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Surprise! We said we were taking a week off, but we didn’t! Pop culture doesn’t take a vacation, okay? In this week’s bonus Popculture Potluck, the besties discuss the breakup that has ROCKED the straight ally community. Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause and “Bed on Fire”’s G Flip are over. The besties dive into Chrishell’s past breakups and why, as stans, this is really hard.

Bravo Fanfest was last week, and our resident Bravo historian, Lauren, gave us a rundown of all the big news to come out of it, like Next Gen ATL, Heather Gay’s black-eyed reputation, being an OTPHJ truther, and more. We also discuss In the City Season 2’s cast shake-up and where we stand with Amnda Btula and Wst Wlson.

Also in this episode, we talk about how upper blephs have reached boy internet, why celebs are giving dead eye, Gay Halloween, Delaney Rowe’s HORRENDOUS dating taste, and Taylor firing direct shots at Jack Antonoff in her latest acceptance speech

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In this week’s Popculture Potluck, we get into this dismal season of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, gush over Olivia’s remix of “Expectations” with Chappell Roan, groan over the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show being back in the zeitgeist, and much more. We also discuss the horrific news about NFL star Jalen Hurts and the NFL’s carelessness (Sports Besties, get ready to be annoyed with us 😉). We outline our concerns about Taylor Swift’s knack for dropping new music on the same day as her contemporaries, round up the TV and books we are excited about, and more!

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This week on Midwest Besties, we're talking about the GIRLS reboot, the latest drama on RHOSLC, and Sh*ne G*ll*s wildly offensive and unfunny SNL monologue. In TV news, we chat about the Gilded Age trailer, Lanterns on HBO, and Carrie on Prime. And because we love a random pop culture detour, we're wrapping things up with Kelly Clarkson vs. Art of Play—is this just a case of everyone being wrong?

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It’s a smorgasbord today, Besties! In this week’s Popculture Potluck, we discuss everything from Nicole Kidman (the song) to Nicole Kidman (the wig wearer)—that’s A to Z in our world.

In between, we defend Alix Earle for admitting she’s never read a book and give her some recommendations we think she would LOVE (we know she’s listening). We recap the kind of abysmal 2nd and 3rd episodes of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. The Snowflakes headed to San Francisco (the place where dreams come true…apparently?). We give our thoughts on new girl Quai, Toothbrushgate, Whitney needing to just stop, and more.

Also, we discuss the movie adaptation of The Love Hypothesis, the chaotic gay romance trope, Lauren’s thoughts on Adults, Taylor needing to take a beat, Lulu’s interview with Sylvester Stallone (who is airing ALL his dirty laundry), “Stop the Wedding!,” and MORE!

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This week, the besties are taking a flyover deep dive into The Shampoo Effect! We’re sharing our thoughts, hot takes, and plenty of opinions on the book. What did we love, what didn’t work for us, and is it worth the read? Tune in to find out!

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In this week’s Deep Dive, the besties have MANY opinions on Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl: Encore. We’re breaking down what we like, what we don’t, and what really isn’t doing it for us.

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Anyone ever wake up to find they’ve been gaslit by a king? Charles Spencer, apparently. Princess Diana’s younger brother has released Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, and his press tour is putting King Charles in quite a tizzy. The Besties break down the royal drama on this week’s Popculture Potluck. We also talk about Meghan’s Mom Chat leak (is nothing sacred over there?). In non-royal news, we welcome the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City back to our screens, discuss the new Traitors cast announcement, and the Netflix drama The Beast in Me. We finish up by once again discussing Mary Beth Barone’s newest controversial connection (hint: William Bowery), and, speaking of Joe Alwyn, we also discuss why he is famous and her cringey performance at Sunday’s Chiefs game. We end with Emily catching us up on where she is with her RHONY rewatch.

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This week on Midwest Besties, we’re doing a major recap of the Emmys, and talk Sydney Sweeney’s horrifying sports ad. We discuss how Amanda Hirsch will do anything for a paycheck, including a Polymarket ad about the Lindsay Clancy trial. We also check in on The Toast and they are still as awful and unfunny as ever. In happier news, we celebrate that Lady Gaga is officially a mom, and catch up on the latest British Royal Family antics from Harry and Meghan.

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Listening to a podcast episode about two white ladies’ love of Ina Garten? How easy is THAT?!

On this week’s Popculture Potluck, Lauren and Emily take a deep dive into their mutual love, respect, and adoration for television cook and author Ina Garten—otherwise known as the Barefoot Contessa. We break down Ina’s recent interview with our li’l diva antihero Lulu Garcia-Navarro, her “everyone’s welcome” ethos, her relationship with Martha Stewart, and more.

Also in this episode, Emily talks about Lanterns on HBO, Lauren discusses the latest unsavory Taylor Swift rumor, and the Besties share their full Sterling Point review. Plus, Table Scraps featuring Adults on FX, the news that Leah Remini is joining The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and the shocking revelation that Lauren doesn’t know the difference between a joint and a cigarillo.

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In this week’s episode, the besties pour one out for Dolly and unpack Meghan and Harry’s messy move back to Britain. We get into TV news, including Hulu canceling Not Suitable for Work and the Gilded Age Season 4 trailer. Lauren discusses Brighton Butler’s surprise engagement (trigger warning: white woman nonsense), and Emily tackles the truly important issues by ranking her best chip-and-sandwich pairings.

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Content Warning: Child loss, violence, suicide, drug use, and postpartum mental illness. Please listen with care.

This week, the Besties are discussing some much darker subjects than usual—but don’t worry, we still have our usual stupid content roundup because, as you know, we contain multitudes.

We discuss Hayden Panettiere’s devastating passing and the internet discourse surrounding the Lindsay Clancy trial. Are we sensationalizing this tragedy and playing internet sleuths when we should be focusing on society’s lack of mental health resources?

Later, we lighten things up with our Sterling Point review and a stellar Real Housewives Roundup featuring Ultimate Girls Trip, vintage RHONY, and Salt Lake City. We also discuss those Brooks Nader (who?) pics and new reality shows before celebrating the renaissance Millennial girls have been waiting for: Rosie O’Donnell! We discuss her Kimmel stint, her incredible facelift, and how The Rosie O’Donnell Show basically raised us. We wrap things up with a rundown of September TV and our latest reads. So get your Koosh balls out, and let’s talk about it all!

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This week, we’re catching up on all the pop culture that matters! We’re talking Reece starring in Chicago, breaking down the House of the Dragon finale (and, more importantly, Rhaenyra’s smoky eye), and unpacking Nara Smith’s insistence that she is NOT a TradWife. Plus, The Toast is MAGA, House of Stassi, Adults on FX, Sterling Point on Prime, and Emily’s ongoing OG RHONY rewatch.

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In the latest edition of Besties Read Books™, Emily and Lauren dive into the romance queen of Canada’s latest summer must-read, Our Perfect Storm.

We rank it against Carly Fortune’s other books, dive into the friends-to-lovers trope, our own love stories (Lauren’s a Mastermind), and admit that even though we love to dog on the romance genre, we’re also some of its biggest fans.

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No, this isn’t the beginning of a dirty limerick—it’s the latest petty gossip the besties are LOVING. In our most random Pop Culture Potluck yet, we unpack influencer Paige Lorenze’s beef with a Nantucket antiques store owner and his possibly sexist new store policy.

Also in this episode: Summer House’s Kyle Cooke and Southern Charm’s Salley Carson’s new romance; the In the City reunion that not even Andy Cohen cares about; and Whitney most definitely coming off as a mom-hater.

In more influencer news, we discuss Jen Hamilton’s messy divorce and very Mrs. Robinson-esque cheating scandal—plus Meghan and Harry actually slaying FOR ONCE. We break down the latest episode of House of the Dragon (Gwayne is our Twink of the Month(™) ) and end with, obviously, a 12-minute discussion of Emily’s recent trip to Michaels and its EXTENSIVE Halloween décor.

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The besties break down the Emmy nominations, biggest snubs, surprise picks, and their predictions. Then they dive into DCC: America's Sweethearts Season 3 to debate if Kelli and Judy are simply complicated divas...or are they actually evil? (Maybe both.)

Next, they unpack the latest Sussexes news, including Meghan's surprising decision to return to the UK. Finally, they wrap up the episode by sharing everything they've been watching lately, including House of the Dragon, Love Island, Widow's Bay, The Five-Star Weekend, and The Four Seasons.

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Our favorite artist, Taylor Alison Swift, is married! And while our hearts are full, the nuptials have left us majorly scratching our heads. Madison Square Garden? Stadium seat chair covers? Adam Sandler officiating? Chanel bag raffles?!?

Take us to the lakes where all the poets went to die, because this wedding was so tacky it's killing us.

Also in this podcast, we discuss Lizzo's flop era and how (much like our skin) we want to see her bounce back and glow like she did in 2018. Because this is NOT a Peacock Podcast™, Lauren gives us her latest Love Island update (Team Brinity), and Emily started running with a fabulous circle of people (she started a vintage RHONY watch).

We round up the episode with table scraps on Joe Alwyn dipping his toe back into the PR relationship waters (get 'em banned), why we're excited to see Patrick Schwarzenegger cast in one of our favorite romance novel adaptations (come for us, internet!), the latest royal drama, Supergirl flopping, and a death in the Midwest Besties family. #RIPFandangoAtHomePreviouslyVudu

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You've asked for more deep dives into the books we're reading, and we listened! Originally recorded back in May as part of our Pop-Culture Potluck, we're releasing this Flyover Deep Dive as a standalone episode dedicated to one of the summer's most talked-about books: Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden.

This haunting work of nonfiction tells the story of Burden's separation and divorce from her hedge-fund husband during the early days of the pandemic. It's filled with the glittering world of New York high society, but it's also an important cautionary tale about why married women need to understand their finances.

The besties discuss how much sympathy a member of the 1% really deserves, what the book teaches us, her doofer ex, and how we'd handle the same situation. (Spoiler: It would not be with Burden's quiet dignity. Bestie Husbands, you've been warned.)

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In this week’s pop culture potluck, the besties have a lot to discuss. First up: the explosive Vanity Fair article on Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network (spoiler alert: it’s not going well). Then, they dive into Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, and explain why they think it’s an absolute masterpiece. The conversation continues with the latest Beckham family drama (Team Brooklyn), the New York Knicks’ NBA Finals victory, and a roundup of all the TV shows currently consuming the besties’ lives.

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It’s finally here: the end of the road for Summer House Season 10 (we mean it this time). The besties unpack The Aftermath sit-downs, including Lindsay giving Amanda every possible reason to run far, far away from West—only for Amanda to go to Italy with him anyway. We also cover Kyle and West’s conversation, which somehow lasted several minutes while providing exactly zero new information, and Ciara’s long-awaited chat with Meija. Sadly, the most baffling revelation of all is that Meija is apparently still talking to West. Ladies, stand up.

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We got our first heat wave of the season, besties—not just from these Midwestern temps, but from all the pop culture news, too.

On today’s episode, we share our concerns about how World Cup international teams will handle America’s humidity (it’s what’ll get ya), discuss how horror movies are bringing audiences back to theaters, and follow Lauren’s ascension into the Love Island fandom.

We also delicately discuss Ariana Grande’s shocking tour footage (Content Warning: Discussion of Disordered Eating), share the latest Taylor news, talk about what we’re reading, and more.

So grab your headphones and crank up the AC, because this episode is a scorcher.

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