Culture Club

Hi friends!

Nicki Minaj has hammered the final nail into the coffin that is her music career this week after outing herself as Trump's number one fan. Writer Tarla Lambert wrote a piece for the Women's Agenda on the topic titled, “Nicki Minaj thinks Trump is her ally. He sees her as his prop”. Next, Ariana Grande has been spotted in a Vogue Japan spread with an additional appendage. The AI blunder has caught the premier publication out on its editing skills. Is Ariana's reaction warranted?*

The Wuthering Heights press tour has kicked off and has audiences rolling their eyes already. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are giving co-dependent co-stars in press interviews, but is the PR-relationship-to-sell-a-movie over? We reference (and role play) from Vogue Australia's cover story by Hannah Rose Yee.

Sydney Sweeney has launched a new lingerie brand named SYRN. We look into the launch of the brand and her comments via Cosmopolitan magazine, where she positions herself as an apolitical artistic figure... much to think about.

In Bookmarked, Maggie recommends Hamnet whilst Jas recommends Mothering Sunday. It's a historical fiction party.

Chat to you next time!
Jas & Mags xo

*EDIT: During the episode we referenced the Vogue Japan photo as the cover, it's now been corrected to a photo in the spread, not the cover.
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Hi friends,

Hilary Duff's first new album in over a decade, titled luck … or something, is out on Feb. 20. We discuss the appeal of the Disney star and how she's handling her comeback tour. Next, we’re at the stage of celebrity where even the camera people are getting swept up in controversy. The red carpet Glambot Guy AKA Cole Walliser came under fire for questioning people's ability to use his services. We discuss the preceding JLo versus Glambot moment and ask if female celebrities are held to a much higher standard when it comes to red carpet interactions.

On his press tour to promote the new Netflix movie The Rip, Matt Damon made some pretty revealing comments about Netflix and the future of media. Are streamers going to simplify plots so we can all scroll as we watch? Next, Brooklyn Beckham is at the centre of the biggest celebrity news story of 2026 and, for the British media, perhaps the last decade... we discuss the drama so far.

In Bookmarked, Jas recommends the 1996 movie Michael while Maggie recommends the book Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Talk to you soon!
Jas & Mags xo

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2026 has started with a bang thanks to Harry Styles' return. His fourth studio album, Kiss All The Time. Dance, Occasionally will be released on March 6th. Euphoria Season 3 is also back on HBO this April, and a number of book-to-screen adaptations are in the works. In Culture Shock, we discuss the cancelling of Adelaide Writers' Week after the disinvitation of Palestinian-Australian author, Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah. We reference this op-ed in The Guardian by Louise Adler.

The most popular social media trend this week? Posting like it’s 2016. We break down why people are posting throwbacks and if there's a bit of historical revisionism going on. We read from Daisy Jones' British Vogue piece titled '2016 Was Actually The Worst Year Ever, Remember?'

In Bookmarked, we discuss the new Marty Supreme movie that's released via A24 this week in Australian cinemas.

Thanks for listening!
Jas & Mags xo

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Here at Culture Club, we're big readers, and after our 2025 book recap, listener Holly asked what's on our TBR piles in 2026!

In this mini episode, we discuss the books we're currently reading, what's on our TBR list, and the 2026 book releases we're most excited about.

Maggie:
Great Big Beautiful Life - Emily Henry
Truly Madly Guilty - Liane Moriarty
Root Rot - Saskia Nislow
Ghost Cities - Siang Lu
The Ten Year Affair - Erin Somers
Lost Lambs - Madeline Cash
Vigil - George Saunders

Jas:
Happiness and Love - Zoe Dubno
August Blue - Deborah Levy
One Story - Pip Finkemeyer
Cape Fever - Nadia Davis
How To Kill A Guy In Ten Dates - Shailee Thompson
Just Watch Me - Lior Torenberg

We also reference The Vegetarian by Han Kang during our chat.

Thank you for listening! Follow us on Culture Club Pod's Instagram and TikTok.
Jas & Mags xo
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We're back for 2026 with a fresh, new look! We discuss our new era and Jas' Instagram post sharing her feelings about building a creative project. Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner are packing on the PDA at awards season, and creating discourse including GQ's take about using the term 'partner'. In Culture Shock, we break down what's going on with Ashley Tisdale's supposedly toxic mum group.

As we enter a new year, many people have been setting goals to be more offline—but in our tech-obsessed lives, is this even possible? We reference Tamara's 365 Buttons, people turning on Gen Z's internet speak and the proliferation of AI slop, including Jeanswest's strange Instagram rebrand. We ask if the chronically online will become a new type of class, as posed by YouTube creator, Magic. And, in a world of personal branding and content creation, can we even afford to go offline? We reference a piece from The Cut, titled In 2026, We Are Friction-Maxxing by Kathryn Jezer-Morton and attention as a form of prayer by TikTok user, Denise Stobes.

In Bookmarked, Jas recommends Amy Taylor's novel Ruins while Maggie recommends the Scottish documentary, The Golden Spurtle.

Thanks for listening and thank you again to everyone who sent a kind word via Jas's post or Apple reviews! We're so grateful to have you and can't wait to create more in 2026.

Our new cover art is by Katie Zhou and podcast and jingle editing is by India Wallis.

Jas & Maggie xo
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