by Anne Helen Petersen for Buzzfeed https://www.buzzfeed.com/annehelenpetersen/women-believe-other-women?utm_term=.qhOjRo5Kwb#.djKA49B3g6Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades, by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey for The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.htmlFrom Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Tell Their Stories, by Ronan Farrow for The New Yorkerhttps://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-storiesWhy The Weinstein Sexual-Harassment Allegations Didn’t Come Out Until Now, by Rebecca Traitor for The Cuthttps://www.thecut.com/2017/10/why-the-weinstein-sexual-harassment-allegations-came-out-now.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the wake of pyjama-clad Hugh Hefner’s demise, we discuss the legacy of Playboy and its nuances - and why viewing an empire created 64 years ago solely through the lense of modern feminism can be problematic. A must-read, incidentally, is Gloria Steinem’s The Bunny’s Tale. Also in today’s episode, we discuss the demise of the celebrity interview. Are authentic journalistic profiles destined to become mere relics, in place of publicist-approved puff pieces? We can but wonder. ***** BIG NEWS: You can now book a ticket to the first ever* live* episode of The High Low! We’ll be doing a live show 6.30-8.30pm at tibits in Mayfair, on Monday 16th October and 20% of all proceeds go to Women for Women International. Click the link below to book a ticket to the live record: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-high-low-live-recording-at-tibits-heddon-street-tickets-38531176787 Find out about more Women for Women International https://www.womenforwomen.org.uk/ ***** What we’ve been listening to/ watching The Longform podcast (Dolly recommends the eps with Lena Dunham, Ariel Levy, Emily Nussbaum, David Remnick, Jon Ronson, Elizabeth Gilbert and Taffy Drodesser-Akner) https://longform.org Fresh Air podcast with Hilary Clinton http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2017/09/18/551812328/fresh-air-for-sept-18-2017-hillary-clinton WTF podcast with Barack Obama http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_613_-_president_barack_obama ***** What we’re been reading Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny https://www.amazon.co.uk/Standard-Deviation-Katherine-Heiny/dp/0008105529/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507046125&sr=1-1&keywords=standard+deviation Mount by Jilly Cooper https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mount-Jilly-Cooper/dp/0593072901 I’ll Eat When I’m Dead by Barbara Borland https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ill-Eat-When-Im-Dead/dp/1784298565/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507060568&sr=1-1&keywords=i%27ll+eat+when+i%27m+dead Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sour-Heart-Jenny-Zhang/dp/1408892413/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507046030&sr=8-1&keywords=sour+heart Interview with France’s Secretary for Equality, Marlène Schiappa, in The Sunday Times magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/marlene-schiappa-vive-la-revolution-67xq9bhd9 1968 Rolling Stone interview with Richie Havens http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/richie-havens-in-1968-the-direction-for-my-music-is-heaven-19680720 A Bunny’s Tale by Gloria Steinem http://dlib.nyu.edu/undercover/sites/default/files/documents/uploads/editors/Show-A%20Bunny%27s%20Tale-Part%20One-May%201963.pdf The Death of a Playmate by Teresa Carpenter http://reprints.longform.org/death-of-a-playmate My Playboy Mansion meeting with Hugh Hefner, Mr Sticky Fingers by Camilla Long https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/my-playboy-mansion-meeting-with-hugh-hefner-mr-sticky-fingers-rss3wwdmz How BBC Star Clare Balding stole my byline, by Ginny Dougray https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/sep/30/celebrity-interview-bullying-behaviour-balding-saga Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The High Low is on holiday this week, so we have recorded an author special for you - because we're nice like that. Is Monogamy Dead? by British comedian Rosie Wilby came out in August 2017 and from learning about romantic footprints to the difference between polyamory and non-monogamy (and did you know what 'compersian' is?) it's a funny, gentle, explorative and educational look into the Western concept of monogamy - and whether it still works. The audiobook is available on Audible here:https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Health-Personal-Development/Is-Monogamy-Dead-Audiobook/B06ZYJ4ZCV/ref=a_search_c4_1_2_srTtl?qid=1506615053&sr=1-2 You can follow Rosie on Twitter and Facebook @rosiewilby.You can get in touch with The High Low @thehighlowshow on Twitter or email us [email protected]. Thank you to Wardour Studios for the recording session. See you next week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twas the week that Margaret Atwood took her handbag to the Emmys - sorry, Margaret Atwood’s handbag took Margaret Atwood to the Emmys - and whilst some people are focusing on Issa Rae’s commentary, Dolly’s focusing on Margie and her shoulder holdall.In MIN (more important news) a number of protests this week have got us thinking: are points best made with spitting and shouting? In specific reference to the 60-year-old woman punched at the discussion of gender, at speaker’s corner last week; and the fur protest at London Fashion Week.Top Line highlights this week includes an update on the case of PETA vs the photographer who ‘nicked’ a monkey’s selfie; and the lunacy that is a 12-year old girl, groomed via Instagram by a paeophile into sending a topless picture of herself, facing charges for sharing pictures of an underage girl. Even though she, aged 12, is the girl in question. Legal loophole, anyone?Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on iTunes. You can e-mail us [email protected] or tweet us @thehighlowshow.WATCHING/ LISTENING Doctor Foster on BBC iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0960dlf/doctor-foster-series-2-episode-3New Scandi noir Black Lake on BBC iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b081clh5/black-lake-episode-1WTF with Anne Hathaway http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-801-anne-hathaway-aimee-mannWTF with David Remnick http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-830-david-remnickDavid Remnick on Here's The Thing http://www.wnyc.org/story/htt-david-remnick/The Power of Vulnerability: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Health-Personal-Development/The-Power-of-Vulnerability-Audiobook/B00CYKEBVI The Butterfly Effect with Jon Ronsonhttps://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Film-Radio-TV/The-Butterfly-Effect-with-Jon-Ronson-Audiobook/B073JVBDTMREADINGCamila Batmanghelidjh interview with Camilla Cavendish in The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-interview-camila-batmanghelidjh-founder-of-kids-company-sftth9077What it’s like to be fat in France: Gabrielle Deydier on ‘grossophobia’ for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/10/gabrielle-deydier-fat-in-france-abuse-grossophobia-book-women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The High Low is a quarter of a century old (sort of) and to celebrate we have a ton of great reading recommendations for you - scroll down to see our favourite pieces of the week, including a piece on the rise and full of a Muslim cop at the NYPD in The New Yorker, everything you need to know about therapy by Hannah Ewans for Vice and the story of the 48-year-old intern, as seen at The Spectator. This week, we discuss Kate Winslet’s controversial comments (or lack thereof) when asked about working with Woody Allen. Should Hollywood actors seek to distance themselves from known paedophiles like Allen and Polanski; or does great art stand alone? We discuss ethics and responsibility... when your boss is a creep. Also work-related, the tech CEO who dyed her blonde hair brown, to be taken more seriously in the workplace. Have you ever toned down your looks, in an effort to get ahead? We discuss misogyny at work and why it’s important to hold your own. You can e-mail The High Low [email protected], or tweet us @thehighlowshow. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to The High Low on iTunes - it helps boost us our ratings and allows other people to find us. OH! And before you go: Dolly solved her phone storage issue. Thank fuck for that. Books, shows & podcasts that we’ve been consuming this week: The Most Dangerous Place On Earth, by Lindsey Lee Johnson https://www.amazon.co.uk/Most-Dangerous-Place-Earth/dp/0451483987 The Trials of a Muslim Cop, by Rachel Aviv for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/11/the-trials-of-a-muslim-cop The Girlfriend Experience, directed by Steven Soderbergh https://play.google.com/store/tv/show?id=7vM4RanppsI&cdid=tvseason-vo4wdThuG0ESdOZssmmlrw&gdid=tvepisode-BP6eerEBbsA The 48-year-old intern, for The Spectator https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/09/at-48-and-with-my-three-boys-growing-up-fast-im-the-new-office-intern/ Hannah Ewans on therapy, for Vice https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/8xxyj3/everything-i-wish-id-been-told-before-starting-therapy Nigella Lawson on home cooking, for The Sunday Times Magazine https://t.co/1wMDrLPw5C?amp=1 Daisy Buchanan on Woody Allen, for The Pool https://www.the-pool.com/news-views/opinion/2017/37/daisy-buchanan-on-famously-abusive-men-and-power WTF episode with Lena Dunham, on Woody Allen: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p3Y-JWimJic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dennis Rodman's strange new friendship with North Korea's dictator Kim Jong Un; a deep-dive into the archive via Tory backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg's interview with Ali G; and a most unfortunate story about a girl, a Tinder date, and a poo. It's our usual mixed bag on this week's episode of The High Low. Plus, did you know that purple was NOT Prince's favourite colour? On a not so light note, we discuss the thorny concept of 'safe spaces' in light of Oxford University's Vice Chancellor Louise Richardson's comments about homophobia at university (Dolly recommends this episode of Guys We Fucked for some interesting conversation on safe spaces https://m.soundcloud.com/guyswefucked/0155-09012017-nadine-strossen) and the sacking of Munroe Bergdorf, L'Oreal's first ever trans ambassador - after her comments on white privilege, post-Charlottesville. Plenty of recommendations from Pandora and a very hoarse Dolly this week: - Can I Be Me on iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b094f49s - The Most Dangerous Place In The World by Lindsay Lee Johnson https://www.amazon.com/Most-Dangerous-Place-Earth-Novel/dp/0812997271 - Mariella Frostrup column - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/03/my-nephew-is-disabled-and-its-all-his-mothers-fault-mariella-frostrup - The Girlfriend Experience starring Riley Keogh https://play.google.com/store/tv/show/The_Girlfriend_Experience?id=bRMBVonjbOA&hl=en - Munroe Bergdorf interview on the L'Oreal race row in The Guardian https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/global/2017/sep/04/munroe-bergdorf-on-the-loreal-racism-row-it-puzzles-me-that-my-views-are-considered-extreme - Rod Liddle on freedom of speech for The Sunday Times Magazine: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/universities-are-a-safe-haven-from-censorship-a-sanctuary-of-free-speech-and-tolerance-pgpvqb7rv - @tanksgoodnews on Instagram - for restoring your faith in humanity Dolly also has a storage issue. If you have a particular knowledge of iCloud storage please do tweet @dollyalderton (NOT @pinsykes who'd rather eat her own foot than hear anything more about this) as Dolly desperately needs some guidance. Oh and if one more person sends Pandora a press release about Kate Middleton's morning sickness, she will scream. No, she is not writing a story about Kate Middleton's morning sickness. Nor is Dolly. Because that would be a very dull, very short story. You can e-mail us [email protected] and tweet us @thehighlowshow. Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to The High Low on iTunes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Dolly’s birthday today! And as if in celebration, The High Low has hit half a million downloads. Listen to Pandora sing happy birthday to Dolly and the two discuss Hilary Mantel’s epic piece on Princess Diana and 'the princess myth' for The Guardian and Alan Yentob’s BBC interview with Margaret Atwood.Also today, some deep-dive discussion into Taylor Swift’s record-breaking new tune (43.2million YouTube downloads in 24 hours) and whether it’s self-aware and brave, or gauche and obvious. One thing’s for sure: Taylor ain't pretending to play nice anymore. Playing nice, at least with make-up, is French President Emmanuel Macron, whose make-up regime have been revealed as costing €8,000 and then a further €10,000. Is he wearing bespoke presidential foundation? Or lasering his ball sack with the finest lasers in the land? The High Low discusses if this is a gendered issue (yes) and whether Theresa May would get away with spending £18,000 of public funding on her fizzy. Fun facts from today’s Top Line: in a brand alignment like no others, Julien McDonald is making diamante burger boxes for McDonald’s; and soft cheese could be making your head smaller. Oh, and do you have Prosecco gums? Dolly might do. Don’t forget to rate review and subscribe on iTunes and do tweet us @thehighlowshow and e-mail us [email protected]:Here's The Thing With Alec Baldwin interviews Lawrence Wright: http://www.wnyc.org/story/lawrence-wright/ Alan Yentob interviews Margaret Atwood: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b093tw95/imagine-summer-2017-2-margaret-atwood-you-have-been-warned Hilary Mantel's piece on Princess Diana: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/aug/26/the-princess-myth-hilary-mantel-on-diana Heart podcast mini-series on sexual consent: http://www.theheartradio.org/no-episodes/ Score by Jilly Cooper https://www.amazon.co.uk/Score-Jilly-Cooper-OBE/dp/0552156361Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants by Jill Soloway: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tiny-Ladies-Shiny-Pants-Soloway/dp/1785032860/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504119762&sr=1-1&keywords=tiny+ladies+in+shiny+pants Ariel Levy's interview on Fresh Air: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/01/540822381/i-was-somebodys-mother-reflections-on-the-guilt-and-grief-of-miscarriage Laura Snapes for Elle.com on Taylor Swift http://www.elle.com/culture/music/news/a47694/taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do-video-analysis/Decoding the disses of Taylor Swift in the Guardian, by Jake Nevins https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/aug/28/taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do-music-videoWho Killed Taylor Swift in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/08/who-killed-taylor-swift/537990/The Women's Hour discussion of Taylor Swift and celebrity female rivalry: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b092956j Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a new episode of The High Low and we've got a bunch of things to recommend watching, listening to and reading covering everything from Indian Partition to an online black drugs market to male privilege to Vanessa Feltz. In The Top Line, we discover the bizarre tale of the British dad-of-five on holiday who became an accidental Turkish treasure smuggler. Oh and did you know that 1 in 5 UK pets has its own Instagram profile? Jesus weeps. In the wake of Zadie Smith's comments on the time-wasting practice of contouring, we talk about the role of makeup in a young woman's life and how time-consuming beauty regimes might negate productivity, but never morality. As the McCanns continue to search for their missing daughter as well as put an end to the horrific abuse they receive online - we talk trolling, public campaigning for missing children and our collective attention span in the wake of a disaster.Plus, a heart-breaking listener question on deportation and a few words from your hosts on the accidental role of Agony Aunting. Follow us on Good Reads > thehighlowshowTweet @thehighlowshowE-mail [email protected]'t forget to rate/subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-high-low/id1211338187?mt=2 RECOMMENDED:Silk Road Storyville: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b092s5vv/storyville-silk-road-drugs-death-and-the-dark-web# My Family, Partition and Me with Anita Rani: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0916qmx Guilty Feminist on male privilege: http://guiltyfeminist.com/episodes/ Sophie Heawood's brilliant piece on hormones: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/commentisfree/2017/aug/21/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-listen-to-my-hormonesVanessa Feltz interview by Simon Hattenstone for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/aug/13/vanessa-feltz-interview-bbc-pay-prurient-voyeuristic-grossNasty Women - a collection of essays and accounts of what it means to be a woman in the C21st, published by 404http://www.404ink.com/shop/nasty-womenProposal for a Bill to ensure free access to sanitary products, including in schools, colleges and universities in Scotland. Scottish residents sign here: http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/EndingPeriodPoverty/Don't forget to use the HILOW code on narscosmetics.co.uk when you check out to receive a *free* mini Audacious mascara and Dolce Vita lip pencil. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The High Low is BACK after a week's hiatus in which Dolly went to Majorca, boggled at its lack of scene and read a bunch of books. Meanwhile Pandora's got summer flu and wants Dolly to update the Good Reads profile. There's Bond, vegan feminist cafes and Taylor Swift in The Top Line. And we look at the surprise shouty renaissance of Trinny and "put a waist belt on it" Susannah's Trinny Woodall. In the wake of the horrifying white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and murder of an innocent young woman, we discuss what the various public reactions say about white privilege; particularly one divisive tweet from Lorde. We also discuss the presence of rape culture in the reporting and reaction to model Chloe Ayling's account of her kidnap and imprisonment. Plus, we answer a reader question on toxic friendships in the workplace. COME TO OUR EVENT NEXT WEEK We'll be having a live 'in conversation' at the NARS store in Covent Garden next Wednesday 23rd August. You can book your ticket (£30 and redeemable against purchase) by calling 0207 836 6366 or emailing [email protected] and you get a goody bag too. We'll see you at the bar! READING Eleanor Olliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eleanor-Oliphant-Completely-Fine-bestseller/dp/0008172110/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502922037&sr=1-1&keywords=eleanor+oliphant+is+completely+fine Marianne Faithfull's biography https://www.amazon.co.uk/Faithfull-Marianne/dp/0140246533/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1502919315&sr=8-1&keywords=marianne+faithfull+book Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney https://www.amazon.co.uk/Conversations-Friends-Sally-Rooney/dp/0571333125 Run by Ann Patchett https://www.amazon.co.uk/Run-Ann-Patchett/dp/0747593221 Ethan Hawke interview by Polly Vernon for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ethan-hawke-lessons-from-a-movie-star-xkqs7rtb8 Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff for Dazed online on the #ThisIsNot us post-Charlottesville hashtag http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/37043/1/this-is-what-white-people-need-to-learn-from-charlottesville?utm_source=Link&utm_medium=Link&utm_campaign=RSSFeed&utm_term=why-thisisnotus-is-the-wrong-reaction-after-charlottesville Visit Trinny Woodall's Instagram, here: https://www.instagram.com/trinnywoodall/ Dolly promises it's an instant mood booster. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Episode 20, a milestone of sorts - and Tesco are now paying your tampon tax. Hurrah! Go buy your 'pax from there -- and other supermarkets, we hope you follow their example.This week Dolly and Pandora discuss the invasion of royal privacy with the revelation of Princess Diana's private tapes (handed over by her speech coach from 1992) that will be aired in Diana: Her Own Words on Channel 4 on Sunday 6th August. Is it really in the public interest, to air tapes Diana never thought would leave the room - or is it an unethical attempt by a powerful broadcaster to feed modern culture's salacious appetite for celebrity gossip? You can guess which side we fall down on. Also today, we discuss the return of Celebrity Big Brother - series approx 487 - and whether the format is getting tired. Has reality TV entered a new chapter? We also discuss past highlights, including Ivana Trump accepting a fake businesswoman of the year award (yes, the president of the USA's ex-wife went on British CBB) and Vanessa Feltz's meltdown. This week's reading, listening and watching:Top of The Lake: China Girl, on BBC iPlayerDiana: In Her Own Words, on Channel 4Baby-faced killers of Kim Jong-nam in The Sunday Times magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/north-korea-femmes-fatales-kim-jong-un-s-baby-faced-killers-lmj6p6988Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud, by Anne Helen Petersen https://www.amazon.co.uk/Too-Fat-Slutty-Loud-Unruly-x/dp/0399576851 The Course of Love, by Alain de Botton https://www.amazon.co.uk/Course-Love-Alain-Botton/dp/0241145473 An Untamed State, by Roxane Gay https://www.amazon.co.uk/Untamed-State-Roxane-Gay/dp/1472119827 Jon Ronson on Guys We Fucked - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/guys-we-f-d/id885960517?mt=2 Jon Ronson piece on the Guardian about porn https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/jul/29/jon-ronson-bespoke-porn-nothing-is-too-weird-all-requestsSheryl Sandberg on Desert Island Discs - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08z9b81My body shape is in fashion - but how for long? By Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff for The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/global/2017/jul/30/my-body-shape-is-in-vogue-but-for-how-long-charlie-brinkhust-cuffPlease do rate review and subscribe on iTunes.You can email us [email protected] us @thehighlowshowWE ARE HAVING ANOTHER WEEK OFF NEXT WEEK. Dolly is sunning her babylons. But listen, don't be sad, here's a wise quote from Alain de Botton for you: Love is a skill, not just an enthusiasm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a break last week, it's a (bumper) episode 19 of The High Low. Of course, we're talking about the incendiary gender pay gap revealed at the BBC and the wider question of the value of each and every job. We discuss the news of R Kelly's alleged disturbing sex cult and how the reporting reflects rape culture and systemic racism. We also unpick the divisive nature of Netflix's new film To The Bone and ask whether it explores the issue of eating disorders with refreshing honesty or whether it simply glamorizes the traumatic reality of anorexia. Plus, we discuss all the books Pandora's been reading, all the mind-losing that Dolly's been doing and there's our first ever High Low dream sequence back to a particularly memorable gaffe in an early episode (nice work Producer Charlie). Follow us on Good Reads > thehighlowshowTweet @thehighlowshowE-mail [email protected]'t forget to rate/subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-high-low/id1211338187?mt=2 READING Hunger by Roxane GayHot Milk by Deborah LevyCommonwealth by Ann PatchettThe Course of Love by Alan de BottonHow to Resist by Matthew BoltonGather The Daughters by Jennie MelamedAnna Leszkiewicz on To The Bone for The New Statesman: http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2017/07/to-the-bone-netflix-review-glamourises-anorexia-eating-disorders Gina Martin's petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/takeaction/887/239/401/ On why the R.Kelly case is about race - by Feminista Jones for Vox.comhttps://www.vox.com/first-person/2017/7/21/16008230/r-kelly-sex-cult-abuseBuzzfeed's investigation into R Kelly: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimderogatis/parents-told-police-r-kelly-is-keeping-women-in-a-cult?utm_term=.xmJynl3r4#.ihxKynOzAJezebels follow-up: http://jezebel.com/a-woman-in-r-kellys-inner-circle-describes-sexual-coer-1797003010 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's our second author special this week, with journalist and author, Elizabeth Day. Elizabeth's brilliant 4th book, The Party, comes out on 13th July and has whiffs of the Patrick Melrose novels, by Edward St Aubyn. Pandora and Dolly talk privilege and poshness and quiz Elizabeth, who is an esteemed interviewer, on her favourite ever celebrity interview (Clint Eastwood) and her worst (Rob Lowe.)Also in this week's episode: Rob Kardashian's misogynistic social media meltdown and his restraining order from ex-fiancée Blac Chyna (and why shaming women with their bodies is a far from defunct trope) plus Harper Beckham's birthday party, hosted by one of Dolly's favourite royals.WatchingGypsy on NetflixBaby DriverReadingMe Talk Pretty One Day by David SedarisThe Golden Age of Bailing, via The New York Times > https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/07/opinion/the-golden-age-of-bailing.html?referer=https://t.co/dzI1aZedF7Why coconut oil is bullshit, via The Guardian >https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jul/09/coconut-oil-debunked-health-benefits-big-fat-lie-superfood-saturated-fats-lardThe Party, by Elizabeth DayFollow us on Good Reads > thehighlowshowTweet @thehighlowshowE-mail [email protected] PLEASE rate, review & subscribe on iTunes. It helps other people find the podcast.NB: no podcast next week. We on holidays. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode 17 of The High Low, we discuss celebrities quitting Twitter (and why Pandora wants to set up a foundation called The RSPS - the Royal Society for the Protection of Stars) specifically Ed Sheeran who says he can't cope with the trolling.Plus Serena Williams vs. John McEnroe. Pandora and Dolly discuss why a naked Vanity Fair cover doesn't mean she doesn't deserve privacy and respect. And BTW, its bloody beaut.Don’t forget to follow The High Low @thehighowshow on Twitter and to rate/ subscribe on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-high-low/id1211338187?mt=2 You can e-mail The High Low [email protected] Sunday Times piece on Haredi Jews > https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/the-sunday-times-magazine/how-they-live-britains-haredi-jews-07zknxvdbAnd Roxanne Gay for The Guardian, on being obese > https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jul/03/roxane-gay-lindy-west-if-i-was-conventionally-hot-i-would-be-president Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

JezCo took to the stage at Glasto, 7% of Americans think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, Louis Tomlinson admitted he was the most ‘average’ of 1D, and 95 tower blocks in the UK have failed safety measures. It’s your usual mix of the trivial and the political, the high and the low, on this week’s The High Low. Don’t forget to follow The High Low @thehighowshow on Twitter and to rate/ subscribe on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-high-low/id1211338187?mt=2 You can e-mail The High Low [email protected]. If you want a mini Dolce Vita lip pencil and a mascara FOR FREE from Nars - our awesome sponsor - go to narscosmetics.co.uk and enter HILOW at the checkout, redeemable against one purchase. See below for a list of reading and listening in today’s episode: - It’s OK for women not to be ambitious, by India Knight https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/india-knight-it-s-ok-for-women-not-to-be-ambitious-mmg3mjczv - When did we all become so scared of being average? by Marisa Bate https://www.the-pool.com/life/life-honestly/2017/26/louis-tomlinson-interview-on-being-average - The story behind the song sweeping Glastonbury by Rupert Hawksley http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/oh-jeremy-corbyn-story-behind-song-summer/ - Have we lost our emotional middle ground? by Pandora (SORRY NOT SORRY) http://www.pandorasykes.com/lost-emotional-middle-ground-marie-claire/ - Stoner by John Williams https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stoner-Vintage-Classics-John-Williams/dp/0099561549 - Episode 93 of The Guilty Feminist, It’s A Man’s World, with Gemma Arterton - http://guiltyfeminist.libsyn.com/53-its-a-mans-world-with-gemma-arteton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grenfell Tower is an unthinkable national tragedy; with many questions still unanswered, victims missing and families displaced. We discuss the aftermath of the most tragic residential fire since World War Two, Sadiq Khan’s piece for The Guardian, and what we hope will lead to change. You can donate to the Grenfell victims here: www.pennyappeal.org and https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/grenfell amongst others. At the low-brow, trivial end of the spectrum, we discuss the rise of the ‘silver splitter’ - sixty-something divorcees forced to find flatmates - and why divorce in the elder members of society (up 5%) isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Also today, we talk about Bum Bum cream, a new £44 product to ’tighten’ your ass (but not your hole.) Did you know that women with bigger bums are smarter and, apparently, live longer? This and many more bum facts - including how much Dolly loves Rear of the Year - on today’s episode of The High Low. Don’t forget to subscribe and rate us on iTunes. You can tweet us @thehighlowshow and e-mail us [email protected]. Thank you to Acast for the use of their studio and to our sponsor Nars. Use the code HILOW at narscosmetics.co.uk to get a free mini mascara and lip pencil! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's our first ever author special with Reni Eddo-Lodge, whose phenomenal book Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race was published earlier this month. We talk to Reni about race relations in the U.K. and why 'reverse racism' is not a thing. You can buy her book,published by Bloomsbury - http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race-9781408870570/ Also today: the return of the Nokia 3310 (you know Pandora once beat SNAKE?) And why peeing on the streets is controversial for a woman - featuring Lottie Moss. Long live Booze Britain. And why is peeing in public a gendered issue? The High Low discusses.Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review for The High Low on iTunes! Every review helps.You can e-mail us [email protected] and follow us on Twitter @thehighlowshow - we post all links to articles, films, products there.If you like the sound of the books we mention, you can follow us on Good Reads @ http://goodreads.com/thehighlowshow where we... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s General Election week, but there’ll be no talk of #GE2017 here (firstly, it’s already over.) Instead, we discuss Prince William’s revelatory interview with GQ - and Princess Diana’s relationship with the media. Also in today’s episode, we discuss Miss Eaves’ music video ‘Thunder Thighs’ and the new spate of ‘body posi’ bloggers; and whether purely inhabiting your body could be more progressive than ‘owning' it. Also noteworthy: Dolly is addicted to Wagamama and Pandora went to see the Baywatch movie. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review for The High Low on iTunes! Every review helps. You can e-mail us [email protected] and follow us on Twitter @thehighlowshow - we post all links to articles, films, products there. If you like the sound of the books we mention, you can follow us on Good Reads @ http://goodreads.com/thehighlowshow where we update our book shelf with what we love, what we have read, and what we intend to read. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no way we could create Episode 12 without addressing the horrifying terrorist attack in Manchester. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Please do donate at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/westandtogethermanchester and https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/muslimsformanchester. Also this week, we've been watching Three Girls, the truly arresting three part drama from the BBC, reading My Family's Slave by Alex Tizon in The Atlantic, and rediscovering the Kate Moss Topshop collection via eBay. Oh, and news alert: M & S are adding bananas to their fruit salad. Don't forget to subscribe to The High Low on iTunes and leave us a review and follow us on Twitter @thehighlowshow. You can get in touch with us via email [email protected]. If you want to know which books we love, what we are reading and what's on our bookshelf for the coming weeks, do check out our Good Reads account: http://goodreads.com/thehighlowshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever heard of Avocado Hand? Wondering what Labour's new budget looks like? You'll be needing The Top 10, then. Also in today's episode: Netflix's weekend proposed price surge, National Sandwich Week - featuring an extensive poll by sandwich expert, Dolly - and the rise of the hashtagged divorce selfie. Jesus weeps. Or rather, Pandora does. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. You can follow us on Twitter @thehighlowshow and email us [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

E is for Eurovision, Emmanuel Macron and Edwina Sheeran on The High Low this week. Plus Frankie Dettori does dressage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a brand new High Low, where caption is queen. There's an abundance of your e-mails, plus antiquing and Alisha's Attic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pandora and Dolly turn The High Low into The Live Lounge. Plus what has pushed their high sass threshold to the limit? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Jack Whitehalls of podcasting are back with tales of Berlin and Orkney, Larry David's daughter and the Genny Elec. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a fortnight of frolicking, Pandora Sykes and Dolly Alderton return to talk Kendall Jenner, Barry Manilow and living that Nickelodeon life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Much for Pandora and Dolly to discuss this week! Including Princess Tiaamii, Millie Bobby Brown and how to poach a good quince. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The High Low, Pandora and Dolly discuss the Prime Minister's trousers, freebie culture and booze loyalists. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pandora Sykes and Dolly Alderton discuss those in the spotlight this week - namely Professor Kelly, Pamela Anderson and Mhairi Black. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.