The Take

Gen Z’s dating priorities may be different, but are they really the "puriteens" they’re made out to be? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Crown S5 has faced a lot of criticism for being too soft on the Royals. The Crown invites us to blame the system in order to sympathize with the rich elites caught in its crossfire, and asks if we need a Monarchy at all if it does more harm than good, even for those who are meant to benefit most from it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our new video, we're taking a look at how Drew Barrymore beat the curse of the child star, and why it’s so satisfying for us to watch her succeed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On screen, motherhood is still depicted as the idealized end goal for all women, to the point where depictions of childfree women often feel reductive or even vilified. Watch our take on the childfree woman, why she desperately needs an upgrade to reflect society’s changing attitude towards the decision to not be a parent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new generation of female BFFs onscreen are finally dispensing with so many bad cliches and showcasing how having a true friend makes everything in life better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is there still so much shame and belittlement directed towards popular female media? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did Kristen Stewart go from child actress to Twilight superstar to indie darling? Above all, by owning her authentic self, no matter what anyone thinks. Click to watch our new video on how Kristen became an icon through her non-conformity & authenticity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk’s purchase and redesign of Twitter – a place that was once a public forum for underdogs to question those in power – could be its ultimate downfall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here’s our take on the way boomers mythologized themselves, the stories they left out along the way, and how they’re more similar to their Gen X and millennial children than anyone might expect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who is the trophy wife, really? How do the qualities that make her a prize shift over time, and what does her evolution says about “ideal” womanhood? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our new video, we're looking at who gets canceled, who doesn’t, and why there needs to be a better system for holding people accountable for their actions, while still allowing for second chances in our culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The British Monarchy has always had a dark side – but in recent years a lot of the public has been willing to ignore that out of a deeply-rooted respect for Queen Elizabeth II. So, with their matriarch gone, how long can the rest of the family go without a scandal they can’t come back from? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Derry Girls, while Erin, Orla, and Clare are all some shade of meek, nervous, or unusual, the leader of their pack Michelle acts like she’s got it all figured out, and can’t wait for adulthood to start – but how real is that act? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our take on Doomerism, its impact on Gen Z and mental health, and how – even if there’s a lot that is bad right now – there’s also a better way to deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What made The Notebook the romance movie of the early 2000s, and how much of it actually holds up? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a few years of exceptional uncertainty, does the rise of the coastal grandmother aesthetic prove that above everything, gen-z just wants to slow down? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A study from Google found that nearly 40% of gen-z use TikTok as their primary search engine... How worried should we be that gen-z is using TikTok to search for facts? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why are liberal film and TV characters always so annoying? Here’s our take on why movies and TV try to present themselves as being in the reasonable middle—by punching at anyone trying to make a change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Crown season 5 is dredging up one of the darkest times for the royals’ reputation, the 1990s. So what exactly are the royals worried about? We're breaking down the controversy surrounding the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Culture is coming for the “wife guy” – because can anyone who’s that performative about simply having a wife really be trusted? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why are daddy issues mocked or fetishized, when they’re a byword for absent, neglectful, or dysfunctional parenting? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It can sometimes be hard to put words to the fear of losing the right to control your own body – but horror movies have been putting those fears on screen for decades. The female body horror genre is all about the terrifying idea that a woman’s body does not belong to her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rings of Power Finale had some big reveals, which all underlined the biggest takeaway of the story: that it can be difficult to tell the light from the dark. So how did all this come together and where did the first season leave us? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gorgeous, heartless, and almost supernatural - the Vamp is as evil as she is beautiful and one of culture’s most alluring villains. The Vamp embodies exaggerated versions of all the things women are told they can’t be, and eventually, she’s punished for it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wednesday Addams, the sick, subversive, unfailingly cool and composed daughter of Gomez and Morticia is a powerful and extremely important character for us to look to right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is female representation in film and TV actually getting any better? Did the Me-Too era resurgence of interest and attention around the Bechdel Test and female representation make a difference in what we’ve seen since? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time to ask: how does House of the Dragon stack up against the original Game of Thrones? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maddy Perez is the Queen Bee of Euphoria High, but unlike the other on screen mean girls we’re used to, she has something special: a heart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bridget Jones is smart, successful, and... deeply insecure. *Why* does Bridget have such low self-esteem? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Quiet Quitting" itself is probably overblown and not enough of a solution to our collective burnout, but this craze does signal an opportunity to, as a culture, find a more enlightened understanding of the role work should take in our lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Was charismatic mean girl and queer icon Santana Lopez ever really a villain, or a secret hero all along? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Has the Marvel Cinematic Universe held Elizabeth Olsen back? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The sad girl is having a moment. And her sadness isn’t a heavily politicized rage; it’s an internalized burden — a directionless angst that’s being filtered through music, film and literature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The British Monarchy is facing a long-dreaded question: what is the future of the Royals in the public’s eyes and hearts? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is feminism going out of fashion? And is it possible to channel all of the recent setbacks to reignite our passion for women’s rights with a more meaningful feminist framework for our times? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cady Heron’s journey in Mean Girls showcases how *seductive* peer pressure can feel, and in the end illustrates that adolescence is about figuring out who you are, not who other people think you should be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drama ostensibly comes from problems and obstacles—so why do we love watching people who seemingly have none? Here’s our take on our love-hate affair with the socialite and whether the voyeurism of watching her is really hate or rooting for her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it a problem that Hollywood’s stars are too beautiful – especially when they’re playing real people? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For most of the Modern Family's run, Hayley was pigeonholed as the pretty, dumb, popular character – but did the show let her down by not letting her be more? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would it cost to buy your soul? In The Devil Wears Prada, Andy gets the kind of opportunity people dream of. But in order to benefit from it, she needs to give up part of herself... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are five main types of red herring male love interests – and each represents a particular type of guy to be wary of, with a good reason: he’s not Mr. Right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve all been watching the rise of Gen Z as they replace millennials to dictate the rules of today’s cultural capital – but what comes next? It won’t be long before members of Gen Alpha are driving youth culture and popular media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is everyone on Gossip Girl so obsessed with Serena, and is her “nice rich girl” persona just an act?Gossip Girl encourages us to strive to be rich and gorgeous like Serena, while it reminds us there’s no way we’ll ever truly be like her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When does a person stop being a person and become a symbol? Marilyn Monroe as an idea has taken on a meaning all its own—the blonde bombshell, and the ultimate embodiment of a certain type of mythic femininity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Con artist is all over today’s film and TV – so are we supposed to be appalled by this figure, or are we actually… impressed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So often stories resort to lazy, easy shortcuts we’ve seen a million times before. When are they effective or timeless, and when is this just a boring lack of imagination? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roman Roy is an exhibitionist, but his kinkiness doesn’t just make him a memorable treat of a character. His particular perversities outline the Roy family’s psychological pitfalls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sydney Sweeney is putting a Gen Z stamp on the sex symbol. Here's our Take on how Sydney has deconstructed and rebuilt the sex symbol in a more serious way: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The damsel in distress character has fallen majorly out of fashion – and for good reason – but have we overcorrected against her? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is Hollywood so against women being in charge? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices