Culture Study Podcast

There are few things I like to do more than argue about the fine gradations of Who Is A Star Today And Why. I love the categorization element (what's the difference between a heartthrob and a sex symbol??) but I especially love thinking about what the actors we designate as heartthrobs tell us about our current understandings of masculinity. Is Pedro Pascal a heartthrob or a boyfriend? Is Leonardo DiCaprio the Eternal Heartthrob? Are the stars of Heated Rivalry the Official Heartthrobs of 2026? Do our heartthrobs age with us, or are they eternally 22? Romance author and male celeb aficionado Adib Khorram joins me to work through all of the above and so much more.

Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party (via Getty)

Thanks to the sponsors of today's episode:

Make the switch to Blueland today and get 15% off your first order by going to Blueland.com/CULTURE

Get 40% off select Lola Blankets products at Lolablankets.com by using code CULTURE at checkout. Experience the world’s #1 blanket with Lola Blankets.

Use code CULTURE at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a free gift with your first purchase!

Ollie. Feed the Obsession. Go to ollie.com/culture and use code CULTURE to get 70% off your first box!

Show Notes:

Learn more about Adib and find links to all his books: https://adibkhorram.com/

Order Adib's most recent book One Word, Six Letters: https://bookshop.org/a/56144/9781250405555

And pre-order his next adult romance, Isn't He Romantic?: https://bookshop.org/p/books/isn-t-he-romantic-adib-khorram/3c6c724552db372c?ean=9781538739594

Follow Adib on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adibkhorram

The BBC Article we reference about heartthrobs through the ages: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20191218-timothe-chalamet-and-hollywood-heartthrobs-through-the-ages

Everyone is Beautiful and No One is Horny!!! https://bloodknife.com/everyone-beautiful-no-one-horny/

I reference Emma Straub's book American Fantasy: https://bookshop.org/a/56144/9798217046850

Strongly recommend this essay collection if you want to think a lot more about the masculinity of Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks in the 1920s: https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/idols-of-modernity/9780813547329

As promised, the photo of when Pedro Pascal visited the BuzzFeed office in 2014:

We're currently looking for your questions on the following topics:

HOW WE SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA TODAY — how we narrativize our lives, what's changed, what's weird, what's still important and keeping us on this apps....with the great Kathryn Jezer-Morton

THE NEXUS OF LLMs/A.I. AND CREATIVITY: A.I. Boosters argues that LLMS can free us for more creative endeavors — or "facilitate" our creative work. THOUGHTS???? (This one's with the brilliant Vauhini Vara, whose work grapples with these questions in a way I've never seen before). Hopefully this piece on how A.I. keeps wasting my G-D time will spark some questions on your end.

CONVENIENCE CULTURE: From dinner to groceries to daily news to hailing a cab to finding a playlist-- we're used to getting a lot of things we want in a "convenient" way. What's that doing to us and our society? How have you embraced or eschewed convenience in your life?

WOMEN'S FITNESS INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. As our co-host Zoe Rom puts it: "Women are told they need to do fasting, creatine, lifting, fueling, and recovery differently than men. Sometimes the science backs it. More often the "different" is a marketing mechanism: invent a gendered problem, sell a gendered protocol, collect the markup." What's going on here? Where have you seen it, what pisses you off about it... take this wherever you'd like.

 

 

Join the ranks of paid subscribers and get bonus content, access to the discussion threads, ad-free episodes, and the knowledge that you're supporting an indie pod trying to make its way in the world.
Got a question to submit, a prompt for Ask Anne Anything, or an idea for a future episode? Tell us here.
Catch up on everything else happening in the Culture Study universe here.
Transcripts will be available here within 24 hours of publishing.

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Whatever your relationship is with your parents — incredibly close, estranged, somewhere in-between — there's just so much to handle when one of them dies. It doesn't matter if the death was sudden or a long time coming, our reticence to deal with (or even talk about) the postscripts of our lives leaves people scrambling, untangling, and slamming up against walls of legal bureaucracy. So we wanted to talk to someone who's been through it — and has accumulated a deep well of knowledge about preparing for these scenarios and navigating them when they've arrived. Certified death doula Becky Robinson offers deeply practical advice that's also filled with compassion — and I know we'll continue to build on her advice in the comments.

Thanks to the sponsors of today's episode:

Taking care of your health just got easier – start here with Zocdoc: https://zocdoc.com/CULTURE

Thanks to Article for sponsoring this podcast! Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. To claim, visit ARTICLE.COM/CULTURE and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

Wake up with clearer skin, smoother hair, and cooler sleep. Use code CULTUREPOD for an extra 30% off at blissy.com/CULTUREPOD

Go to  https://zbiotics.com/CULTURESTUDY and use CULTURESTUDY at checkout for 15% off any first time orders of ZBiotics probiotics.

Show Notes:

Buy My Parents Are Dead: Now What: https://bookshop.org/a/56144/9781683694687

So many resources on Becky's fantastic website! https://www.deadparentswhatnow.com/about

Follow Becky on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/deadparentswhatnow/

Becky references The Conversation Project for help starting these conversations: https://theconversationproject.org/

The TikTok I reference in the episode re: never-ending post-death account maintenance: https://www.tiktok.com/@emilymmorrison/video/7562575993529994551r=1&t=ZT-97oapcHmudh

The Alzheimer's Association: https://www.alz.org/

 

We're currently looking for your questions on the following topics:

HOW WE SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA TODAY — how we narrativize our lives, what's changed, what's weird, what's still important and keeping us on this apps....with the great Kathryn Jezer-Morton

THE NEXUS OF LLMs/A.I. AND CREATIVITY: A.I. Boosters argues that LLMS can free us for more creative endeavors — or "facilitate" our creative work. THOUGHTS???? (This one's with the brilliant Vauhini Vara, whose work grapples with these questions in a way I've never seen before). Hopefully this piece on how A.I. keeps wasting my G-D time will spark some questions on your end.

WOMEN'S FITNESS INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. As our co-host Zoe Rom puts it: "Women are told they need to do fasting, creatine, lifting, fueling, and recovery differently than men. Sometimes the science backs it. More often the "different" is a marketing mechanism: invent a gendered problem, sell a gendered protocol, collect the markup." What's going on here? Where have you seen it, what pisses you off about it... take this wherever you'd like.

QUITTING. Journalist Lindsay Crouse's new book asks, "In a world that prizes persistence, when does perseverance work against us?" What are your thoughts, fears, and questions around quitting? What are you struggling to quit?

Anything you need advice for/want musings about for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything — it’s literally the name of the segment.

Join the ranks of paid subscribers and get bonus content, access to the discussion threads, ad-free episodes, and the knowledge that you're supporting an indie pod trying to make its way in the world.
Got a question to submit, a prompt for Ask Anne Anything, or an idea for a future episode? Tell us here.
Catch up on everything else happening in the Culture Study universe here.
Transcripts will be available here within 24 hours of publishing.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We love our boomer moms. And our boomer moms are complicated. When Tracy Clark-Flory first told me about her memoir — in which she discovers the half-sister her mother had at age 19, and was forced to give up for adoption — I immediately thought about how so many of our boomer moms' choices were limited in ways we struggle to imagine. No matter how feminist their current politics may be, it doesn't change the fact that so many of them grew up (and became adults) in deeply patriarchal, racist, restrictive, and incredibly anti-sex families and communities.

So in this episode, Tracy and I work to activate some deep empathy for boomer moms just generally — but we're also very real about how some of the patterns they couldn't escape have affected their children. We talk about boomer moms who loathe feminism, who've dealt with un-present partners, who struggle with bitterness, who reproduce the criticalness of their own parents, and who really, really want to give gifts. The goal for this episode is empathy that doesn't shy from consequences; became a paid subscriber so you can continue to work through these themes in the comments!

Thanks to the sponsors of today's episode:

Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at RocketMoney.com/CULTURESTUDY

Save 20% Off Honeylove by going to honeylove.com/CULTURE

Ollie. Feed the Obsession. Go to ollie.com/culture and use code CULTURE to get 70% off your first box!

Get $35 off your first box of wild-caught, sustainable seafood—delivered right to your door. Go to:  https://www.wildalaskan.com/CULTURE

Show Notes:

Buy My Mother's Daughter here

Follow Tracy Clark-Flory's work here

Subscribe to Tracy's weekly newsletter on sex, feminism, and pop culture here

Listen to her fantastic podcast Dire Straights (with the fantastic Amanda Montei!!) here

We're currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:

THE NEXUS OF LLMS/A.I. AND CREATIVITY: A.I. Boosters argues that LLMS can free us for more creative endeavors — or "facilitate" our creative work. THOUGHTS???? (This one's with the brilliant Vauhini Vara, whose work grapples with these questions in a way I've never seen before). Hopefully this piece on how A.I. keeps wasting my G-D time will spark some questions on your end.

WOMEN'S FITNESS INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. As our co-host Zoe Rom puts it: "Women are told they need to do fasting, creatine, lifting, fueling, and recovery differently than men. Sometimes the science backs it. More often the "different" is a marketing mechanism: invent a gendered problem, sell a gendered protocol, collect the markup." What's going on here? Where have you seen it, what pisses you off about it... take this wherever you'd like.

HOW HAVING A FAMILY BECAME SO DAUNTING (and DIFFICULT). Anna Louie Sussman is coming on the pod to talk about her incredible new book on the feeling of "impossibility" when it comes to contemporary family. We can talk about fertility, cost, equal partnership, affordability, safety, climate grief, so many things.

QUITTING. Journalist Lindsay Crouse's forthcoming book asks, "In a world that prizes persistence, when does perseverance work against us?" What are your thoughts, fears, and questions around quitting? What are you struggling to quit?

Join the ranks of paid subscribers and get bonus content, access to the discussion threads, ad-free episodes, and the knowledge that you're supporting an indie pod trying to make its way in the world.
Got a question to submit, a prompt for Ask Anne Anything, or an idea for a future episode? Tell us here.
Catch up on everything else happening in the Culture Study universe here.
Transcripts will be available here within 24 hours of publishing.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: IF YOU NEED HELP ADDING YOUR SUBSCRIBER-ONLY FEED TO YOUR PODCAST PLAYER, JUST CLICK HERE!

Dark Academia is a literary genre. Dark Academia is an aesthetic. Dark Academia is a fantasy space. Or maybe Dark Academia is kind of a overgeneralizing label that few authors actually embrace. That's what R.F. Kuang, author of Babel and Katabasis thinks — and having her on the pod to talk about the trappings of the genre made for a fascinating discussion. We talk about the rise of genre right now, whether it subverts or reinforces the world it depicts, why State School Dark Academia doesn't really exist, and of course race, class, and the ideologies fantasy allows us to explore (and explode), just generally. Come hang out in R.F. Kuang's brilliant mind!!

Thanks to the sponsors of today's episode:

Ready to upgrade your eyewear to something functional, fashionable, fun, and affordable? Head to goodr.com/CULTURE to claim $10 off your first order.

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code CULTURE at https://www.oneskin.co/CULTURE

Use code CULTURE at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a free gift with your first purchase!

Thanks to Article for sponsoring this podcast! If you’re in the market for a beautiful new sofa, dining table or bed, head over to https://www.article.com/

Show Notes:

Pre-order Taipei Story here: https://bookshop.org/a/56144/9780063473744

Katabasis is now out in paperback! https://bookshop.org/p/books/katabasis-standard-edition-a-novel-r-f-kuang/078c5e32fe5f2db6?ean=9780063021488&next=t

The New Yorker profile I reference: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/25/the-otherworldly-ambitions-of-r-f-kuang

Subscribe to Rebecca's newsletter here: https://rfkuang.substack.com/

Taipei Story tour dates in the US, UK, Ireland, and Canada! https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/taipei-story#tour

We reference Possession by A.S. Byatt: https://bookshop.org/a/56144/9780679735908 (also Possession was published in 1991, we were way off!)

Rebecca mentions Audre Lorde's 1982 talk, "Learning from the 60s": https://garadinervi-repertori.blog/post/620761451560386560/audre-lorde-learning-from-the-60s-talk

We're currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:

THE NEXUS OF LLMS/A.I. AND CREATIVITY: A.I. Boosters argues that LLMS can free us for more creative endeavors — or "facilitate" our creative work. THOUGHTS???? (This one's with the brilliant Vauhini Vara, whose work grapples with these questions in a way I've never seen before). Hopefully this piece on how A.I. keeps wasting my G-D time will spark some questions on your end.

WOMEN'S FITNESS INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. As our co-host Zoe Rom puts it: "Women are told they need to do fasting, creatine, lifting, fueling, and recovery differently than men. Sometimes the science backs it. More often the "different" is a marketing mechanism: invent a gendered problem, sell a gendered protocol, collect the markup." What's going on here? Where have you seen it, what pisses you off about it... take this wherever you'd like.

HOW HAVING A FAMILY BECAME SO DAUNTING (and DIFFICULT). Anna Louie Sussman is coming on the pod to talk about her incredible new book on the feeling of "impossibility" when it comes to contemporary family. We can talk about fertility, cost, equal partnership, affordability, safety, climate grief, so many things.

Join the ranks of paid subscribers and get bonus content, access to the discussion threads, ad-free episodes, and the knowledge that you're supporting an indie pod trying to make its way in the world.
Got a question to submit, a prompt for Ask Anne Anything, or an idea for a future episode? Tell us here.
Catch up on everything else happening in the Culture Study universe here.
Transcripts will be available here within 24 hours of publishing.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: IF YOU NEED HELP ADDING YOUR SUBSCRIBER-ONLY FEED TO YOUR PODCAST PLAYER, JUST CLICK HERE!

When people around my age tell me that no one else their age has time to hang out, I have a go-to response: you need intergenerational friends! Older friends, younger friends, friends at a different (and often more flexible) life stage than you — it rules. I cherish my intergenerational friendships, and I'm thrilled to have Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer on the pod to talk about the legendary intergenerational friendship that inspired his new novel, Villa Coco, and help answer all your questions on cultivating these relationships in your own life. This episode will make you grateful for your existing age-spanning friendships and get you excited to make many, many more.

Thanks to the sponsors of today's episode:

Ollie. Feed the Obsession. Go to ollie.com/culture and use code CULTURE to get 70% off your first box!

Wake up with clearer skin, smoother hair, and cooler sleep. Use code CULTUREPOD for an extra 30% off at blissy.com/CULTUREPOD.

Get 15% off your first order of cleaning products by going to Blueland.com/CULTURE

Get 40% off select Lola Blankets products at Lolablankets.com by using code CULTURE at checkout. Experience the world’s #1 blanket with Lola Blankets.

Show Notes:

Go buy Villa Coco right now: https://bookshop.org/a/56144/9780385551977

Follow Andrew Sean Greer on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/asgreer/?hl=en

 

We're currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:

THE NEXUS OF LLMS/A.I. AND CREATIVITY: A.I. Boosters argues that LLMS can free us for more creative endeavors — or "facilitate" our creative work. THOUGHTS???? (This one's with the brilliant Vauhini Vara, whose work grapples with these questions in a way I've never seen before). Hopefully this piece on how A.I. keeps wasting my G-D time will spark some questions on your end.

WOMEN'S FITNESS INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. As our co-host Zoe Rom puts it: "Women are told they need to do fasting, creatine, lifting, fueling, and recovery differently than men. Sometimes the science backs it. More often the "different" is a marketing mechanism: invent a gendered problem, sell a gendered protocol, collect the markup." What's going on here? Where have you seen it, what pisses you off about it... take this wherever you'd like.

HOW HAVING A FAMILY BECAME SO DAUNTING (and DIFFICULT). Anna Louie Sussman is coming on the pod to talk about her incredible new book on the feeling of "impossibility" when it comes to contemporary family. We can talk about fertility, cost, equal partnership, affordability, safety, climate grief, so many things.

Anything you need advice for/want musings about for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything — it’s literally the name of the segment.

Join the ranks of paid subscribers and get bonus content, access to the discussion threads, ad-free episodes, and the knowledge that you're supporting an indie pod trying to make its way in the world.
Got a question to submit, a prompt for Ask Anne Anything, or an idea for a future episode? Tell us here.
Catch up on everything else happening in the Culture Study universe here.
Transcripts will be available here within 24 hours of publishing.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.